Protecting young trees from periodical cicadas

17-year cicadas may damage small trees

Question:
What do these states have in common?
• IA, IL, IN, MI, WI
• KY, GA, IN, MA, MD, NC, NJ, NY, OH, PA, TN, VA, WV

Answer:
Both will soon experience the return of 17-year cicadas. The first group of states (IA, etc.) will have a cicada summer in 2007 when Brood VIII hatches, and the second group of states (KY, etc.) will have a cicada summer in 2008 when Brood XIV hatches.

There are 12 broods of 17-year cicadas and 3 broods of 13-year cicadas in the eastern U.S. Most of them are on different schedules. A master schedule and much information about periodical cicadas is provided on the Periodical Cicada Page by The University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.

The cicadas have been underground, sucking sap from tree roots for the last 17 years, and they will be emerging to mate, not feed. However, female cicadas will cut slits in small branches and lay eggs in the wounds. This will often cause the end of the branch to die. On a large, healthy tree, the damage won't be life threatening, but it could injure a small tree seriously.

The University of Illinois Extension Service provides this information:

Eggs are inserted into tree and shrub stems that are up to two inches in diameter. Heavy egg laying will cause twigs to break, resulting in dead leaves at the end of branches. Small trees may have enough eggs laid into the trunk that it breaks off.

Source: The Green Line, They're Back! Periodical Cicadas."June 2005

They advise that a small tree should be protected with netting or mesh that stands away from the main branches and trunk far enough that the cicadas can't reach them with their ovipostors (egg-depositors).

A recent article in the Chesterton [IN] Tribune gives similar information:

These small trees can be protected with nylon netting or cheesecloth during the egg-laying period. The netting should have a mesh of no less than 1/4 inch and should be placed over the trees when the first male songs are heard. The netting should be tied to the trunk beneath the lower branches and can be removed after adult activity has ended. Young twigs that have been damaged by egg laying should be pruned and destroyed within a three-week period after eggs are laid. Doing so will prevent newly emerged nymphs from reaching the ground.

Source: "Cicadas are back: Tips to protect small trees," Chesterton Tribune, by staff.

If you live in one of the states that will host periodic cicadas in 2007, you should be prepared to put the mesh in place soon. Cicadas may already be emerging. Small "volcanoes" of dirt under your trees will be the first sign that the cicadas are moving to the surface to mate. After they mate, the egg laying will begin.

Don't worry about your conifers. Cicadas don't usually bother them.

More information:
The Master Gardeners: The 17-year cicadas are coming this year
The Otherworldly Roar of the Cicadas
Periodical Cicadas in Kentucky

17-year cicadas
USDA image

A few champion Eastern redcedar trees

Some of the nations largest red cedars (Juniperus virginiana)

I posted earlier today about a very large Eastern redcedar tree that I saw at the Fort Donelson National Cemetery in Dover, TN. I estimated its circumference to be over 120 inches.

This made me curious about how the Fort Donelson red cedar compares with champions of the species. Here are some of the statistics for large Eastern redcedars that I found on the internet. As you can see, the Fort Donelson tree has a seriously big trunk, but it's not a contender for national champion.

Bon Homme County, South Dakota:
Circumference: 80 inches
Height: 69 feet
Crown spread: 30 feet
Bigness index: 157

Peru, Nebraska
Circumference: 9.08 feet (about 109 inches)
Height: 71 feet
Crown spread: 34 feet
Bigness index: 189

Lawrence County, Indiana
Circumference at 4 ½ Feet: 120 inches
Height: 86 feet
Crown spread: 31.5 feet
Bigness index: 207

Monroe County, Arkansas
Circumference: 131 inches
Height: 60 feet
Crown spread: 45 feet
Bigness index: 202

Wilson County, Kansas
Circumference: 134 inches
Height: 57 feet
Crown spread: 40 feet
Bigness index: 201

Clermont County, Ohio
Circumference: 153 inches
Height: 66 feet
Crown spread: 29 feet
Bigness index: 226

Wilcox County, Alabama
Circumference: 168.6 inches
Height: 62 feet
Crown spread: 40 feet
Bigness index: 240.6

St. Augustine County, Texas
Circumference: 187 inches
Height: 78 feet
Crown spread: 47 feet
Bigness index: ?

