Trees blown over with root balls. Wait on cutting and limbing until ready to mill?

[lenbates]

Three large Norway Spruce blown over in Helene the other day. I'd like to mill them, but I'm not ready to do so immediately. I'm thinking that they might not start to decay immediately if I leave them with their root balls intact until just before I'm ready to mill. Thoughts?
Apologies if this is already dealt with. My searching didn't reveal anything, but it's a lot of words for a search.
Thanks,
Len Bates

 

[slowp]

It would vary according to your climate and placement of the trees. You'd get a good answer from a local source--a mill, forester, or logger who knows your area.