Tell me about cottonwoods

[Neill]

Cottonwood is a species that I have less experience with.
What can everyone tell me about them?

Some questions I had for them-

How resilient are they to being wind blown, or uprooted?
Are large limb failures common?
What kind of pruning do you recommend for them?
Rate their level of compartmentalization
What size of wood are you comfortable being tied into?

 

[data farm 26]

Rate their level of compartmentalization

terrible.

How resilient are they to being wind blown, or uprooted?

Pretty good, haven't seen many blow over.

Are large limb failures common?

Not really, usually it's dead awhile before it comes out.

What size of wood are you comfortable being tied into?

Bigger than most trees.

This is all based on hybrid cwoods common here. The plains cottonwoods are much better trees all around but less common in landscapes.

I can't stand the hybrids personally, huge internodal spaces, heavy wood that's also weak, and they smell like poop, seriously.

 

[ATH]

Cottonwood is a species that I have less experience with.
What can everyone tell me about them?

Some questions I had for them-

How resilient are they to being wind blown, or uprooted?
Are large limb failures common?
What kind of pruning do you recommend for them?
Rate their level of compartmentalization
What size of wood are you comfortable being tied into?

Not much different than what @data farm 26 said...

Speaking for Populus deltoides
*I don't see them being blown over/uprooted.
*Large limb failures aren't "common" but more likely than an Oak. Maybe on par with Silver maple, or just slightly more likely.
*No special pruning...except maybe being away of sizes of cuts because...
*Does not compartmentalize well
*Tie in: like anything position and branch angle play into it. If its a live branch at the trunk, I'm good with 3-4" diameter. If I'm out on the branch, I probably want a couple inches bigger than I would on maybe a maple.

 

[southsoundtree]

Large limbs can fail from Sudden/ Summer Limb Drop.

Sometimes standing while ridiculously hollow.

I've cut a number on very large, very hollow CW. Many on the same site. One twisted of the stump in a big spiral fracture, so the rest went.


Smelly.

Beware hidden stick-water columns...backbarring can be your friend.