Trees you've cut

[SawAddictedFarmer]

I believe we have poplar and cottonwood in the us and they are 2 completely different trees.

 

[SawAddictedFarmer]

Or not.
From Google
Poplar and cottonwood are closely related, fast-growing trees in the Populus genus (willow family) that share similar, heart-shaped leaves and tall growth habits, often reaching over 80 feet. Cottonwoods, particularly the eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides), are known for producing immense amounts of fluffy, cotton-like seeds in spring and preferring moist riparian areas. Poplar is a broader term encompassing cottonwoods, aspens, and other species, generally preferring cooler climates compared to the, often larger, cottonwood.
Key Differences:

• Seeds/Fluff: Cottonwoods (specifically female trees) are famous for producing massive amounts of cottony fluff in late spring. While some poplars are cotton-free, many share this characteristic, though the "cottonwood" name is most associated with this trait.
• Leaves: Cottonwood leaves typically have a flat, triangular base with a flat petiole. Many poplars, such as the balsam poplar, have more rounded or lance-shaped leaves.
• Growth/Habitat: Cottonwoods are known for extreme growth speed and enormous, spreading canopies, often growing 6+ feet in diameter. Poplars, like the Balsam poplar, are often more upright and suited to boreal/subarctic regions.
• Wood Quality: Black cottonwood is often considered superior for lumber compared to some other poplars, having higher strength.
• Staining: Balsam poplar leaves often have an orange/brown resinous staining on the underside, which is absent in cottonwood.
• Similarities:
  • Genus: Both belong to the Populus genus.
  • Leaf Action: Both have long leaf stems that cause the leaves to tremble or shimmer in the wind.
  • Uses: Both are used for firewood, pulp, and landscaping.
• Common Species Examples:
  • Cottonwood: Eastern Cottonwood, Black Cottonwood, Narrowleaf Cottonwood.
  • Poplar: Balsam Poplar, White Poplar, Lombardy Poplar.

 

[singinwoodwackr]

Or not.
From Google
Poplar and cottonwood are closely related, fast-growing trees in the Populus genus (willow family) that share similar, heart-shaped leaves and tall growth habits, often reaching over 80 feet. Cottonwoods, particularly the eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides), are known for producing immense amounts of fluffy, cotton-like seeds in spring and preferring moist riparian areas. Poplar is a broader term encompassing cottonwoods, aspens, and other species, generally preferring cooler climates compared to the, often larger, cottonwood.
Key Differences:

• Seeds/Fluff: Cottonwoods (specifically female trees) are famous for producing massive amounts of cottony fluff in late spring. While some poplars are cotton-free, many share this characteristic, though the "cottonwood" name is most associated with this trait.
• Leaves: Cottonwood leaves typically have a flat, triangular base with a flat petiole. Many poplars, such as the balsam poplar, have more rounded or lance-shaped leaves.
• Growth/Habitat: Cottonwoods are known for extreme growth speed and enormous, spreading canopies, often growing 6+ feet in diameter. Poplars, like the Balsam poplar, are often more upright and suited to boreal/subarctic regions.
• Wood Quality: Black cottonwood is often considered superior for lumber compared to some other poplars, having higher strength.
• Staining: Balsam poplar leaves often have an orange/brown resinous staining on the underside, which is absent in cottonwood.
• Similarities:
  • Genus: Both belong to the Populus genus.
  • Leaf Action: Both have long leaf stems that cause the leaves to tremble or shimmer in the wind.
  • Uses: Both are used for firewood, pulp, and landscaping.
• Common Species Examples:
  • Cottonwood: Eastern Cottonwood, Black Cottonwood, Narrowleaf Cottonwood.
  • Poplar: Balsam Poplar, White Poplar, Lombardy Poplar.

There are a bunch of related trees in this category…basically, pulp wood.
Around here, Cottonwoods are considered the bigass, broad canopy, basically useless trees and Poplars that are straight poles with branches that grow up along the trunk rather than out. We have Potlatch as well that look similar.
A confusing bunch of trees, imo

 

[jacktheripper]

I have seen a lot of similarity in cottonwood, silver poplar, willow, and aspen around here. The wood all seems and acts similarly when cut.

 

[singinwoodwackr]

I think cottonwood is more branchy/forky?

They are around here.

 

[TheDarkLordChinChin]

From my understanding there's lots of poplars.
Some of them are known as cottonwood in some places.
Aspen is a type of poplar I believe.

Any poplars I've seen are tall, straight, very soft, very very fast growing, brittle and vigorous.

