coppicing ash

[tracy]

This very useful comment has come from Julian Evans, author of Badgers, blisters and beeches:

He had mentioned to me that if we coppice Ash late in the winter it might not regrow for a year... so I asked him when was the best time:

"Probably best to coppice ash in October or November. This will then allow

the stump to 'overwinter' and it should produce vigorous coppice in late

spring, but no absolute guarantee. Ash is a strange species. Its seeds

require many weeks of stratification (moist cold) to germinate properly and

dormant ash plants/seedling kept in a cold store say until May before being

planted may sit all year looking lifeless and doing nothing only to flush

the next year! But, yes, an early coppicing is the best bet. That said, ash

is a very vigorous coppicing species."

[RichardKing]

But you can prevent Ash seeds from going into deep dormancy by planting them when they are still green and they will germinate immediately.

[tracy]

I am currently writing the section on coppicing ash for the coppice.co.uk website.

Anyone got any interesting things I should know? (like who eats it, how well it grows, how to protect it)

Photos I can use?

thanks!

[wood troll]

Hi Tracy,

I have several ash trees one of which I suppose you could call coppiced... I first cut down the original trunk about 5 years ago for the spring pole of my pole lathe, it was about 2.5" at the time. Since then it has put up about half a dozen new shoots, one of which I recently cut to replace the original spring pole. If I remember rightly the first 'coppicing' was in late summer.

Over here in France they seem to have an obsession with pollarding every type of tree. Three years ago I felled a 100 year old pollarded ash (it was over 30" at the base). The tree had been pollarded at about 18' and although it was still alive with plenty of top growth was showing signs of rot at the base (there was only about 12" of complete bark at the base). The trunk turned out to have very little internal rot (and is now planked and seasoning in my barn).

We still have a similar tree (I will take a photo for you next time I am down by the lake) but although it is still just alive has very little top growth. Once I can work out how to fell it without putting it in the lake, it is going to be felled and planked.

Apart from that we have plenty of self seeded saplings around the place.

wood troll

[tracy]

Thanks Wood troll. I read that ash is good to coppice before it becomes 'mature'. Not sure yet what age that would be. Anyone know?

[The Sawyer]

Hi Tracy, A late friend of our use to read a poem as a monologue: to save space I have round a link to it:

http://community.rivercottage.net/users/bluedog%20rides%20again/forums/managing-the-land/viewtopic/topic_id:21357

The gist of it is that ash can be burned new or old green or seasoned.

On a personal not we have been felling over stood ash coppice for the last couple of years and it is a tree to be respected. One of the other names for it is the widow maker because it will split easily during felling causing it to barber chair (split and kick up in the air). When felling I always put in extra cuts to reduce the risk of this happening.

regards kester