Locust

[howard270]

Do those trees have thorns on the young wood and, if so, how long are they?

Harry K

I will look when I am out there today. Not many young growing as this was a planted grove back in the late 19teens and early 1920's. From what I recall the few young did have small thorns on them. Nothing like the honey locusts that we dozed out near these.

 

[Hedgerow]

I will look when I am out there today. Not many young growing as this was a planted grove back in the late 19teens and early 1920's. From what I recall the few young did have small thorns on them. Nothing like the honey locusts that we dozed out near these.

Was it as nice out over there this morning as it was here???
It's finally cooling down!!!

 

[turnkey4099]

I will look when I am out there today. Not many young growing as this was a planted grove back in the late 19teens and early 1920's. From what I recall the few young did have small thorns on them. Nothing like the honey locusts that we dozed out near these.

Even old BL have the thorns on young wood, anything with leaves on it. Real fun stacking the brush bare handed.

Only totally dead BL will not have them after several years. It takes awhile for all the 1,2,3 year old twigs and branches to falloff

Harry K

 

[turnkey4099]

Was it as nice out over there this morning as it was here???
It's finally cooling down!!!

It was nice here the last two days after weeks of 90 and up temps. Today? Not so much, high wind and only 60-62.

Harry K

 

[Wood Doctor]

It was nice here the last two days after weeks of 90 and up temps. Today? Not so much, high wind and only 60-62.

Harry K

Nice bump, Harry. Say, I almost split some locust by accident for campfire wood today. Somebody helping me split rounds picked up the big locust round and said, "Doc, this stuff seems awfully heavy compared to the other rounds. What is it?"

I replied, "That's fuel wood I threw into the pile by mistake, probably locust. The campers can't even lift a bundle of nine logs split from that round. Set it aside and go get another one."

'Nuff said.

 

[howard270]

Even old BL have the thorns on young wood, anything with leaves on it. Real fun stacking the brush bare handed.

Only totally dead BL will not have them after several years. It takes awhile for all the 1,2,3 year old twigs and branches to falloff

Harry K

I looked over the entire wood lot where I cut and could not find any young stuff or regrowth for black locust. I only found 3 live trees on the entire place. So the ones I am cutting could have been dead a while. I was able to stop at the neighbors place here by my house and it has some regrowth with approximately 1/4 inch thorns on it. The 3 live trees on our place looked to have small thorns, but all the green was about 30 foot up and I couldn't see that well.

I did dig up a few pieces that have been buried in the sand since my dad bought the place 17 years ago and they were completely solid. But the standing dead I have been cutting has the rot in it from the pics. I am thinking that ice storm allowed water inside to cause the rot.

 

[howard270]

Was it as nice out over there this morning as it was here???
It's finally cooling down!!!

Hedge,

It was pretty nice here today. Was 59 this morning on the farm. 53 in town. And only got up to 85 for a high. I think I finally got all my firewood hauled to the house for winter.

I even saw a piece of hedge with some rot in the center. I wouldn't have believed it had I not seen it with my own eyes.

Gonna get up near 90 later this week, but another cold front to come thorough Friday!

 

[turnkey4099]

I looked over the entire wood lot where I cut and could not find any young stuff or regrowth for black locust. I only found 3 live trees on the entire place. So the ones I am cutting could have been dead a while. I was able to stop at the neighbors place here by my house and it has some regrowth with approximately 1/4 inch thorns on it. The 3 live trees on our place looked to have small thorns, but all the green was about 30 foot up and I couldn't see that well.

I did dig up a few pieces that have been buried in the sand since my dad bought the place 17 years ago and they were completely solid. But the standing dead I have been cutting has the rot in it from the pics. I am thinking that ice storm allowed water inside to cause the rot.

Pictures plus the presence of thorns says you _do_ have BL. Odd that it rots that way, never seen nor heard of it doing that before.