Image of redcedar trunk: "The heart within" by Flickr user meonomous
Creative Commons License 2.0

Large Eastern red cedar tree at Fort Donelson, TN

Juniperus virginiana, redcedar, common juniper of the Eastern U.S.

When we visited Fort Donelson at Dover, TN, last weekend, we saw several interesting specimens of Eastern red cedar (juniperus virginiana or "redcedar").

The very large redcedar tree above grows in Fort Donelson National Cemetery. It has the largest trunk of any red cedar I've ever seen. I didn't have a measuring tape with me to measure the trunk precisely, but it is over 10 feet in circumference.

Here is how I reached my statement of the circumference of the tree:

1. The trunk is more than 2 tree-hugs in circumference, but less than 2-1/2 tree-hugs.
   
2. When I stretch my arms out sideways, it is a little over five feet from the fingertips of one hand to the fingertips of the other hand. Thus 2 tree hugs equals at least 10 feet.
3. I didn't hug the trunk at its largest point.
   

An Eastern redcedar specimen this large must be several hundred years old. Red cedars often live 300 years -- or sometimes longer if conditions are optimal. This red cedar tree has been helped by its circumstances: it has not competed with other trees for sunshine, growing space, nutrients, or water for the last 140 years. During times of drought, it has probably been watered, and it's also possible that, along with the lawn, it's had some fertilizer over the years.

Related posts:
A few champion Eastern redcedar trees
Eastern redcedar: Pioneer species
Eastern redcedar: A tree that birds love

American beech seen at Fort Donelson, TN

A few notes about Fagus grandifolia

These beech trees grow at Fort Donelson National Battlefield at Dover, Tennessee, on a bluff overlooking the Cumberland River. They grow near each other, so it's likely that they are clones of each other. Beech trees send up suckers, and those suckers become beech trees that are genetically identical.

Beech trees are easily identified by their smooth, gray bark. Often the bark is not uniformly colored; it may have a splotchy gray appearance.

In a national battlefield, it is a federal crime to deface government property, but these trees have suffered a good bit of carving on their trunks.

Beech nuts are a valuable food for wildlife. The small, three-sided nut is borne in a prickly husk that splits open when the nut is ripe. The nut is enjoyed by a wide variety of birds and mammals, as well as man.

Beech trees prefer a mildly to moderately acidic soil and a fairly moist site with good drainage. They are not particularly susceptible to disease or weather damage, but they can be injured by drought, compacted soil, and chemicals that wash off streets. Young trees can be damaged by sunscald (long hours of intense sunshine.) They prefer -- and need! -- a shaded location.

Beech trees are slow-growing, but long-lived. They may live up to 300 years. I speculate that the trees in the photo are about 145 years old. It is likely that these bluffs were cleared of trees when the Confederate forces built fortifications here in 1861-62. These trees probably sprang up from roots in the ground after the site was abandoned by Union forces in 1863.

Ten Tall-Growing Trees

Ten of America's tallest native trees

All of these are deciduous trees, native to the U.S. that grow up to 100 feet in height. I've linked the Latin name of each to its page in the US Forestry Service silvics manual.

1. American Beech -- Fagus grandifolia
2. American Elm -- Ulmus americana
3. American Sweetgum -- Liquidambar styraciflua
4. Bur Oak -- Quercus macrocarpa
5. Cottonwood (Eastern Poplar) -- Populus deltoides
6. Eastern Black Walnut -- Juglans nigra
7. Northern Red Oak -- Quercus rubra
8. Shagbark Hickory -- Carya ovata
9. Sugar Maple -- Acer saccharum
10. Sycamore (American Planetree) -- Platanus occidentalis

Related posts:
Five Tall, Narrow Trees
Narrow Trees for Small Spaces
Five Tall, Narrow, Deciduous Trees

Virginia Pine: A Tree for Dry Rocky Sites

Pinus virginiana, scrub pine, Jersey pine, spruce pine

My home, Christian County, Kentucky, is at the extreme western edge of the natural range of Virginia Pine (pinus virginiana).

Here, I see Virginia pines mostly on high, rocky ridges. Usually, the trees are growing at the edges of woods or in small pure stands (Pure stand: A timber stand in which at least 80 percent of the trees in the main crown canopy are of a single species. Source: Forest Stewardship Glossary.)

