Ducati Monster Forum

I'm a tree nerd.

25 years ago we planted over 600 trees on our property.  Mostly gum trees and some wattles too. 

We wanted to grow heating fuel, to create koala habitat... and just have the benefit of a little forest of our own.

Our Blackwood Wattles - Acacia melanoxylon - flower glorious yellow bloom in the midst of winter (I've shown you winter's Acacias before  >>  http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=64994.0 (http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=64994.0) ).  They're also a very good firewood species.

As you know, koalas eat eucalyptus foliage.  In this region they have a preference for Manna gums - Eucalyptus viminalis - and Southern Blue gums - Eucalyptus globulus.  They're both fast growing varieties native to this area...  good, but not fantastic fire wood.  River Red gums - Eucalyptus camaldulensis - are also preferred koala fodder and make excellent fire wood.... they dont much like growing here though....  25 year old trees still feeble in comparison to the local species.

All eucalypts flower, most varieties are very subtle however.  But the commonly called Red Flowering gums - Eucalyptus ficifolia - are not at all shy.  Red Flowering is a misnomer though.... most often they are red.  But can be orange.. pink... and occasionally even white.  Around the perimeter of our wood lot, nearest to the house we planted show-off Ficifolias.  The heat of summer brings 'em out in full bloom.

You bored yet?

Some backyard summer ficifolia pictures then  :)

(http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3785/12557265053_12adfca13f_k.jpg)

(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7353/12557177045_291aff93f5_k.jpg)

(http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3790/12557163875_f5fd0ac1b4_k.jpg)

(http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3689/12557286473_30074869b2_k.jpg)

(http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3705/12557627744_52d472c298_k.jpg)

(http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5550/12557277383_84fcbb46da_k.jpg)

(http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5503/12557274163_5313284d45_k.jpg)

Red flowering gums all, even the white, pink and orange ones  ;D

 [thumbsup]

Nice.  I like your February way better than mine 

^^^^^^

I was thinking the same

Beautiful!  [thumbsup]
It looks "other worldly" compared to my current scenic view.

My current scenic view...


(http://www.visualcandi.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/white.png)

[laugh] [clap] [clap] [laugh] [clap]

WOW!

I could live in a place like that . . .

..if it was smellivision I could show you our Lemon Scented gums - Eucalyptus citriodora - which when you crush their leaves smell exactly like lemon.... or the Peppermint gums - Eucalyptus dives - which....

Yup, you guessed it.

Any other Australian native tree facts you never wanted to know?  ;D

lookin good ...tree nerd  [thumbsup]

Are the gum trees less dense than the acacia's?  Is that why the difference in firewood quality?  Do either of the species work for lumber?  They sure put out some bold flowers!  Thanks for the pics!

Hooked me one  [evil] [laugh].

Depends.  Gum trees vary widely.  River Red gums are extremely dense and make superb firewood.  Blackwoods (Acacias) are dense too, more so than the Blue gums which love to grow here.  Blue gum isnt widely regarded as great firewood... but since they shoot up like weeds.... I reckon I can afford to burn 150% of something that grows 500% faster  ;).

Both are great hardwood timber.  Blackwood is beautiful (much too nice to just burn - even though thats what I do with it).  All of the framing and flooring in our house is Eucalyptus obliqua aka Messmate (or Tasmanian Oak if you're a real estate agent  [roll])..
(http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3732/12573693555_e43e4080c0_k.jpg)

Hooked you two  ;)

Nice flooring you have there.  [thumbsup]   It does look a bit like red oak.

Beautiful stuff!  I am thinking about getting a Logosol mill or maybe just an Alaska Mill attachment for making some lumber.  I have a 10 acre woodlot that I cut firewood out of but there are some real nice red and white oaks down in there that are too nice for firewood.  We had a bad windstorm several years ago and I lost 4 of my 9 black walnut trees along with three large spruce trees from the yard.  I had a guy come in with a woodmizer bandsaw rig and knock it all into lumber.  Had the walnut and some white oak kiln dried so I have a couple thousand board feet of nice lumber.  One of my remaining black walnuts is about 4' on the butt so when that goes, there will be a pile of lumber.  I like working in the woods.

