Cadaghi wood Australia

[sawtooth-9]

Basically regarded as a pest.
There are reports that the resin from the seed pods, can kill our native bees by clogging the entrance to the hive and hives over hearting. The bees are obsessed with these plant seeds.
These trees grow HUGE and the wood is VERY brittle. They are limb droppers and shallow rooted.
If you cut sections, you can hear the timber crack !
When they overhang the house - it's a real safety problem.
Some silly person planted several of these too close to the house and they are now around 20 + meters high, close to a meter in diameter.
The best use for this wood is firewood - not great, but ok.
So, we have at least 6 of these monsters to drop and cut up for firewood - each weighing about 8 - 10 tons.
That's a lot of firewood to cut, store and dry. Will keep us warm for several years.
The canopy is enough of a challenge and takes us about 2 days to chip the canopy of one tree.
What does not go down the chipper ( into compost ) gets cut.
The large diameter wood ends up in the hydraulic log splitter ( 18 ton ), but the large diameter sections have to be cut down with a chain saw.
We currently store about 2 years of firewood under cover - probably around 4 -5 tons.
But I think I may have to build some more woodsheds ! 50 tons of wood is a lot.

 

[Sandyn]

That is a lot of firewood!! It will keep your energy costs down!

 

[sawtooth-9]

That is a lot of firewood!! It will keep your energy costs down!

Yes, it's a lot of firewood - but it's important to help to get rid of this PEST.
I had no idea of how damaging these trees were.
Would you believe, there are people still selling these trees !
Councils used to give people "free" cadaghi trees to plant.
We are replacing these monsters with deciduous trees, which provide beneficial ground cover, reduced fire risk - AND the bees love them !

 

[sawtooth-9]

If there is any interest, I will post some pics of the "downed" monsters

 

[Sandyn]

If there is any interest, I will post some pics of the "downed" monsters

Yes, would love to see some pictures.
How do you burn the timber, do you have a large biomass heater?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Eucalypts of one kind or another are pests all over the world, often having been introduced deliberately.

 

[sawtooth-9]

Just

Yes, would love to see some pictures.
How do you burn the timber, do you have a large biomass heater?

a large woodburner inside, for heating.
It has an oven below and we use it for heating and cooking in winter.
Makes great bread in cast iron pans

 

[sawtooth-9]

Eucalypts of one kind or another are pests all over the world, often having been introduced deliberately.

Certainly some eucalypts have beautiful timber - but as you say, many have been introduced which are total pests. Also, a major fire hazard.

 

[sawtooth-9]

About 30 tons dropped so far.
About another 20 - 30 tons to go.
The chain saw will get a real workout, so too the log splitter and me !
There are chunks of tree all over the place - some bits weighing 2 - 3 tons.
We have been chipping canopy for days now !
It's a real shame that the wood is not worth processing - brittle, splits, and has no appealing visuals.
These trees grow HUGE, ( our ones are around 30 M high ) and do not have deep roots. They are heavy with water and brittle - so they drop limbs ( here they are called widow makers ), and fall easily.

 

[sawtooth-9]

About 50 tons down now, and one medium sized and one monster to go.
These should be down tomorrow.
Probably around another 15 tons !
I think I need a bigger chainsaw - and about 30 years less wear !
Looks like it will take at least a week just to chip the canopy - then the "heavy stuff " starts
Looks like we have 10 - 15 years of fire wood, but have to find a place to store it !

 

[sawtooth-9]

The last two monsters came down today.
What a "crash" !
Our arborist is a true artist, the way he can drop a tree is just stunning !
I do need a larger chain saw or the "big bits" will make a great playground for the grandkids !
I just now have to transport several tons of wood about 1 Km to where we can process to firewood.
It will take about another 5 days to chip the canopy of all these trees, then we can start on the cutting.

 

[Fidget]

We need picture Sawtooth, sounds fantastic

 

[TRITON]

Certainly some eucalypts have beautiful timber

Especially the Rainbow Eucalyptus

 

[sawtooth-9]

Especially the Rainbow Eucalyptus
View attachment 144509

What's that ?
Never heard of it

 

[clogs]

if that was on faceache u'd say it wasn't real.....hahaha.....

more photo's Sawtooth pls before, after and during ......

some have been planted here....at the road side.....they are now very/v big
funny, not so, quite a few look to have had limb's ripped off.....!!!!!!!..
my last real worry is the amount of bark that peels off, huge piles under the tree.....
we have high temps for 8-10 months of the year with virtually no rain.....
watching for fires which is a constant threat, that's a disater waiting to happen I fear....
esp with people littering at the road side....not all tourists....
when u drive around here there are hillsides devoid of tree's due to fires.....weve seen the same disaster sites for years....
luckily the firebrigade are well equiped and they have special places in the villages with 24hour crew's just in case, summertime....
it's not so unusual to see a water helicopter cruising around either.....
it does worry me....
it's been shown on the loacal news that 12" water mains have been installed in the bigger forests and high risk area's recently....

I have also put in a few water/hose taps in high risk places around the property....just in case....
i hope that's a waste of money and time....

 

[sawtooth-9]

We need picture Sawtooth, sounds fantastic

Very difficult to get pics that show the real size of these trees.
Needed a chainsaw with a 24 inch bar and that was not really enough - but down she came

 

[stuart little]

Eucalypts of one kind or another are pests all over the world, often having been introduced deliberately.

My 'nasty' neighbour came from RSA & thought it a good idea to plant a 'clyptus in his pocket handkerchief of a garden & about 10ft from his bungalow, but he left his brain back in RSA, forgetting trees grow! Eventually the housing assoc. took note of complaints & he now 'prunes' it to 10ft or so, but it does not stop the trunk & roots from growing.