Article April 6, 2009 Issue

LESSONS FROM AN OAK TREE

BY KERSTYN BATTENBERG

Have you ever seen a giant oak tree whose branches spread out over hundred of feet in all different direction? They are huge, substantial, and heavy masses weighing thousands of pounds. I've often been amazed and wondered how those branches don't just snap right off.

But all the branches of the tree are supported by one foundation—one trunk, one root system. While the tree's root system is unseen and sometimes unappreciated, the proof that it exists can't be denied. In fact, it's been said that a tree's root system can grow out two to three times wider and deeper than the height of the tree itself.

The more the roots spread out underground, the more the tree can mature, growing up and out. Order of growth is important as well. Roots must grow first because the branches of the tree can't grow until the roots can support and sustain them. So the "unseen" needs to be established before visible results are realized.