what to plant for coppice?

[MikeTM150]

hi

 

I want to plant some coppice for producing firewood for my own use. Been reading some threads on here, but can't see the wood for the tree's so to speak?

 

I've been considering a mixture of ash/sycamore/sweet chesnut but then some would make me think alder or birch are worth considering?

 

I know its all a matter of opinion and there's no hard fast rule but tell me ur thoughts! Oh yeah it will be on cotswold brash at around 500feet on what i class as poor arable land.

 

Many Thanks in advance!

[Daniël Bos]

I'd put some oak and cherry in as well, as well as some robinia.

Alder and birch are worth it, as they can grow quite quicly and when seasoned under cover make very nice firewood. Theoretically neither coppice that well but at home (in NL) we've been trying to stop birches growing for over 30 years in some places and no matter how many times a year you cut/graze the buggers, they keep coming back!

 

Robinia coppices well and makes sublime firewood, can melt inferior cookers! It does throw up suckers though, wich can be hard to dissuade but if they're within your coupe it's all good.

 

I'd put the Oak and Cherry in as they both make very nice wood as well but could add a bit more variation, especially if you leave them standing a bit longer. Oak coppices well btw, but requires a longer cycle so would not be so easy to mix in. Not sure how cherry likes coppicing...

[farmer rod]

Alder seems thrive in wet places, Sweet Chestnut spits in fires, so is only for for stoves, but the chestnuts are fantastic and Ive been eating them most of the day. Iv just planted some hornbeam because the leaves are a fantastic colour (or will be in years to come)

[arbmark]

If ash grows well in your area then its got to be near the top of the list. Which trees dominate in the hedgerows, local woodlands especially regrowth ones? The trouble with a mixed stand of species (alhtough ecologically good) can be the different growth rates and competition issues but as has been said you could think of a upper story of standards like oak. and think of it as a legacy for the future

If we are talking timescales then you need to think about how soon you want to coppice your first crop. ideally you would coppice the first ime at 7-10ish years to get the stools used to the idea and then you would get your first proper crop 10-20yrs on from that. If you want quicker you need to look at poplars, eucalyptus - fast growers but the faster they grow the poorer the logs. i think there are some reasonable euc species though. Is it for home use or selling?

An oak coppice could take 30-40yrs. Dont have any experience of robinia sounds good though

[MikeTM150]

Thats some brilliant idea's, i'm 30yrs old and want it for the rest of my life and hopefully my childrens to! So oak is good and will produce some nice firewood, its only for my own consumption so it will be as i am now, if it;s wood and its well seasoned i'll burn it.

 

I've got a small 6acre field thats too small for our big kit really and is stuck out on a limb of the farm so i was gonna plant that field up, so i have plenty of space for different tree's and different growth rates to occupy the same space. What variety of EUC would u suggest?

 

Can see so far, sycamore/ash/robinia/oak being the fav's, probably stay away from populars we've got a few lines of them around the farm and the suckers are a pain to keep controlling and just keep spreading!

[Graham]

I wouldn't put too many spp in unless in blocks. You'll end up flitting here and there harvesting. Personally I'd stick to ash and hazel. The hazel will produce a crop of rods and the ash some lovely firewood plus a few left as standards. Who knows...you may even get some truffles eventually:001_tt2:

[Crazy Cutter]

I'm with Graham on this one. I planted 10 acres about four years ago with a mix of ash hazel with oak standards and occasional f maple and cherry. I got a grant to take arable out and the farmer will be paid for 15 years so have a look at the FC. The ash is very well advanced now and will be cut in two years. The only problem is deer don't use tubes fence from day one but thats another story.

[Daniël Bos]

I wouldn't put too many spp in unless in blocks. You'll end up flitting here and there harvesting. Personally I'd stick to ash and hazel. The hazel will produce a crop of rods and the ash some lovely firewood plus a few left as standards. Who knows...you may even get some truffles eventually:001_tt2:

 

I disagree. a Coppice of Syc/ Ash/ Robinia can all be on the same rotation, oak either on double that time or left as standards, same with cherry.

 

Ash and hazel combine ok-ish if you cut the hazel at 7 year intervals and the ash at 21.

Yes it would give you a crop of hazel rods, very nice. But he's after producing his own firewood?

[arbmark]

i cant see the use of hazel if its for firewood as its slow to meat up enough for logs. just a few for biodiversity maybe. if you are looking at Forestry commission grants they will advise/steer you.

i met a guy in cornwall who's family grow pretty much just eucalyptus and sell large amounts. not sure what species it was - you'll have to research. i think you want a compromise between speed of growth and downright burnability but i like to keep things pretty uk native. Ive planted a matrix of hybrid larch (thinnings for fence posts), oak + ash + cherry (canopy and coppice), norway spruce(few xmas trees) and italian alder as windbreak edge. But then i'm in devon at 200ft, bit coastal, slightly acid.

Definately deer fence the lot and rabbit guard. Pollarding rather than coppicing is an option to reduce deer damage in the future and ease ground layer managment. Think about grass control too during establishment. if you are going for coppice stands, final spacing needs to be 8m. A thinning crop might be useful to you but you need to be able to fell them without damaging the coppice you want to keep too much. hence the designing a layout matrix. lots to consider. great project good luck with it

[arbmark]

well 8m ish - depends on frequency of cuttings