Cedars?

[buckaroo]

I have a small ridge that is pretty much just mature cedars, on slatey ground. What are some of my options, cut them down to open the sunshine in or plant something? Any suggestions?

 

[plinker22]

Great question, I have a few of those as well. However, several of mine have grassy strips (like 10 to 15 feet wide) running right down the top of the ridge. These are all grown up in briar and honeysuckle.

Sorry to hi-jack.

Help us both fellows?

 

[Jarred525]

We recently sold a trailer truck load of cedar for 1,200. Not sure if there is a market in your area? I think this place was chipping it for resale. I was tickled because it helped get some unexpected income from cedar. This was part of our logging project doing some select and clear cuts.

 

[PickettSFHunter]

I dont like having them but unfortunately around here they often pop up because the soil is badly eroded in those spots and thats about all that spot will grow. Not sure if its that way for you or not. Might try hinging a few and cutting a few to make a real nice thick bedding area. They are at least good thermal cover.

 

[landman]

In some area's its a sure sign of limestone outcroppings, but not always

 

[catman529]

In some area's its a sure sign of limestone outcroppings, but not always

usually is, at least when I see it. I can find rocky areas on google earth by spotting cedar thickets if the satellite images are from the winter time. There is a lot in Williamson county, but even more in Maury and I swear there is nothing but limestone and cedars in Marshall county. I've done some cave hunting before and looked for cedars to find limestone areas. I dont know what else grows on the rock other than honeysuckle or something like that... but cedar thickets do make nice deer cover.

 

[buckaroo]

Yeah, and persimmon. I'm thinking of clearing out some places in them. I would guess by the end of summer the small cedars will make some cover in them?

 

[BSK]

The cedar-limestone connection is actually a particular type/age of limestone. I don't remember the exact reason (has to do with chemical composition of the limestone as it breaks down), but the Ordivician Age limestones of the Nashville Basin are notorious for producing cedar glades. The better quality limestones of the Mississippian Age that make up the Highland Rim do not produce cedar glades as often. However, anywhere limestones is predominant, old cattle-grazing pastures from the early 20th Century tend to grow into cedar glades if left unmaintained.

As for what to do with them, if the property lacks evergreen cover outside of the cedar glades, I would suggest leaving at least some of those glades alone, as they serve an important purpose. But if a large percentage of the property is cedar glade, or other evergreen cover exists, one of the best uses of old cedar glades is to cut the cedar and burn the area on a 3-4 year rotation. With burning, those soils can produce an amazing growth of native weeds and grasses. In the Ozarks, I've seen very unproductive cedar glades converted to HIGHLY productive native forage growth with regular burning.

 

[jmb4wd]

In one of my Soils classed in college, we use to joke about Rutherford county soil maps that had a soil type GRC.

GRC stands for Gladeville Rock Outcrops, as the soil type, but our prof, said that it stood for Grows Red Cedar!!

 

[Boone 58]