Old Growth ?

[IndyIan]

Hey Chet,
Are the hemlock still solid all the way through?  That would be neat wood.  Near our cottage just south of algonquin park we have similar sized hemlocks with the tops breaking off as well.  Some have come down and they only have 3 or 4" of good wood around the outside.  They have over 60 years of growth in those 3" though...  Anyways, the area the trees are in a conservation reserve so I guess they are considered old growth here!
The only other time I've seen rings so dense is in Newfoundland, at the campsites they provided 100 year old spruce, around 6" diameter to burn.  

Ian

[SwampDonkey]

Don't know much about western Hemlock, does it have the same growth characteristics as Eastern ???  Our woodlot in Northern Wisconsin has very little natural  regeneration of Eastern Hemlock.  Any suggestions on how to promote regeneration ???
Max

The best is to find a nursery, or if you find a stand of hemlock with some old moist rotten stumps and logs underneath, they'll usually be plastered with hemlock seedlings.

[chet]

IndyIan,
No, these trees were in very bad shape. That is why we were removing them. It was dificult to find a piece good enough to get a picture. There are lots of very nice trees there also, but we left them alone.

[Black_Bear]

Any suggestions on how to promote regeneration ???
Max

Max:

I'd look here for any questions regarding silviculture:

http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_manual/table_of_contents.htm

Ed

[Ironwood]

I got some "cookies" off a 310 year old white oak, the core was compressed. The inner 2" fell right out and looked 50 years alone. Kirk has a small cookie off a a hickory from our small wood lot that is 2-3" in diameter 50 years old from the understory near a big old oak. SLOWWWW grower. I have samples of PA. trees and the max density I find is right around 50 years per inch. Hardwood don't seem to get denser or at least I can't count them.

              REid

[Murf]

SD, what's the approx. Latitude where you are, my summer place is real close to Indy's and I have so many hemlocks it isn't funny, I'd gladly send you a big ole sack of cones, or bare root seedlings.

[SwampDonkey]

67.80* Easterly, 46.50* Northerly (decimal degrees)  ;D 

[Murf]

Well der ya go Donk, yer only 1.5° north of me, how many ya want?  :D

Cones or bare root stock .........

[SwampDonkey]

It's not too far off, only 125 miles. ;D

I prefer bareroot seedlings, sil vous plez ;) I might be able to transplant some from my cousin's lot. I wonder if hare eat them, they sure love spruce seedlings.  Man they sure can make a mess of a place. :

I found a couple seedlings this fall on the woodlot, got no idea where they came from. One was right on the property line. Never was a hemlock on the woodlot. Dang birds.  :

[OLD_ JD]

i was cutting a big hemlock few year's ago...dont know the age of it but take 1 full gaz tank in the saw just to limp the..... :..... king of the hill ;D

[SwampDonkey]

Should try making flush cuts on those pasture grown white spruce. :D ;D

[pedajas]

I can agree with that, also balsam fir is very shade tolerant and red spruce as well. Red spruce is known to respond well after being released from long suppression periods. I've counted growth rings on fir to be 50 years old and 3 or 4 feet tall and the poplar overstory was 30 years old and 45 feet tall. But, hemlock is the most shade tolerant. I planted 2 eastern hemlock under canopy about 20 years ago and they are no bigger than when I transplanted them. Just sitten there ready to burst into action I guess. I want to plant some hemlock on my lot if I can find a good source, no one grows it for reforestation around here. I have to have a source from my latitude.

By http://na.fs.fed.us/
Western hemlock is rated to be very tolerant of shade. Only Pacific yew and Pacific silver fir are
considered to have equal or greater tolerance of shade than
western hemlock.

[maple flats]

I'm glad my hemlock grows faster than that. Mine is adding between 1/4-3/8" diam / year on most of what I cut. I have thinned it and most gets more like 30-40% sun. This is what I got all of my lumber for my sugarhouse from, 2x's and inch boards. I  also sold some about 1978 to a relative to build a log home, he paid me but never did build and the logs ended up rotting in a pile. What a waste. About 12 years ago I cut all that were 20" dbh from the lot (before I knew high grading was not good) and since I have removed a lot more as needed in excess of 20" dbh. Now I also remove some smaller to give better light to what stays but not too much light or new branches form from buds in the bark. Makes it harder to get clear or nearly clear lumber. The lumber still has good strength which is what I want.

[SwampDonkey]

I'm glad my hemlock grows faster than that. Mine is adding between 1/4-3/8" diam / year on most of what I cut.

Have you counted the rings closer to the pith to see how many rings to the inch? Sounds like your looking at the last few years of the tree's life when it has attained dominance in the stand. A 20" hemlock in this kneck of the woods would be 10 feet above the hardwood tree canopy and would put on similar annual increments. When a tree is being suppressed with it's leader getting whipped, rubbed off and in shade that's another scenario. ;)