Natural hardwood regrowth

How long before bottomland clearcut land that is left alone will produce marketable hardwood timber? Is it possible to thin hardwood pulpwood like pine?

#1 As far as grade logs with size , a lifetime. Poplar will grow pretty fast , but it's not a high value species .
#2 Possible , yes, however, thinning a old hardwood clear cut for pulp , never heard of that one.

Good hardwood (oaks , walnuts) grows sloooooooow.

Hardwood markets over the years have been a yo-yo market. It depends on what kind of a mill you have in your area and what their lumber sale is. I was in a hardwood veneer mill a few months ago and the top need was sweet gum logs, and that is a better growing hardwood.

How about producing acorns? 20 years after clear cut? Sooner?

Veneer sweet gum, never heard of such, learned something. Sweet gum isn't hard to find up here, it's ties, pallet material and pulp though. What do they pay per 1,000 for a sweet gum peeler? What's it used for ?

we are cuttin 25 year old hardwoods this year. On the right land for hardwoods I would say 20-25 years.

My dad had some hardwood clearcut about 20-25yrs ago. It is nowhere near cutting again but it is poor ground I reckon. I have a friend who is a logger. He has logged some tracts twice in 40yrs.

I'm not sure what the veneer market was for , but that was at Browder Veneer southwest of Montgomery, price was dang good then.

Heard $60+ per ton recently on hardwood logs. Only thing that was bringing more $$ was Class 1 poles.

Most folks dont understand how hardwoods grow. Its really dependent on the dirt they are growing in and the specie of the hardwood.

I cut some oak trees on top of mt cheaha once that were really old for their size. Very tight grain.

I know of sum natural growth hardwoods that's 15 years and will be about 20 more until any money is involved and a lot can develop during that time...if I was looking for any investment on wood it'd be pine planted

You are correct, Sir. Up in the mountains it depends on soil and which direction on the mountain side it grows. North and East is where the good stuff grows , South is worst for growing good stuff. It is also species specific too. Poplar grows fast , oaks much slower. There are some spot in the mountains you can cut every 20 years for saw logs other places it'll take 40-60. Hardwood bottoms grow fast too, for obvious reasons , good soil and moisture.

Folks in LA selling hardwood saw logs by the ton are giving their logs away. Up here hardwood pulp will fetch $30ish a ton. That's for junk trees used to make cardboard boxes.

I can only speak for where I am.
Oaks grown in bottoms grow faster but tend to be hollow.
Oaks grown on ridges grow slower but tend to be solid.
Pine prices suck but will get some return in a lifetime.
Eucalyptus trees have been tried but was an utter failure. Too far north.
Gum trees grow fast and straight but never heard of planting them here.
Ag fields producing yearly return through leasing is looking more promising at the moment

I think I got $10 a ton 8 or so years ago for pulp

I have some red and white oak that have come back from the stump. They were cut approximately 22-24 years ago and they are cranking out the acorns this year.

Trees from stump sprouts have the advantage of a superior root system.

Y’all are comparing delivered prices to stumpage prices. Apples to oranges.

Selling hardwood logs by the ton isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It just depends on your reachable markets and the quality of logs you have. I sold a bunch in the past for $60/ton that weren’t worth hauling hauling to a mill that stick scaled. I heard of a mill recently paying $200/ton for the right stuff. It’s all relative.

True , if there's no other choice than sell them by the ton that's what ya gotta do. There's several little yards in LA buy them by the ton , sort through them and send the better stuff North for a handsome profit. BrentM buys them from a couple fellers often. I always figured there was just not enough good hardwood saw timber in points South to justify someone going in and "bucking the system" . I hear the timber business in LA is a bigger good ol' boy system than it is up here.

Bad Investment.

Get it cheap enough, blaze a few trails, push off a campsite and sell it for recreational land.