The wonder Oak from North - Iisamen ihmetammi

The Story of the Wonder Oak of Iisalmi

In the early 1900s, a local pilot named Pekka Huttunen from Iisalmi worked on the timber cargo ship Kärkkäinen & Huttunen, which transported wood to St. Petersburg. On one of his trips, he brought back acorns, from which several oak trees were grown in the garden of the Huttunen family home.

By the 1950s, the trees had grown large, and one of the three oaks had to be cut down. From its timber, a solid oak table was crafted.

The two remaining oaks proved to be exceptionally hardy for the northern climate. About thirty years ago, the City of Iisalmi began cultivating saplings from their acorns. In the 1990s, Tuulimäki Garden, which specializes in collecting and propagating resilient northern plant varieties, began distributing saplings of the Wonder Oak of Iisalmi, and they have since spread across Northern Finland. Despite oaks’ natural range being 400 km farther south, these trees have shown excellent resilience.

The Oak – Tree of the Thunder God

The oak develops a deep taproot and has long been considered sacred in many cultures. In Estonia, for instance, it is known as the tree of the thunder god. An oak can reach full height in under 80 years, after which its growth slows and it continues to thicken over time. The renowned Wonder Oak on Karjalankatu is in excellent condition even at over a hundred years old. Its strong descendants are expected to delight both squirrels and humans for centuries to come.

Join the Oak Project

Pohjoinen Aurinko offers Wonder Oak acorns from Iisalmi to enthusiasts through pre-orders. We send out 20-acorn packages each autumn and provide growing instructions. We also collect data on how the oaks thrive in different areas.

The basic package costs 50 e, .

 Larger orders are also possible.
📩 Contact: oak@northernsun.fi