How big will a Hornbeam get in New England?

[rphurley]

I was just noticing how many American Hornbeams I have growing in between my Oak and Hickory. Many of them have good exposure to light yearound and I was wondering how big can I expect them to get? I know the wood is extremely hard, but will I ever get much appreciable firewood out of them?
Rich

 

[Cazimere]

Not very big. 20 to 30 feet. Its actually in the Birch family. Very hard wood.

 

[CTBurner]

I think this is what we call iron wood, i have a lot of it but it seems to only get 3 to 4 inches in diameter here

 

[rphurley]

Thanks for the responses. I am going to thin out my brush and I wasn't sure if I should let the Hornbeams grow for awhile, but I guess they won't get much bigger than they are. I will burn them though because the larger ones are about 4 inches or so.
R

 

[Der Fuirmeister]

I saved a chunk from a Hornbeam (Ironwood) that I cut down 8 or 10 years ago. It was 35-40 feet tall. The chunk I saved was from two feet up the trunk. It's 8-3/4 inches across (just measured tonight) and I counted 122 rings. Counted it three times because the rings are so tight and I thought I lost count somehow.

I saved the log because it was the largest Ironwood I've ever seen. Still is.......

 

[Tree farmer]

I have measured some around 12-14 but those are the exception and the increment coring aged them around 140+. As you state they grow as an understory species but if you give them more light they will grow more rapidly like any other tree. I cut one that was Ice damaged on a hiking trail in Southern NH and it was about 12" some of the growth rings were almost a half inch. It is rated as a premium firewood if you can get enough of it to burn. You can grow a lot more firewood in a hickory or oak though.

 

[LeonMSPT]

Burns almost like coal... closest other wood I've seen to it is well seasoned red oak. Burns down to a bed of extremely hot coals.

 

[jpl1nh]

Yeah I agree, typical up to 4-6" diam. It is great firewood but you'll never get very much of it which makes it what I would call a "boutique" wood. It's something unique and interesting to burn now and then. I have a few splits of pear too which a would call "boutique" too. I sure don't come across that very often.

 

[Der Fuirmeister]

I've never burned coal, but it burns really hot. A few years back I was able to get 4 or 5 standing dead trees. Saved them for -20 below nights in January. There are a few left back in the woods, but they're still alive and we don't have many around. Very interesting lumps under the bark.

 

[rphurley]

I think they call the sinewey lumps "fluting." I didn't realize that it grows as far west as Wisconsin. It is a neat looking tree, but I would never let anything impede the growth of my Oak and Hickory!

 

[fyrwoodguy]

the biggest in diameter one i've ever done is about 14".....i tried 3 at once in the processor (did'nt notice specie of wood) won't do that again! :-/

 

[JerseyWreckDiver]

First you need to be sure you have the right Hornbeam. There is Eastern & American. The American has a smooth bark similar to Beach, the Easter has a scaley bark. They typically grow as understory tree's and the Easterns are capable of over 60 & close to 24" diameter if you let em grow long enough. Americans a little smaller.

http://www.oplin.org/tree/name/commonname.html

 

[fyrwoodguy]

First you need to be sure you have the right Hornbeam. There is Eastern & American. The American has a smooth bark similar to Beach, the Easter has a scaley bark. They typically grow as understory tree's and the Easterns are capable of over 60 & close to 24" diameter if you let em grow long enough. Americans a little smaller.

(broken link removed to http://www.oplin.org/tree/fact) pages/hornbeam_american/hornbeam_american.html

(broken link removed to http://www.oplin.org/tree/fact) pages/hophornbeam_eastern/hophornbeam_eastern.html

the links don't work for me. but your info is correct,as far as eastern is concerned.

 

[JerseyWreckDiver]

First you need to be sure you have the right Hornbeam. There is Eastern & American. The American has a smooth bark similar to Beach, the Easter has a scaley bark. They typically grow as understory tree's and the Easterns are capable of over 60 & close to 24" diameter if you let em grow long enough. Americans a little smaller.

(broken link removed to http://www.oplin.org/tree/fact) pages/hornbeam_american/hornbeam_american.html

(broken link removed to http://www.oplin.org/tree/fact) pages/hophornbeam_eastern/hophornbeam_eastern.html

the links don't work for me. but your info is correct,as far as eastern is concerned.

Sorry bout that. Apparently you have to go in through the main page and then choose your tree. I've modified the link in my original post.

 

[rphurley]

Thanks for the link. I'm referring to American Hornbeam.

 

[Der Fuirmeister]

Definitely the Eastern type here. According to the Audobon hand book.

