How long does it take for a live oak trunk to rot?

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

I lost a number of live oaks to Irma. The branches and debris were easy enough to haul into my compost piles, but the trunks were just too darn big for me and my chainsaw (maybe 2-4' dia), so I just left them in my yard. Most of the remaining trunks are out back where they aren't an eyesore, but obviously it makes it hard to mow, etc.

If I just LEAVE the trunks, how long will it take for them to fall apart? One to get rid of them, but two I can for sure use all the compost. At 2.5 years, the bark is falling apart, but the wood still seems pretty solid.

Is there anything I can do to speed up the process?

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Comments (7)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
"If I just LEAVE the trunks, how long will it take for them to fall apart?"

Decades. For most conifers, around 55-125 years; most hardwoods, between 45-70 years. The warmer and more humid the environment, the faster the decomposition, but "fast" is relative :-) This is not a speedy process under any circumstances,

Even in our Olympic rainforest, a fallen western red cedar trunk of any size will take at least 50-100 years, maybe longer. And will be a host site for scores of other plant species as it decomposes,

OK in a forest setting.....not so good in a cultivated garden.
jerzeegirl (FL zone 9B)
6 years ago
I am guessing it would take a long long time (measured in many years) for those trunks to rot away naturally. The only way I have been able to get rid of roots is calling in a stump grinding person. They have a machine that does the job. I know that they sell stuff that you can inject into the stump to make it disintegrate but that method never worked for me.
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corkball (z6 TN)
Original Author
6 years ago
Interestingly, I have a couple of very large live oak STUMPS from maybe 3-4 years ago - those ARE starting to fall apart. But then they have much closer ground contact than fallen logs, and a flat surface to absorb moisture.
dirtygardener
6 years ago
Congratulations! You have a lighter stump. When they cleared land out in the country where I used to live, we used to fight over the old oak and pine stumps they would pull up out of the ground, because they are the best lighter wood for fireplaces.
corkball (z6 TN)
Original Author
6 years ago
LOL! I haven't lit a fire for heat since moving back to Florida. In MN, firewood is like gold, but here, I just toss it in the swamp. My HOPE is to somehow use the wood for something like hugelkultur, but it is unclear if live oak is a useable species for that, and the rate that organic material leaches out of the soil doesn't help. Thanks DG!
irma_stpete_10a
6 years ago
Speaking of Minnesota firewood, my neighbor who summers in MN took there in his truck my cut-down bamboo. He said they toss it in their fireplace fires for the colorful effect it has.
krnuttle
6 years ago
Have you thought about renting a larger chain saw?

If they are good solid logs you may be able to sell them.

While a lot of work, you could also rent a woods splitter, and and run the split pieces of wood through a wood chipper. You could use the chips for mulch.

On the other hand it may be easier to leave them where they are.