My favs that I have split are sassafras, white oak, and pine. Also BL in stacks as it dries. It's not really a great smell, but a distinct smell that I know it's a stack of BL and makes me thankful for the future BTUs. Least favorite is tree of heaven, but I'll still cut and burn it. I also has some sort of chestnut that reeked when it was losing its bark.
Pine and cedar (juniper) are my likes, cottonwood smells bad. My wood burning (for heating) began with elm and is still probably 75% of what I burn, standing dead mostly, so it just smells like firewood to me. I don’t mess with a lot of fresh cut green elm. I cut down 2 apricot trees in my back yard, don’t remember what it smelled like when I did it, but I love the way it smells in the grill and smoker.
I dont like Siberian elm and cottonwood. They just smell gross. The elm at least has good secondary burns when properly seasoned. Cottonwood just smells like it is not worth my time lol. Cherry and Ash are my favourite. Ash smells like olives to me and then smells like toast when the splits are warmed by the fire. It's a shame EAB has ruined it
I've cut up a lot of cotton wood that smelled like manure. Had some half rotten madrona this past year that smelled like moth balls. Apple is my favorite
Favorite: cherry least favorite: I don't have one because when I burn any kind of wood in my stove I'm not burning propane so the burning wood smells like money in the bank! And nothing smells better than that!
I had burned some horse chestnut, my thoughts of the stuff burning was similar to a syrupy sickly smell. Like how you smell antifreeze? Not pleasant. I don't want to derail the topic but some smell terrible burning as well. BL is that, it smells awful burning it but my gosh does it heat. All more worth it.
I love the smell of black locust, especially when burning. Some people hate it. Wild cherry, juniper, white oak and red oak, sugar maple, spruce, and pine are all amazing to smell. I can get high smelling the fresh splits. I don't like cottonwood. That smells like cat pizz to me, as does elm. Pin oak, which is a type of red oak, smells like swamp water to me.
Doug Fir does smell amazing. Reminds me of sitting on my dad's tailgate - eating sunflower seeds, while he cuts and splits wood. Some of my earliest, and fondest memories
I forgot to mention Ponderosa pine, it smells great as well. Willow is mostly good for the mooses to eat, and they love it!