A mix of the same as they cut would be best - Douglas-fir, Grand Fir, Western Hemlock. Maybe add a few Coast Redwood and Monterey Pine or Bishop Pine for extra speed and diversity.

Resin

Thank you Resin. Was just walking the wooded area of our property; about 3 acres. Lots of fir, cedar and hemlock saplings about 6-8 feet tall that could be relocated this fall. Any tricks on transplanting hemlock? I've never had one survive being moved.

I like the idea of adding some pine trees for diversity.

Thanks again.

Metasequoia (Dawn Redwood) are very fast. Coast Red as suggested above, is nice. Bald Cypress (Taxodium) is not slow, but don't know about their performance in the Pacific NW.

Thank you njoasis. Very hot dry summer here in Seattle; quite unusual. Will need to wait until fall to plant. Appreciate the suggestions.

Just out of curiosity did they sell the lumber?

Always wonder about folks buying "wooded lots" with no apparent sense of attachment to same....was there no cleared lot for these folks?

Larches-to the extent they grow in your coastal area-are just about as rapid-growing as any conifer. My personal preference is for Larix marschlinsii, the hybrid between European and Japanese larch. Not easy to find in the trade-I know of exactly one place that carries it, and this is as plug stock-the tree grows with a vigor unlike just about anything I've ever seen, leastways outside of such rapid-growing junk like Ailianthus, box elder, etc. Longer, more luxuriant needles than all other larch I've seen as well. May even be somewhat resistant to common larch maladies.

I should think that one or more of your PNW native conifers would work admirably for this job, as already alluded to above. But if it gets cold enough there, you might try the hybrid larch, or the western-again, not knowing if it is a cold enough area for these trees.

+oM

mkmcwa - They are apparently trying to find a buyer for the trees without much success.

wisconsitom - Thanks for the suggestions on larch species. I'll look into it. And yes, it baffles me as well when there are plenty of five acre pasture parcels available in the area which would have required no clearing...

In trial plantings such as at local arboreta as might be expected the native conifers outperform their relatives from other parts of the world. If you want speed and reliability go with the local natives. For decorative screening Thuja plicata in particular is liable to be your best bet, unless site is marginal for it (poor and dry soil etc.) and a gaunt appearance might result.

If the stand was true old growth (200 or more years without having been cleared by fire, logging or wind etc.) then it really is too bad that is was cut, as there is so little old growth left around here now.

This post was edited by bboy on Thu, Aug 21, 14 at 14:57

bboy - Not sure how old the trees were, but certainly more than my half century. 80-90 foot tall cedars with lush branches and trunks over 4 feet wide. Apparently they thrive here, so perhaps my best bet is to transplant some of the volunteer saplings scattered about our property that are 6-8 feet tall and let them thrive.

bboy - Not sure how old the trees were, but certainly more than my half century. 80-90 foot tall cedars with lush branches and trunks over 4 feet wide. Apparently they thrive here, so perhaps my best bet is to transplant some of the volunteer saplings scattered about our property that are 6-8 feet tall and let them thrive.

On the surface of it definitely too small for old growth except on a poor site where small trees turn out to be quite old when bored. It all depends on the individual circumstances. Some years ago forest ecologist Robert Van Pelt was actually engaged by the Washington Department of Natural Resources to prepare the field guide Identifying Mature and Old Forests in Western Washington because you can't necessarily see the forest for the trees, and The need for this guide became apparent after the 2004 Legislature directed DNR to conduct an inventory of old-growth forest stands on state lands as defined by a panel of scientists (same).

Smaller transplants are easier to move. Look for ones that are growing in the sun already, unless you will be re-planting in shade.

This post was edited by bboy on Sat, Aug 23, 14 at 17:26

Thanks bboy. Lots of smaller volunteer cedar, hemlock and fir scattered about. Some in sun, some in shade. Just need to wait for the cooler, wetter weather to move them.

Sorry about the duplicate posts. Not sure why this is happening...

This post was edited by blackdiamond on Sat, Aug 23, 14 at 18:05

By all means then, yes, work with the advance regeneration already onsite! Best of possible situations for you, for the trees, and for the ecological health of your neck of the woods. Can't beat true natives like that-native to the very location!

+oM

.Deborah .. Sorry to hear about your adjacent forest loss. Guess the neighbours aren't "Tree huggers"!

I have successfully transplanted hemlock & other species. First check by finding out what type of hemlock you have .. tap root or fibrous root system. If it has a fibrous root system ... in the spring take a shovel & drive it down into the ground about 1 ft. around the perimeter of the plant this will encourage more roots to grow close to the trunk & make transplanting more successful. If tap root .. transplant only very short, immature trees.

Hemlocks like semi shade & lots of water on an ongoing schedule when transplanted.

Well hello again. A friend of mine just bought a house on acreage nearby. It includes some land that used to be forested, but was logged a few years ago. Many variety of fir, spruce and pine that are 2-6 feet tall. She said I was welcome to bring a crew and a shovel and do some "thinning". Going to wait a couple more weeks, as we are still getting frost occasionally and I want the transplants to have the best shot at survival.

My husband had a logging business years ago. I was so amazed at how fast the forest would regenerate itself. Good idea to use transplants of nearby trees as obviously they are happy growing in that area. I would suggest the "shorter the better" for transplants.

Yes, yes, to the above statement. While I'm no advocate of the logging out of the few true remaining old-growth stands-a concept fraught with much confusion-these and most any other forest stand which has been logged-and no, I'm not at all opposed to all logging-are chock-full of the seeds, seedlings, and root sprouts of the new forest. In the tropics, dumb people are calling all land which has been logged off a total loss. Yes, we need to retain the enormous trees of these stands, but to say all is lost when they've been logged is exactly the ridiculous premise upon which is based the idea that it is then okay to go ahead and convert these sites to palm kernel oil plantations. so very, very foolish. Even here in the Western Great Lakes, a much shorter growing season area, the regeneration of cut-over land is amazingly rapid.

+oM

Very rapid regeneration here in the Pacific NW where logging is a common occurrence, but evergreens are not the first tree species to grow after clearcutting. It's Alnus rubra and Acer macrophyllum. (Red alder and Oregon Bigleaf Maple) Then Western Hemlock and Douglas Fir grow up in their shade and eventually take over as the deciduous trees get old and die. It takes quite awhile for an evergreen forest to dominate without intervention so the logging companies plant seedling Douglas Firs right after logging so they can get a foothold before the deciduous trees have a chance.
I've been over to Deborah's garden. Hi Deborah! It's very beautiful and has a lot of large trees, including very big Acer macrophyllums. She is doing a wonderful job and asking the right questions.
Mike

Good good! Yes, I've always thought of the red alder as the aspen of the PNW, playing roughly similar roles-as first colonizer of newly-opened sites, then as maturity comes on, as a nursery for conifers. We have the identical process with aspen/birch.

+oM

Hi Mike. You'll have to get over this way soon to get some of the lamium. It is going gangbusters and I have quite a bit that needs a new home...

deborah ...I can see that if we lived closer to each other we would have fun sharing our plant "babies".

I could always send you some seeds! This aquilegia Nora Barlow would probably do well in your climate... Trading seeds would be fun!