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Trees good for coppicing
Ken wrote:
Hi Everyone Can anyone tell me what kind of trees I should plant for regular coppicing for burning on a woodburning stove? I want something that will burn well, but not take donkey's years to grow (I'm a bit of an old donkey to start with!) Our soil is poor, acid and stony. There's some information you don't give which could influence the answer, such as how much wood you expect to use, how much land you can put down to trees, whether you live above the tree-line or right on the coast, and so on. I don't think acid or stony are particularly problematic, as woodland soils are naturally acidic, I believe, but coppicing is an intensive use of land and a poor soil won't allow intensive production. Economics comes into the equation here. You could improve the soil while growing the trees but you'd have to import something --manure, compost or topsoil-- to give the new planting a good start. If you only want the occasional cheery fire in winter, though, you might be better off simply buying logs. I think the best trees for this use would be ash, sycamore (or Norway maple), birch, and possibly sweet chestnut, if these will grow in your area. They are all good burning wood, unlike poplar and willow. Ash and sycamore both sprout readily from a robust root system. However, if time is of the essence, coppicing may not be the best bet. Instead, you might think of planting much closer, perhaps 1200 - 1500 to the acre, in order to have more wood sooner. When coppicing for firewood the initial tree needs to grow to more or less log-size, say 4" diameter, before cutting to form the stool in order to have a solid root system. On good soil that means about 10-12 years, longer on poor soil. The stool then grows more quickly because it doesn't have to establish roots, but it's still a longish time before you have a sustainable system. Perhaps, depending on how much land is to be used, the plantation could be divided, with an intial stand planted very close while you extend/improve the rest over time. On the actual planting I would dig trenches at the required spacing, perhaps with the help of a local farmer and a ridging plough or something, fill those with imported topsoil and plant cell-grown trees in that. This would give them a decent start and allow you a year or two during which you could get a tiller between the rows for working more soil-improving material in. IME trees don't respond particularly well to applied fertilisers, except that young trees will benefit a lot from a liberal dressing of superphosphate for the first year or two while they establish roots. Another problem with a poor soil, especially on a slope, is poor water retention. Trees need a lot of water. I'm growing them on a Welsh hill and in high summer for the first 5 years or so had to water them; quite a job when there's hundreds. Birch seem quite sensitive in this regard. And after all that there's the matter of protection, from rabbits, deer, gales and who knows what else. Stakes, tree guards, fencing... You don't --or may not-- have to do any of that if you have a lot of land and a lot of time and can let the trees fend for themselves. It may be your grandchildren who get to burn the wood, though. HTH Brian Mitchell |
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Trees good for coppicing
In article , brian mitchell writes: | Ken wrote: | | Can anyone tell me what kind of trees I should plant for regular | coppicing for burning on a woodburning stove? I want something that | will burn well, but not take donkey's years to grow (I'm a bit of an | old donkey to start with!) | | Our soil is poor, acid and stony. | | I don't think acid or stony are particularly problematic, as woodland | soils are naturally acidic, .... Acidity isn't a simple on/off factor. The acidity of woodland soils is a result of the humus; acidity in clay is also a different matter from acidity in peat, which is different from acidity in stony soils. Some of them cause serious problems; others don't. | I think the best trees for this use would be ash, sycamore (or Norway | maple), birch, and possibly sweet chestnut, if these will grow in your | area. They are all good burning wood, unlike poplar and willow. ... My guess is that the only one of those that would grow in that soil is birch. But it depends on HOW poor and acid the soil is, and WHY. He should certainly look around and see what grows in the area. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
#3
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Trees good for coppicing
Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article , brian mitchell writes: | Ken wrote: | | Can anyone tell me what kind of trees I should plant for regular | coppicing for burning on a woodburning stove? I want something that | will burn well, but not take donkey's years to grow (I'm a bit of an | old donkey to start with!) | | Our soil is poor, acid and stony. | | I don't think acid or stony are particularly problematic, as woodland | soils are naturally acidic, .... Acidity isn't a simple on/off factor. The acidity of woodland soils is a result of the humus; acidity in clay is also a different matter from acidity in peat, which is different from acidity in stony soils. Some of them cause serious problems; others don't. | I think the best trees for this use would be ash, sycamore (or Norway | maple), birch, and possibly sweet chestnut, if these will grow in your | area. They are all good burning wood, unlike poplar and willow. ... My guess is that the only one of those that would grow in that soil is birch. But it depends on HOW poor and acid the soil is, and WHY. He should certainly look around and see what grows in the area. Sycamore grows well on very acid soils, likes poor and well drained also. So the stony is no problem so long as there's enough water coming through. Norway maples require somewhat richer soil. -E |
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