You missed buckeye and butternut.
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Why Tree-Killing Epidemics Are on the Rise
Globetrotting pathogens have caused forest-felling disasters that scientists are doing their best to contain
Ash tree replacement
- Thread starter cyinne
- Start date
My 2 acre backyard has 8 giant plain-jane maples planted probably in the 60s. They all had some damage from the derecho but survived (couple look pretty rough now, others just minor). So many leaves, so many helicopters.
But here's the crap part. PO also planted 2 new trees maybe ~5 years ago. Guess what kind? Yep, maples. At least one is a blaze that gets super red.
There's also an ash that is dying and will have to be taken down. And a giant fir tree that looks half-crap post-derecho, but not dead enough to take down.
I am going to plant a few others here and there, but not sure what yet. Will watch this thread for ideas. It will be something native and hard to kill.
Does anyone have hickory trees and collect the nuts? There's 2-3 large hickory on my fence line, and they drop a ton of nuts. Wondering if it is worth it to roll them up and try to harvest them?
I worked a forestry internship back in college in KC. We always got a complaint about Pin Oaks growing to big and too fast in city yards. You pretty much had to pay to get them trimmed every other year. We used to tell people that pin oaks should be a rural tree since they get to a massive size (causing issues to power lines and houses).
I think it is a very beautiful tree, it creates a lot of shade though so be mindful about the amount of sunlight that will disappear as it gets big.
I think it is a very beautiful tree, it creates a lot of shade though so be mindful about the amount of sunlight that will disappear as it gets big.
My uncle transplanted a number of hickory nuts from his home in Michigan to a piece of recreational property he owned a little ways south of Clear Lake. He'd bring back milk jugs full of nuts when he came for pheasant hunting and just hand toss them into his 'grove' as he walked for birds.
I don't think he ever collected the nuts for consumption however, if that is more along the lines of your question.
Just an FYI if you consider Oaks, I was working on a planting plant with the local DNR Forester a year or two ago and she mentioned they are seeing a significant uptick in some Oak disease (don't remember the name) to the point that they think an Oak wipe similar to Dutch Elm is possible in the near future. She approved my CRP plan with about 200 of them but also included some other hardwood species in case that comes to fruition.
If the oaks go, we are in deeeeeep trouble. Oaks are keystone species, supporting hundred if not thousands of insects and other critters. Losing the oaks would destroy ecosystems.
I had access to creek pasture that had hickories on it and collected some to shell. Very tedious to get an amount to bake with. The taste is awesome and although closely related enough to cross with Pecans, some actually prefer the hickories. You have to virtually crush the shells to get the meats out and sort out the very small fragments of shell that occur by doing so. This is also why they are not offered commercially, because nobody has figured out a way to do it economically. They vary in size and don't waste your time with the smaller ones. I'm guessing you are referring to shagbark hickories but if you can find some shellbark hickories (the nuts are approaching the size golf balls) I know people that would kill for them. I planted northern hardy pecans (7 trees) so am now enjoying those but wouldn't recommend them in your yard as they are messy as they age. Also it takes 20+ years before they start bearig nuts.
Shagbark hickory produces a tasty nut. However, if your hickories produce small nuts not much bigger than a marble, and if the buds on the tree are yellow, then what you have is bitternut hickory, nuts of which are not known to be tasty.
I will have to go collect some if the squirrels haven't taken them all. I would say they are a lot closer to golf balls than marbles. Closer to 2" than 1/2" diameter.
Here is what bitternut leaf/nut/bark looks like:
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Appropriately named by the way.
The best hickory would be the shagbark. They have the "bigger" nuts. Probably should be called Cyclone hickory....
Hackberry is an awesome tree. I had a big one that got maimed by derecho and had to cut it down. I have a windbreak of blue spruce and then planted some autumn blaze maples for shade. They do grow really fast. Got a couple of red oaks that are doing OK, but it will take a long time for them to get big.
Oak Wilt was big here 1980s-2000 in Wisconsin. Red Oaks (and that includes some hybrid types) are hit the most. It is widespread though it may or may not be as prevalent in Iowa settings.
This is a good suggestion, but a typical Ginkgo under average conditions is not a fast grower. In good soil, and watered it can be more rapid. That was why I did not suggest it. It is the rock of trees resisting insects, diseases, and adverse growing conditions. Its yellow, almost gold, fall color rivals aspens. It lives long and has a sturdy, storm-hardy structure and wood.
The best way to find out is to try a fresh one. Bitter or tasty?
Shagbark Hickory Nuts
Everything you need to know about foraging hickory nuts: when and where to harvest, how to process, store, and cook.
foragerchef.com
There are maybe four, or five, hickories in Iowa if you include the native Pecan found along the Mississippi River bottoms in extreme eastern Iowa. They all belong to the Carya genus and not too distant relatives of walnuts.
