Planting trees in an existing woodland?

pachanco

Are there any particular types of trees that I could plant bare root in an existing woodland? (The plantation is mixed ash and conifers and are approximately 25 years old)

I'm looking to fill up any spaces where trees have been thinned out for firewood with new trees. Which trees would cope best in the low light levels, given the existing canopy and blockage of the sun light from existing trees. Is it even possible to successfully plant new trees within an existing woodland? I guess a high failure rate is to be expected.

Is there one particular tree that stands out from the rest for competing with existing mature trees for the daylight and nutrients?


Thanks Pachanco

lazybones32

It depends on how much space has been left from the thinning/removal.
A pioneer species (willow, rowan, alder and birch) could tolerate the conditions and all 4 mentioned are understorey trees...they are second-class trees in any established forest.
Bare rooted trees are inexpensive but it might be worth considering planting more ash et al because the soil microbes present will benefit the same varieties.

periodictable

lazybones32 wrote: »

It depends on how much space has been left from the thinning/removal.
A pioneer species (willow, rowan, alder and birch) could tolerate the conditions and all 4 mentioned are understorey trees...they are second-class trees in any established forest.

Your first comment is spot on.
However I disagree with your comments on the species. Pioneer species are intrinsically light demanders-they may survive in some shade but won't thrive. In fact birch is often used as a nurse species and if not removed will be
shaded out by the nursed species.
OP, you need to consider your soil type too-there are some shade tolerant conifers like tsuga. Holly is shade tolerant as are ash seedlings. Beech is shade tolerant. GO to any mature forest and look at the understory. It's there you will see what is growing well and quietly waiting for its time in the sun.

pachanco

Thanks for the replies lads. I guess the more space I give the new trees the better. I'd like to get a more varied plantation going.

If I trimmed the outside branches of the more mature ash trees to let in more light, would that be likely to damage the ash trees? I find that a lot of the outside lower branches seem to die off as the taller branches take the light anyway, so I guess I'd be just speeding up that process?

I have a few choices to pick from there, so I'll be a bit more prepared when I go to the nursery to pick some bare root trees.

Thanks

Oldtree

Do you have any of your own ash seedlings? that would have been my first choice as I have had seedlings out in a meadow completely covered with grass during the summer and they weren't bothered.

pachanco

I do have a few alright, I suppose that would be the sensible choice. It's just I would like to introduce a bit of variety so I'm not depending on one species.

Thanks

robp

Other shade tolerant native trees include Wych Elm, Yew. They are unconventional but lovely trees. If the shade is only light shade maybe wild cherry or hawthorn. Ash tends to produce a light shade so you may have flexibility. Having a diversity of trees species is always a good thing imo, as long as they are compatible species and they match your goal i.e. timber, amenity, nature etc.

Pruning (or formative shaping) ash is good. See here

www.coford.ie/media/coford/content/.../Silviculture_Of_Broadleaves.pdf‎

pachanco

Thanks for that link and the suggestions, when I clicked on the link, I got an error message.

Here is the link again, hopefully it works.

http://www.coford.ie/media/coford/content/publications/projectreports/cofordconnects/Silviculture_Of_Broadleaves.pdf

fergus1001

Perhaps you are thinking of converting your woodland into a continuous cover forest system I can give you a few pointers if you like

Rovi

It might be worth the OP's while looking at what ProSilva Ireland do too:
http://prosilvaireland.wordpress.com/

fergus1001

Rovi wrote: »

It might be worth the OP's while looking at what ProSilva Ireland do too:
http://prosilvaireland.wordpress.com/

Agreed Padraig o thuma is a good man in this regard to have a chat with on this

pachanco

fergus1001 wrote: »

Perhaps you are thinking of converting your woodland into a continuous cover forest system I can give you a few pointers if you like

No, nothing fancy like that, just filling in the big gaps with new trees rather than letting the brambles take hold. I've a good idea what I'm planting now, due to the previous advice. I was just really looking for advice on the best trees to plant due to the shady conditions. It's only a small parcel of land I'm dealing with. Thanks for the offer all the same and the best of luck with the job search.

pachanco

Rovi wrote: »

It might be worth the OP's while looking at what ProSilva Ireland do too:
http://prosilvaireland.wordpress.com/

Thanks, I'll have a look at that, I'm sure I'll get a few ideas from it.