what is the fastest growing hardwood tree for Pennsylvania

[Col]

I'm looking to plant some hardwood trees for firewood and am looking to hardwood trees for Pennsylvania.

Could you tell me which hardwood treeswould be on this list ?

Thank you.

[Ron Wenrich]

Hybrid poplar.  Grows really fast.  But, it is a very low density wood.  That means you'll need more volume to replace the lack of weight when you're throwing it into your stove. 

Better burning hardwoods are slower growing, like oak, beech, maple, and hickory.  Its due to their density.

[Col]

Thanks for the info.  Would any Oak or Maple be OK for the stove or are there certain ones that burn better then others ?

[Ron Wenrich]

Sugar maple is better than red maple.  White oak would be marginally better than red oak. 

Why are you planting?  Are you converting over a field or are you planning to plant in a wooded area?  Wooded areas offer a chance of natural regeneration.

[Col]

Ron,

I have a large wooded lot that I have been taking trees down for some time now and want to replant trees so that when I get to the end of it hopefully the trees that I have planted will be ready to harvest.

[WDH]

You should already have some natural regeneration occurring then.  You might be surprised and find some desirable species already re-establishing themselves.  That could save you the time and expense of planting.

[beenthere]

Col
A past and close friend of mine (forester, hunting partner, sawmiller, etc.) approached this problem and concluded that he needed 6 real cords of wood annually to heat his home. He analyzed what to plant (southern WI) and decided on soft maple on 10 x 10 spacing on 8 acres of ag ground. His motive was to grow at least 6 cords per acre per year, and the density of soft maple combined with expected growth rate led him to plant that species. Sadly he is gone now, so his plan ended.

How large is your woodlot?

[Col]

5 acres.
 I lookea around and yes there is enough to last me about 5-6 years but after that nothing.

I figured at 53 that if I plant now I should have some decent ones in 7 years.

[Ron Wenrich]

You might be a little over optimistic.  8 rings per inch is considered a fairly common growth rate for oak in PA.  So, that means every 8 years you'll jump a diameter class.  7 year old trees would still be classified as saplings.  Think how big a Christmas tree is.  They are in that age range.

You might get better growth rates if there isn't any overstory, and growing conditions are pretty good.  Young trees with juvenile growth generally beats that rate until they get established. 

You probably could get to the firewood stage in about 20 years, depending on conditions.

[Ianab]

With a rotation that short the Hybrid Poplars are probably your only option. They dont make great firewood, but it does burn at least.

But look at coppicing, thats basically harvesting the top of the young poplar tree at maybe chest height, and letting it regrow. The tree grows multiple leaders that you can harvest in another couple of years. Repeat.

You should be able to get a couple of acres of coppice wood growing before you cut through your existing trees and then the fast growing / light weight wood can be mixed with the remaining denser wood to make it go further.

It doesn't have to be all or nothing, you can plant an area for coppice, and some slower gowing better quality trees as a long term project.

In our local climate we could do euclayptus or radiata pine for firewood on a 7 year cycle, but those trees could be up around 12" dia in that time.

Ian

[Ron Wenrich]

A number of years ago, I was on a site that had a German forester on it.  He described how they were using coppicing for the use of firewood.  Its an old technique and they were using it on the shade tolerant species.  They used it primarily on ironwood, and were using 20 year rotations on the firewood, and 125 year on the white oak overstory.

It can be done with any shade tolerant species and done in the understory.  I imagine prolific sprouters like beech and hard maple are the best.  White oak should work.  Bigger openings in the overstory would offer more of a specie selection.

Coppicing is used very little in this country, that I'm aware of.

[Col]

Thanks all.  I guess I am being overly optimistic.

Oh well time to find a new source.

[woodtroll]

This is the only instance I would recommend black locust. I have seen wood lots sustained for fire wood and some fence post. But they were established before being used. They burn hotter then oaks, coppice very well and grow reasonably fast.
Just a thought

[John Mc]

I've always had the impression black locust was harder to burn than some of the other "firewood" species. But now that I think about it, I have no idea how I got that impression, since I've not burned any of it that I can recall. Can anyone comment on how well/easily black locust burns?

Heard a talk on coppice a year or so ago here in Vermont. Thought it might be interesting to try some. Haven't gotten around to it yet, and don't know anyone in my area who has. I'd be interested to hear more from someone who has done it successfully -- good species to try it with in my area, and special techniques to consider, etc.

John Mc

[johnjbc]

I have burned quite a bit of Black Locust and it burns well and makes a lot of heat. It must be well dried and you don’t want to fill the stove clear up and shut down the air down until it smolders or you will get a lot of Creosote. I had a shinny black coating on my chimney that looked melted tar that had hardened from doing that.
I have Limestone soil here and the bigger locust are 8” in fifteen years, but they grow about half that fast on slate ground in western Pa.
John

[SwampDonkey]

His motive was to grow at least 6 cords per acre per year, and the density of soft maple combined with expected growth rate led him to plant that species.

I think maybe  6 cord/per 8 acres of his ag ground per year, not per acre. And probably closer to 4.  Think it through. On 10-15 acres of well looked after firewood stands, you should be able to harvest 6 cord/acre sustainably. If you high grade instead of taking the worst first, then your in trouble.

Col,

White birch would be my choice in our climate if I wanted fast grown stove wood. But, it's not as nice as yellow birch and sugar maple, but a real pleasure to split. If you have a well insulated modern home then white birch could be fine. In these old farm houses like mine, it will be kinda cool on white birch and I'd need an extra 3 cord.

Hard maple can be a prolific sprouter as Ron says, but does not perform well in shade like ironwood (O. virginiana) and beech. It will exist or persist, but stagnate. Mature sugar maple, will not sprout hardly at all when cut, many won't even have a single sprout. Red maple however, will grow like a weed off stumps as long as it's not over topped. If over topped, it goes spindly and pretty much worthless.

[beenthere]

Thanks for that correction SD. That 6 cords per year was the requirement for heat, and he calculated to get that from the 8 acres of maple.

Not sure where that "6 cords / acre" slipped in there.    another mental lapse, and glad you caught it.

[John Mc]

I have burned quite a bit of Black Locust and it burns well and makes a lot of heat. It must be well dried and you don’t want to fill the stove clear up and shut down the air down until it smolders or you will get a lot of Creosote. I had a shinny black coating on my chimney that looked melted tar that had hardened from doing that.

I knew it had a lot of BTU content (since that's mainly a factor of weight or density of the wood). Glad to hear it burns well when properly dried.

Shutting the air down till it smolders is a common mistake many wood stove users make... you'll tend to get creosote regardless of tree species if you burn that way. You also lose a significant amount of the potential BTUs, since a smoldering fire means a lot of the combustible gases are going up the chimney (or condensing inside it to make the creosote).  Better to get a properly sized stove for your application, so you can burn, rather than smolder.

[Ron Wenrich]

The only  chimney fire I ever had was from burning dry black locust.  A few other people have had the same problem.  Someone told me that black locust has a natural creosote...that's why it doesn't rot.  It sounds logical.  Burn the fire hot enough, then there isn't too much of a problem, or mix with other hardwoods. 

I have a stack thermometer and know that if I put in a certain amount of wood with the draft at a certain point, it will burn about 300°.  Creosote isn't as much of a problem.

[LeeB]

Where is your thermometer lcoated in the stack?

[Ron Wenrich]

About 2 foot above the stove.  I also have an 8x12 flue, which gives it better draft.