>>My comment about standing cedars rotting from their cut limb nubs is based
>>on information from our local sawmill owner and operator who has been
>>cutting wood here for over sixty years.
>
>Gene, possibly you are talking about a specific cedar in your
>area? The Western Red Cedar which is very common here on the
>West coast is very rot resistant. I use it for fense posts
>and it has high market value for roofing shingles.
>
>jeff
Yes, in my original post I specified Eastern red cedar, our typical red
cedar here in the Ozarks. I think it is Juniperus virginiana. One more
time: the red heartwood is very rot resistant; the white sapwood rots fast;
and pruning standing trees creates rot entryways--I suspect that the
sapwood on the limbs provides entry for wood destroying organisms and they
continue into the tree, dimishing its value for construction. How fast that
happens would likely depend on local conditions.