Harry K

 

[old CB]

At howard 270:

Yep, that's black locust you have there. I used to live in sw Oklahoma, Anadarko area. I cut countless black locusts, and they're a different animal there than elsewhere. Some sort of blight or something gets into them and causes the rot. I talked to a state forester once and he couldn't identify the culprit, but it's unmistakeable. In my ranching days I used BL for fence posts. Where it's not rotten, it makes great firewood. But the rotten core will hold moisture and cause you grief.

 

[Jeremy102579]

Being the starter to this thread. Now I am wondering if this is Honey Locust or Black Locust I have ?

Here is a tiny piece I pulled out today. Unfortunately this stuff is on the bottom of the stack so I could not get a good piece out. It has been seasoning since August 2011 but I think I might save it until next year to burn.

Any ideas ?

 

[Hedgerow]

Being the starter to this thread. Now I am wondering if this is Honey Locust or Black Locust I have ?

Here is a tiny piece I pulled out today. Unfortunately this stuff is on the bottom of the stack so I could not get a good piece out. It has been seasoning since August 2011 but I think I might save it until next year to burn.

Any ideas ?

Looks like Honey Locust... It's faded, but if you knock a split in half, pink = Honey locust / Yellow = Black Locust.

 

[TKeller]

I looked over the entire wood lot where I cut and could not find any young stuff or regrowth for black locust. I only found 3 live trees on the entire place. So the ones I am cutting could have been dead a while. I was able to stop at the neighbors place here by my house and it has some regrowth with approximately 1/4 inch thorns on it. The 3 live trees on our place looked to have small thorns, but all the green was about 30 foot up and I couldn't see that well.

I did dig up a few pieces that have been buried in the sand since my dad bought the place 17 years ago and they were completely solid. But the standing dead I have been cutting has the rot in it from the pics. I am thinking that ice storm allowed water inside to cause the rot.

Howard. as I said in a earlier post on this thread, on my place here in Kentucky most all my locust trees have some to a lot of rot just as you showed in your picture. I presume it is from the locust borers, as that is what I have read. Some trees have as much as 1/2 or more rot. Some do not have much either. To be far to turnkey and some others, I have not noticed much rot in their cut up locust trees. Wish that was the case here, but still a lot of good firewood in a big locust tree regardless of the amount of rot. Need a dendrologist to give us the straight scoop

 

[TKeller]

The close up of the bark is the live tree/left tree of the two standing trees.

These trees suffered some damage in our bad ice storm 4 years ago. Most of what I cut is standing dead black locust. If I do cut a live tree and allow it to cure, it will last as long as you guys state. But, when I cut the standing dead trees, about 1/3 of it is punky or rotted like below

The two end pieces are the ends of the two trees lying down in the previous post. They ere cut standing dead. The piece split open is a piece I split this morning from a standing dead tree I cut down and bucked last weekend.

I don't know how long these trees have been dead or why they died, it may have something to so with the soil here, but black locusts rot in this area like in these pics.

Howard, that is like the black locust that I find in my woods. If the rot is really bad in a area the storms will break the tree out. Locust trees are a real mess for a yard tree. Brittle limbs, trunks break off at weak rot areas and in some cases the whole tree uproots. I am gradually getting rid of them all although some of the hollow ones I am keeping for den trees for squirrels and owls.

 

[howard270]

Howard, that is like the black locust that I find in my woods. If the rot is really bad in a area the storms will break the tree out. Locust trees are a real mess for a yard tree. Brittle limbs, trunks break off at weak rot areas and in some cases the whole tree uproots. I am gradually getting rid of them all although some of the hollow ones I am keeping for den trees for squirrels and owls.

The odd thing is it is mainly the trees in the middle of my woodlot. I cut some standing dead ones on the east edge of it a few months ago that have been long dead and they were as solid as a cured hedge post. Only these dead trees were only 4 to 6 inches in diameter at the trunk. Where I am seeing the most rot is in the larger trees in the center of the woodlot. I am still cutting and splitting it for firewood. It is still heavier than the walnut I cut last summer.