Virginia pines are easy to recognize, even from a distance. They are small, dark-colored pines with short needles. Close examination will reveal that the needles are twisted and are borne in bundles of two. Usually, many small pine cones are scattered throughout the branches. The pine cones can stay on the trees for years after they've opened and dropped their seeds.

Virginia pines typically have many branches coming off their main trunks. A number are nearly always dead, especially at the bottom of the tree. Each of the branches causes a knot in the wood, causing the lumber to be weak and marred.

The Virginia pine is grown commercially as a source of rough lumber and pulpwood and as a favorite Christmas tree.

The tree has an important role in nature. It is a pioneer species that holds the soil and adds to the humus until the soil is improved enough that other species can move into the area. It grows in rough, dry, rocky areas of thin soil that are too poor for other trees to take root and survive. It often establishes itself in worn-out fields, strip-mined areas, burned-out land, eroded hillsides, and cleared forests.

The tree absolutely does not tolerate shade. A stand of Virginia pine cannot easily perpetuate itself because the seedlings cannot survive in the shade of the adult trees. Thus, other trees that are more shade tolerant establish themselves in the understory of the Virginia pines and take over as the Virginia pines die.

Virginia pines may reach 60 feet or more in height, but are often smaller, depending on growing conditions. Old Virginia pines are a favorite nesting place for woodpeckers because they often have rotten wood that is easy to excavate.

Virginia pine is not often grown as a garden tree because of its "scrubby" appearance. It is often lopsided, and as already noted, it nearly always has dead branches that have not dropped. An abundance of prickly pine cones may be a nuisance. The shallow roots that enable it to survive in areas of thin soil also make it vulnerable to being tipped over in high winds. The soft-wooded branches frequently break in weather events.

Still, Pinus virginiana is a tree to consider when the terrain is so inhospitable that other trees don't survive. If planted in thickets, the group will help support individuals in the wind. It needs an acidic to neutral soil pH. It is a slow-growing tree that might achieve 25 feet in its first 20 years under good conditions. It rarely lives to be a century in age.

More information:

Virginia Pine (U.S. Forestry Service Sylvics manual)
Virginia Pine (Nice photos of the tree by Will Cook)

Staking newly-planted trees

Should I support a new tree with stakes?

Staking is unnecessary for most newly planted trees.

An excellent publication (pdf), "Staking and Guying Newly Planted Trees"," by the Cooperative Extension Service of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources gives a few reasons why a tree may need stakes temporarily:

1. Planted in loose, sandy soil
2. Planted in an excessively windy location
3. Has a weak trunk because it's been grown inside a group of trees until now.
4. Tall and/or top-heavy
5. Overgrown in a container when purchased
6. In danger of being knocked over by pedestrian or mechanical traffic
7. In danger of vandalism

In these cases it may be necessary to stake a tree just until it grows enough roots to steady itself. The stakes should never be kept in place for more than a year, and usually they should be removed much earlier.

The ties that attach the tree to a stake can cause long-term damage or even kill the tree if they are too tight and are left in place too long. A tree that is kept staked for a long time will have a smaller trunk and a less extensive root system. In other words, it will be a weaker tree.

The tie fabric should be soft and broad, and ties should be loosely attached to minimize damage to the trunk and to allow room for growth. Avoid wire in any form, even wire that is threaded through a garden hose. The top of the tree should be able to flex with the wind, and the trunk should be able to move.

If a tree does need support, the need is greatest immediately after planting. Dig the planting hole and then drive the stakes into the ground before you put the tree in place. That way, you can avoid inadvertently damaging the tree's roots.

The image at right shows a method of protecting a young tree which will be much better for its health than long-term staking.

More suggested reading:
Staking and Guying Landscape Trees (pdf)
Staking Young Trees

Typical ten-year heights of some native trees

Estimates of how fast some native trees will grow

10-14 Feet...

• American Beech - Fagus grandifolia
• Hackberry - Celtis occidentalis
• Shagbark Hickory - Carya ovata
• Kentucky Coffeetree - Gymnocladus dioicus
• Bur Oak - Quercus macrocarpa
• White Oak - Quercus alba
• Ohio Buckeye - Aesculus glabra
• Yellow Buckeye - Aesculus octandra

15-19 Feet...

