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Post by batman on Jan 10, 2021 9:41:33 GMT -6
Creating some bedding on a guys place and he is shy about cutting the red oaks in a bench and not much else to knock over. Can I top red cedars and keep the beast alive? I would leave about 5 foot at the base and take the other 15 feet and use it to add more back and side cover.
Anybody top red cedar and have it survive?
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Post by smsmith on Jan 10, 2021 9:46:07 GMT -6
I've seen red cedars topped in ROWs survive. Also seen that happen with red pines and norway spruces. I doubt any of them live long term, but those that I've seen around here have survived for at least 5 or 6 years now.
edit...I should add that if you top red cedars and put some sun on the ground, I'd be really surprised if a whole bunch of red cedar seedlings don't pop up.
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Post by benmnwi on Jan 10, 2021 9:51:48 GMT -6
I've never tried topping red cedar, but my gut feel is that they will likely live.
I walked my land with a logger last week and red oaks aren't worth much these days. Any oak that is crooked or has knots, branches, etc. is worth very little, so would better used on the ground as deer cover.
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Post by batman on Jan 10, 2021 10:20:19 GMT -6
I've never tried topping red cedar, but my gut feel is that they will likely live. I walked my land with a logger last week and red oaks aren't worth much these days. Any oak that is crooked or has knots, branches, etc. is worth very little, so would better used on the ground as deer cover. I flagged all kinds of rd oak for him to fell. Told him if he wants better deer hunting to whack em. If he wants a park look to just remove the oranges ribbon. |
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Post by smsmith on Jan 10, 2021 10:22:32 GMT -6
^^^seems a lot of people really struggle to drop a hardwood and let it rot.
Not a problem for me
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Post by sd51555 on Jan 10, 2021 10:33:44 GMT -6
^^^seems a lot of people really struggle to drop a hardwood and let it rot. Not a problem for me Rush always said, "the most beautiful thing about a tree, is all the things you can do with it once you cut it down." Talk him into spraying his grasses. Maybe he'll touch off a reboot of cedars. He may touch off an explosion of thistle too. |
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Post by batman on Jan 10, 2021 10:36:40 GMT -6
Talk him into spraying his grasses. Maybe he'll touch off a reboot of cedars. He may touch off an explosion of thistle too. What causes spraying grasses to add cedars? Never heard this. |
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Post by Sandbur on Jan 10, 2021 11:17:02 GMT -6
You need green branches below the spot where you top the red cedars to get regrowth from my experiences. If the bottom limbs are all dead, I doubt it will work. Dropped red cedars make great cover. The limbs hold them off of the ground and they don’t rot for years. Then other great cover pops up from birds sitting on the felled cedars and pooping out buckthorn seeds.  |
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Post by Sandbur on Jan 10, 2021 11:18:28 GMT -6
^^^seems a lot of people really struggle to drop a hardwood and let it rot. Not a problem for me Rush always said, "the most beautiful thing about a tree, is all the things you can do with it once you cut it down." Talk him into spraying his grasses. Maybe he'll touch off a reboot of cedars. He may touch off an explosion of thistle too. I think thistle regrowth will depend on the soil type. There are very few thistles on my lightest soil. |
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Post by Satchmo on Jan 10, 2021 11:26:20 GMT -6
Talk him into spraying his grasses. Maybe he'll touch off a reboot of cedars. He may touch off an explosion of thistle too. What causes spraying grasses to add cedars? Never heard this. You must have cedars in the area to begin with, but if you spray the grass competition and pound in lathe around the open areas, the birds will plant new cedars for you. |
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Post by smsmith on Jan 10, 2021 11:29:36 GMT -6
Talk him into spraying his grasses. Maybe he'll touch off a reboot of cedars. He may touch off an explosion of thistle too. What causes spraying grasses to add cedars? Never heard this. Many grasses are allelopathic to some extent, they keep broadleafs/shrubs/trees from getting started. My largest orchard was 99% upland grasses when I bought the place. It took awhile to change the soil biology so my fruit trees could grow well. |
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Post by batman on Jan 10, 2021 12:36:43 GMT -6
I remember blowing all the leaves out of an area of hardwoods around the cabin. Place blew up with rasberry and other Forbes. Had the same thing happen when I blew out some access trails. Now I leave the mulch on the access trails.
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Post by sd51555 on Jan 10, 2021 13:04:05 GMT -6
Talk him into spraying his grasses. Maybe he'll touch off a reboot of cedars. He may touch off an explosion of thistle too. What causes spraying grasses to add cedars? Never heard this. If they're the next dominant species, they may fill in. If they're not, you probably won't like what happens next. Honker did this successfully with basswood regen in grasses.  |
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Post by Catscratch on Jan 10, 2021 16:02:27 GMT -6
They should live as long as there are still green branches. A cedar that has been burned half way up will stay alive on the top half, the bottom half that turned brown will never regrow but what stays green stays alive.
How do you plan to do this? Working big cedars is a pain. Hard to get to the trunk and hard to move what you cut out.
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Post by batman on Jan 10, 2021 16:24:15 GMT -6
They should live as long as there are still green branches. A cedar that has been burned half way up will stay alive on the top half, the bottom half that turned brown will never regrow but what stays green stays alive. How do you plan to do this? Working big cedars are a pain. Hard to get to the trunk and hard to move what you cut out. Cedar are very scattered. Ladder and a Silky. Only have to do a half dozen in each area/ |
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