I just cut up a fairly large rhododendron in my backyard. Besides the obligatory trip to the dump with all the limbs, is it worth saving some of the larger pieces or just chuck them too? I have plenty of firewood for indoors and the outside pit. Google seems to give conflicting answers on toxicity/burn quality. I was hoping someone here had some practical experience, thanks in advance.
I know Midwinter has scrounged shrub stalks at the dump. Maybe she can chime in. I think the wood is denser on most shrub wood. Dry it out and burn it.
Not this time I’m making room for a hickory I plan on transplanting in the fall. I’ll put one where the rhododendron was, and one across the yard near my pool, a little ways down from where the Norway maple I took down was.
That’s funny. They’re fairly common here in people’s yards. They look great in full bloom for 2 weeks around Memorial Day then they’re just kind of blah. They do look nice in winter since they stay full of green leaves.
The heck with planting tress...make more stacks! Start hoarding rhododendron. At least it wont pile up that fast!
I knew you were going to ask that I took that picture a while ago. Actually that picture is from the day I closed on the house and started moving in. When I moved in I had about 2 cord of wood on hand which got stashed under the back deck for that winter. Within 3 months I had amassed another 5-6 cord and it just took off at that point.
faster than the Concorde i'd say! The yard does look strange with no stacks or chicken coop in it. Youve come a long way for sure. How long have you owned it?
Only since January 2020. Prior to that we had been renting for 7 years in a multi family where I was basically the groundskeeper. Eventually that got really old, I worked hard at becoming debt free and I was able to save for a down payment. The timing worked out because it wasn’t long afterwards that everything went mental including real estate prices.
My Mom has a rhododendron that has a 12" diameter branch on it. It goes sideways and then up. If you could get to it through the rest of the branches, it would make a great seat. Out here rhododendrons can grow wild and can be found in some of our provincial parks. Mom's is also 20 ft. tall and probably 20 ft wide.
I think I've scrounged a few pieces, but sorry, I don't remember how it burned. I can say that lilac is good firewood!
I remember being amazed at all that stuff when I went east and then even more so as we went south. We rarely see it here.
