Replacement trees

[acoe02]

Hello all. We just got clobbered by Tropical Storm Matthew and I lost a few trees...most uprooted or were taken out by the others falling.

I'm on a point of a tidal marsh and we currently have mature 50 - 80 ft trees. We have quite a few white oaks, sweetgums, tulip poplars, white pines, and some smaller magnolias and hollies. We have packed silt and clay soils. Our 60 ft tulip poplar that came down only had a root ball that pulled up dirt 3 ft deep and twice as wide as the stump diameter.

I'm looking for suggestions of trees I can put in the gaps to help fill in and protect the remaining trees during frequent winds. I think a mix of fast growing trees and trees that can go the distance in my situation would be the best option going forward...some quick fix and long term solution trees, if you will.

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[ATH]

Sounds to me like a mix of: white oaks, sweetgums, tulip poplars, white pines, and some smaller magnolias and hollies would do well in your soils

Sweet gum, white pine, and tulip-poplar are fast growers. Oak grows slower, but will be there longer (not that the others are short-lived). Might also consider some other oaks like bur oak, swamp white oak, pin oak. Hickory is also slower growing - Bitternut hickory does well in flooded areas (but white oak and white pine do not...so I am a little conflicted on that). Bald cypress grows about anywhere. Just a few thoughts...could go on and on.

 

[JTM]

My experience in Florida is that oaks do seem to grow relatively faster than places further north. Heck, I think all trees grow faster down there.