Coppice Species for Firewood

Hi all.

We go through a lot of firewood on my property (primarily wood heat), and also go through a fair amount of charcoal. I have a little under 3 acres of former pasture - while I had at one time hoped to run cattle, that just doesn't seem like it would work anymore.

I'm exploring the idea of converting the field to a coppiced woodland, in order to start providing some of my firewood needs. A few thoughts:

1. I need 'standard' firewood - we don't use an RMH here, and likely never will. Ideally, 4-5" diameter poles.
2. Soil is a clay loam over much of the property. Water table is near ground level in early spring, and sinks to 6-8' down by late summer.
3. Would prefer a harder hardwood - both for storage efficiency, and the fact that we go through a lot of wood as it is.

The species that seem to grow well in this soil on our property are:

1. Box Elder / Manitoba Maple
2. Silver Maples
3. Mountain Ash (HARD wood and nice berries!)

I'm located south of Ottawa, Ontario. Zone 4B. I would appreciate any appropriate species suggestions!

Would sweet chestnut do well in your area? It's an ideal coppice species, makes for dense firewood that burns hot.

of the 3 species you mention I have a little experience with each. and I too heat with only wood in a high efficient wood stove but not a RMH.
the boxelder that grows here in the smokies is very soft grows like a weed and is very poor for firewood. ive used it because ive cut trees and branches and burn what I have. but compared to oak, hickory, ash and other hardwoods its almost a waste of space in a limited space woodshed if you have real hardwoods that could be filling it.

I dont know how fast ash grows back because all around here were wiped out by the bugs at least 4 or 5 years ago. and none of them have regrown from the base of the dead trees. they are gone, extinct in these parts so it seems.

maple is in my opinion the best choice of the three. they grow fast and regrow branches almost as fast as boxelder. but there are many different types of maples that include both soft and hard wood.

bruce Fine wrote:of the 3 species you mention I have a little experience with each.

Well, I burn a lot of Box Elder (just because there's always a lot of it around), but yeah - it's a low value firewood. Silver maple is marginally better, but it too is a 'soft' maple.

Birch may be a potential option, looking through some lists.

Michael Cox wrote:Would sweet chestnut do well in your area? It's an ideal coppice species, makes for dense firewood that burns hot.

We don't really have them on this side of the Atlantic, and from some quick checking, it's probably not a great fit for our climate zone or the wet soil.

Hi Brian, I had similar thoughts to you and have planted most of my land to mixed coppice woodland. I have been harvesting alder for about 5 years and birch for 2. Already it is providing a fair proportion of our wood needs (on about 6 acres). The birch does need a fair amount of light to grow back, so would need cutting in fair size coupes (annual cut areas). I've found Rowan (mountain ash) grows back pretty well and since it has been one of my better growing hardwoods I have planted more of it recently for coppicing. Originally it was just intended to be in my windbreak rows for wildlife/shelter. You might find European ash (Fraxinus excelsior) a good fit as well. It is hardy to US zones 5-8 and should coppice well and make excellent firewood. I've lost most of mine to ash dieback now so would also suggest you plant different varieties of trees to build in some resiliance....Most deciduous trees will coppice when young, so I would pick whatever grows well in your area.
I'm actually finding the branchwood to be of more use than I had anticipated as well. The small twigs I tend to leave it in a pile for a year they dry out and I pull out the bigger bits which then break up easily for kindling - that leaves a clear spot in the grass that can be planted into with herbacious plants or shrubs. I never have to split wood!

Brian Vraken wrote:

Michael Cox wrote:Would sweet chestnut do well in your area? It's an ideal coppice species, makes for dense firewood that burns hot.

We don't really have them on this side of the Atlantic, and from some quick checking, it's probably not a great fit for our climate zone or the wet soil.

There is the American Chestnut (C. dentata) that grows on the east coast. I would bet that it would coppice well. As you say though, it might not be a good fit for wet soil if it's anything like ours.

