The Forestry Forum

This question was sent to us by Ellen.

What is the best deciduous tree to plant in order to harvest for timber in 20 years?  I live in Maryland and considering planting a portion of a farm

There are no deciduous trees that will give you a timber harvest in 20 years, that I know of.  You could try hybrid poplar, but there is no market for this material outside of pulp or poultry bedding.  

If you are looking to grow high quality timber, then you will need at least 75 years for the rotation.  Best species would be site specific.  On higher quality sites, you could go with walnut and have yearly nut harvests in about 10-15 years. That gives annual income while waiting for harvestable timber.

I wouldn't discount all the pines.  You may be in an area that supports shortleaf pine.  These may come to pulp size within your 20 year timeframe.  Pines will be able to be planted more dense than hardwoods.  Pine pulp is higher valued than hardwood pulp, and would require thinning to enhance growth.  

Unfortunately, pine sawtimber is lower in value than hardwoods.  However, this is offset by the amount of timber each acre can grow.  Pine grows faster, taller, and denser than hardwoods.

Contact your county extension agent.  He/she will be able to give you tips, tell you where your state forester is located, and give advice on seedling availability.  

 :-/
Paulownia tres are being advertised which grow 12" per month!
They can grow 36' tall in three years.
Someone in Georgia is cloning these trees and selling them.
I wish anyone who has any info would post some information as I only got this info from the website that is selling them commercialy.
I always think about the way to tell when a salesman is lying.
When you see his lips moving.
Anyway I live in southeastern Michigan and am thinking of buying a few and trying some.
I am retired and don't have much time to grow timber so would have some fun experimenting.
Jim

http://www.paulowniatrees.com/

Hi ya
here some info on paulownia's  ,they don't like late/spring frosts .warm moist summers..keep weed free and feed some nitrogenous fert..alot of prunning to keep a good form..as they grow tall and staight they can be planted at final spaceing 200 per Ha (1 Ha =2.5 acres)..grazeing animals may eat the bark  ,prunings very nutritious so can be feed to stock,heaps of flowers for bee's
hope some of that helps
catch ya
JD Kid