• Ohio Buckeye - Aesculus glabra
• Serviceberry - Amelanchier canadensis
• Pin Oak - Quercus palustris
• Red Oak - Quercus coccinea
• Yellow Poplar - Liriodendron tulipifera
• Black Walnut - Juglans nigra
• Sweet Gum - Liquidambar styraciflua
• Washington Hawthorn - Crategus phaenopyrum

20-24 Feet...

• Red Maple - Acer rubrum
• Basswood - Tilia americana
• Sugar Maple - Acer saccharum
• Eastern White Pine - Pinus strobus
• American Elm - Ulmus americana

25-29 Feet...

• Green Ash - Fraximus pennsylvanica
• CucumberTree - Magnolia acuminata
• Silver Maple - Acer saccharinum

30-34 Feet...

• Sycamore - Platanus occidentalis

50 feet...

• Black Willow - Salix nigra

Sources of this information...

• Chart from the Morton Arboreum, Lisle, Illinois, reprinted in Trees for American Gardens by Donald Wyman (Copyright 1951 by the McMillan Company, New York.)

• Native Trees for Urban and Rural America by Gary L. Hightshoe. (Copyright 1978 by the Iowa State University Research Foundation, Ames, Iowa 50011.)

Related post: How fast will a tree grow?

Elms given as symbols of friendship

Historic trees recorded by Professor C. S. Sargent

In his magazine, "Garden and Forest," (published 1888-1897) Professor C. S. Sargent frequently recorded bits of history about trees. Here's the story of several elms that Native Americans in Massachusetts (probably the "Praying Indians") gave to Christian preachers whom they considered friends.

The American Indians were not planters of trees, but they discovered the white man's love for them, and the story is told that in Massachusetts early in the last century [that is, early in the 1700's] a party of them came to the Reverend Oliver Peabody, the pastor of Natick, and the successor of Elliott, the apostle of their race, bearing two Elm-trees on their shoulders and begging that they might be allowed to set them out before his door as emblems of friendship.

The larger of these two trees was struck by lightning and destroyed ninety years afterward, when the trunk girthed twenty-one feet just above the ground. An account of these trees and of two other Elms planted by the Indians in 1753 in front of the house of Mr. Peabody's successor, the Reverend Stephen Badger, as a sign of their respect for him, appeared in the fourth volume of the New England Farmer, published in 1826, from the pen of Mr. John Welles.

--Professor C. S. Sargent, in Garden and Forest, June 11, 1890 (Volume 3, Issue 120, pp. 281-282.)

It is interesting and even poignant that the Indians dug up these trees and planted them for their preacher friends. They could have chosen any tree in the primeval forest of those days, but they brought elm trees. They knew elms to be strong, long-lived, beautiful trees with generous shade. In those days (long before Dutch elm disease), an elm could easily live two centuries or even more.

The Nineteenth Century in Print is a wonderful repository of historic information, and Garden and Forest is one of my favorites there. I doubt that I would ever have read this little story anywhere else.

Image credit: Ulmus americana by Flickr user nautical2k
Creative Commons license 2.0

Four trees to avoid

Invasive trees threaten urban forests and native woodlands.

In today's Leaf Chronicle, Jeremy Meyer, city forester of Clarksville, TN, writes about invasive trees that are pushing out native species.

Meyer cites four trees as dangerously invasive in the Clarksville, TN, area. (This area includes my home, Christian County, KY, just across the state line). Meyer points out that these trees have brittle wood and are highly susceptible to weather damage, in addition to being invasive.

• Bradford Pear -- Pyrus calleryana 'Bradford'
• Empress Tree -- Paulownia tomentosa
• Tree of Heaven -- Ailanthus altissima
• White Poplar and Lombardy Poplar -- Populus alba and Populus nigra

I was alarmed at Meyer's statement that he has seen Bradford Pear establishing itself in woodlands along Interstate 24. It would be a great loss if even one native oak, hickory, ash, maple, etc., is choked out by a Bradford Pear.

I have previously said that you should be aware of a high likelihood of problems and early death with Bradford Pears, but plant it if you must. I hereby retract that statement and urge you to avoid the tree.

