can a coppicer advise??

[mr dazzler]

What I know about wood is more to do with its properties and characteristics of each species, best species for certain jobs etc, but I know next to nothing about how to grow and cultivate it. So I need a little helpful advice from any tree experts among the forum members please.

I have some ash trees in my garden, about 6-10" thick. There are one or two thin branches shooting out at an angle of about 25-30 deg, 1/2 way up the trunks; As I may well want to use the branch with a bit of attached trunk to make elbow adzes or palstave axe handles, I was wondering if anyone can tell me if its feasible to train the branches with a pipe or some other form of splint to keep them straight until harvest time. Could you bend a fresh new branch 90 deg to end up with a socket axe handle? Would it kill the branches?
I keep the heights of the trees restricted (they a bit like the pollarded trees you see in France), and noticed that one tree in particular seems to be getting very fat-is this normal?
I also have a willow which I pruned right back last autumn till there was just a 12"x3" stump. It is now 9-10' tall and still growing, stacks of beautiful healthy growth. I understand willow takes easily-how do you go about creating more new trees from cuttings?
Thanks MR D

 

[Tantalus]

willow is very easy to take cuttings from

even sawn up logs if left lying on wet ground will root (making them narly impossible to pick up lol)

best bet is to but 4 or 5 inch sticks from the withies and stand em in a jar of water

probably better to wait till late winter now though

oh and a jarful of withies on the table in the house will make catkins before they start rooting which is always a nice bit of spring to go with daffies

as for ash i'm afraid i never tried much with them they grow straight and even if kept out the gales

but as a decorative tree its the last to come into leaf and the first to lose em all which is a bit unsporting

maybe someone else can help ya with advice

Tant

 

[Realgar]

Pollards fatten up at the main trunk, willows can get quite ridiculous. As for willow cuttings - yeh, just shove them in water. If you have damp enough ground you can just shove sticks in and they'll grow. Alder does the same - in the marshy bits we have to remove all the trunk sections so they won't root.

Ash - I've never seen it grow anything but straight, handy wood as well - it burns green and seasoned.

Realgar

 

[R-Bowskill]

I've found that you can do amazing stuff with ash, hazel and willow. One of my tricks is to plat the 1 year shoots and let them grow so you end up with a piece of wood that looks like one stem. But when it's cut, seasoned and turned or carved it has fantastic grain.

In theory you could plat some ash shoots round a stone axe and let it grow it's own handle which would be fun and unique.

I've not had too much success with cuttings but willow and hazel can be multiplied by layering them, just bend a shoot to the ground and put a stone over it to hold it, next year cut it off and it'll grow from where it was on the ground, especially if you rub the bark a bit first.

 

[Realgar]

"One of my tricks is to plat the 1 year shoots and let them grow so you end up with a piece of wood that looks like one stem. But when it's cut, seasoned and turned or carved it has fantastic grain."

I've been wondering about doing that - or adding a spiral by twisting it. How long does it take for the wood to become consolidated enough not to fall apart when cut? Hazel staves that have had honey suckle growing up them for a long time have an incredible form.

Anyone know if Elm will do hardwood cuttings - I discovered an English elm in the woods and I'm wondering if I can multiply it up a bit before the bark beetles find it.

Realgar

 

[Tony]

Mr Jack would know the answer to this one!

 

[Seagull]

for Realgar.
ref Ulmus.

Yup for cuttings, but root sections(thick end just below surface)do even better, you can grow a mini forest from a horizontally laid section of root.

Most of em will air-layer dead easy, even bits 6ins thick.

Seagull