Everybody must be getting itchy chainsaw fingers, lol.
I recognize the value and drawbacks to some trees, but others I'm not sure. I'm hoping you guys can educate me a little on a couple of them.
Hackberry- I usually leave these alone, but I'm not actually sure why. Do they have any wildlife or lumber value?
Shagbarks- I have girdled and hinged quite a few of these trees because they seem to create dense canopies that shade everything else out. Do you kill them all or just thin them out? They have no lumber value, correct?
Prickly Ash- I have read some posts where folks dont like this species. From what I can tell, it is a native and I assume it therefore isnt overly invasive. Now that cattle have been out of my timber for 4 years, I have some patches starting. What is the problem with this one?
Multiflora- I have plenty of this growing everywhere, not taking over, but not in short supply either. I kind of have mixed feelings on MFR since it does seem to make good cover although its aggravating to work around. Is it fair to say that a decent amount of MFR indicates a decent amount of sunlight hitting the forrest floor? I've noticed the floor seems quite bare in some of the pics I see posted.
The rest of my timber consists mainly of red and white oaks, some cherry and walnut, mulberry, and elms. I kill some of the elms, but dutch elm disease seems to keep them in check. Without the cattle, I'm starting to get some red cedar coming back, which is ok with me. The bastard of my timber is the Osage Orange. God, I hate those things. One thing I notice in my timber is that young oaks, smaller than 6"-8" DBH seem pretty rare. I dont know if thats due to the previous cattle and deer browse, or if they are being outcompeted by other trees.
I recognize the value and drawbacks to some trees, but others I'm not sure. I'm hoping you guys can educate me a little on a couple of them.
Hackberry- I usually leave these alone, but I'm not actually sure why. Do they have any wildlife or lumber value?
Shagbarks- I have girdled and hinged quite a few of these trees because they seem to create dense canopies that shade everything else out. Do you kill them all or just thin them out? They have no lumber value, correct?
Prickly Ash- I have read some posts where folks dont like this species. From what I can tell, it is a native and I assume it therefore isnt overly invasive. Now that cattle have been out of my timber for 4 years, I have some patches starting. What is the problem with this one?
Multiflora- I have plenty of this growing everywhere, not taking over, but not in short supply either. I kind of have mixed feelings on MFR since it does seem to make good cover although its aggravating to work around. Is it fair to say that a decent amount of MFR indicates a decent amount of sunlight hitting the forrest floor? I've noticed the floor seems quite bare in some of the pics I see posted.
The rest of my timber consists mainly of red and white oaks, some cherry and walnut, mulberry, and elms. I kill some of the elms, but dutch elm disease seems to keep them in check. Without the cattle, I'm starting to get some red cedar coming back, which is ok with me. The bastard of my timber is the Osage Orange. God, I hate those things. One thing I notice in my timber is that young oaks, smaller than 6"-8" DBH seem pretty rare. I dont know if thats due to the previous cattle and deer browse, or if they are being outcompeted by other trees.