Mountain Ash, which we call Rowan, will certainly coppice. It is routinely eaten back to the ground by sheep when growing in walls, hedges or on moors. It's an incredibly tough tree. The downside, however, is that it will never reach a particularly large size and that it seem to be relatively slow-growing. It is a great wildlife species because of the berries you mentioned so worth propagating a bit (very easy from the seeds) if you are going to be planting lots of trees.

Birch doesn't like to be coppiced unless you catch it young. Trying to fell a larger birch tree (I don't have enough experience to say how big I'm afraid) is likely to kill it. I've never seen to a coppiced birch but I have heard that it can be done.

The maples sound like a better option as most of that genus will regrow when cut (sycamore and field maples being two that you see a lot over here, both coppice easily). I understand your concern about them being low-value firewood and can only suggest that perhaps this doesn't matter so much if you have an inexhaustible pile of firewood?

Other genera to consider are the willows, the poplars and the alders. All of these will thrive in damp soil - but all of them also produce fairly poor quality wood.

Ash (Fraxinus) coppices very easily and is nicknamed "the king of firewood" and might grow well on your site - if so, please try to find local stock and don't import it. We are suffering with an awful disease (ash dieback) that is killing almost all of our ash trees. Ash burns hot and has a naturally low moisture content so seasons quickly; you can even burn it green in a pinch.

Oak will usually coppice too, if cut when reasonably young. It's no where near as fussy as birch though. The downside with oak is that it is slow-growing and quite wet, taking a long time to season. It burns slow and hot.

I know oaks have a reputation for being slow to grow, but in my region they are like mutant triffids. We have a royal oak (Quercus robur) that was barely 3 m tall when we arrived 18 years ago, with a trunk about as thick as my forearm. It's now nearly 15 m tall and the crown spread is nearly as great, in spite of losing 1/3 of its mass in a cyclone some years ago. Trunk diameter at breast height is 180 cm, so there's a lot of wood in there. I planted out one of its descendants as a knee-high sapling a few years ago and it's over 5m now.

However, we're obviously in a Goldilocks zone for the growth of many temperate woodland species. I would not expect anywhere near those rates in a cold winter continental climate like Ontario. My recommendation would be maples for decent growth rates, quality firewood, and coppicing ability, not to mention the fact that they're the iconic tree of your location.

It wasn't on your list, but mulberry coppices very well and it is considered a decent high btu firewood.
It is said to need extra seasoning to burn well.
I pollard the mulberry trees I am trying to keep.
The ones I'm not happy with get cut to the ground multiple times a season, and yet they live on.
You mentioned using charcoal, what are you using it for?

I can confirm William's recommendation of pollarded mulberry...when I was a kid the neighbours had one that they cut back each winter to just a trunk. By midsummer it had a big dense ball of foliage that shaded most of their back yard. The tree seemed to really thrive on the treatment compared to others around us that weren't pruned.

Nancy Reading wrote:Hi Brian, I had similar thoughts to you and have planted most of my land to mixed coppice woodland. I have been harvesting alder for about 5 years and birch for 2. Already it is providing a fair proportion of our wood needs (on about 6 acres). The birch does need a fair amount of light to grow back, so would need cutting in fair size coupes (annual cut areas). I've found Rowan (mountain ash) grows back pretty well and since it has been one of my better growing hardwoods I have planted more of it recently for coppicing. Originally it was just intended to be in my windbreak rows for wildlife/shelter. You might find European ash (Fraxinus excelsior) a good fit as well. It is hardy to US zones 5-8 and should coppice well and make excellent firewood. I've lost most of mine to ash dieback now so would also suggest you plant different varieties of trees to build in some resiliance....Most deciduous trees will coppice when young, so I would pick whatever grows well in your area.
I'm actually finding the branchwood to be of more use than I had anticipated as well. The small twigs I tend to leave it in a pile for a year they dry out and I pull out the bigger bits which then break up easily for kindling - that leaves a clear spot in the grass that can be planted into with herbacious plants or shrubs. I never have to split wood!

Thank you for the thoughts!

The Emerald Ash Borer has been hard at work among the ash trees here in North America. Trees planted for coppicing may survive, since the ash borer seems to 'prefer' more mature trees with thicker bark to tunnel under.

