Loblolly cookie

[Texas Ranger]

Cleaning up after the flood I had  the opportunity to redo my teaching cookie.  81 year old cookie I cut back in 1983.  Shows red heart and  growth pattern of loblolly on the best site in Polk County, compared to a similar age slash from black gumbo soil.  The dots are push pins at 10 year intervals.  Texas has gotten away from long  term management  to  the "plant and mow" plantation management.  Not many of the old stands left.

[Riwaka]

I could not easily find an area (acres) figure for the amount of natural old growth loblolly (pinus taeda) tree stands left. There is a figure for Pinus palustris (longleaf) of about 8000 acres of natural growth tree stands left.(2004 figure)
https://americaslongleaf.org/

Reading a tree seedling growing company's information. They claim their current loblolly tree seedlings are from top percentage tree families of the 8000 loblolly tree families in breeding programs. They also have Pinus elliottii/slash and hardwood seedlings. The seedlings going into 'plant and pray (mow)' should (especially if containerized) in theory have far quicker growth rates than a natural 'average' tree of a 100 plus year ago.
Sonderegger Pine - Texas (Longleaf x Loblolly Pine) These Sonderegger had a hard life, accidental brushhog mowing when small, poor groundwork preparation etc still hanging in there.
https://youtu.be/orQYIRJkV8M?si=1o0teni31ak7XTZs

The other option to 'plant & mow' single-species stands, are mixed pine & hardwood stands.
http://extension.msstate.edu/publications/managing-mixed-pine-hardwood-stands

Becoming a problem in many places around the globe of what seemed the best tree species to plant at the time of planting, in a comparatively short time turns out to be a bad decision.
Hard lesson on Ash trees from Southern Ireland. 6 mins
https://youtu.be/BkqZuhrTjRg?si=Fw4vo_Pklvjhv-6y

 

 

[Texas Ranger]

Texas old growth.

An Old Growth Forest in Texas

[Texas Ranger]

There are several Sonderegger Pine plantations down here in south east Texas,  the closest is in the next county over, about 30 acres.  I saw it some 20 years ago when it was 3 years old and 6+ feet tall, typical candle but obviously no grass stage.  Would like to see it now but location is lost to memory.

[Magicman]

You made me do some reading.