Let’s hear it for cypress/leylandii timber

[daltontrees]

16 hours ago, Squaredy said:

Self sown from leylandii?  Interesting; I didn’t know it was possible.  

Some of the varieties produce cones. Haggerston Grey does, for sure.

[Mrblue5000]

Friend of mine used it in his house as a central pillar. Before that I thought it was rubbish timber. Bit sparky in an open fire, I remember it being used for fire wood as a kid. I reckon it’s the most underrated timber we have due to being planted as hedges in suburban gardens. How is it reproduced if it’s sterile? 

[daltontrees]

2 hours ago, Mrblue5000 said:

Friend of mine used it in his house as a central pillar. Before that I thought it was rubbish timber. Bit sparky in an open fire, I remember it being used for fire wood as a kid. I reckon it’s the most underrated timber we have due to being planted as hedges in suburban gardens. How is it reproduced if it’s sterile? 

Not sterile, but commercially always reproduced as clones.

[devon TWiG]

54 minutes ago, daltontrees said:

Not sterile, but commercially always reproduced as clones.

Has any one ever seen natural regen of Leylandii??   I thought they were all propagated from cuttings and that is why seedlings are about 2x the price of most conifers 

[devon TWiG]

As far as Cypress goes I have known plenty of Monterey cypress sold to a local boat builders some years ago , sadly boatyard now posh flats ...Monterey is very decay resistant  and strong ...

[Peasgood]

3 hours ago, Mrblue5000 said:

How is it reproduced if it’s sterile? 

Very easy to propagate from cuttings.

[Welshfred]

My woodland in West Wales was one of those 50s experimental FC plantings. J larch, Douglas, noble fir, lodgepole, cryptomeria, hemlock, red oak, beech, poplar, spruce, Corsican pine and a small patch of cypress.

No one ever thinned until I started in the 90s so the cypress never got to sawlog size. Maybe not the best site for it too. Dry south facing slope.

The timber I got though was beautiful straight poles, perfect for pole frame building, very durable heartwood in ground contact and cleaves well when not spiral grained. Oh and lovely and lightweight, easy to handle.

I've felled it all now and replanted with chestnut but there is some regen. I had assumed that meant Lawson if Leyland is infertile but are people saying that's not necessarily the case? I find it very hard to tell the two apart visually...

[wills-mill]

That whole family/group of aromatic Cypress type connies are just fantastic.

Quite happy to buy it in at proper softwood sawlog prices, it really comes up nicely.

[peds]

24 minutes ago, wills-mill said:

 

 

Looks like a nice wedding.

[wills-mill]

1 hour ago, peds said:

Looks like a nice wedding.

Thanks Peds, we've been milling connie mix as stock chunky boarding and (pre-Covid) it was very popular with wedding caterers and pubs/restaurants for tables and all sorts of interior fit-out work.

The poor buggers in hospitality have other things on their minds at the moment, but hopefully there'll be more confidence in Spring 2023.