Given enough time those can and will turn into trees, but it does take quite some time. We have one at least on our place and I know of another on some state land. That one I found probably 10 years ago and was stunned at the size of it. If I remember right it was around 16" diameter and I did not know they would grow like that. I know it now.
Hybrid poplar would be a terrible choice for firewood. Yes, they do grow fast but they also cause problems. For firewood, if you think cottonwood or willow stinks, wait until you smell hybrid poplar! Also, give it 6 months and it is light as a feather; not much btu in that.
So what would be a good choice for a relatively fast growing firewood tree...maybe some kind of maple?
Black locust grows to fence post size very quickly, then slows way down after that. Plant trees you want to look at and/or eat off of. Planting for firewood is probably not sustainable.
I don't think there is one. A 12" x 30' tree will yield roughly 1/4 - 1/3 cord of stacked firewood. If you burn 4 cord a year you'd need 12 - 16 of them. Figure a really fast growing tree will get maybe 3/4" of diameter a year, so a 12" tree is going to take 16-20 years. The only growth rings I've seen that approach that rate are white pine, so you'd need 50% more to get the same BTUs over hardwood....and a boatload of sap remover.
OK, there is the answer I was looking for. From the reading I was doing, everything said that BL was a fast growing tree (2-4' per year). So I figured, 10 years/approx 40' tree etc etc. If diameter doesn't follow the height rate, then there is really no point. Unless I wanna sell fence posts.
When we plant trees (saplings) usually 30% die the first year and if they survive it usually takes a couple of years for them to really start growing.
I have hiked past many black locust stands here in Northeast Iowa and black locust is not "taking over" anything. Black locust suffers many diseases and only self propagates in sunny areas with little competition and is followed by succession tree specie (maple, elm...). Maximum firewood production per acre requires a management plan picking specie based on available sun/shade and moisture. A mix of tree specie planted evolving to uneven age management (cutting a few trees each year from each age group) produces the most firewood per acre per year. For example, a planting of pine and oak 10 years ago on a sunny site here requires extensive pine thinning today (which is a lot of work but you get firewood in 10 years). Combining a quick growing tree with red oak, which is medium fast, and allowing maple/basswood/bitternut hickory to grow in the shade under the original planted trees, using an uneven age management plan (cutting a few trees each year from each age group), would produce the most firewood over the long term.
Ash as well as pine was a common faster growing tree combined with red oak here in new plantings which EAB ended. Poplar would grow fast and the wood would be similar to pine for mingling with red oak. Walnut is considered a medium fast growing tree like red oak as another choice for a mix. Some observations on plantings around here: 100% red oak or walnut plantings grew slowly for many years because of heavy grass growth consuming too much moisture. A 50/50 red-oak/pine planting grew much faster after the pine shaded out the grass and all the moisture went to the trees but then the pine thinning was a lot of work. All these plantings were sunny upland sites.
Anyone have any experience with Black Oak? Went to look at a BO scrounge once and was shocked by the size of the growth rings. Some were a strong 1/2”. Big old tree growing from the bottom of a swale. Just wondering if that’s typical or was it all the water it had access too.
Exactly what I have planted here...started with white pine, then added some poplar...those were for a fast growing screen to block our view of the neighbors junk...then I put a row of red oaks in too...and they have really taken off!
