# What's changed > The changes a reader could notice on Blue Whale Trees, newest first and dated: new pages and tools, new plant facts, corrected figures and new photographs. Blue Whale Trees, a native tree nursery in the United States. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/changes/ The changes a reader could notice, newest first: new pages and tools, new facts on the plant pages, corrected figures and new photographs, each with the page linked. Code, caching and bookkeeping are not listed, and nothing is taken off the list. Last change October 21, 2026. 70 changes listed since September 14, 2026. ## October 21, 2026 - The [American smoketree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-smoketree/index.html.md) page shows the tree in flower, and the [clusterspike indigobush](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/clusterspike-indigobush/index.html.md) picture loses the watermark along its foot. - A new page, [what's changed](https://bluewhaletrees.com/changes/index.html.md): the changes a reader could notice, newest first and dated, with the page linked. - A new tool, the [tree age estimator](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-age/index.html.md): how old a tree is from its trunk, or a shrub from its height and stem, as a range of years with the rule behind it. - New articles: [Which oak is this leaf?](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/which-oak-is-this-leaf/index.html.md) keys out the oaks we grow by their leaves, and [Bur oak vs white oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/bur-oak-vs-white-oak/index.html.md) tells them apart and says which to plant where. - Lifespans on the tree pages: how long each species lives and the oldest tree on record where one is known, as on [black gum](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/black-gum/index.html.md). - More state views of the [natives tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md) carry a sentence on the state's own forests from a forestry agency, Georgia, Texas and Michigan among them. - The [growth-rate table](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/growth-rates/index.html.md), the [sowing chart](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md), the [pollination table](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md) and the [bloom and fruit calendar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md) can be downloaded as CSV and JSON files under a Creative Commons licence. - The [home page](https://bluewhaletrees.com/index.html.md) and the [articles index](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/index.html.md) carry a row of reading for the month, and the home page's collections grid adds the [acorns, nuts and seed](https://bluewhaletrees.com/shop/acorns-and-seed/index.html.md) and [rare plants](https://bluewhaletrees.com/shop/rare/index.html.md) groups. - More articles answer a common question, among them [is 2026 a mast year](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/mast-years/index.html.md), [when acorns fall and when they stop](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/why-acorns-fall-early/index.html.md), [do oak gall wasps sting](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/wasp-galls-on-oaks/index.html.md) and [how to estimate a tree's age](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/how-old-is-that-tree/index.html.md). - Smaller additions: the deepest root on record in the [roots article](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/deepest-rooted-native-trees/index.html.md), what a burl holds in [burls](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/burls-on-trees/index.html.md), a Leyland canker photograph in [bald cypress](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/is-my-bald-cypress-dead/index.html.md), a leaf comparison in [red and white oaks](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/red-oaks-and-white-oaks/index.html.md). - More of the nursery's own photographs, among them chicken of the woods in the [mushrooms article](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/mushrooms-at-the-base-of-a-tree/index.html.md), a caged young oak in the [animals article](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/protecting-trees-from-animals/index.html.md) and seedlings in root-pruning pouches on the [about page](https://bluewhaletrees.com/about/index.html.md). ## October 20, 2026 - The [planting window](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md) answers for the common native trees and shrubs we do not grow, as the other tools do. ## October 19, 2026 - Every tool page answers common questions, such as the [natives tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md) on what is native in your region. - A new regional guide, [Native trees for the Great Plains](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-the-great-plains/index.html.md). - A Find a term box on the [glossary](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/glossary/index.html.md). - Every state in a plant page's native range row links the [natives tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md)'s view of that state, and the states where the plant is recorded outside its range are named. - Each [plant page](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/index.html.md) says its own shipping season. - Another row of tools on the [home page](https://bluewhaletrees.com/index.html.md). - The [plant pages](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/index.html.md) without a photograph say so. - A state view of the [natives tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md) names the common natives we do not grow, and the thin western views say where the state's own natives are. - The [planting-site check](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md)'s house-distance answer gives the rule and its figures. ## October 18, 2026 - More regional guides: [the Southeast](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-the-southeast/index.html.md), [the Gulf Coast](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-the-gulf-coast/index.html.md), [New England and New York](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-new-england-and-new-york/index.html.md), [the Southern Appalachians](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-the-southern-appalachians/index.html.md) and [the Ozarks](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-the-ozarks/index.html.md). ## October 17, 2026 - The [natives tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md)'s views for four states open with a sentence on the state's own forests, from its forestry agency: Iowa, Colorado, Illinois and Wyoming. - New winter articles for the months ahead, [ice and snow damage on trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/ice-and-snow-damage-on-trees/index.html.md) and [winter burn on evergreens](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/winter-burn-on-evergreens/index.html.md). - More articles: [the deepest-rooted native trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/deepest-rooted-native-trees/index.html.md) and [which oak dropped this acorn](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/which-oak-dropped-this-acorn/index.html.md). - The [growth rate table](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/growth-rates/index.html.md), every species A to Z with its class, its mature height and the years to 20 feet. - Every [tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/index.html.md) can be opened from a link that carries your inputs, so an answer can be shared or saved. ## October 16, 2026 - The [terms](https://bluewhaletrees.com/terms/index.html.md) carry a guarantee that fits dormant stock. - A new article, [Chinquapin or chestnut](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/chinquapin-or-chestnut/index.html.md): telling the four we grow apart. - The [shop](https://bluewhaletrees.com/shop/index.html.md)'s search answers its dead ends: the nearest spelling, or a line that says what we do not grow. - Every [plant page](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/index.html.md) lists its relatives in the catalog. - The [big-tree measurer](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/big-tree/index.html.md) reads the state champion registers, so a tree is scored against its state's champion too. ## October 15, 2026 - New photographs in [What tree dropped