This is part one in a series by Meyer that will list a dozen invasive trees. I am sure that the mimosa tree will be featured in one of the future columns. It is a weed tree in this area. It's extremely prolific, and it's hard to kill, once established. Its beauty does not make up for the problems it causes. I have one in my yard, so I know what I'm talking about.

At right: Bradford pear in bloom. Image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/minidriver/ / CC BY 2.0

Trees that will grow near black walnut and butternut

Trees that tolerate juglone.

Juglone, a chemical emitted by black walnut and butternut trees, is toxic to some plants. Symptoms of juglone poisoning include yellowed, wilted leaves and plant death. If the sickened plant is growing within fifty feet of the dripline of a black walnut or butternut tree, juglone poisoning should be suspected.

Before you make the decision to plant a black walnut or butternut or any other sort of nut tree grafted on black walnut or butternut stock, it would be wise to find out if the plantings you already have in your garden or yard will be affected by juglone.

The Michigan State University (MSU) Department of Horticulture has compiled an excellent list of plants (trees, shrubs, grasses, flowers, vegetables, etc) that are particularly susceptible or resistant to juglone.

Here are the trees cited on the MSU list as...

Resistant to walnut toxicity

• Acer negundo (Box Elder)
• Acer nigrum (Black Maple)
• Acer palmatum (Japanese Maple)
• Acer palmatum-Dissectum (Japanese Maple)
• Acer rubrum (Red Maple)
• Acer saccharum (Sugar Maple)
• Aesculus glabra (Ohio Buckeye)
• Ailanthus glandulosa (Tree of Heaven)
• Asimina triloba (Papaw)
• Betula lenta (Black Birch)
• Betula nigra 'Heritage' ("Heritage" River Birch)
• Caraya sp. (Hickory)
• Catalpa bignonoides (Common Catalpa)
• Celtis occidentalis (Common Hackberry)
• Cercis canadensis (Redbud)
• Cornus Florida (Flowering Dogwood)
• Crataegus spp. (Hawthorn)
• Cydonia oblonga (Quince)
• Fagus grandifolia (Beech)
• Gleditsia triacanthos (Honey Locust)
• Halesia carolina (Carolina Silverbell or Opossum Wood)
• Juniperus virginiana (Red Cedar)
• Koelreuteria paniculata (Goldenrain-tree)
• Liquidamber styraciflua (Sweetgum)
• Liriodendron tulipifera (Tulip tree)
• Nyssa sylvatica (Black Gum)
• Oleaceae spp. (Autumn olive)
• Picea abier (Norway Spruce)
• Pinus jeffreyi (Jeffrey Pine)
• Pinus virginiana(Scrub Pine)
• Plantanus occidentalis (Sycamore)
• Prunus serotina (Black Cherry)
• Pyrus calleryana (Callery Pear)
• Pyrus coronaria (American Crab)
• Querus alba (White Oak)
• Querus borealis (Red Oak)
• Quercus imbricaria (Shingle Oak)
• Quercus rubra (Northern Red Oak)
• Querus ventutina (Black Oak)
• Rhus hirta (Staghorn Sumac)
• Robinia pseudoacacia (Black Locust)
• Sassafrass variifolium (Sassafrass)
• Tilia platyphyllas (Bigleaf Linden)
• Tsuga canadensis (Canadian Hemlock)
• Ulmus americana (American Elm)
• Viburnum prunifolium (Black Haw)

Consult your local extension office for specific information about your local area.

And if you think black walnuts aren't worth all this trouble, well, perhaps you've never tasted a black-walnut pumpkin roll! (One such recipe here.)

Trees for wet places

Trees that tolerate flooding

Cypress tress along the Loxahatchee River in the northern
portion of the Everglades in Jupiter Florida
stock.xchng photo by Grozlykos.

In nature, the following trees grow in wetlands where they usually stand in water for part of the growing season. If a tree's ability to survive long periods of flooding is vital, these are some trees to consider.

The links below lead to fact sheets and photos at the USDA Plants Database:

• Alnus rugosa - Hazel alder
• Betula populifolia - Gray birch
• Fraxinus nigra - Black ash
• Larix laricina - Eastern larch, also called tamarack
• Picea mariana - Black spruce,
• Salix - Willows
• Taxodium distichum - Baldcypress

The Osage orange tree

Bow-wood tree, bodark, hedge apple, Maclura pomifera

John Dunn Hunter, a leader of the Cherokees was a white man, who was captured by Indians as a toddler. He's an interesting person, but this is a tree blog, not a history blog, so you'll have to read more about him elsewhere if you are interested.

