Planting Tulip Wood

 Planting Tulip Wood

The plantation was a P 1970s mature block of woodland.  I originally called it The Plantation but now call it the Tulip Wood. All my woods are technically plantations. It was mainly Rows of large sycamore separated by Rows of Red and Native Oak. Grey Alder had been planted on the wettest parts. The site is essentially flat but a central area is few inches lower. There is a stream along one side, into which the ditch between the Triangular and Rectangular fields feeds. The Sycamore were large trees and dominated. They all tended to be forked at 4-10 feet, otherwise they might have made timber.   Back in 2018 I had took down two pairs of rows, removing Grey Alder (Alnus incana), some etiolated native Oak and diseased Red Oak. The Red Oak had healthy canopies but several had small bleeds, two had small Ganoderma brackets and one with large Ganoderma brackets had blown down 2015. 

Images of the original line felling.

The rows of Sycamore were considered too big for me to bring down and do something with. Sycamore limbs that could be reached were removed. The first area was  planted with Douglas Fir, but drought meant I ended up beating up extensively with the Coast Redwood I had intended for the second pair of rows. Western Red Cedar and European Silver Fir were bought into the mix together with Monterey Pine from seed I had collected. 

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The felled timber was dragged to the edge of the track. There was more than I could sensibly burn. It was cut to lengths that would go in the car. The track is not made up in any way, and I have got stuck on in it twice. It is not worth trying to get the car down Oct to May. I did find a fire wood dealer with a lorry that had a grab who was prepared to take it away, and actually pay me! Over 2 years I did thin and underplant up about half the wood, with shade tolerate conifers. Drought sheep and deer did make the plantings a bit more varied than I had intended. 

As I was now able to sell the large wood over 4" and the lorry could get on to the wood  more trees could be removed and with some removed it became possible to remove the sycamore row  surrounded by new conifers. This left a larger area that was clear felled leaving a ring of mature trees around the edge. With a larger open area planting broadleaves became an option.  Pedunculate Oak, Tulip Tree and conifers mainly Coast Redwood were planted in approximately equal proportions 2020/21. Survival was good except for the Tulip trees at the North end these were replaced but failed in the drought of 2022.

The clear felled area planted Oct 2021. 

An attempt was made to make the area deer proof but deer did enter occasionally
browsing Oak and Douglas. 2023 recycled Tubex guards were put around the broad leaf trees, 120cm where the tree was nearly 120 or above and 75cm when not. Most of these trees that had not been browsed were 100 cm+ . Most of the Tulip Trees could self support but the oaks were very spindly. This did free up a lot of herbicide mesh guards and cut down guards for future planting.

Sept 2023. South side Tulip Wood
 everything growing well.

By the Autumn of 2023 the surviving Tulip trees were tall enough not to be browsed by deer. The Oaks which often got an extra half herbicide guard did suffer from some browsing. The Coast are susceptible to fraying and could do with tall tubes but they are too branched to do that easily. Though there has been steady bits of rain since mid June 23 the ground is too hard to get a cane in.

It is the weeds that have grown best.

Sept 2023 North side of Tulip Wood.
 Trees growing less well. 

There is a lot of coppice regrowth, Sycamore regeneration, Alder suckering and Elderberry. This needs removing over the winter and I will look at taking down some bits of the Sycamore. The shading is too great and the longer they are left the harder it will be and the greater the collateral damage. 

Picture on the left shows underplanted conifers between over towering Sycamores (Sept 2023). Many of the original Douglas fir suffered from browsing, drought and fraying. Those that were lost were replaced by Coast Redwood the first year. Those that were lost later are now gaps. Those that were planted outside the Sycamores are much larger, hence the hope to reduce some of the remaining Sycamores and Elder.