Seems like they are always shedding twigs and small limbs. And the leaf drop in the fall is a rather prolonged event.
I can live with that. I have one of those yards rich with dandelions, crabgrass and moss in places I’m not exactly high in the running for having an HGTV quality lawn. This Elm is technically on my neighbor’s property just over the line by a foot or so. I’ll give it a fair chance to do its thing. Last year all of the large trees in this part of the yard were knocked down during a tropical storm, so now there’s plenty of light and space for the next generation.
The more I read about the story of the American Elm, the more I want this lone straggler on my property line to survive. I really don't see them around too often. Over the past 90 or so years this species was absolutely decimated in this country, so to find one randomly growing in my backyard is kind of special (to the tree nerd in me anyway).
Black locust has a ton of positive things going for it: 1. Grows like crazy and super fast 2. Dries super fast, 2 or 3 times faster than oak 3. Straight grained 4. Easy to split 5. Easily recognizable 6. Burns really hot 7. Smells amazing (although I know some people hate it but to me when it burns it has a great buttery/nutty/rich smell that I just love 8. Not as heavy as oak but still has the btu in there 9. Easy to make kindling out of. I love it too and will grab whatever I see for the most part unless it was cut way too short. If all I ever had was black locust, I wouldn't complain at all. I think I'd say the same thing for ash and norway maple. I really love those species as well. So excited to burn my 4 cords of green ash this season. Nice score Eric! I'd leave that elm there and take all the locust. Yuck.
Ash has been a staple for me for a while, and has helped me immensely in reaching the 3+ year plan. I’ll find out about Norway maple firsthand in another year or two as I have maybe half a face cord of it recently cut. I agree 100% about the locust. From processing to burning it, it’s just great to have and have a lot of. I’m pretty new to elm but I really like the burn, so I don’t mind taking what comes my way. A coworker of mine has 5 acres with several standing dead elms that’ll be coming down later this year. It looks like that’s what I’ll be burning in the latter half of the 2020s. It’s strange to be thinking that far ahead firewood wise
The soonest any of the oak from next door will be burned is the 2023-2024 season. That’ll be the 3+ year mark. I could always let it go longer but I’m not too confident the pallets it’s stacked on will be good much past that, given the wet backyard I have. I already stacked that oak twice since last year... We’ll see. I have a few options, and once I build a really nice woodshed I’ll be able to store wood for extended periods.
Given my late start due to surgery I sure was happy that I css as much as I did. Skipping 6 weeks of no chopping drove me nvts!!! N-V-T-S NVTS! (What movie???) I got almost all of it. All the logs I took so I could buck them and the nicest pieces in the small stack they had. I think I did 3 truckloads!
I found a couple small American Elms in the woods today that were struggling in the understory. I dug them up and planted them in my backyard, close to the elm already established on my property line. I hope they make it, because I think it’ll look nice having 3 elms in a row cascading over my crappy lawn.
Nice job! I failed when I transplanted the bitternut hickory. I will keep an eye out for elm now that I know what it looks like!
Elm leaves can look a lot like yellow birch with the fine teeth and general shape. The birch feels smooth though whereas the elms have a fuzzy papery feel. They seem to like growing in wet areas too.
I went back a few weeks ago and it looked like it was all gone. I’ll check back late in the fall to be sure though. Lots of weeds overtook that entire hill.
Looking at the OP pics i was going to say it would get overgrown with a lot of sun on it. Hopefully some BL buried under it or were you sure to get it all?
I got everything I was itching to get (the larger locust and all of the elm) but I did see some dead barkless BL on the ground way at the top of the hill. If it’s still there in a couple months I know it’ll start working on my brain, at which point there’s no turning back
Locust mania! Gotta love it! I keep thinking of my areas to scrounge it yet (i have a couple new ones) and have to keep reminding myself that the stuff doesnt rot and bark off to let it weather for many months/years even better. I did debark one back in the Spring.
