Is this a good investment?

BunsenBurner
Thu, 16 Sep 2010 00:21:21 +0000

The OP is talking about harvestable trees (timber?). They have to be rather fast-growing to be ready in 50 years, so let’s assume the trees are Douglas Firs (DF) or cedars. OP, you can plant several acres of DFs for much less than $5K. Collect DF cones in forests or parks (free, you can come and take as many as you want from my backyard! ;)), prep a small patch on the land where you want to plant your personal forest. Plant the free cones, and you will have a whole nursery of free seedlings in a year. DF grow very fast - the three-footers which I planted in my backyard ten years ago are already almost as high as my two-story house. A bunch of HS students can help you to plant your free trees for $1K or less. Since DF trees are native to my area, they do not require fertilizer, pest control, etc. They just grow on their own. Good idea.

I’m a tree-hugger and I’ve planted dozens of them. My best “investment” trees were Korean firs and Japanese maples. The $25 trees we planted ten years ago are now the size of $300 specimens sold at Molbak’s.