[heelpin]

http://www.paulownia.com/tech.html

 

[Bink]

Hm. Wonder if there's a catch? Does it become invasive?

 

[heelpin]

Hm. Wonder if there's a catch? Does it become invasive?

Bink, I have one growing in the yard that is about 15 years old but it hasn't grown like the hybrid they are talking about, its about 6 inches at chest and about 30 feet tall, its a beautiful tree. I haven't seen any seedlings coming up anywhere but I have heard from others that they will spread, if the wood is valuable, let'm go. I have a serious problem with popcorn trees from Asia and the Chinese Privet Hedge, also now have a start of Cogon grass, this is one grass you need to know how to identify and nip in bud before it has a chance to spread.
I'm thinking seriously about ordering 300 of the Paulownia just for the fun of it. I wonder if these are suitable for a log house?

 

[Bink]

Plant 'em in a square, and kind of weave 'em together!

 

[heelpin]

Plant 'em in a square, and kind of weave 'em together!

Yeah, that'll work, or maybe train them to be mailbox posts, I'm going to be rich yet.

 

[agmantoo]

I have a few native Paulownia trees and recently when speaking to a forester the subject came up as to their value. He stated that periodically some Asian buyers did come thru and that they would pay a premium. There is a catch however. The buyers only want those grown in deep woods that have 20+ growth rings to the inch! There is no demand for the wood from those that are grown rapidly with few growth rings. Sounds as if this is another pyramid scheme with just a different "animal"

 

[heelpin]

I have a few native Paulownia trees and recently when speaking to a forester the subject came up as to their value. He stated that periodically some Asian buyers did come thru and that they would pay a premium. There is a catch however. The buyers only want those grown in deep woods that have 20+ growth rings to the inch! There is no demand for the wood from those that are grown rapidly with few growth rings. Sounds as if this is another pyramid scheme with just a different "animal"

Your right, here's a more realistic view.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


18. Emerging Opportunities in Agriculture
7. Paulownia, an emerging forestry opportunity
Alex Jay
Kiri Forestry Enterprises Pty Ltd
Telephone: 015 257 545
Email: [email protected]

Paulownia is a fast-growing deciduous hardwood tree native to China. When compared with conventional forest plantations, it can produce valuable timber in a relatively short time.

The species has been the subject of both hype and disparagement from many sources.

The industry is currently characterised by a large number of smaller scale growers, each with less than 10 ha of plantation.

Most of the commercial scale plantings, estimated to total between 1,000 and 1,200 ha, is managed on behalf of wood lot investors. More than 80% of Australian plantings of Paulownia are less than five years old and little or no timber product has yet come to the market from Australia.

Paulownia produces a light-weight, blonde/ straw colour timber with distinct growth rings and beautiful sheen and grain. It veneers and slices well for plywood manufacture and can be sawn and dressed for use in a wide range of internal moulding and decorative applications.

It has been used in China and Japan for many years.

Specific target markets for select quality Paulownia (known in the international market as 'Kiri timber') include furniture, interior boards, mouldings and veneers, where appearance is more important than strength.

Market development is required and a critical mass of volume turnout is needed to interest the market.

Good quality Kiri timber could replace some of the current imports of over 200,000 cubic metre of light rainforest hardwoods and softwoods such as Meranti and Western Red Cedar, altogether worth $160 million per year.

A 20% share of this market would require a sustained yield area of 3,600 to 4,000 hectares.

Based on import substitution, it is likely that finished Kiri timber will sell for $800 to $1,200 per cubic metre wholesale.

The highest prices will be received for large diameter (50-60cm) knot-free logs with decorative appearance.

For growing, suitable land will have free draining non-sodic soil, to a depth of at least 60cm, and a warm/hot growing season with adequate spring/summer rain or 3-8 Megalitres per ha per year of irrigation.

Intensive skilled management is required during the establishment phase.

Seeds of all Paulownia species are short-lived and have a low natural viability. Hence, it is not likely the seeds will cause the plant to become an invasive weed.

There have been a number of spurious claims made of the availability of genetically engineered and acclimatised varieties of Paulownia. Planting the incorrect variety can be disastrous in forestry, since the crop is long term, requiring substantial commitments of land, capital and time.

A Paulownia plantation can have between 300 and 600 trees per hectare at establishment and may take 12 to 18 years to reach final maturity.

Total yields over an 18 year growing cycle are likely to be around 420 cubic metres of saleable saw logs per hectare, yielding 200 cubic metres of sawn product.

The first commercial partial harvest or thinning can be expected when the trees attain a trunk diameter of 25 cm after six years.

The value of gross timber sales from a 16 year rotation with thinning is likely to be more than twice that from an un-thinned 10 year rotation.

Outcomes will vary, depending on site and market factors and the grower's objectives and management techniques.

Plantations of a minimum size of 10 to 20 ha will be required for economic management and returns.

