It was another beautiful day in the neighbourhood. I did a little more work on the web project and decided I needed to head outside and take advantage of the weather. I was in the middle of stacking the wood that I split yesterday when sister #1 rang. She wanted help; they had dropped one of the two remaining Bradford pears. I grabbed all my gear and headed down to lend a hand. As it turned out, my brother-in-law did the cutting while I got the brush out of the way and gathered the wood. The Bradford pear had already started budding out. The wood is heavy; even cut short the large rounds were impossible for me to lift. I rolled them over to the pile. I mentioned to my sister after it was all done that the pile of wood didn't seem to match the size of the tree we took down. Of course the size of the brush pile we created was large.
I didn't have anything with me to measure to show the size of the trunk. As I said, I couldn't lift them. These are old Bradford pears; been growing for many years.
Average.... elbow to tip of middle finger (aka a “Cubit”) is approximately 18” or so. You carry an on-board ruler wherever you go. You can measure your own and remember for reference in the future. Or use the chainsaw bar, too.
sweet haul ...... i know this may seem like a dumb question to some but seeing as how i've never burned any bradford pear how does the stuff burn
Sister said the the other Bradford pear is coming down as well. I don't think it is quite as large. Sister had three of the Bradford pears but said she would never plant them again. These were old trees considering that Bradford pears are easily damaged in storms. I have a post here on FHC on the first one. The first one was damaged during a spring wet snow; the tree had already bloomed so all the blossoms were snow catchers. The wood grows so that the grain runs out towards the outside. It isn't easy to split as often it will just break off in chunks. However, it does burn well so I am happy to get the wood. It will probably split better green so I need to move on it before it dries.
As Eric stated, it burns nicely and it dries fairly quickly. It will throw out some heat so I am happy to get the wood. The problem is that the main trunks are short; at least when they grow out in the open. They branch out a lot. There was a lot of brush dragging going on today. Bradford trees are horrible, the way the limbs grow they break off easily in storms; wind, snow, ice. They are fertile trees, producing small fruits that birds will eat and distribute the seeds. Bradford pears becomes weeds in pastures etc. They often will develop thorns as well. The trees are a Japanese hybrid; if I recall correctly. They should be banned in the US in my opinion.
I said Japan, they were imported from China and there are several varieties. The ones sister planted were the Bradford pears.
Bradford pear burns great I had some I scooped up a few years ago and it took me forever to ID it. Id definitely put it above cherry as far as btus go has a unique smell too.
If I had Bradford Pears growing in my yard, they would rapidly become firewood. Most useless tree ever.
Noodle them big ones Kimberly. I get some from time to time and it helps on the butt sections. Helps it start drying quicker if your not splitting right away.
If I recall it gets tiny fuit on it. I think I have a few pieces left. Don't recall how it smells when burnt as compared to other fruitwoods and hickory. Don't recall if we ever talked about mulberry for smoking.
Bradford pears are designated a invasive species in MO. We cut them all down on the farm. My wife has the kids all worked up to the point they would cut everyone the see down if you let them.
Have not. I have 100% red oak in my stacks except for the one mulberry tree that blew over in the neighbors field. I'll go pull some splits from the stacks and save em for the smoker. I've yet to try sbh. The smell when fresh split turns me off to using it, plus the abundance of Apple, which I love to use. I like oak for brisket and most beef.
Yes, I thought they really put out some heat from the first one she took down. When you first cut them the wood is really orange in colour.
Yes, they bear small fruits that are not edible. The birds will eat then and crap out the seeds everywhere. They are considered an invasive species in some areas. While they are pretty in the spring when they bloom, so are my pear and apple trees that produce fruit that I can eat.