We have lots of mountain ash available (or rather, we can as I have a mature one here with loads of berries).

Luke Mitchell wrote:

Brian Vraken wrote:

Michael Cox wrote:Would sweet chestnut do well in your area? It's an ideal coppice species, makes for dense firewood that burns hot.

We don't really have them on this side of the Atlantic, and from some quick checking, it's probably not a great fit for our climate zone or the wet soil.

There is the American Chestnut (C. dentata) that grows on the east coast. I would bet that it would coppice well. As you say though, it might not be a good fit for wet soil if it's anything like ours.

Unfortunately, I believe many / most of those have been wiped out here for the past 50 years or more due to disease. I've never seen a 'real' chestnut in the wild.

Birch doesn't like to be coppiced unless you catch it young. Trying to fell a larger birch tree (I don't have enough experience to say how big I'm afraid) is likely to kill it. I've never seen to a coppiced birch but I have heard that it can be done.

The maples sound like a better option as most of that genus will regrow when cut (sycamore and field maples being two that you see a lot over here, both coppice easily). I understand your concern about them being low-value firewood and can only suggest that perhaps this doesn't matter so much if you have an inexhaustible pile of firewood?

Other genera to consider are the willows, the poplars and the alders. All of these will thrive in damp soil - but all of them also produce fairly poor quality wood.

Ash (Fraxinus) coppices very easily and is nicknamed "the king of firewood" and might grow well on your site - if so, please try to find local stock and don't import it. We are suffering with an awful disease (ash dieback) that is killing almost all of our ash trees. Ash burns hot and has a naturally low moisture content so seasons quickly; you can even burn it green in a pinch.

Oak will usually coppice too, if cut when reasonably young. It's no where near as fussy as birch though. The downside with oak is that it is slow-growing and quite wet, taking a long time to season. It burns slow and hot.

Thanks for the note on the birch. Maples are definitely an option, but I would need to look at hard maple. As above, Ash trees here have been mostly killed off by the emerald ash borer beetle, but I wonder if, in a coppice situation, the trees would be more resilient due to being permanent juveniles.

Thanks for the thoughts on Mulberry. One I certainly wouldn't have thought of - I'll read into it!

I'm hoping to test out more burns of Redosier Dogwood this year.  Like the OP, our choices are mostly of the ash/elm/box elder variety with occasionally some oak that comes from a neighboring region.  From brief reading on the internet, dogwoods vary considerably  across North America and the most common one in our area, the Redosier Dogwood,  is more of a large open shrub than a tree.  I've been able to find several on the property that have dead center shoots while the newer, outer growth is still thriving.  For a deep review on them, see the following link:  https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/shrub/corser/all.html#OtherUses

This dogwood in northern Minnesota rarely produces branches over 3-4 inches in diameter in my observation.....almost not worth bothering to split and maybe better just used as rounds, cut to lengths to fit your stove chamber.  Lots of commentary at different websites on the high heat output of most dogwood in general.  Good luck!

Can't believe no one has said this... Black locust. Hardiness zone down to zone 3. Nothing will grow faster. It's a hard wood and burns hot and slow, but is flexible and won't blow over easily. You can also use the wood for making anything as it is also rot resistant. It is animal resistant. It is a top rate nitrogen fixer and will shed a massive amount of nitrogen when you cut it. So it is perfect companion to your more useful trees. One drawback is thorns, but that's why it's animal resistant. The other is that it is poisonous to horses and in large amounts can cause problems with other animals. As long as animals (beside horses) have many choices to browse, the black locust can act as a diet supplement. If animal poisoning is a concern then you can switch to it's cousin the honey locust which has many of the same properties just grows slower, but has more palatable leaves and pods.

I wanted locust trees until I got one...
It volenteered in my front yard, where I don't want it.
I chop it down every year and it grows back to an 8 foot tall sapling, every year.

The volunteer mulberry is mere feet away, it gets cut back every year, but it doesn't get as big.
Not only do mulberry trees make mulberries, their wood is also very durable, and they have no thorns.
They don't fix nitrogen,unlike the locusts.

William Bronson wrote:
I chop it down every year and it grows back to an 8 foot tall sapling, every year.