High management inputs are required to make a commercial product within a reasonable time-frame.

This requires investments of $15 to $30 per tree over the first three to five years.

Small scale growers are unlikely to be able to sell logs to pine and eucalypt mills at equivalent stumpage until the product has had more widespread evaluation and consumer approval.

Timber processors face some technical challenges in preventing sap stain, discolouration and avoiding surface bruising.

Growers with on-going supply volumes should aim at milling and dressing their own timber in order to capture the maximum return from their tree crop.

 

[RAC]

Definitely NOT something you want to plant under utility lines....

These are the ones you often see advertised in the Sunday Paper coupon ads. They might be a good choice where you have erosion issues.

 

[comfortablynumb]

Ive grown both polowina and catalpa trees, and they do grow pretty fast. like any tree they may grow 5 feet in a year on pone spot and across the yard grow 5 inches a year.

I have one catalpa tree i "forgot about" right behind my house about 3 yr ago and its about 16 feet tall. I have several others over the hil that wre planted the same time and they are barely 5 feet tall. the difference i think was more water and sun, and a nearby manure pile.

catalpa is a light wood, like poplar. BTW hybrid poplars grow faster than catalpa/polowina trees.
the poplars have invasive roots and will get in anywhere they find water. catalpas and palowina trees have more tap like roots and dont heave everything like poplars.
I grew 2 strains of poplars, a shade clone and a screen clone, one being a wide open tree and one looked like a leafy telephone pole.
I have cuttings of each if anyone wants to pay the shipping, your best to shove em in the ground in the fall, and by spring youll have a nice root knot.

 

[Thatch]

Anyone know if you can effectively coppice this sort of tree (as you would hazel)?

J

 

[agmantoo]

Thatch, I cannot substainiate that it will coppice but when I cut a few of these trees they certainly gave every indication that they would coppice. Even the firewood I made from the trees sprouted eventhough it was stacked for drying to burn.

 

[Thatch]

Thanks agmantoo,

Think I'll have to get a few then. With as many staves as I use it would be a real asset to have a tree that would grow that quickly.

J

 

[heelpin]

Anyone know if you can effectively coppice this sort of tree (as you would hazel)?

J

Thatch, I had to look up coppice, first time I've ever heard that word used. If I understand the pruning procedure with these hybrids they cut the first year growth back to the ground and it produces 4 or 5 sprouts, the best looking one is kept. I guess you get faster growth with the sprouts.

The verb is not so well known as the noun. A coppice is not just any woodland area, but one which is productively managed in a special way. Trees are cut down and encouraged to grow again from the stump. (In fact, the idea of cutting is inherent in the word, as it comes from the Greek kolaphos, “blow”, via the Latin verb colpare, “to cut with a blow”; copse is a variant form that appeared in the sixteenth century as the result of what’s called grammatical syncopation, or missing a sound out of a word). Coppicing produces a large number of thin stems, which are harvested on a regular cycle of about five to fifteen years. A common species that was coppiced was hazel, which supplied wood to make hurdles, brushes and besom brooms; oak was coppiced to supply bark for the tanning industry. Other common coppiced species in Britain were the wych-elm and the ash, often used for tool handles and the like.

 

[comfortablynumb]

if you mean turn the tree into a shrub, and it spread, the hybrid poplar will and the white poplar will very well.
let a tree grow 6 or 7 yrs and get a good spread of rots, chop it down and leave 5 fet of the trunk, and uncover some surface roots and you will have trees all over.
white poplars do this as a mater of habit and chopping them down isnt even needed, but if you want a grove of bushes, keep the big nes cut...
sort of like controling a lilac.....

I have a white poplar in my dogyard that has spread everywhere, if I let the suckers go i would live in a very dense thicket of these trees.

like an aspen grove, but not as symetrical. white poplars aint exactly stright trees.
I cut one down out back, it formed a big knot and a few new sprouts and now is massive with a very interestingly twisted trunk.

they are neat for weaving the young branches, they will grow any way you bend them or braid them. get one long enough to touch the ground and it will root and make an archway...
yes, I have one in the works.
lol

 

[Thatch]

Well the end goal for coppicing is for getting as many straight staves as possible out of a tree. My main use is for wattle, both for construction and for fencing but they are also needed for turning, basket weaving and handles. Fast straight growth would be a great asset for coppicing.

Sounds as though the Paulownia would work well for this, how well it's suited for Oklahoma and Arkansas I don't know. The problem in that part of the world is finding anything that will actually grow straight, preferably with a smooth bark....

Interesting that you can weave poplar like that. I've got a really nice woven willow tunnel that I'll be sad to leave. It consists of 30 willows planted along a path and pulled over into an arch and woven together in a diamond pattern. Doesn't really have a practical use other than the chickens tend to enjoy the shade quite a bit.

J