Hardest, hotest burning wood I know of. Includes Hickory, Hard Maple, White Oak, Bur Oak, Pin Oak or Red Oak.

The one that comes close in the way it burns is Hard Maple. Both glow almost white and throw off a blue flame even before the coal stage. With Hard Maple I always suspected it was the high sugar content.

 

[575xp]

I had some hornbeam that when i was making my backcut I had to walk the saw around the tree, and I have a 20 inch bar, some of the the best firewood I have on my woodlot, burns extremely hot, excellent wood.

 

[JustWood]

Eastern or american cut ALL that crap out of your woods. Absolutly no value other than firewood and it will choke out valuable species. Hottest burnin stuff I have ever burned.
Wished I had more time to cut as my neighbors woods is loaded with it and he wants it out.

 

[leaddog]

Eastern or american cut ALL that crap out of your woods. Absolutly no value other than firewood and it will choke out valuable species. Hottest burnin stuff I have ever burned.
Wished I had more time to cut as my neighbors woods is loaded with it and he wants it out.

Well right now that VALUABLE wood is worth more for fire wood around here. My wood is ready to be cut as it's been 11years but all I can get is fire wood price. Clean straight maple, cherry, 30to 40 ft logs. They are paying more for oak for fire wood also. I know a guy buying maple for .22 a foot cut into boards. He quit cutting and sawing and just buys and cuts to the size he needs.
leaddog

 

[JustWood]

Eastern or american cut ALL that crap out of your woods. Absolutly no value other than firewood and it will choke out valuable species. Hottest burnin stuff I have ever burned.
Wished I had more time to cut as my neighbors woods is loaded with it and he wants it out.

Well right now that VALUABLE wood is worth more for fire wood around here. My wood is ready to be cut as it's been 11years but all I can get is fire wood price. Clean straight maple, cherry, 30to 40 ft logs. They are paying more for oak for fire wood also. I know a guy buying maple for .22 a foot cut into boards. He quit cutting and sawing and just buys and cuts to the size he needs.
leaddog

$.22/foot for maple is about $.50 more a foot than you will recieve for hornbeam as lumber EVER !
Let the maple and cherry grow if you ain't gittin didly for it!

 

[wally]

First you need to be sure you have the right Hornbeam. There is Eastern & American. The American has a smooth bark similar to Beach, the Easter has a scaley bark.

american is also known as blue beech and musclewood. smooth bark.

eastern is typically called hophornbeam, and has "shreddy" bark.

i've seen, and measured, easterns that were over 22" diameter. largest blue i've measured was only 12". as noted by many, both make hot-burning wood, all-nighters.

wally

 

[smokinj]

First you need to be sure you have the right Hornbeam. There is Eastern & American. The American has a smooth bark similar to Beach, the Easter has a scaley bark.

american is also known as blue beech and musclewood. smooth bark.

eastern is typically called hophornbeam, and has "shreddy" bark.

i've seen, and measured, easterns that were over 22" diameter. largest blue i've measured was only 12". as noted by many, both make hot-burning wood, all-nighters.

wally

I just cut one down a blue beech guessing by using the bar I would say in the 40in. range going to take out the stump sunday I will put a tape on it


didnt get a chance to measure the trunk but the biggest round was 29 3/4in. and three of use couldnt pick it up wow thats some heavy wood,Sure felt like 45in.+

 

[fyrwoodguy]

wally, what was the height of the tree ?

 

[wally]

wally, what was the height of the tree ?

didn't really notice. i found a group of them over in vermont during a timber cruise, on some enriched soil with blue cohosh/maidenhair fern all over the place. since i didn't notice the heights (meaning they weren't exceptional either in stuntedness or in excessive height), they were probably average for the midstory, perhaps 50 to 60 feet tall.

wally

 

[fyrwoodguy]

wally, what was the height of the tree ?

didn't really notice. i found a group of them over in vermont during a timber cruise, on some enriched soil with blue cohosh/maidenhair fern all over the place. since i didn't notice the heights (meaning they weren't exceptional either in stuntedness or in excessive height), they were probably average for the midstory, perhaps 50 to 60 feet tall.

wally

I was just wonderin' because it made me think of the day one got bye me because of it's diameter (16-18") I sawed off one round with the processor,it dropped into the splitter, I pressed the forward switch and in it went about 1-2" and all was heard was hydraulic sqeeeeeek! :sick: needless to say I backed out the rest of the log i did not notice,and took the other half off the deck and split'em up the old fashioned way ;-) out of thousands of cords, this one was the largest i've seen!,stringy too!