Eucalyptus Trees

[offset]

I have the option to buy some land that had Eucalyptus trees grown on it but I seem to remember it being mentioned on here that the land is not very good after these trees have been grown on it I would like some advice please

[seekingfriends]

i have never heard of that they damage the land they are on .i know that they do soak up a bit of water .james hat yai

[xen]

If you are prepared to do a bit of work on the soil and the land is at a good price , then go ahead. You need to have a look at the soil and get an analysis but you will probably find the top soil is fairly devoid of organic matter which is what ,for the sake of simplicity, the soil layer that stores most of the nutrient. Usually then there will be very little under-story or ground cover so Erosion and leaching, can be also a problem where rain is be very heavy. I classify eucalyptus as an environmental weed ,particularly in the Thailand environment and it does tend to colonise the area around where it was planted so you will also have eucalyptus coming up for quite some time.

It also depends on what you want to use the land for. If you plan to use it for cropping then you will need to plant a few green manure crops and build up soil nutrient , organic matter and micro-organisms . But it take a few seasons .

Best of luck with it .

[Crushdepth]

They do not damage the soil. However they are often grown on lousy land because they are very hardy. So if you are planning to grow crops you should probably check the place out thoroughly first, because it is possible that it might not be good for much else.

[xen]

They do not damage the soil. However they are often grown on lousy land because they are very hardy. So if you are planning to grow crops you should probably check the place out thoroughly first, because it is possible that it might not be good for much else.

I would not describe them as hardy but opportunist . That is one of the characteristics of environmental weeds as i would classify eucalyptus spp in Thailand and many other parts of the world. I know it a matter of pedantics to some but a lot of horticulturists in the environmental field are questioning the value of eucalyptus as economic plants and the resulting damage they do to sensitive environments. . They are not as drought tolerant as many say but very good at taking every drop of moisture around them to the determent of any other plants around them . Once the moisture is gone they will die as has happened many times in Australia. And once you do get a mono culture of plants they will change the soil to suit themselves and thru erosion and leaching it will become a denuded and damaged soil , altho not unrepairable with a bit of work and time. That is why ,in my previous post mentioned green manure crops etc. Of course the terrain plays a large part in it i should add to what you can do with the soil to repair it.

[drtreelove]

They do not damage the soil. However they are often grown on lousy land because they are very hardy. So if you are planning to grow crops you should probably check the place out thoroughly first, because it is possible that it might not be good for much else.

I would not describe them as hardy but opportunist . That is one of the characteristics of environmental weeds as i would classify eucalyptus spp in Thailand and many other parts of the world. I know it a matter of pedantics to some but a lot of horticulturists in the environmental field are questioning the value of eucalyptus as economic plants and the resulting damage they do to sensitive environments. . They are not as drought tolerant as many say but very good at taking every drop of moisture around them to the determent of any other plants around them . Once the moisture is gone they will die as has happened many times in Australia. And once you do get a mono culture of plants they will change the soil to suit themselves and thru erosion and leaching it will become a denuded and damaged soil , altho not unrepairable with a bit of work and time. That is why ,in my previous post mentioned green manure crops etc. Of course the terrain plays a large part in it i should add to what you can do with the soil to repair it.

Xen is right - "hardy" in horticultural terms, means cold tolerant. There are other terms used to describe Eucalypts, some are not so kind; many people are adverse to their self preservation capabilities and dominating growth and reproduction habits. There is an issue with Eucalyptus and a property called "allelopathy" (retardation of growth of other plants from biochemicals in Eucalyptus tissue, including leaf litter.) This may make it hard to get another crop started, but shouldn't prevent it all together with proper management. I've determined from my experience that the competitive characteristics of Eucs come more from shading, competition from high demands for water and nutrients, and an all pervasive root system than from allelopathy. My plant pathology professor and his research supports this view.

Here in California there is rampant species discrimination and efforts at erradication. For me, I love Eucs like I do most trees, management/maintenance is the key. Some of the most beautiful trees, and some of my most dramatic tree work experiences are with the Eucs we have here in California. There's nothing like being up in the top of a 150' Blue Gum with a storm coming in off the Pacific Ocean; some people pay for a ride and thrills like that.

There are many things that you haven't revealed about your specific situation. But here is what I would be looking at for starters:

Are the Eucalyptus trees still there? If so, you will need to consider stage of growth, harvesting now or later, market dynamics, etc.

Or if trees not currently growing, are the stumps still there. If so, you will need to consider your intended land use and if the stumps need to be removed or not; a possible serious expense. If the stumps are still there, are they dead or are they still live and sprouting. If so, you could continue to grow them for market, depending on other factors.

If no to all the above, the trees are not there, the stumps are not there, your concern is that the land was previously dedicated to Euca and what damage might have been done: the answer is probably - not a big problem. Start like you should with any land acquisition for farming, build the soil according to needs of the intended crop, and like Xen recommends, get a soil analysis done to develop a site-specific program for mineral and fertility improvements. Otherwise it's just guess-work.

For any inquiry like this, post pictures and details, you'll get more feedback. don

[wanjohn]

i have 8400 trees,5yrs old,8mtr tall,65cm average ready to harvest,,,,,,can anybody give me an idea of price when cut,,,,

[loong]

i have 8400 trees,5yrs old,8mtr tall,65cm average ready to harvest,,,,,,can anybody give me an idea of price when cut,,,,

You will find that it depends on the demand in your area. Nobody grows them around here any more. One of my neighbours couldn't sell hers a few years back. I can't remember what she got for them when she did finally sell them, the purchaser felled and transported them away. By the time she paid to have the stumps cleared, she actually made a loss.

[aussieruss]

hi wanjohn my father brouht a bush block in australia and a man came to buy telephone poles dad sold some thay cut them with the chain saw and took away thendad asked what about the stumps man said i can take out $80 per hour so no money from the poles very hard to dig out so many stumps so after this we got a dozer and pushed all the trees down first then cut stump off much easyer to do this way plus if they want bark off easy to do this way and while you are pushing and cutting you can use machine to burn and clean up at the end we made money but cut down first we lost ? if you have room and time could you pay to have some of your logs cut to planks at saw mill and sell some cut timber everyone needs timber just a idear and how we went about it regards russell

[Gary A]

We have a tree buyer here working in this area. A friend of mine had him bid on some trees he had. He was offered 300 baht per ton. A Thai friend of my friend had a talk with the tree buyer and ended up running him off the property so I don't know if that was a normal price or not.