Poorly shaped black cherry trees

[Joseph Zorzin]

Michael Courtney wrote:
> 
> There are a number of poorly shaped black cherry trees at our farm.
> Most are less than 12" and shaped in such a way as it's obvious they
> will not produce 8' sawlogs later in life.  4' and 6' logs are
> possible, but not 8'.  On the recommendation of my forester, I'll be
> going through and taking out a number of poorly shaped trees (various
> species) to make more room for the nicely shaped trees.  These poorly
> shaped trees will be used for firewood.  However, I am considering
> leaving the poorly shaped cherry trees because my forester mentioned
> that mills sometimes get so desparate for cherry that they will
> still pay good money for poorly shaped trees/short logs.  Is it reasonable
> to expect that these poorly shaped cherry trees might be more valuable than
> the nicely shaped maple and poplar which would benefit from their removal?
> 
> I understand it's hard to guess about the value of trees 20 years from now,
> but I'd appreciate any comments.
> 
> --
> Michael Courtney, Ph. D.
> michael at amo.mit.edu
> 
> 

In western Mass. poor cherry trees don't do any better even when the
price of cherry goes up. Either there is a log or there isn't. Your area
may be different so you might like to ask some other local foresters
beginning with the state service forester. But I suspect the best bet is
to remove them especially if the trees next to them are high quality.
Put the growth on the best trees- a good general rule of silviculture.

-- 
http://forestmeister.com
"The ONLY forester's web page in the otherwise sophisticated state of
Massachusetts".

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