Cool stuff in here Ung!  Pretty blooms and that flooring is pretty too!  We don't have many choices around here.  Oak is best, but slow.  Maple is faster but not as hot.  Locust is slow and very hard but burns very hot like Hickory.  None of them have pretty blooms, but they do turn nice colors in October.

JM

Very cool.

Back home at my parents place in Michigan, we had a sugar maple that created a bunch of saplings every year.  I remember transplanting a number of them and now my parents have many more mature trees on their property.

Got any resident koala?

LOVE!!!!   Thanks for sharing Ung.   [thumbsup]

You and my pop could talk trees for hours.  He's planted thousands.



May not want to post too many pics of the place
at the risk of being inundated with (un)invited visitors.   ;)

awesome..  you do anything with the tress besides firewood, lumber and a great view?

What more do you need to do?

Fantastic pics Steve... [thumbsup]

Babs loves the blooms and the floor's awesome... [bow_down]

Geoff... [coffee]

Ten acres is a nice woodlot  [thumbsup]  I dont know much about European or American tree species... 'course I know what Oak is... and I do know just how beautiful Black Walnut timber can be [thumbsup].  Very nice.  Yeah I like being out amongst our trees too but mostly I'm only making firewood.

Yup.  That's the most rewarding part.

This bloke in the back yard recently...
(http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5505/10687218794_90e571f78f_k.jpg)

And this silly bugger up a Japanese Maple in the front yard (guess he was sampling some foreign cuisine  [laugh])..
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7445/12235519636_e2051ef0b1_k.jpg)

We make homes for Koalas  :)

:)

When we planted all that Koala fodder, we expected to be inundated with visitors.  Every one gets their own tree to sleep in  ;D ;D ;)

Thanks for all the compliments people  :) 

Just wanted to share my native Aussie tree nerdiness with ya.

That second koala surely posed for that pic!
Beautiful back yard! Now I'm gonna have to ride down there soon.

I'm working from home today mate.  Coffee is ready  [thumbsup]

I read this about the Koala.


"Aside from chlamydia, koalas are also contracting leukemia and lymphoma at alarming rates, largely due to a “koala retrovirus” that is somewhat similar to the HIV virus that strikes humans."

Up north Koalas are getting sick.  To date the Victorian population down here in the far south remain largely healthy.  Loss of habitat is the Koala's greatest threat.

Koala version of Sushi?

JM

Beauty.  My wife loves those things.  She got to
Hold one at a small zoo in kuranda.

I'm working and freezing with this cool change :P
I'll call and let you know.

Yeah 21 degrees is pretty... brisk  ;D

ah so you don't harvest any Eucalyptus?     great shots of the tree dwellers

Caught a third one!  [thumbsup]

I developed an interest in trees when I worked as a luthier (sorta) in my first job out of college.  Starting making boxes, tables, etc. at home and consequently started learning about different trees.  Now that I live in NYC, I get sick of ubiquitous concrete, glass, and steel and try to find any green I can.  I then began to wonder what kind of trees I'm looking at so started to read up.  I keep a sketchbook, where I draw trees and take notes and interesting facts (e.g. Gingko trees were the only living thing to survive the bomb at Hiroshimo!  Even bloomed the next spring (as a result, Gingkos are a symbol of hope in japan)).

Anyway, here's my eucalyptus page for the hell of it.  I may add a sketch based on one of your images, Ung!  ;)

(http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii603/1pt21GW/eucalyptus_zps489837f3.jpg)

Interesting that you have Eucalyptus floorboards.  My reading indicated that Eucalyptus were brought to California in the 19th C for construction lumber, given the speed at which they grow.  Problem was the wood twisted as it dried and hardened so much it was damn near impossible to drive a nail through it.  In the end, they were almost useless to builders and became an invasive tree that took over certain parts of the state.  Maybe it was the specific species that was not lumber friendly??

Nice drawing 1.21GW  [thumbsup]

I enjoyed reading your notation along with the drawing too.  Looks like you have one of the many smooth barked Eucalypts there.  Within genus Eucalyptus, there's a myriad of species and great variation amongst 'em.  

Very different bark....

