spandit

Mine have never produced berries so I've obviously ended up with all of one gender. Think I'll aggressively prune them from a safe distance with a pole saw as they're getting quite tall

On 16/01/2024 at 19:28, Steven P said:

In this case if the OP wants to go that way probably better to hire it in for a day once every couple of years

If you could find someone who hires these I'd be very interested

My woodland that I planted 10 years ago is doing well and includes a load of naturally seeded birch. Cut a few down today as well as some grey willow that I'd previously pruned. Should give me a few days of firewood and I didn't have to touch any of the trees I actually planted!

My most recent loads have been oak, cherry and ash. Still got plenty of macrocarpa to process for a nice mix

21 hours ago, nepia said:

You could cut that off at the ground at any time and it would come back; they're nigh on indestructible.  Don't be shy.  I wouldn't even be concerned about a spell of hot dry weather after a hard prune; their roots run so deep

Well we'll see if you're right 😃

18 hours ago, Will C said:

Flat pack it, it will be fine. Unfortunately it will be bloody spikey to stop it being eaten again!

It's on the boundary so good for hedging

21 hours ago, Dan Maynard said:

Yes, although sprouts and ends up a weird shape so often difficult to do anything nice on a reduction. End up hedge trimming into a ball.

 

Maybe ground level and start again.

It was a weird shape to begin with. Left one straight vertical stem which I'm hoping will thicken up

There's a multistemmed holly tree on the edge of my property. It was being completely swamped by a willow that was growing through it/fallen onto it. I've removed the willow but the holly now is lacking some support and is drooping like a weeping willow. Some of the stems are rotten.

Considering it's evergreen, when is best to prune it and how aggressively? Can holly take a beating?

If you get all your logs cut to size you can hire a splitter for the day and do them all.

I have a large pile waiting to be processed. It's under cover, at least

5 hours ago, Rob_the_Sparky said:

If you are dumping wood then you must have taken too much...

 

In my experience, they want their trucks empty so they can move onto the next job. I provide somewhere to lose the wood and chip. I'm not going to refuse wood nor spend time logging stuff that isn't worth burning (like horse chestnut)

It's still a bit green to burn well and it's been raining. I'll leave it for a few days and hopefully we'll get some sun

Just now, AHPP said:

Forget it. It’s a good idea in theory but not in practice. Separating twigs/leaves from meaningful wood takes ages and if you don’t do it, you end up with mixed fluff and chogs (unless you’re then going to screen/sieve mechanically and I bet that’s a fiddle too). Then storage and drying is a pain. They go mouldy unless you baby them about in small quantities. Poke some sticks in the ground to grow more trees and bonfire/chip the rest. 

That was a concern. I'll probably just burn it in situ, then. Seems like a waste, though.

I've taken down a large willow and have a huge pile of brash to deal with. I thought rather than just burning it in situ, it might be worthwhile getting it processed and provide some useful barbecue fuel (I like cooking on wood) and kindling. Rather than buying one (PTO powered for the tractor) I wondered if anyone locally had one they hire out (or with an operator?)

Sometimes you get lucky, tree surgeons need to dump logs quickly as they're working locally. I had a VAST amount of macrocarpa dumped - still ploughing through it. Tree surgeon felt a bit guilty so came round with a nice load of ash too which I've added into the mix. You can always say no but I find it's normally chip rather than logs and rarely hardwood. I've ended up dumping willow into habitat piles and I'd do the same with horse chestnut (I'm currently logging willow for burning next year, though, as supplies took a huge hit)

19 minutes ago, dumper said:

Well you will have to go back you shouldn’t enter the pub garden with out at least one pint in your hand

Sound advice. I can't go back right now.

Just now, dumper said:

First thought is Apple did you cut open fruit to see seeds?

No, I did not... I've left the pub now too

At a pub in Lewes. Fruit too small to be apple and doesn't look like crab apple either

Just now, Stubby said:

Its become a " Bialder " 🙂

LGBTree

Yes. Neck and neck, I'd say. Or trunk and trunk.

Well, it's been 5 years and both doing well.

The alder certainly doesn't want to let go of its friend

17 minutes ago, Stere said:

Scale of burns like lithium  in water to as flammable as a fire brick?

Some days it does seem like I'm trying to burn asbestos

17 minutes ago, Stubby said:

Fat wood .  Pine cut from the dark heart wood rich in resin . You can light a stick with a match . Bloody expensive though !

I was given a whole load of Corsican pine years ago and it was chock full of fatwood - still using it now to make kindling. Leylandii I find a bit knotty to split but cedar is superb.

I have been fortunate to have been given more logs than I can use, so I now have my own directory of friends who can take them away again! Some of the tree surgeons are ones I approached when seeing them working but just had a very polite call from someone on here who will be tipping next week.

Tends to go in fits and starts. I can go months without anything and then some weeks I get several different companies tipping. Just a shame it's so bloody wet in my field as can't shift it around the place without chewing it up