Nelder of Redwood

Balancing mutual shelter and competition

Our 20-yr-old Nelder Wheel planting of Coast Redwood is now large enough to show how managing a forest is about balancing the see-saw of mutual shelter v's competition. There is no 'right' answer with respect to stocking. Growers need to make their own judgement:
impact of exposure v's the cost of higher planting density
volume per hectare v's individual diameter growth
branch suppression v's the loss of diameter growth (longer rotations)
the return on every hour spent pruning

Despite the impact on tree height and branch size I'm happy to plant less or thin harder and grow our trees in the "free-growth" zone. Lower competition means more diameter growth, earlier harvest of large diameter logs, more even growth ring development, higher proportion of mature wood (v's juvenile wood) and a higher return for every hour I spend pruning.

But, you can't plant less or thin hard if you don't prune!

The proof is in the logs we are now milling and the timber we're producing.