Ive seen them pollarded right down from 90 feet tall to 30 feet tall and then new stems sprout out and grow back up to the same height.

A friend cut poplars in his yard and piled all the branches up on an embankment. They started to grow again and quickly put up new shoots. He sprayed roundup on them and it had no effect.

Ive seen 20 foot poplar saplings growing up out of the roots of nearby mature poplars.

 

[TheDarkLordChinChin]

Silver beam and some of the willows are very similar to poplar.

 

[davidwyby]

When I was a kid we had a hedge grow from a pile of alder logs.

 

[Junk Meister]

When I was a kid we had a hedge grow from a pile of alder logs.

renegade Squirrels.

 

[TheDarkLordChinChin]

When I was a kid we had a hedge grow from a pile of alder logs.

Willow is the same.
Our "sallys" (local term for willow) will grow to about 30 feet then fall over. New shoots will grow up out of the fallen tree.
Thats how it covers new ground and regenerates.

 

[Hoser]

Willow is the only tree I’ll cut if the land owner agrees I don’t have to take any of it.
Heavy, wet, spongy. No one around here wants to mill it and it smells like p*ss when it burns.
Poplar and ash I’m amazed how fast it’ll grow from nothing, I used to clear trees out of ditches on a road crew and the next year it would be grown up again in offshoots out of the stumps.

 

[davidwyby]

Next

 

[TheDarkLordChinChin]

Willow is the only tree I’ll cut if the land owner agrees I don’t have to take any of it.
Heavy, wet, spongy. No one around here wants to mill it and it smells like p*ss when it burns.
Poplar and ash I’m amazed how fast it’ll grow from nothing, I used to clear trees out of ditches on a road crew and the next year it would be grown up again in offshoots out of the stumps.

Interesting.

We have a few different willows. The most common one is known as "sally" but has another more proper name. Its probably our most common native tree. Its in every hedgerow and field. In fact, many hedgerows in wet areas are made up entirely of Sally. It doesn't grow like a proper tree, more like a glorified bush. It rarely exceeds 30 feet in height. It burns pretty good but spits a bit.

Our other most common willow can grow into a proper tree but rarely does. Its used to make baskets or nice hedges. You can weave it through itself and make a fancy hedge, almost like a living fence.

Our ash will not grow from an offcut. It is pretty fast growing though. Most of them are destroyed with ash die back disease though.

Idk about in Ireland but aporently in the uk elm used to be the dominant species until Dutch elm disease wiped them all out years ago. Since then ash took over and now its going extinct too.

 

[TheDarkLordChinChin]

I dont think it turned out too bad.
Im not really into pruning or reductions but I think this turned out okay.
Usual story of someone wanting their neighbours to remove a tree for safety but the owner of the tree not wanting to cut it at all so they agree to meet in the middle.
My opinion is always to either have trees or dont have trees.
Beech responds pretty good to this sort of work though.








We managed to cut one side of the tree with a teleporter, I had to climb the other side.

The landowner was a nuisance. She kept coming out and walking around the jobsite. Pure danger. At one point I told her to stay away because of insurance, ppe etc. I was terrified she'd get hurt. Anyways, back she came with a fcuking hard hat on. I was fit to kill her.

Later on her, her brother and her husband all came out and started cutting up the branches with an ms170 and a pair of secateurs. We were going to chip every bit but they insisted on keeping even the tiniest bits for firewood. Really made it harder work for us.

 

[TheDarkLordChinChin]

Back to cuttin spruce trees in half.
There's no end of spruce trees in the country, and no end of people who want them cut in half.

30mph winds today. Fun for climbing in.
This was the first one, also the biggest.





Half way there.





Finished!





These Norway spruce were for the chop. They were weak at the roots from last years storms. One of them was visibly loose in the ground.
We tied them both off with the one rope and pulled both over together.

 

[Junk Meister]

Nice sequential Picture story. Thanks.

 

[TheDarkLordChinChin]

Hahaha
Its hard to find the right words to describe a job like this.

I guess I now know how it feels to have done a tour in 'nam after tackling this jungle.

This was originally planted as a hedge. Then it got neglected.
That seems to be a common trend around here.





Once we cut into it we found it was actually quite easy to deal with.





It was all nice, narrow, straight steams. Very easy to handle and very easy to chip.

1 hour 14 minutes into the job.
Time to tip the load.




The forest is nearly conquered!
there were trees in here the customer didn't even know existed.





End of day 1.
Back tomorrow to finish tidying up and cut some smaller bushes.



2 and a half full trailer loads of chip today.
We started this job just after 10:00 and finished at 16:45.