Here's John Dunn Hunter's description of the Osage orange tree, a native tree of Texas and Oklahoma, as he wrote it in the early 1800's:

...I shall close this subject with a few observations on the Osage orange, or bow-wood tree, which I have previously mentioned, but of which very little appears to be known. It is found in abundance on the St. Francis, White, and some parts of the Arkansas, Vermillion, Canadian, and Osage rivers; and there are a few scattering ones on the Kansas; I do not recollect to have seen them farther north, though they may exist on the Missouri, and in many other places, without my knowledge. The tree delights in a fertile, and rather dry soil, and attains to the height of from fifteen to thirty feet, with a trunk proportionally large.

In May or June, the male, or tree not bearing fruit, is covered with numerous pale yellow flowers, which expand in nearly the same manner as those of the dogwood (Cornus Florida), though they are not so large. The fruit ripens in the fore part of the fall; is also of a pale yellow colour, spheroidal shaped, and about the size of a large hen's egg. It is slightly pulpy, and acid, and by many of the Indians esteemed as an agreeable esculent. The rind, when wounded, especially before ripe, emits a milky juice, much resembling that of the silk plant (Asclepius syriaca).

When solitary, or on the prairies, it is usually barren; but its branches become more expanded, the colour of the foliage of a richer green, and its top assumes a rounded and beautiful appearance. The wood is coarse grained, of a deep yellow colour, and is held in high estimation by the Indians, on account of its great elastic properties. They manufacture it into bows, which become articles of commerce, and are sometimes exchanged for peltries, &c. I knew a Sioux to give his horse for a single one; and among the upper tribes they frequently bring three or four beaver skins each. This tree is so highly valued, that they never destroy it, except when wanted for use, or in the territories of their enemies; in the latter case, they make its destruction as particular an object, as they do that of their game. It probably would afford a beautiful yellow dye, and to a certainty, add a rich variety to inlaid cabinet furniture.

The tree is hardy, and would probably flourish in any part of the United States, between the parallel latitudes of 30° and 40°, and perhaps still farther north. It appears, both for utility and ornament, to hold out sufficient inducements to warrant particular attention to its cultivation.

From Memoirs of a Captivity Among the Indians of North America by John Dunn Hunter; 3rd edition, pp172-174. (London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Ohme, Brown, & Green, 1824.)

Related site: Building the Osage Bow

Bark of the Common Hackberry

Celtis occidentalis, Sugarberry, Nettletree

This common hackberry tree grows in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, on the Catholic church property. Its bark is fairly smooth with occasional warty areas and raised creases.

All of the hackberry trees I've seen around here have bark similar to this. None of them have bark that would be described as ridged.

Thus, I was surprised to read this sentence about hackberries in The Trees of North America by Alan Mitchell: "In Central Park [New York City], the trees have smooth gray bark, but it is normally well covered in dark, abrupt, broken ridges 1 in. thick."

The Audubon field guide shows hackberry bark that is similar to that in the photo above, but Trees & Shrubs of Kentucky has a photo of a hackberry trunk with ridged bark. More research in other texts yields more conflicting descriptions of the bark's texture.

I did notice that the word "warty" appears in most of the descriptions. Even the ridges were described as warty.

Probably there are regional variations in the bark, but Carl Settergren and R.E. McDermott in Trees of Missouri suggest another explanation. "Bark: Grayish with warty projections, smoother on more vigorous trees."

Don't transport firewood.

Use firewood in the area where it was cut.

When you head for the lake or escape to the woods this summer, don't take firewood with you. And when you start home again, don't bring firewood back with you.

Forestry departments across the continent are begging campers and homeowners to avoid transporting firewood out of the area where it was cut. To help spread the word, the USDA Forestry Department has a poster that can be downloaded as a pdf file. (Thumbnail appears at right.)

Transporting firewood is a perfect way to carry tree diseases and pests to new places. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources points out, "Insect pests spread at a rate of about 0.5 to 2 miles per year on their own. When they are carried on firewood, their spread rate jumps to 55 miles per hour."

