Sapling division, ghues Red Alder (Alnus rubra)

[ghues]

Prior to posting photos (Ok I’ll throw in one )......I thought I would preface the thread with some background on why I’ve picked this species and some information that might enlighten some and probably bore others....

I’ve had an idea about doing a Forest with Red Alder for a number of years but my main trees got in the way and the attention they needed.....now with Covid I’ve more time, they are just a few minutes from the house, they grow fast .......and I should hopefully still be around to submit final photos.

My fascination in this species started decades ago as we in the forest industry (up here in the PNW) started to realize that it had some commercial value so we started processing the logs (instead of leaving them on site) and also managing for it on appropriate sites instead of decades of killing it (the preference being conifer species).
Wiki and me;
Red Alder is the largest of all the NA alders, it’s range is mainly along the coast from Alaska to California with a few areas in northern Montana. It grows quickly with significant annual height increments and given the right conditions it can be managed artificially, naturally or by a combination of both. Not only did I have extensive experience with establishing pure or mixed stands over harvested areas, I was involved in research projects aimed at understanding its potential commercial value.

Being a pioneer species and a prolific seeder, it can quickly dominate disturbed and exposed soils. If appropriate seed trees are present (Natural forests/stands), coupled with the large amounts of annual seed, initial establishment stem counts of over 10,000 stems per hectare are common. It is also known for its self fertilizing traits through its annual leaf matter, which increases the productivity of the site (a nitrogen enrichment factor). As the stands grow and mature (being a shade intolerant species) it was found that the density of the stands would decrease by ~50% every 5-10 years....as domination starts to be expressed, stems on better microsites shade out the intermediate and suppressed stems. Due to the above, the majority of Alder stands are even aged.

Collection should be relatively easy, so I’ll attempt to collect lots of them...... arrange then into a wooden grow box and let them grow. As in natural stands, I will not remove all the dropped leaves each fall to see what happens. I will also have to closely watch them over the winters, for they are susceptible to frost damage at an early age.
Thanks for reading.
Photo shows the collection area...an old logging road.

 

[Enfield Snapper]

I've been wanting to try a red alder. They're interesting trees. I've seen a few growing around me, but I've never noticed any seedlings I could dig up. I didn't see them in the native section of the nursery last year, either.

 

[ghues]

First batch from the side of a gravel road (8 days ago)........their root systems were mainly within the first couple of inches, after removing competing vegetation and small rocks, I was able to collect them in small cluster/groups, gentle laid them into my container, carried them back to the yard (all of 15 minutes away) and immediately planted them into this pot.
The bottom of pot and covering the lower root system is a mix of sifted perlite and pumice mixed with some of the gravel they were growing in. Top soil layer is pure pumice.......buds are swelling so hopefully they pull through.
While I was at the site, I spent time preparing for my next visit......removing the grasses, small stones etc so that tomorrow’s collection will go smoothly.
They are small but early growth in Alder is fast so it will be interesting to monitor their performance over the coming years and....on how I manage the growth, while setting a structure within the group and individually.
Cheer G.

 

[ghues]

Another Red Alder Forest collected and put together this afternoon. Collected the small seedlings from the side of the same gravel road as previously mentioned in the above posts.
Some came up in groups of 2-5 but most were singular......the soils were wet so they came up easily. I sorted them by size and planted the smaller ones around the outside. There are 35 individuals with a few of them with multiple stems for a total of 40.
The grow box inside dimensions are 22” x16” and the soil depth is 4”. Burnt the old Cedar boards inside and out. The bottom of the box covered with o1/4” mesh ( wooden slats holding it in place) it’s covered with a piece of landscape cloth. Lower soil layers; mostly a perlite/Pumice mix (trying to keep it as light as possible), the rooting and upper layers are a mix of pumice, shredded sphagnum moss and sifted Ocean Soil bark.
G.

 

[ghues]

Starting to show some life...only one looks a little weak but most flushing nicely

 

[ghues]

Two months in and so far so good. Mortality on the smaller forest was just 2 of the 13 and I lost 5 in the larger forest which now has 35. Will let them go this summer with some slight alignment adjustments.

 

[Colorado]

Cool! I’m trying a thinleaf alder that I picked up at a nursery. So far so good. Love the leaves on Alder!

 

[ghues]

SUMMER UPDATE
All the Alder compositions got quickly established and grew strongly during spring but suffered during the hot and dry late spring and summer…..very high temps and low humidity ( for the wet Pacific Northwest).
However I saw it as an opportunity to defoliate all damaged leaves and layered all the leaves on the soil surface as would happen naturally. The projects I had growing in pots or colanders on crushed rock, grew roots aggressively into that medium as can be seen in the photos.
The photos show the large and small forest, group of 4 left overs and an exposed root project.

 

[ghues]

Interesting (and perhaps a future practice) result with the defoliation of dead and badly damaged leaves…a late second flush.

 

[ghues]

End of Season #1.
Here is the smaller group, now 10 as one small never recovered from June’s heat dome. Crude wiring up the bike/stem, just to spread them out.

Naturally young Alder grow fast but are susceptible to prolonged period of heavy frost and extreme heat. They self prune easily being shade intolerant and study’s have shown they self thin constantly as weaker ones lose to those on better microsites. They invade disturbed sites sometimes in the 1000’s/HA I remember one stand we were managing for future sawlogs had 14000/Ha.
Another idea I’m trying is to allow the leaves to breakdown on the surface as would happen naturally.
many of the stems have small buds or shoots which I’ll encourage to grow to thicken the bases. Tallest tree is 30”, shortest is 12”.

 

[ghues]

Here is the larger group. It also suffered some summer heat damage, leaves and tips. Some inner branches have also died due to shading. Tallest is 34”. The trick will be balancing the girth of each tree with a natural looking canopy.
4 years to go……it will still be a baby in development phase.
Cheers from the GWN