Yellow Poplars worth anything?

[Hampton]

We're building a house on seven acres and framing will start sometime next week. The lot is heavily wooded and we have only cleared for the driveway and house. There are two large yellow poplars on the perimeter of the treeline that are within reach of the house. They are the tallest trees out there right now and I'd prefer to take them out now while there is plenty of room to drop them and nothing to damage in the process (house).

But, I am wondering if these trees are worth anything to anyone. Yellow poplar, about 20 inches diameter at the base at least 60 feet tall, one of the two might be approaching 100. Would I be better off putting up a craigslist add saying come drop them and take them for free, or would I be missing out on some money. I can do it myself but then I gotta deal with them on the ground. Had enough of that for a while and I don't plan to use them for firewood (got plenty already).

There is one VERY large poplar in another area of the lot that is not a threat to the house that someone told me was probably worth about $3k to the right person, which is why I ask about the two in question.

Thanks for any feedback.

 

[timberwolf]

I doubt any poplar is going to be worth 3k. It's pretty low on the value scale as woods go. Mostly goes into chips, plywood, skids, boxes, paint grade trim and other stuff. About the best you could hope for would be to have high grade poplar as a wood core in a snowboard or pair of skiis.

Around here anyway, many big poplars over about 16 -20 inches get punky in the middle and hardly make low grade fire wood.

But it's a good idea of keeping big poplars well away from your home, they do fail without much warning, tree might look ok, then a good wind and they snap right off or drop limbs.

Last time I purchased some rough sawn clear poplar I think it cost me about $1 a board foot at a retail mill, so working back from there with mark up, cost of sawing, waste and transport the tree(s) won't be worth much as lumber. And as fire wood it's kinda low heat, but i'l burn it in the fall and winter as have many acers to cull poplar from.

 

[NYCHA FORESTER]

Sorry, but you should have been asking these questions before you broke down.

 

[ms310]

Sorry, but you should have been asking these questions before you broke down.

 

[PA Plumber]

Popular was up around here, but has fallen in price again. 50 to 60 cents per board foot. Locally, 18"dbh is used to determine #1's from #2 logs.

If you have a truck load and were willing to stage it, you might be able to get a few dollars. I would talk to a couple of mills before doing anything. You might not have a market right now.

 

[Hampton]

Sorry, but you should have been asking these questions before you broke down.

Broke down?

I guess you meant broke ground? If so, then yes I already had a couple of pulpers come look at the lot before we knocked down the first tree for the driveway. Problem was that due to the geography and the fact that the front of the lot is very low and soft they couldn't work the lot to harvest. In order to get to the wider part (its a long skinny pie shaped lot) where they could set up operations there had to be a bridge built over a large creek. So we hired out the driveway and bridge ourselves, clearing as we went. No one was interested in coming for any of our wood. In the bottom part of the lot it's mostly poplar and sweetgum. Once across the creek and up the hill (65ft elevation change from creek to house site) it becomes almost all hardwood. A few poplars and pine here and there. Anything we knocked down in the hardwood area was bucked and split and sits in a pile and on a wood rack waiting for the house to be built when we will use it for some heating. We also gave plenty away to friends who helped out along the way.

It's only 2 trees and probably not worth much trouble to anyone, just thought I'd throw it out there to some folks who might know a more about all this than I do.

 

[timberwolf]

Now if you knocked them poplars down bucked them up split it up fine and bundled them up in armload lots and sold the bundles to campers for $3 to $5 bucks a bundle then the trees are likely worth a few hundred each.

 

[ShoerFast]

Now if you knocked them poplars down bucked them up split it up fine and bundled them up in armload lots and sold the bundles to campers for $3 to $5 bucks a bundle then the trees are likely worth a few hundred each.

Poplars, Aspen, and Cottonwood seem all the same in my book, and not a lot of value, sold in campfire bundles would be the best return.

From what I understand, Poplars are pulp-wood for paper.

Personally, I would pass on a free Popular.

 

[NYCHA FORESTER]

Broke down?

I guess you meant broke ground? .