Sounds like an ideal coppice candidate!

Hey Brian,
I'm just southwest of you in Western NY and was about to ask the same question. I'm considering planting a few trees in the spring - hazel especially - to import coppicing species onto my woodlot. But outside of a few videos like this one from Cornell - - I haven't seen much for North American woodlot management through coppicing and pollarding. Thankfully, the Cornell course is pretty thorough.

Box Elder, being a maple, is probably the best bet for you, especially given how plentiful and fast-growing it is. I'm not sure if you get Box Elder bugs like we do down here, but its one of the reasons why I'm looking at mine as the best candidates for the process right now.
If you have any ash that are still clinging to life after the ash borer infestation, it might actually be beneficial to coppice them, before disease can further sicken the tree and kill it entirely. I certainly wish the previous owner of my land had thought the same - most here are already dead, and I am loathe to risk the remainder on an experiment.
Depending on other intentions you have for your woodlot, I would shy away from trees with other uses, such as walnuts and silver and sugar maples. As you mentioned, if you have American Chestnut, please leave it be and plant the chestnuts, it is endangered.

I'm interested to see how you fare. I am still in the first months of my ownership of this property, so I havent had time for detailed species survey; however, I know trees work in longer spans of time than my garden, and I'd really like to do something this year

I would use the trees that are there already. You know they will grow in your location. I live in southern Wisconsin, mulberries grow like weeds around here, they probably would do there. Mulberries also will give a lot of food. Young trees can be harvested by spreading a tarp under it and shaking the tree by hand. You mentioned originally intending to keep animals. The leaves and twigs of coppiced trees can be used as "tree hay" if you have some goats or sheep.

Black Locust is not a standard coppice species, in that it will sprout stems any place a root is cut, and fresh growth has bigger thorns. There is no tree I know for the temperate zones that produces ultra-strong, heavy, rot resistant wood faster.  About the same BTU's as soft coal when used for firewood. Boat builders like it. Good for docks too. If you want a tree you can plant as a teen and harvest to produce a timber frame house way before you are forty, it's your kind of tree. Dunno if you watch You Tube viddies from the war in Ukraine, but the rural fighting takes place largely in "forest strips" between large fields. One of the most common trees in these strips is Black Locust. I have heard the Ukrainians have selected clones that were chosen for honey production. Although the tree has some toxins, the flowers are sweet and edible. I think a person in an appropriate climate could plant a locust system with rotating harvest that could turn out poles, posts, (split or whole) vineyard stakes, trellis kits, swallow nest box posts, etc. ad infinitum. Add honey bees and life would be sweet. Thorns? Don't forget the tree of liberty is watered by the blood of patriots!

William Bronson wrote:It wasn't on your list, but mulberry coppices very well and it is considered a decent high btu firewood.
It is said to need extra seasoning to burn well.
I pollard the mulberry trees I am trying to keep.
The ones I'm not happy with get cut to the ground multiple times a season, and yet they live on.
You mentioned using charcoal, what are you using it for?

I also go with mulberry. Coppices very well, grows fast, and is a hard, flexible wood with many uses. I use it for handles on shovels. I cut one 2 years ago and am letting it grow back now and many smaller stems.

It burns well and makes good coals, but is harder to light and get going than many woods.

There isn't much mulberry around Oregon, and so I have only grown the species with the monster berries. And that's too precious to whack down. But I haven't planted one at this place yet, so I'ma gonna see if I can find one before planting season ends! I have some space because I gave up on and Oriental Plum hybrid- only bore one year, nice, but then got a major branch broke, so it is heading to the wood pile, and then there will be space for a mulberry.

I just figured out why the damn hybrid plum isn't bearing: the ROOTSTOCK took over and it isn't evident except the bloom time is different! At this point, the variety is miserably sick, failing beyond help. so i will have some really good firewood and some place to plant new things afterward.

Rick Valley wrote: I think a person in an appropriate climate could plant a locust system with rotating harvest that could turn out poles, posts, (split or whole) vineyard stakes, trellis kits, swallow nest box posts, etc. ad infinitum. Add honey bees and life would be sweet. Thorns? Don't forget the tree of liberty is watered by the blood of patriots!

