Plantation regrow questions

[nopoint]

We have some land that was red pine plantation. Eventually all the red pine was removed by prior owner. We call it "the brush" and about 10 years ago when we purchased it the brush was about 6 foot tall. There is a mix of red pine, white pine and some oak. At this point some trees are thriving and some are dying out due to competition. Is it worth my time to go out and cut down the crap trees to help the trees that someday might have some value? In our area there are lots of plantations that are aging out and they are typically being replaced naturally makes me wonder about the long term on this. I'm a buy and hold sort of guy and hope my kids will have the same sort of philosophy. Currently every once in a while I go out with a saw and cut or trim a bit, at this rate it's not making much of a dent. Need to make a decision about making this a serious goal or just letting it be...

[cutterboy]

If you enjoy cutting and trimming, if you get satisfaction from improving your stand of trees, watching good trees grow strong and healthy, then go to it.

[barbender]

It's hard to say. Even replanted pine plantations around here get pretty brushy and overgrown until the pines take off. As long as it isn't aspen, I wouldn't worry about it much. The pine will pass up most everything else. When I see a failed plantation, it usually was overtaken by aspen.

[Firewoodjoe]

It needs to be kinda thick in the beginning. Those junky trees are doing there job of keeping the good trees from sprouting lower limbs. Then in time you do go in and thin out the junk stunted trees to give the good trees room to go out now that they are up. 

[Clark]

Central Wisconsin has the great benefit of white pine seeding into anything, all the time. If the stocking is a bit low (and it likely is) I would focus establishing or releasing more white pine. For established trees, even if they are only 3' tall, either mow around them or remove all the taller vegetation about 6' out from them.

If you have larger spots that lack any decent trees I would brush hog the whole thing, disturb the soil a bit in the process and you should get white pine to seed in. Nothing complicated, just have to give the trees time and space to grow. 

Clark

[nopoint]

Thanks for the responses. Guess I will just keep doing what I've been doing when I have time. Plenty of pine seeding out, that's not a problem. Half is currently fenced and it wouldn't be that much more work to fence the rest. Putting some cows in would definitely beat down some of the brush. When I look at this brush/forest it makes me think about how our "mature" forests are really just brush if you compare to the timber that was here in Wisconsin before the cutover. Wonder how many of the monsters went to waste due to transportation challenges. Where the mills really even set up to handle those big logs? Just food for thought, I better go sharpen my chain and get after some trimming...