hey elka

free wood chips.. can be a blessing... though free might not be the right word ... lol ...

if you had a wood burning stove.. you would be all set for a long time ....

have you looked up lumber mills.. and asked if a 3 foot log has any value????

try to stay away from anything claiming to be FAST GROWING ....

i treasure all oak.. because i like to garden under my trees .... if you feel the same way.. stay away from maple.. mulberry and willow.. to name just a few .... and they are far from slow growing .. once a transplant gets going ....

where are you in OH ... there is a great tree farm in mansfield ... that i could refer you to

ken

Hi Ken,I'm in the Cleveland area. Yes, I looove oaks, and it killed me when this tree started to die. I bought my property because of the oaks.

On fast growing trees - the arborist who's removing the tree for me kind of "chastised" me for planting two corkscrew willows in my yard. I think they are a lovely tree when mature but he said they are junk trees that die in 12-15 years. I see specimens around my neighborhood that look quite old and healthy and I just can't believe these trees are less than 20 years old. After what he said I did some research on fast growers and apparently they produce weak wood, so while I don't want anything that will be dead in 12 years, I would like something that will give me some nice shade within 5 years, or is that unrealistic? I planted a Crimson King Maple two years ago, and OMG that is the slowest growing tree I've ever seen.

I think I will take your suggestion and call some lumber yards, and I'm always on the lookout for good nursery suggestions!

If you have any emotional attachment to the oak tree you could consider having a saw mill cut the logs into lumber that you could use to build a small table or bench or something else.

That way you can still enjoy the tree.

I don't know about white pine. I have never been fond of them and our white pines seem to have extensively brittle wood that loves to fall in one huge chunk.

What exactly happened to your oak? They are usually good, long-living, disease-free trees around here.

Have you considered tulip tree? I love them. They have the same large, stately look that an oak does! And they grow fast and have decently strong wood. I'd definitely recommend. I planted a couple at our other house in Geauga County and they are going crazy...they seem to do well here.

If you leave a few feet of the trunk in place, maybe you could find someone to do a custom stump carving.

Alex

There are many uses for the wood but if you go leaving it on the ground it's eventually going to rot and become a nice home for snakes. I'd suggest finding someone that can use the wood in exchange for making you something out of part of it. Wood chips are one use but could probably be best used as heating fuel for people that use certain heaters. Tree services usually offer to haul the trunk away becuase they know who can use the wood.

I thank all of you, these are pretty good suggestions.

I called a few lumber yards and all of them said the same thing: We do not process raw logs, that's done in Pennsylvania o_0

I love, love, love the suggestion of tulip trees to replace it! I wasn't even aware that a Magnolia species could get that big, live that long and grow that fast! I may splurge and get 5! Thank you for the suggestion.

Does anyone know a good nursery in OH where I could tulip trees?

Once the wood is chipped I guess I could advertise it on CraigsList. I could give some to my neighbor too. The most sentimental thing I can do is use her remains to feed the vegetation in the rest of my yard, so I will keep a big portion of it myself. I have to build a proper mulch bin though to contain all of this wood.

Elkka, not sure where in Ohio you are, but here in the Cleveland area, I got my tulip tree from Petiti's Garden Center last year. They may or may not have them this late in the year. They aren't too difficult to find, but you probably won't find them at Home Depot, etc.