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I’ve been considering hugelkultur as one option for the massive amount of poplar we will soon have on our hands. It’s taking over, and a hazard to our structure
by gdubs 6y ago
I’ve been considering hugelkultur as one option for the massive amount of poplar we will soon have on our hands. It’s taking over, and a hazard to our structures, so it’s gotta come down. (We’ll replace with more appropriate trees.) My one concern is that the poplar will simply start sprouting again. It root-suckers, aggressively.
One other thing to note is that if you do anything on a slope, it would be wise to at least chat with a structural engineer about it. I’ve heard tale of people building hugel mounds on contour / swales, and basically creating landslide conditions.
Edit: another thing I’m curious is how advantageous the water retention actually is. A lot of species really want a lot of drainage, and won’t survive with wet feet.
- dendroverse 6y agoTo reduce root suckers cut the tree in the fall and apply an herbicide to the cut. The root system will pull the herbicide as it would have the carbon from the leaves. This will kill the root system and suckers.
- foxhop 6y agoAbout half of my food forest is dedicated to poplar a very fast growing semi hardwood. We cut a mother tree down and hundreds of Poplar clones sprouted from its roots. I selected to keep 30 of them and my idea is to pollard them every few years for a constant supply of semi-hardwood stakes for building fences and staking tomatoes, and more. Videos on my YouTube channel, search "Russell Ballestrini Poplar". A sharp machete can topple a 2 year old poplar sapling/clone into a stump roots with a single swipe. Don't worry about it. These poplars are pioneer species, which harvest carbon from the air and store it into wood! Use these baby trees as trellis for cucumber, peas, and beans. Then research the pollarding techniques of yesteryear for yearly maintenance. Great shade givers as well!
- gdubs 6y agoGreat reply, thanks! The ones that definitely need to come down are the 1-200’ behemoths that are way too close to the house. I’m a tree lover, so, despite most people telling me to take them down yesterday, it hasn’t been an easy decision. The shade is amazing. Also, nothing makes quite the shimmering sound that poplar leaves make. I recently read Homer’s The Iliad, and they talk often about their love of poplars. You’ve given me enough pause to consider trying to keep a small selection. But I don’t know, lol.