Yup....... I'm such a dolt.... typing too fast

 

[moss]

Poplars, Aspen, and Cottonwood seem all the same in my book, and not a lot of value, sold in campfire bundles would be the best return.

From what I understand, Poplars are pulp-wood for paper.

Personally, I would pass on a free Popular.

Are you confusing Yellow Poplar with trees actually of the poplar genus? Liriodendron tulipifera (Tulip Poplar or Yellow Poplar) is not related to cottonwood or any of the aspens, it's much stronger wood.
-moss

 

[Adkpk]

Poplar is used a lot in cabinet making. It is dense, lightweight, and doesn't warp.
It's got to be worth something.

 

[ShoerFast]

Are you confusing Yellow Poplar with trees actually of the poplar genus? Liriodendron tulipifera (Tulip Poplar or Yellow Poplar) is not related to cottonwood or any of the aspens, it's much stronger wood.
-moss

I believe you got me! Thanks!

I was thinking something from this family~

Sci-Tech Encyclopedia: Poplar

Any tree of the genus Populus, family Salicaceae, marked by simple, alternate leaves which are usually broader than those of the willow, the other American representative of this family. Poplars have scaly buds, bitter bark, flowers and fruit in catkins, and a five-angled pith. See also Salicales; Willow.

Some species are commonly called cottonwood because of the cottony hairs attached to the seeds. Other species, called aspens, have weak, flattened leaf stalks which cause the leaves to flutter in the slightest breeze. One of the important species in the United States is the quaking, or trembling, aspen (P. tremuloides). The soft wood of this species is used for paper pulp. The European aspen (P. nigra), which is similar to the quaking aspen, is sometimes planted, and its variety, italica, the Lombardy poplar of erect columnar habit, is used in landscape planting. The black cottonwood (P. trichocarpa) is the largest American poplar and is also the largest broad-leaved tree in the forests of the Pacific Northwest. The cottonwood or necklace poplar (P. deltoides) is native in the eastern half of the United States. In the balsam or tacamahac poplar (P. balsamifera), the resin is used in medicine as an expectorant. The wood is used for veneer, boxes, crates, furniture, paper pulp, and excelsior.

The rest of you guys are talking about something I never seen before: LINK

 

[timberwolf]

It is dense, lightweight, and doesn't warp.

Hmmmm?

I thought dense and light weight we kind on opposite terms. And I have yet to see any wood that does not warp, well other than pertrified wood.

Yellow poplar is a bit denser than Basswood, and Aspen, but it is still amongst the lightest hardwoods in this part of the world. Maybe a little stronger and harder than white pine, but not by much.

It is stable and used in moldings and cabinet making only where it is not seen or is painted over. Main reason is it's cheep, bonus that it is often clear straight grain and stable. It problematic though for splitting when trying to drive a screw or nail into it. Tends to be blotchy when stained. Quite poor weather resistance.

I have milled a few hundred board feet off the farm, makes utility wood, but thats about it other than making a fast burning fire wood that produces a lot of ashes.

It's a plain grained and wood subject to green yellow and grey staining so not too atractive and not very tough.

Even if you could get a couple hundred board feet yield out of each tree and could net 50 cents a board foot you would be lucky to get 100$ a tree at best.

 

[Hampton]

Instead of how much the poplars are worth as lumber, how about how much they are worth as yard trees?

The only trees within reach of the house?

I believe it's a mistake to remove all trees that are within reach of the house.

This is Georgia!

How about the summer time cooling benefits of shade trees?

Got any photos?

I do but not where I can get to them to post right now. When I say "within reach" I mean that if they fell in the right direction they could hit the (future) house. Otherwise the house is in a clearing in the forest. The clearing is probably bumping up against about 3/4 acre. All the other trees along the surrounding treeline are shorter and are more desirable hardwoods. Red and white oak, hickory.

Thanks to all for the feedback. Since I am pressed for time now I am probably just going to drop them this weekend and buck them. After they dry out a bit we can use the wood in the outside fire pit. Mix it in with other stuff.