Here's a short list of some killer tree problems that are known to spread through firewood:

• Pine pitch canker
• Oak wilt
• Gypsy moth
• Sirex wood wasp
• Dutch elm disease
• Emerald ash borer
• Various other borers
• Sudden oak death
• Beech bark disease
• Asian longhorn beetle
• Various fungi and rots

Buy firewood that was grown as near as possible to the place where you will burn it, or better yet, look around for dry dead wood on the ground that you can burn. If you do buy firewood, don't buy more than you can burn, and be sure to burn all that you buy. And please help spread the message to others who aren't as well-informed as you are.

Comparison of the fuel value of firewoods

Wood burners agree that oak and hickory are great firewoods.

If you have a wood stove or fireplace, it's prudent to know what types of wood will produce the most heat per cord (or rick, or truck-load, or whatever unit by which you buy wood!)

A great chart is available at Firewood Ratings and Info. A short study of the chart reveals that oaks, hickory, white ash, and beech wood are some of the very best.

The Utah State Forestry also has an excellent firewood ratings chart with information about a somewhat different set of trees than would be found in my area (Kentucky). It gives high ratings to osage orange, pinon, honeylocust, and black locust, as well as oak and beech.

Compare those results with the following observations from about 130 years ago. It's interesting, but not surprising, that they liked oak, hickory, and white ash as firewoods. Beech didn't make their list, for some reason.

It is a great convenience to know the comparative value of different kinds of wood for fuel. Shellbark hickory is regarded as the highest standard of our forest trees, and calling that 100, other woods will compare with it for real value as fuel for house purposes as follows :

Shellbark Hickory, 100
Pignut Hickory, 95
White Oak, 84
White Ash, 77
Dogwood, 75
Scrub Oak, 73
White Hazel, 72
Apple Wood, 70
Red Oak, 67
White Beech, 65
Black Birch, 62
Yellow Oak, 60
Hard Maple, 59
White Elm, 58
Red Cedar, 56
Wild Cherry, 55
Yellow Pine, 54
Chestnut, 52
Yellow Poplar, 51
Butternut and White Birch, 43
White Pine, 30.

It is worth bearing in mind that in woods of the same species there is a great difference, according to the soil on which they grow. A tree that grows on a wet, low, rich ground will be less solid and, less durable for fuel, and therefore of less value than a tree of the same kind that grows on a dry and poor soil. To the ordinary purchaser oak is oak and pine is pine, but for home use, the tree grown on dry upland and standing apart from others, is worth a great deal more.

Source: Manufacturer and Builder, January 1878. Volume 10, Issue 1, page 19.

Barn building in the days of the primeval forests

Dutch barns and timber barns of the Catskills

John Burroughs wrote about some of the old barns in the Catskills that he remembered. He described those the Dutch built with low eaves and a high ridgepole to create an immense haymow. Then he described the sturdy timber barns built by other early settlers. Both contained mighty hand-hewn beams, cut in the primeval forests:

Then the great timbers of these [unpainted timber] barns and the Dutch barn, hewn from maple or birch or oak trees from the primitive woods, and put in
place by the combined strength of all the brawny arms in the neighborhood when the barn was raised,-timbers strong enough and heavy enough for docks and quays, and that have absorbed the odors of the hay and grain until they look ripe and mellow and full of the pleasing sentiment of the great, sturdy, bountiful interior! The "big beam" has become smooth and polished from the hay that has been pitched over it, and the sweaty, sturdy forms that have crossed it. One feels that he would like a piece of furniture-a chair, or a table, or a writing-desk, a bedstead, or a wainscoting-made from these long-seasoned, long-tried, richly toned timbers of the old barn.

Excerpted from In the Catskills, Selections from the Writings of John Burroughs, by John Burroughs (1837-1921) with illustrations from photographs by Clifton Johnson. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin , 1910.

Image from The Architectural Record, January-June, 1921 (p. 94)

I have my own memories of hay-polished wood. When I was a child, we put up the hay in haystacks. There were two machines we used in the process that had wooden teeth more or less the size of an 8-foot 2x4". The tips of the wooden teeth were so smooth to the touch that they felt oddly soft. When I ran my fingers along the wood, not a splinter, not a single snag could be felt. And yet, when the wooden teeth were first put on, they were just rough lengths of wood, tapered at one end to a blunt point.