can someone fill me in here?

[Zackman1801]

http://maine.craigslist.org/grd/976468454.html

what per say is that? and what is a hybrid poplar? why would you plant them in the winter, and how can they be soo good for use as fuel? none of this really adds up.

 

[modn]

http://maine.craigslist.org/grd/976468454.html

what per say is that? and what is a hybrid poplar? why would you plant them in the winter, and how can they be soo good for use as fuel? none of this really adds up.

I would love to see someone cut the soil to plant them here......You might better plant them in granite.

 

[Zackman1801]

idk what they mean buy it. i saw it and it said poplar cuttings, so i figured it was firewood like limbs and branches or chips from a tree removal job. but apparently its some kind of tree that is "ideal" to plant in winter, go figure that would be easy, lets start by digging out the 3 feet of snow and getting an excavator in to dig up the frozen solid ground so we can plant these awesome trees to use as firewood. who are they trying to kid? and why?

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Hybrid poplars are just that hybrid poplars. They are easily planted by placing cuttings in the ground. Not so sure how you would plant them in the winter.

They grow EXtremely fast at very dense spacings and are ideal for bio fuels. He even says "not considered highly desirable for firewood". The hopes is that they will be ideal for cellulose ethanol, when the technology is perfected.

Edit: Also people are planting them large plantations for pulp production, and to offset carbon used in industry. Universities across the country have been crossing poplars for years to get the best traits.

 

[GASoline71]

The hopes is that they will be ideal for cellulose ethanol, when the technology is perfected.

Just watched a show on Discover about that exact thing... the fuel of the future... one tree will produce as much fuel as something like 25 acres of corn. That was a guess as I don't remember the exact numbers, but it was interesting.

Gary

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Just watched a show on Discover about that exact thing... the fuel of the future... one tree will produce as much fuel as something like 25 acres of corn. That was a guess as I don't remember the exact numbers, but it was interesting.

Gary

Yeah I know a professor friend of mine that is working on it as we speak. The work looks promising.

 

[Zackman1801]

so lets say i bought them ( i am not going to)
how long does it take to reach the desired size before harvest? I wonder if any mills around here would take the pulp/logs to turn into bio fuel or if they would need to have chipped loads?

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

We have been seeing anywhere from 6-10 feet of growth per year in the early years. Harvesting took place at 20 years and it was sold for pulp to the local mill in log lengths.

On a good site single season growth of 12-13 feet has been recorded as well.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

I believe they also sprout rapidly from the stump after being harvested so the next crop has a large head start.

There are varieties of hybrids that do not clone much and sprout like normal poplars. There are also hybrids that clone and sprout rapidly.

 

[forestryworks]

sure does sound like some juvenile wood at those growth rates... how do they hold up to ice storms, heavy snows, and high winds?

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

sure does sound like some juvenile wood at those growth rates... how do they hold up to ice storms, heavy snows, and high winds?

We are growing them in an area that receives in excess of 300 inches or 25 feet of snow a year and have no issue with snow load or wind. When planted with proper spacing they have little branching and clear straight trunks and are very wind firm.

 

[skinnykid02]

wow, interesting

 

[Backwoods]

Around here, planting in the winter is the norm as the ground is soft from all the rainfall. You do not want to plant these for yard trees, as they will send up sucker up to 30’ away from the trunk. Up along the east end of the Columbia gorge they have been planting and harvesting these trees like corn after 10-15 years. You can see sections that have tipped over.

 

[hammerlogging]

Harvesting for biomass they will run as short of a rotation as possible- maybe as low as 7 years, depends on the growth rate curve and carrying cost value calculated.

Cuttings are usually less than 1/2 inch diameter and you just shove them in the ground with 2-3 nodes below grade. Should have been done before the ground froze, but spring should be ok.

I'd be awfully wary to plant such on my land, see how they perform and evaluate the effects on other mand management objectives. (i.e. wildlife, sawtimber production, etc.) Probably better suited for under-utilized ag land (cleared or semi abandoned) than replacing a forest.

 

[LEES WOODC]

We have thousands of acres of that crap planted here. State wanted to do a feasability study 13 years ago on using it for boiler fuel. Don't know what happened but they never harvested the stuff and now its all 30+ feet high and out of control. I think at the time they were supposed to harvest every 2 years with a corn/haylage type harvestor. Now they will have to get a shear in there. I have seen well over 20 - 3-4" trees coming out of the same stump.

 

[hammerlogging]

lees woodc, you've hit on some of the real problems in the whole GMO crop, etc deal. Sounds like the grant ran out and everyone walked away, except the poplar, which grows and grows and grows, eventually will strangle of of NY state. Hopefully its not seeding (are all hybrids sterile?) Better get a D9 ripper out there immediately. What a mess.

 

[Zackman1801]

so this is kinda like the whole deal around here with the massive red pine plantation. the state saw that the white pine was dying off from insect problems so they planted the red pine thinking it would take its place. well it didnt and never will so now we are stuck with thousands of acres of red pine that is worthless. ehhh

 

[wilbilt]

Heh.
I bought some of those 20 years ago. They came in the mail, could have been from the same outfit.

Yes, they grow fast. Yes, they are cheap. They also sprout up everywhere and are nearly impossible to get rid of. They are shallow-rooted and do blow down.

In this case, the "hybrid" they are referring to is the tendency of the tree to be somewhat spreading (for shade) rather than columnar like a typical Lombardy Poplar.

Mine seem to be getting attacked by some kind of beetle, and the wood then rots from the inside. I took one down last weekend, and have two more to go.

I have been getting some good advice on killing off the stumps and suckers in the homeowner forum, so hopefully, they will not grow back.

 

[371groundie]

zachman, theres a big mill not far from you that will buy popple from 5" and up for groundwood, when theyre not on quota! happy f'n new year!

 

[Zackman1801]

what mill?