Could you please elaborate on what a rotating harvest system would look like? I'm interested in a coppicing system for occasional firewood and tool handles and black locust consistently turns up in my searches on the subject (as this thread did), but I'm unsure how many trees I would need for a more or less continuous supply.

Here is a list of good trees to coppice for firewood:
Some great coppice species include:
- Chestnut (Castanea sativa): fast growing, great coppicer, straight, multi-purpose (building, fencing, craft)
- Osage orange/Hedge Apple (Maclura pomifera): extraordinarily high BTUs, good coppicer, multi-purpose (fencing, bows, craft)
- Mulberry (Morus rubra/alba): high BTUs, good coppicer, edible fruit, multi-purpose
- Hazelnut (Corylus avellana): good coppicer, edible nuts
- Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia): great coppicer, nitrogen fixer, multi-purpose (building, fencing, edible)
- Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba)

https://permies.com/wiki/202826/Coppice-Trees-Firewood

It interests me how many riparian species coppice well (Riparia is the Roman Goddess of rivers) Could it be that beavers selected for species that regrow? Anyway, my favorite alder is Italian- they do fine on dryland sites or on a river bank and they coppice well, and tolerate urban soils which often have abundant lime (from concrete) Maples that are great for coppice include Vine Maple and Big Leaf Maple. Osage Orange is in the Mulberry Family and is horribly spiny, but one badass tough drought tolerant coppice tree with mega-hard wood, that powered Comanche military dominance because it makes awesome bows, good for hunting buffalo or invading Spaniards, which originated the mongrel common name "Bodark" from from French "Bois D'Arc" or "bow wood" in "Merakin" Now I'ma have to see if there's a You Tube of the song "Choctaw Bingo"... with the line "Like an Ol' Bodark Fence Post You Could Hang A Pipe Rail Gate From" If you've never heard it, it is my Favorite Country song. It has been proposed that the Osage Orange fruit was a dispersal mechanism which appealed to the tastes of some now-extinct mega fauna.
So ANYTHING cellulosic can burn, but woods that have elite properties can really make you some bank ($) and the scrap can be firewood, is how I feel about it. When I am living with wood heat, I get paid to cut my firewood: How's that work you say? When I lived in Portland I heated my place with trimmings off of Cherry Laurel hedges, very good Hardwood, and in pieces that don't need splitting.

Hi Rick - It's good to hear that Italian alder will coppice well. I forget where I heard the contrary, which disappointed me after planting some new Italian alder trees that grew really well in their first year.
I was looking to diversify my planting a little, since Ash is no longer a good bet in the UK due to dieback. I have a lot of common alder, but was looking for something that would survive on the slightly shallower soils which can dry up a little here in spring. I might go ahead and plant some more Italian Alder then, thank you!

Hello Brian, its your metaphorical neighbour (that 'u' in neighbour is not a spelling mistake) , also a bit south and east of Ottawa.
This past winter I burnt quite a bit of boxelder/Manitoba/California maple because  I had to take quite a lot down for a fencing project, I probably have 20 full cords of the stuff to clear away. I burn about 5 a year. So I will be heating with the hateful stuff for a while yet. I always say its better to have Manitoba maple in my woodshed than in my woodlot.
Its a really messy tree, does not grow straight, it has an amazing ability to pinch your saw chain, its a low quality firewood with very poor coaling properties.  If you load up your woodstove with it before going to bed with it, the fire will be out in the  morning.  My solution is to top it off with good stuff like ash or hard maple then put boxelder on in the morning.

If I were you I would plant black locust to be your 'good' overnight burn wood and keep knocking back the Manitoba maples in the hopes that they give up the ghost.  I would actually plant in black locusts in amongst the manitoba maples to shade them out.  Then over time you will have more and better coppice firewood.

Hope that helps.    

Here's an on location interview with a woodsman. He takes care of a copse as his living.

Oooh! The Cornell webinar above describes "young trees" as 20 to 30 years old! I've got a oak that needs to be cut back. At about 15 years old, I thought I'd be killing it.

