Oaks next to eachother

[North Lakes Farm]

We have like 70% poplar, the rest is mix of maple, ash, elm, so the oaks are sacred. Roughly 5 big old ones and maybe 10 around 20 -30 year olds. Some are close together, like 5-10 feet.
I just can’t bring myself to cut them to make room for another. Am I shooting myself in the foot doing this?

 

[IowaBowHunter1983]

We have like 70% poplar, the rest is mix of maple, ash, elm, so the oaks are sacred. Roughly 5 big old ones and maybe 10 around 20 -30 year olds. Some are close together, like 5-10 feet.
I just can’t bring myself to cut them to make room for another. Am I shooting myself in the foot doing this?

Most likely. Run into similar situations with walnuts all the time. Gotta cut em and dont look back when called for.

 

[Stoney]

I’d pick the trees with the most value & potential and clear out everything that limits their crowns. When they are too close together you typically get partial crowns that severely limit growth rate. It’s already a slow process, speed it up. I’ve heard that you’re ultimately looking for 50 to 75 trees per acre.