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WOODED LOTS CHANGE OVER TIMEÖFOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE
In the real estate business, the term "wooded lot" is magic. Everybody, it seems, wants to live on a wooded lot.
I have a hunch, however, that quite a number of folks who live on wooded lots don't spend much time contemplating how their wooded space is going to change - for better or for worse - over time. And the fact is, wooded lots don't change for the better unless woodlot managers intervene and manage the space. "Letting Mother Nature take her course" isn't usually a good idea in a woodlot.
I live on an acre and a half that is mostly wooded. I have learned that, left on its own, a woodlot can quickly develop bad habits. One dramatic example is the almost-overnight invasion of noxious, non-native plants such as buckthorn. The index finger on my right hand presently feels like sandpaper and is creased with imbedded soil - the result of hand-pulling hundreds of young buckthorn seedlings that appeared out of nowhere this spring.
Where did all the buckthorn come from? Birds planted them, one tree at a time, as the birds perched in overhead tree branches or dropped their biological greetings during flyovers.
My bumper crop of buckthorn seedlings ranges in height to 3 ft. It's critical that I pull them out, roots and all, to prevent a total takeover of the understory. Buckthorn can infiltrate a woodlot in a few short years unless the plants are completely removed.
Two other forms of intervention I spend a lot of time at are pruning and maintaining a balance of tree species. I want a variety of species because disease can quickly wipe out a monoculture of trees. It's happened with American chestnut, elm and many stands of seemingly healthy oak.
My dining room window looks out on a back yard of trees and a pond. Ten years ago this space was occupied by two giant bur oaks and dozens of smaller trees of many species: elm, red and bur oak, cherry, plum, apple and basswood.
Gradually I came to realize that not all these trees could grow to maturity in the spots in which they had taken root. Some - actually most - would have to be removed to allow space and light for the most desirable trees I hoped to look out on and appreciate in the decades ahead.
My overall objective is to nurture multiple generations of desirable and primarily native trees and shrubs and remove all undesirable species. This aspect of woodlot management is like the parenting concept of "tough love." It's hard to do but it's best for the child over the long haul.
Deciding which trees to remove requires having a clear picture of your objective. Five or 10 years from now, are you hoping for a dense forest wall of trees? Do you want trees and shrubs of different heights and textures with a mix of blooms and fruit? Is your goal to attract wildlife?
Since I didn't want the dense forest look, I decided the basswoods had to go. Basswoods grow very fast and wide and tall. Already, some of the basswoods growing outside the dining room window had trunk diameters of 8 in. or more.
"You mean you intend to cut down all those huge trees with the smooth gray bark and sweeping branches of large, glossy leaves?" visitors would ask me incredulously. "That's my plan," I would say, adding that I also planned to cut down several large elms, oak and ash.
"Well, I think you're nuts," they'd respond.
It's been almost two years since I removed the basswoods. In their place, I planted two crabapple, two Japanese tree lilacs, 25 arborvitae and several rhododendron. I also moved in a half dozen young Pagoda dogwood from other spots. I left in place several oak and apple trees and highbush cranberry shrubs.
I won't deny that the view from my dining room window these past two years has been more open and sparse than I would have liked. Certainly the view is more open than the dense, dark wall formed by the basswoods.
Think about this, however: Every year for the next decade or two the view will improve, rather than grow darker and more oppressive. The crab apples and tree lilacs will grow to 20-25 ft. and bloom with pretty flowers. The winter view will be enhanced by the arborvitae and by the winter fruit on the crabapples and highbush cranberries.
Do you have a clear picture of what your woodlot will look like a decade from now? Are there invasive, non-native woody plants that are crowding out your more desirable trees and shrubs? If you're not sure and would like answers to these questions, you may want to consult a landscaper or arborist.
One thing I know for certain about woodlots: They don't stay the same. Whether your woodlot evolves for better or for worse depends on the decisions you make now.
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PUTTING DOWN ROOTS:
A Delightful Blend of
Gardening Wisdom, Wit
and Whimsy
$10 + $2 for shipping
by Cliff Johnson |
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