Just  make sure you do it when tree is dormant.  Energy is in the roots then. Coppice when tree is growing will likely kill the tree.

For what it's worth, if you already have Ash growing, it is a fairly hard wood and comes back with a vengeance when it is cut. We have a field full of it that took me 6 years to identify and I am now working with it instead of against it. EAB are problematic after a point but up to that point you should have good production. Might be worth the research on its BTUs.

Rick Valley wrote:It interests me how many riparian species coppice well (Riparia is the Roman Goddess of rivers) Could it be that beavers selected for species that regrow? Anyway, my favorite alder is Italian- they do fine on dryland sites or on a river bank and they coppice well, and tolerate urban soils which often have abundant lime (from concrete) Maples that are great for coppice include Vine Maple and Big Leaf Maple. Osage Orange is in the Mulberry Family and is horribly spiny, but one badass tough drought tolerant coppice tree with mega-hard wood, that powered Comanche military dominance because it makes awesome bows, good for hunting buffalo or invading Spaniards, which originated the mongrel common name "Bodark" from from French "Bois D'Arc" or "bow wood" in "Merakin" Now I'ma have to see if there's a You Tube of the song "Choctaw Bingo"... with the line "Like an Ol' Bodark Fence Post You Could Hang A Pipe Rail Gate From" If you've never heard it, it is my Favorite Country song. It has been proposed that the Osage Orange fruit was a dispersal mechanism which appealed to the tastes of some now-extinct mega fauna.
So ANYTHING cellulosic can burn, but woods that have elite properties can really make you some bank ($) and the scrap can be firewood, is how I feel about it. When I am living with wood heat, I get paid to cut my firewood: How's that work you say? When I lived in Portland I heated my place with trimmings off of Cherry Laurel hedges, very good Hardwood, and in pieces that don't need splitting.

---

I can relate to your James McMurtry/"Choctaw Bingo" reference.  Didn't make the connection until i read your comment.  Had to boot it up on YouTube while I typed this out.  It's a favorite as well.  
https://youtu.be/Nggqe-L9ZQ8?si=_J209ryBInhllmY9

Love it!  

Brian, have you considered Osage Orange trees? They coppice well, grow pretty fast and burn super hot & long! I've had a single log burn 14 hours in an airtight wood stove...It pops and sparks quite a bit and it has thorns that can be quite contrary. Can't beat the BTU's

Mulberries may not like it that cold . . . research the hardy ones.

Hybrid Willows may be your best bet— super fast growing, don't mind wet soil, excellent candidate for coppicing, and are dense enough to make decent firewood.

Siberian elm is a candidate.  It grows fast has hard wood that burns well, beautiful grain for wood working… tables bowls etc.  I think you could build with it.

At a certain stage the seeds are quite delicious, nutritious and palatable.  Can grow in dry conditions and poor soil.  It needs a little water to get started, and regular watering will promote rapid growth.

I can’t speak for how well it would do in chronically moist soils.  For that I would search for alders.  They like the moisture, and though some have said alders are soft wood, some species are quite hard, just be particular which you get!

I will be planting some of each, plus locust at my place.

The stone fruit trees coppice well, birn well, are hardwood

Thekla McDaniels wrote:Siberian elm is a candidate.  It grows fast has hard wood that burns well, beautiful grain for wood working… tables bowls etc.  I think you could build with it......

Certain regions of the northern Plains of the US used Siberian elm a LOT for populating wind-breaks.  As you mentioned, they grow faster than American elm, are not (to my knowledge) susceptible to Dutch elm disease, but unfortunately were quite vulnerable to farm herbicide spray drift.  So although we have several young volunteers on the property, most of the older trees in the wind-break are dead.  I find the dead American elm to be better burning, but harder to split than the Siberian elm.  Nevertheless, we can't be picky in our location near the Minnesota-North Dakota border, so Ash, Elm, Box Elder, and occasionally oak are the mainstays of the wood pile.  Thekla, I hear wood carving is a good hobby for the retirement years, so I may take a stab at a few bowls or spoons in the approaching spare time!