If you owned some land, what trees would you plant?

[demographic]

I’m not quite sure where all this primary succession worry comes from? We’re not immediately post glacial or anything near it in most of the UK. I’ve already done this on some land in Wales; simply fenced it off to prevent the sheep etc. eating all that grows and hey-presto nothing but oak, ash, beech, sycamore etc.etc. from local trees.
The greatest problem actually came from brambles – I’ve had to spend many an hour with the scythe cutting them back..but hey, I did say you could manage your wood.

Fair nuff, just that in the 12 or so years since some people I know planted their woodland (all british trees and helped paid for by a grant) it has come on a long way and provided a decent habitat for deer, badger, red squirrel and all sorts of other animals.

A lot faster than just leaving it would have.

IMO like

 

[Montivagus]

Well maybe I am being a bit treelitist; quite simply the more trees planted the better! And I guess we may well be in the position of having to take shortcuts to offset/catch-up-on the damage already done.

WRT guerrilla planting…I’d not thought of that but it’s such a good idea I may well not be seen doing it one of these nights soon!

 

[redflex]

The problem with brambles etc is due to lack of larger browsers, put pigs in a forest or woodland and the bramble problem disappears.

For the long term health of woodland I believe the nursery rearing and transplanting of trees should end. Trees that have fought from seed for a place in the ecosystem will more often than not be healthy and strong. Trees that have been grown in a plastic tube in an artificial environment must be second best.

Why should it end firstly a good tree nursery will supply only trees of correct provence and these will be of improved quality and health. Trees will be hard of with better roots systme therefore these days the use of tree guards have been reduce in most case no longer used.

Indeed many is the tube tree I’ve seen bent double and broken within a very short space of time due to its bolting in the tube and reliance on artificial support

This is not fault of tree nursery but lack of management and mainatence by the land owner or agent.

 

[malcolmc]

Well on my little patch of mud I’ve planted up about ½ acre of trees. I planted for utility and to encourage wildlife.

Planting list

Oak - - - - - - - - - - - wildlife
Western Red Cedar utility/nurse
Hazel - - - - - - - - - - utility/wildlife
Ash - - - - - - - - - - - utility
Rowan - - - - - - - - - wildlife

Sycamore - - - - - - - sacrificial
Box - - - - - - - - - - - - wildlife
Birch - - - - - - - - - - - utility/wildlife
Laurel - - - - - - - - - - utility/wildlife
Wayfaring - - - - - - - wildlife

Crack willow - - - - - utility/wildlife

And one Brewer’s weeping Spruce to lift my soul (it's my favourite tree). More info at
http://www.magick.net/casteran/brewer.html and a picture at
http://www.jacksonsnurseries.co.uk/Conifers-PiceaBreweriana.htm .

A book I found very helpful was Collins ‘Tree Planting and Cultivation’ by H L Edlin (ISBN 0 00 212002 X) See http://www.amazon.co.uk/Guide-Tree-...ef=sr_1_1/202-2782937-7735836?ie=UTF8&s=books

 

[Mooney]

just to put in another word for the beech tree, theres the nuts, edible leaves and the beech leaf noyau you can make with them.
They are a beautiful tree when planted solo and in forests, besides they can grow huge (1-1.5m diameter) in 60-70 years if the soil is good.

Theres alot to be said about huge areas with nothing much else but beech as there is not much fungi it can support (correct me if im wrong on this) and with a carpet of beech leaves they can seem quite like a desert to diversity of wildlife. but they are nice

 

[British Red]

malcolmc - thanks for planting wayfaring trees - a beautiful tree

Red