Iron Bark - Eucalyptus sideroxylon..
(http://northernbeachesherbarium.com.au/gallery/d/3192-2/Eucalyptus+sideroxylon+growth+habit.JPG)

Messmate aka Tassie Oak - Eucalyptus obliqua..
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Starr_031214-0056_Eucalyptus_obliqua.jpg)

Sydney Blue Gum - Eucalyptus saligna (we have a couple of these growing just because they're such beautiful trees)..
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BZb4JovAGl0/UBuxbFXKbkI/AAAAAAAANV0/8k-FN7EnfZM/s1600/Eucalyptus%2Bsaligna.JPG)

Southern Blue Gum - Eucalyptus globulus (native to this region and to Tasmania. We have lots of these growing... because that's what ought naturally be found here. The earlier Koala picture is Koala up one of these)..
(http://www.florafinder.com/LargePhotos/D6/Eucalyptus_globulus-6830581756.jpg)

Very different leaves...

Cabbage Gum - Eucalyptus platyphylla...
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Eucalyptus_platyphylla_foliage_and_buds.jpg)

Narrow-Leaved Black Peppermint - Eucalyptus nicholii..
(http://www.dancingoaks.com/shop/images/EucalyptusNic.JPG)

Not just our floorboards are Eucalypt, all of the framing is too.  In our case its Eucalyptus obliqua, pretty common construction timber..

http://www.daff.qld.gov.au/forestry/using-wood-and-its-benefits/wood-properties-of-timber-trees/tasmanian-oak (http://www.daff.qld.gov.au/forestry/using-wood-and-its-benefits/wood-properties-of-timber-trees/tasmanian-oak)

Decking on our verandahs is Messmate too. Our post-and-board fence is built with Messmate board onto treated pine posts.  Gotta pre-drill the board before you can nail it to the softwood posts.  New Aussie hardwood framing isnt so hard to nail into... but ours has been around for 30+ years...  

I do know that if you leave new 6" x 1" Messmate boards out in the sun.... they twist and curl up like buggery in no time  :-[ [bang]

Interesting to me that Eucalypts imported into California were quickly abandoned as construction timber.  Yup, maybe poor variety choice, I dunno.  Maybe there are just better local timbers for the purpose...  I imagine Eucalypts would love it in California.. and grow berserk.  They devour ground water.

Nope.  If we harvested the foliage for Eucalyptus oil there'd be no tucker for the tree dwellers.  Varieties we're growing aren't the best oil yielding anyway.

Great thread!  Great drawing and notes!  What an education ;D  I hope to see your forest one day Ung. 

Ok, so I became more curious and read up more on the history of eucalypti in California.  It seems the reason that it didn't make it as a lumber wood was, although fast-growing, the trees need real time (75-100 yrs, according to one article) to age and harden, else they twist and crack when dried.  Also, it appears the Tasmanian Blue Gum variety (eucalyptus globulus) was the main species imported.

Short history:
http://www.kcet.org/updaily/socal_focus/history/la-as-subject/who-eucalyptized-southern-california.html (http://www.kcet.org/updaily/socal_focus/history/la-as-subject/who-eucalyptized-southern-california.html)

Interesting longer history:
http://www.academia.edu/322875/Gone_Native_Californias_Love-Hate_Relationship_with_Eucalyptus_Trees (http://www.academia.edu/322875/Gone_Native_Californias_Love-Hate_Relationship_with_Eucalyptus_Trees)

Both good reads, but the second shows the speculative, entrepreneurial, and scientific/medicinal drive (often wrong) behind it all.  Shows how trees can be politicized in some ways.

Actually reminds me of a lecture I heard from a historian and agriculturalist about the history of palm trees in southern California.  Very interesting, and had a lot to do with race and class.  Poor trees.  All they want is a little sun & water... :'(

ah ok..   know off hand which type is good for oils?

 [thumbsup] [thumbsup] Planting trees ..That's a really wonderful thing to do Ung.

Not something I ever thought much about.

Sheila S. Mude thought about it though....  http://www.fao.org/docrep/x5336e/x5336e0n.htm (http://www.fao.org/docrep/x5336e/x5336e0n.htm)

Thanks for posting those links.  Very interesting reading  [thumbsup].

