> >Any thoughts on this? > > > > There has, unfortunately, been much over-hyped promotion of > Paulownia. It is true, however, that under the right conditions > Paulownia produce valuable timber in a shorter time frame than > any other tree. Paulownia timber is very stable - even four year > old trees, if large enough, can yeild timber which does not crack > or warp and can be suitable for furniture. More commonly 10 > to 12 years would be required to acheive a diameter economical > to mill. I agree with all of the above... > Paulownia is not generally used for high weight carrying > construction as although it is strong for its weight it is > a light timber and not as strong as most hardwoods. Being > very easy to work and visually attractive, it is > more likely to find its place in moldings, doors, window > frames, veneers and furniture. Same here, except modular housing, log homes are major developing markets. > > Following is short article I wrote re. Paulownia timber > which may interest you-: > > MORE ABOUT PAULOWNIA TIMBER... > > Paulownia [known as Kiri in Japan] produces pale straw coloured > timber which is light, soft and easy to work, but strong for its > weight and does not easily warp or split. Paulownia air dries > well, thus eliminating or reducing the expense of kiln drying. Agreed. > > Harvesting of Paulownia for high quality timber, suitable for > veneer, achitraves, furniture, picture and window frames, > generally takes place between 8 and 12 years. Even at 2 to 4 > years of age, however, they could be used for poles or paper > pulp. A ten year old Paulownia should yield at least 0.5 cubic > metres of timber. One 11 year old tree in China was measured at > 3.69 cubic metres timber volume. Agreed. > > Paulownia timber industries are established in China, Taiwan, > Japan, Korea, Nth America and Brazil and are being developed in > other countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand and > Australia. There is potential for larger growers to export to > Japan which purchases over 90% of all the Paulownia timber > traded internationally. About 80% of Paulownia timber used in > Japan is made into plywood and parts for furniture, 12% is made > into small boxes and much of the remainder is used for clogs and > traditional musical instruments. In 1995 Japan imported a total > of 146,764 cubic metres of Paulownia from China and the USA. > The Chinese exported mainly rough-sawn timber from trees around > ten years of age, for which they received an average of > Au$642/m3. Most of the USA timber was from older, slowly > grown trees which fetched an average Au$1,571/m3 in the log. Agreed. > > Paulownia trees cultivated in the cooler regions of Australia may > be more slowly grown and consequently of higher timber quality - > close growth rings are desired for furniture - than those grown > in warmer climates; however, the higher rate of crop rotation in > the warmer zones should compensate for any lower returns per > m3. The climatic variation in Australia should allow for the > production of the full range of Paulownia timber. > Agreed. Important to note that most US-grown paulownia, until now, was established naturally from seed pods used as packing materials. Wind-carried seeds may travel miles and paulownia is generally regarded as a fast-spreading weed. Our trees are hybrid clones, sterile, and stay where you put them. Very nice presentation! Fred Wright Carolina Pacific Aiken, SC fredw@scescape.net http://moneytree.scescape.net
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