this?](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/what-tree-dropped-this/index.html.md), and [the acorn article](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/why-acorns-fall-early/index.html.md) answers whether a big acorn year means a hard winter. ## October 14, 2026 - Every [tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/index.html.md) opens on a worked example. - A calendar file and a print view for the [planting window](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md) and the [bloom and fruit calendar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md), and print views for the [tree finder](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-finder/index.html.md) and the [natives tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md). - The [growth estimator](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md) says how sure it is, and the [tree finder](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-finder/index.html.md) has a comparison view. - Drawings to scale on the tool pages, among them the [planting-distance tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md). ## October 13, 2026 - More [plant pages](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/index.html.md) get a better photograph, and each [glossary](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/glossary/index.html.md) link in the articles opens at its term. - The planning [tools](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/index.html.md) cover the common native trees and shrubs we do not grow, and each opens on an example. - The [shipping page](https://bluewhaletrees.com/shipping/index.html.md) says where the nursery ships first, and the [about page](https://bluewhaletrees.com/about/index.html.md) says who checks every page. ## October 12, 2026 - More articles and glossary terms, with more of the nursery's own photographs; see the [articles index](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/index.html.md). - The [big-tree measurer](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/big-tree/index.html.md) compares a tree with its national champion. ## October 11, 2026 - A new tool, the [big-tree measurer](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/big-tree/index.html.md), and a Give feedback link on every tool page. - More articles, glossary terms and photographs of the nursery's own; see the [articles index](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/index.html.md). - The [about page](https://bluewhaletrees.com/about/index.html.md) tells how we grow, with the nursery's own photograph. - The waitlist's 10 percent off: the email that says a [plant](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/index.html.md) is ready carries the code. - New articles on planting and care, among them [find the root flare](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/find-the-root-flare/index.html.md), [is my new tree dying or just shocked](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/is-my-new-tree-dying-or-just-shocked/index.html.md), [mulch around a tree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/mulch-around-a-tree/index.html.md) and [when to plant a tree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/when-to-plant-a-tree/index.html.md). - New tools: the [planting window](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md), the [planting-distance tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md), the [root-cut estimator](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/root-cut/index.html.md), the [new-tree check](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/new-tree-check/index.html.md) and the [transplant planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/transplant/index.html.md). - More glossary terms, and a new article, [protecting young trees from animals](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/protecting-trees-from-animals/index.html.md). ## October 8, 2026 - A promotion-code field on the checkout, and the [shop](https://bluewhaletrees.com/shop/index.html.md)'s search reads more of what people type. - A limited-time bar on the [plant pages](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/index.html.md)' waitlist card. - More articles, [beech leaf disease](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/beech-leaf-disease/index.html.md) and [native trees for the Great Lakes and Midwest](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-the-great-lakes-and-midwest/index.html.md), and others updated. ## October 7, 2026 - A [Classic Oaks](https://bluewhaletrees.com/shop/classic-oaks/index.html.md) group for the common oaks, and the one non-native plant says so on its shop card. - The [shipping page](https://bluewhaletrees.com/shipping/index.html.md) says an order pays one package rate however many boxes it takes, and the [terms](https://bluewhaletrees.com/terms/index.html.md) say who pays for a replacement and what a refund covers. - The photo window for a plant that arrives dead, damaged or not as described is 48 hours of arrival, in the [terms](https://bluewhaletrees.com/terms/index.html.md). - New [plant pages](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/index.html.md) for common eastern natives, and the sources behind the oldest plant pages. ## October 6, 2026 - Every [plant page](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/index.html.md) ends with a Sources fold naming the agencies, universities and floras behind its facts, and its facts gain a Grows wild in row above the native range. - The state views of [native trees by state](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md) are pages of their own. - Every [tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/index.html.md)'s How it works lists the rules it applies and their sources, and the species menus take a typed name. ## October 4, 2026 - Trait pages in the [shop](https://bluewhaletrees.com/shop/index.html.md), such as [evergreen](https://bluewhaletrees.com/shop/evergreen/index.html.md), [rare](https://bluewhaletrees.com/shop/rare/index.html.md) and [wildlife](https://bluewhaletrees.com/shop/wildlife/index.html.md), and the shop filters by the state a plant is native to. ## October 3, 2026 - A seed-only shipping rate per zone on the [shipping page](https://bluewhaletrees.com/shipping/index.html.md), and the native range as the last row of every [plant page](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/index.html.md)'s facts. ## October 2, 2026 - A [request list](https://bluewhaletrees.com/list/) that holds the plants a visitor gathers, and an A to Z [plant index](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/index.html.md) of every plant by its common name. ## September 30, 2026 - The [home page](https://bluewhaletrees.com/index.html.md) carries the three facts a buyer of a mail-order tree looks for, and a row of tool tiles between the groups and the featured plants. ## September 29, 2026 - Every plant is in the [shop](https://bluewhaletrees.com/shop/index.html.md). - More [plant pages](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/index.html.md), common and uncommon natives. - More articles from the nursery's list of ideas, and more glossary terms; see the [articles index](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/index.html.md). ## September 26, 2026 - Every [plant page](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/index.html.md) carries its pollination facts, the same the [pollination planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md) uses. ## September 25, 2026 - The rare native trees and shrubs get [plant pages](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/index.html.md) of their own. ## September 23, 2026 - The [watering calculator](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/watering/index.html.md) takes the soil, and more planning tools cover every plant in the catalog, among them the [seed sowing planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md), the [pollination planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md) and the [bloom and fruit calendar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md). ## September 14, 2026 - The site opens: the [shop](https://bluewhaletrees.com/shop/index.html.md), the [plant pages](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/index.html.md) for the catalog, the first [articles](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/index.html.md) and the first [tools](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/index.html.md).