A tree service buddy said he would drop me off some big Noway maple logs if I would also take "some cottonwood" from the same job. I'm a sucker for Norway maple, so I agreed. The maple was a nice big tree, and I got some bonus crab apple! The cottonwood, however, is an absolute monster. It was "only" about 48" dbh, but the trunk must have been at least 30" diameter 100 feet up. I got an obscene number of big logs. Or maybe I got 2 or 3 trees? You can see some of the logs here. Nice and muddy, too. I hate dealing with this crap. It is back breaking when green and hard to split. It splits better if I let it dry in rounds for a while, but the layer right under the bark gets nasty and full of worms if I don't process it within a few weeks. (Sort of like box elder) I'm going to cut it into rounds and throw a big tarp over the rounds until next spring. Anyone ever try that? I've probably processed a half dozen big cottonwoods over the years. I always say "never again," but the tree services seem to sneak one in every year or two.
Why cover with a tarp? It would dry faster exposed to sun and air. Any rain or snow won't matter to it.
I’ve never had any but you certainly have enough to formulate a concrete opinion LOL I’d consider letting it sit until the bark falls off. Sounds like Tulip, Tree of Heaven and even black locust in regards to the layer under the bark. Gets wet under there and never dries out.
If you store the rounds up off of the wet ground and top covered only, they'll probably keep for a bit. I think you'd want good airflow on them to keep them from getting moldy. My only experience with cottonwood was a (not too long) dead storm blow over that I processed immediately. I did like the way it burned, but wouldn't take it in bigger quantities unless I was running low on better options.
As an arborist I pretty much have to take the good with the bad all the time. I never minded some cottonwood for shoulder season wood. It dries fast and the splitter runs through it pretty fast. It’s nice mixed with pine to start a cold stove going as well. Maybe noodle those big rounds into manageable quarters? Now the Norway maple that’s primo stuff. Dries fast, usually splits easy, and has a nice amount of btus. Almost as good as black or sugar maple.
Seems like when the rain hits it the nasty stuff under the bark never dries out. What I meant is top cover with a tarp. Guess I didn't explain that very well.
I've got Tree of Heaven in the log pile right now, too. That's another stinker, but burns just fine once seasoned and if not for knots, I think I could split it with a hatchet.
The same guy has dropped me sugar maple, mulberry, and honey locust, so he gets a pass. Unfortunately, most of his business comes from big, nasty, fast growing trees like cottonwood, silver maple, willow... I'm happy to take a big silver maple or even a big pine. But cottonwood and willow are usually below where I draw the line.
I'm a little less enthusiastic about the cottonwood than you are, but I agree 100% about Norway maple. They seem to get huge around, and I'll take them over oak any day. It might have a bit less btus, but better than oak in every other way.
I’ve dealt with lots of cottonwood, and it seems like it’s always on the larger size. My experience has shown that bucked and stacked in the rounds for a year and the bark will fall right off. Yes it will probably be slimy and smelly Under the bark, but that’s not a deal breaker for me. It’s quite a bit easier to split after it’s dried some. I don’t mind having some in my stacks for outdoor fires and inside as well. I’m far enough ahead with better quality wood that I don’t actively seek it, but if’n a little bit that’s easy comes along I’ll grab it. I have quite a few rounds at work that are starting to get soft but they’ve been around several years now. Maybe I’ll get them burned this year in the stove at work
I don't mind a little slimy and smelly. I've been known to cut up and split punky trees that I drag out of the woods. I'm not deterred by stinky (rotting) red oak, which can be pretty bad, or even tree of heaven, which is another weird, stinky tree. B But there is a certain point (maybe a month or two after the tree is cut down?) that the nastiness under the bark of Cottonwood is a whole different level.
I’d rather turn white oak into useful lumber. I definitely put Norway maple on the long list of firewood I prefer over most other oak! It dries three times as fast. It doesn’t have the coaling problems oak does in my Ideal Steel. It isn’t dying of wilt like oak and is much more enjoyable to work on. The only downside I can find with it is it’s an invasive species gobbling up the native hard maple habitat. Makes it all the more easy to cut down with less guilt in my book though.
Usually how I process it as well. I will often knock the bark off and let the rounds dry a bit before splitting. It’s almost ready to burn at that point. Makes for pretty mess free firewood without the bark.
Sounds like a better guy to know than those pictures indicated. Would be frustrating to get low btu wood in rounds that size tho. Not much payout for the work exerted. Might be ok if it makes decent, stackable splits. Idk. Looks good in your yard tho. Lol
Nah. I've got two stoves that I burn 24/7 for about 5 months out of the year. I burn 10-12 cords per winter -- maybe 10 last year (mild winter), but easily 12+ when we have a cold winter. With all that burning I'm an equal-opportunity hoarder. A few years ago I bucked, split, and stacked a willow a lot bigger than this cottonwood. A legit 6+ cord tree. Burned the whole thing up in a season, mixing it with oak, hickory, and ash. Willow is bottom of the barrel, but I had lots of good fires that year.
