Pros vs cons of tree removal and can I burn the wood?

[Steve]

Wife and I have been going back and forth about removing two very large trees from our front yard. Tree guys that have come out have called them swamp maples or silver maples??? Not sure what the difference is. A lawn guy that came out said these trees have shallow roots and take nutrients away from the grass. We have a small front lawn, about 80' x 30' with these two trees on each end. I would like to remove both trees and have the stumps ground down. Tree guy said he would grind 6" or so below ground level and we could fill it over with soil. I asked about the stump rotting and he said it wouldn't happen for a hundred years ??? I'm guessing the underground stump will rot and cause a depression that will have to be refilled over time??? Also He said he would leave allot of the wood in 4' length and I could cut it down and use it in my wood/coal stove. is "swamp maple" good to burn? He said it was a hard wood. It would be green so I guess I'd have to wait until next year to burn it. We live in Massachusetts...

$1800 to cut both trees, grind two stumps (plus two smaller stumps in back yard) Haul away the big trunks and grind up the smaller branches. and leave me wood cut and burn. Not sure what a cord of wood costs but it would help defray the costs of the cutting!!!

I'm also going to ask if they can leave me a section of the large tree cut about 3 feet long. My dad had a section of stump like that when I was a lad and we used it as a work surface in the work shop to pound on...

I think the trees are overgrown. they are growing into the wires in the street (power co wont trim them despite repeated calls) every time we get a storm a dozen branches fall in the yard. I would eventually plant 1 new tree and start over.

My wife is concerned about the loss of shade on the house.. I think having the trees is more of a problem as our old roof (replaced 2 years ago) had moss growing all over it because of the trees hanging over it.

It will certainly alter the look of the yard and may look odd at first but I think they are to large for the lot and after a couple of years we would never miss them???

I would be interested in any thoughts on this matter, Cut them down or save the trees????

TIA

Sr

[barry]

Typically in NE US, "swamp maple" is one of the two regional species of maple that don't mind getting their feet wet: silver maple & red maple. Both are about 20% lower density than sugar maple, with corresponding energy density.

Once seasoned & dried, silver maple burns readily, though more quickly than denser hardwoods. So, you feed smaller pieces more frequently.

Myself, I'd cut & split the whole thing- it is pretty easy to split- nothing like sugar maple, for one.

HTH, J

[EXT]

Around here a "swamp maple" is also called a Manitoba Maple or Alder Maple which is easy to tell as its seeds are small, in pairs and stay on the tree all summer, through winter and drop in the very early spring, the leaves are not as large as a Silver Maple but have an oversized center lobe and the two side lobes are very small to non-existent. Silver Maples have a standard Maple shape with a silvery underside and the seeds are produced in singles and drop in the same year produced in the late spring. I have both on my property and the difference is easy to identify.

Regarding burning, no they are not a high density wood as Oak or Sugar Maple and many other trees, but as free wood, they will burn and produce heat, just you will need to burn more wood than the better trees once it is dried. Keep the woodpile covered or you may experience some rot if it sits for a few years, and keep it off the ground. I have burned cuttings and downed trees in my wood stove for years, so don't waste the wood if you have an opportunity to use it and reduce the use of other expensive fuels.

[Toller]

Never heard of a swamp maple. A silver maple is a fast growing trashy tree. But a big one is still worthwhile, as long as it is not growing over your house; the branchs break pretty easily.

More like 20 years.

Yeh, I found a few that the former owner did; it can be surprising when the ground just caves in.

Silver maple is mediocre fuel; probably better for a fireplace than a wood stove; though for free I suppose it is fine. (see soft maple)

The price doesn't sound bad.

Personally I like big trees, but you live there.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

They are not sugar maples. Aside from that, I don't know.

Took a tree down about 18 years ago. Stump rotted and left a deep hole already. It will not happen overnight, but far less than 100 years from my experience.

Yes.

Cut and split it and it will be good for next year. Easier to split once the weather freezes for a week or two.

Local dealer here in MAi s getting $185 this year and expect to be $200 to $200 mid winter if he has any left.

Good to use one for splitting hte rest of hte wood also. I use a maul. If the top of the log to be split is about waist high, I get the best power when the maul hits it.

I've had good luck with out local CL&P with that when trees hit their lines. Won't touch what h its mine.

Shade of a good tree is equal to about a 12,00 Btu Ac. You will see a difference.

Or plant new trees of a better size and location. Takes 10+ years to get the benefits of the shade though.

[Goedjn]

Well, it will burn, but it's only a hardwood in the taxonomic sense. It's actually a light, weak, fast-rotting pioneer species that likes wet ground.

It's not going to last long in that application. How big around are the trunks?

I'd get an arborist to trim them, plant an oak or two now, and take the maples out after the oak grows enough to stop looking like a shrub, or when the maples start to get sickly, whichever comes first.

[Steve]

Yeh, sounds like its not a "hard" hard wood...

The trunk is about 2.5' - 3' ??? in diameter (I'm at work)

[Goedjn]

When you take it down, chainsaw it into oval slabs, soak them in epoxy, and sell them on ebay as tabletops.

[Norminn]

clipped

Hardwood may take a lot longer. It may be worthwhile to have an arborist take a look, esp. if a healthy tree. Regular care can open up the top so's the roof doesn rot and it doesn't drop branches all over the place. If it is half dead, it's another story. I like big trees :o)