Comfort Maple

This is The Comfort Maple.  It is located in Pelham, near us.  I saw it on the weekend.  It is estimated to be one of the oldest sugar maple trees in Canada at about 500 years old.  It is 80 feet tall with a trunk that is 20 feet in circumference at the base. It even has some brick work repair due to at least one lightning strike. If you want to know the oldest trees in Ontario, they are listed HERE - the site is Ancient Forest Exploration & Research and one can see a map of old-growth forests in Ontario.  There is an old growth forest at Ball's Fall's in the Twenty Valley, at Decew Falls and the Niagara Gorge,  The Niagara Glen, Paradise Grove in Niagara-on-the-Lake and a few more areas in Niagara.  Even with a wide angle lens and 9 images to make a vertical panorama, the tree evaded full capture on the weekend.

Niagara's Ancient Trees

They are generally not be the oldest trees…

"The typical lifespan of a cherry tree is as short as 16 to 20 years. Some species are longer lived than others. Black cherry trees (Prunus serotina) live up to 250 years, although the average lifespan of a black cherry is 100 years. Cherry trees are sensitive specimen trees. They are easily susceptible and invaded by insects and diseases. Cherry trees commonly succumb to diseases such as brown rot, black knot, silver leaf disease, as well as bacterial canker. Insects such as borers, aphids and scales weaken and destroy cherry trees."

The typical lifespan of a peach tree in cold areas is only 10 to 15 years, and up to 50 years in a warm area.  So this explains why orchards disappear and get replanted as the tree production starts to decline.  I do like the ancient trees, though, especially when they have been pruned and shaped like the one below.