Don’t use a stump or cross-section of wood that is rotten or falling apart or you won’t be able to accurately count the rings.
The light rings typically form in spring and early summer, while the dark rings form in late summer and fall.
Don’t count the bark of the tree as a dark ring. It doesn’t represent a year of growth because the bark just continues to get pushed out as the tree grows from the inside. You can use a magnifying glass to help you count the rings if they are small and close together.
If a tree’s rings are wide on 1 side but narrower on the other, it might mean that something was pushing against the tree on 1 side during those years of growth. It could even signify that 1 side of the tree faced very heavy winds, so it didn’t grow as much on that side.
In some cases, narrow rings can represent an insect infestation. Certain types of larvae eat a tree’s leaves and leaf buds and slow its growth down.
Over the years the tree grows new wood around such scars, but the scars stay forever within its trunk.
