After I get through this mulberry that's on deck to burn, I have 95% red and chestnut oak and 5% black locust (5+ years worth!). When you are that far ahead, dry time is a non issue. Wish I could score some SS wood. Usually all the non-prime wood goes to mom and dad because he is so impatient he can't let wood sit that long without burning it.
Sorry for the derail! I agree Brad. I've never encountered any ash that was difficult to split(stringy).
I don’t think your an outlier at all. You burn what you have. Now having said that I’ve got some hickory, hard maple, white oak(which seasons much faster than red in my experience) mulberry, and apple for those really cold nights. everybody’s mileage varies depending on what is available. If I had a crystal ball I’d say I’ll end up dealing with more of the red oak species here in years to come because I’ll be dealing with more oak wilt killed trees. It’ll most likely end up replacing ash in my stacks.
Completely agree! It was always one of my favorite trees. Broke my heart to see them all start dying around here 15-20 years ago. Not only good firewood it seasoned super fast and was a great tree with few problems before the bug… Now it’s starting all over again with the Oak wilt
I’ve asked a few local people but never got an answer. Any idea what is killing all these chestnut oaks? The place I’m cutting has has them everywhere and another hoarder somewhat close (about an hour away) said he is having the same happen in his woods. Is it the wilt you mentioned?
It is possible but depends on how they are dying. The wilt usually strikes in early summer and the tree is dead by the end of August. Looks exactly like it sounds. The leaves start to get wilted and crispy looking and eventually turn brown like they would in the fall but this occurs in July/August…. Here in Michigan the fungus that causes the wilt is most active April-November with the peak in July.
