SOUTH CAROLINA TREE FARMER OF THE YEAR GROWS PAULOWNIA

Coming from roots that focus on the environment , John McPhail was a natural as a tree farmer. His instincts and intense management of Green Tree Plantation has earned him the distinguished honor of South Carolina Tree Farmer of the year for 2003.

Having land set aside for financial gain, timber assets, wildlife habitat preservation and recreation, McPhail adopted advice and assistance from many varied sources and experts on what would be the best use of his land. After making some hard decisions on a variety of approaches to tree farm management, Green Tree Plantation incorporated Paulownia into the farm.

Technical advice and Paulownia elongata seedlings were supplied by WPI and the stand was planted in 1996. Astonishing results were noted by McPhail with growth of 1 inch per day in height and 2 inches in DBH per year. By May of 2003 the trees DBH ranged from 9″ to 15″ with and average height of 55 feet.

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