For me the Eucalypt just is.  It belongs.  It's belonging is accepted - good with bad.  Its part of the family.  So I've never considered how it would be viewed within another environment.  I'm generally against the propagation of foreign flora (and fauna too for that matter)... yet I found it strange to be aligning myself in nodding agreement with those Californians less enthusiastic about my otherwise beloved E.globulus.   History has shown that importing plants and creatures from another world frequently ends in tears. 

I could go on about the friggin' rabbit.  Or the fox....  cane toads....  European bumble bees...  Blackberry bramble  [bang]

(http://www.kcet.org/updaily/socal_focus/CHS-5550.jpg)
"Two men demonstrate the girth of a 25-year-old eucalyptus tree on the L. J. Rose ranch in Rosemead, circa 1900"

My first reaction to the pic above was: "Bullshit.  That tree has gotta be way older than 25 years"...

But then there's this - from your 2nd article - to take into consideration:
"In the lowland regions of California, the Australian genus benefited from ecological similarities and dissimilarities — a familiar two-season, fire-prone Mediterranean climate without all of the insects, birds, mammals, and diseases that fed on eucalypts DownUnder. As a result, the trees grew unusually fast".

What I really don't get is why the Eucalypt in California failed as a lumber source when we use it with success extensively...  Even though E.globulus wouldn't be the first variety you'd choose... (seems like it was chosen for its rapid growth above all else).. its not unworkable... although you can see from the link below that there are caveats...  http://www.woodsolutions.com.au/Wood-Species/southern-blue-gum (http://www.woodsolutions.com.au/Wood-Species/southern-blue-gum)

I'm not convinced.  Incorrect processing is my suspicion combined with inappropriate species selection....  :-\

"To make matters worse, the wood did not prove to be as enduring as advertised. Railroad ties cracked; poles rotted in the ground."  Wrong species!! 

Red Gum - E.camaldulensis - has been used as railway sleepers ("railroad ties" to you) since the first tracks were laid in Australia.  Houses were built on foundation poles or "stumps" of Red Gum which endured in the ground without rotting for decades... and decades.  Concrete has replaced Red Gum for these duties in more recent times however.  http://www.woodsolutions.com.au/Wood-Species/Red-Gum (http://www.woodsolutions.com.au/Wood-Species/Red-Gum)

Both of those articles discuss the failure of the Eucalypt.  But E.globulus is not the Eucalypt.  Its just one of em.  The fast one. 

Maybe investors were just too eager for a return (as if that would ever happen  ;)).

It could be that the faster growth rate affected the structure of the wood which made it less durable here...???

...and this pic.  Do they grow like this down under?  I mean, it shot up so fast that it looks like a palm tree!

(http://www.kcet.org/updaily/socal_focus/CHS-10019.jpg)

Mills, my alma mater, is lined with them.

(http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1046/968658771_6a559928b4_o.jpg)

The pic above shows the way most of the Eucalyptus are planted here in California.

Planted shoulder to shoulder, primarily as windbreaks in farming areas (it seems).

I recall folks saying the root systems are not very sturdy, or at least when they get that tall planted so closely.
I saw where 50 or more Eucs toppled over in a windstorm, but it was 60mph plus winds, after a solid week of heavy rain, and very sandy soil.... Not a very fair test.

Yeah, that one looked pretty unusual too.  Never seen anything so tall yet so skinny here.  

Loose, sandy soil.  High wind.  Soaked ground.  Yup, they'll fall over in those conditions.  

Could be.....

I'd almost guarantee this is the reason. When it didn't immediately beat out the local varieties with which they had experience, the lumber companies just said forget it and went back to what they knew. There wasn't a need to spend the time & money learning, so they didn't.

I somehow missed this thread also. Theres a big grove of them down at my Dads place. No cute furry bears in them but the Red Tail Hawks seem to like them. It makes good fire wood but its heavy and you need a 20 ton (minimum) log splitter for that stuff.

Next time I go down there I'll get some pictures.

So which of those trees aren't deadly?

They'll all kill you dead if you let 'em fall on ya.

Lol!  Funny, all of ours will kill you exactly the same way!

JM

Great thread.

Loved the koalas. I might have to join koko64 on that ride to your place.  [Dolph]

I'd be happy to help you burn some of your plantation too!  [thumbsup]

GK