Tamarack Tree????

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davebell18

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I have a lot of trees in about 2 acres of swamp land. I was told they are tamarack trees. I personally do not know a thing about them. They are tall, around 40'. I was wondering if they are a good fire wood for in homes. Smoky, hard wood or soft wood, anything good or bad about them? Thanks!!
 
throw alot of heat but goes up almost like paper. good on cold nites to warm up the house quick. not very good in a owb.
 
I think the Tamarack Trees we have out here are actually Western Larch... they drop their needles every year like a deciduous tree drops leaves. Don't know if they are the same for you over there in Wisconsin.

They are good for heat over in elk camp as they burn quick and hot. Lots of pitch as well... so they are easy to get started in a fire. I've never burned any in a wood stove... so I wouldn't know about that.

Gary
 
They make good poles for a horse corral. We built one about 20 years ago and it held up well for over 15 years. used them for posts and rails. When my youngest brother decided to make the corral into a garden he burned them.
they make a super hot fire when they have gotten good and dry.
 
Well around here the larch snags called ( buckskin ) are worth more $ as firewood than doug fir or anything else. The boise plywood mill uses it for plywood to.
 
Well around here the larch snags called ( buckskin ) are worth more $ as firewood than doug fir or anything else. The boise plywood mill uses it for plywood to.

Yep, about the tops for firewood in the softwood category. You have to go to the true hardwoods to get better.

I doubt what the OP is referring to is the Western Larch (Tamarack) as I can't recall ever seeing one growing in a swamp.

Harry K
 
Well around here the larch snags called ( buckskin ) are worth more $ as firewood than doug fir or anything else. The boise plywood mill uses it for plywood to.

:agree2:

Buckskin larch is felt of the same way here. Gary was right... Western Larch is also called Tamarack. Really good firewood I think... I'm burning some in the stove right now, and I'll get way more than an overnight burn out'a it. Nothing fast burning about it IMO. Well, faster than hardwoods maybe, but we ain't got none of that fancy wood.

Not pitchy either, in comparison to Doug Fir, Piss fir, or Bull Pine.

The only thing I don't like about Larch... Are those damn little slivers you can't hardly see, and they'll aggravate you TO NO END! They get in your work gloves, pants, jacket... I call'em 'no-see-em' slivers.:chainsaw:
 
We have it here & call it Larch too. About the best framing lumber we have, as it holds nails better than pine, spruce or hemlock. If they have any size to them, you might find a bandmill owner who'd want them? I know I would!
 
Ill snap some pics to see exactly what tree it is. Then i will go a mill and see. Thanks very much guys!
 
If it is Eastern Larch, or Tamarack, it too loses its needles in the fall/winter. Are the needles in little bunches? What kind of cones are underneath. Take pictures of the cones, and a close up of the needle clusters. Those are the best kind of pictures for tree identification purposes.

Western Larch is the most desirable firewood species for Eastern Warshington.
It splits well and burns hot. The bad thing is that folks don't realize they lose their needles every winter, think they are dead, and cut them down for firewood. Then they complaint that the rounds are heavy.....:cry:
 
I found the Larch I've burned in the UK tends to spit even when well seasoned. Does burn hot though!

Just thought I'd thow in my tuppence worth.
 
Being in Wisconsin I would assume its eastern larch, Larix laricina. Its a really soft softwood, and burns in a hurry.
 
The bad thing is that folks don't realize they lose their needles every winter, think they are dead, and cut them down for firewood.

:agree2: I've been guilty of that, took one on an elk hunt several years ago. I think (hope) I've learned to spot them now. :rant: Tamaracks!
 
Being in Wisconsin I would assume its eastern larch, Larix laricina. Its a really soft softwood, and burns in a hurry.

The Tamarack we have here burns like seasoned willow.
WHOOOF!!

Keep a couple bolts next to the stove for in the mornings, and mind the damper..it gets HOT quick.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote
 
In my neck of the woods, tamarack is a "default species" that easily gets outcompeted by most every other species. I find it most in boggy settings where not much else will take root. Too mushy to back the old truck up to.

My neighbor has one planeted as an ornamental in front of their antique house, alongside an ancient mulberry. Both probably date to the early 1900s when popular interest in botany led to the use of such species as landscaping trees.

Over in Maine, where they insist on having their own words for everything, they call tamarack hackmatack or some such.
 
Please forgive but here are 2 link to Wikipedia. I would not normally share "knowledge" gained from Wpedia but they do have a cool map on this page. I don't yet know how the Tamarack Pine of the Sierras is related to the OP's tree. The Tamarack Larch is commonly found in swamps. I guess Tamarack Larch is a pine not a true Tamarack.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamarack_Larch
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lodgepole_Pine

Another good link.
http://academics.smcvt.edu/vtgeographic/textbook/trees/vermont_trees.htm

And yet another, with cone pics.
http://www.gotpinecones.com/tamarack-pine-cones.html
 
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The bad thing is that folks don't realize they lose their needles every winter, think they are dead, and cut them down for firewood. Then they complaint that the rounds are heavy.....:cry:

LMAO... yep... we had a new guy in elk camp a few seasons back. He just moved here from Illinois. We hunt up near Ravens Roost Just north of Crow Creek in Eastern WA. Lots of Ponderosa, Cedar, and of course Tamarack. The roads and a lot of the ground is covered in yellow needles that have fallen and are falling off of the Tamarack trees.

New guy asks why we would hunt in a forest with so many dieing trees... old timer in camp tells him that there are so many elk in the woods that their piss is what is killin' the trees... it's a good sign for us hunters. :laugh:

Not sure if new guy really believed him... but for the first 4 days of the season... he only hunted where the Tamarack groves were. :)

Gary
 

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