Why Grow Your Own Timber and Firewood?
Native tree plantations are places to enjoy. They are shady places to stroll through in summer and shelter farmland and home gardens in winter. They also provide valuable habitat for our unique wildlife and provide shade and shelter to crops, pasture and livestock.
Plantations and woodlots can be designed to provide a renewable source of timber for firewood, fencing, and construction. Well-designed and managed plantations improve property values, provide long- term economic returns, and reduce your carbon footprint.
Firewood
The average family home in cooler areas like the Southern Highlands uses eight tonnes of firewood to fuel a slow combustion stove each year.
A block of 100 trees planted in a 20m by 20m area would yield eight tonnes of wood, in areas with fertile soil and good rainfall. This means you need to plant 100 trees each year for 10 years if you want to have self-sufficient heating. You can begin harvesting trees for firewood in the fifth year.
An effective way to produce an ongoing source of firewood is to grow trees that will naturally coppice after being cut. Many species of Eucalyptus, Acacias, Casuarinas, and Allocasuarina will reshoot from the stump, producing multiple trunks which can then be harvested.
Any tree will burn but hardwoods provide excellent firewood because their wood is dense and burns with an even heat.
Once cut, the wood should be allowed to dry out for a year or two to maximise heating value.
Trees for Firewood
Botanical Name | Common Name |
---|---|
Acacia binervata | Two Veined Hickory |
Acacia dealbata | Silver Wattle |
Acacia decurrens | Early Black Wattle |
Acacia elata | Cedar Wattle |
Acacia mearnsii | Black Wattle |
Acacia melanoxylon | Blackwood |
Acacia parramattensis | Parramatta Wattle |
Allocasuarina littoralis | Black She-Oak |
Allocasuarina torulosa | Forest She-Oak |
Allocasuarina verticillata | Drooping She-Oak |
Casuarina cunninghamiana | River She-Oak |
Eucalyptus cypellocarpa | Mountain Grey Gum |
Eucalyptus fastigata | Brown Barrel |
Eucalyptus globoidea | White Stringybark |
Eucalyptus globulus maidenii | Maiden's Gum |
Eucalyptus macarthurii | Paddy's River Box |
Eucalyptus obliqua | Messmate |
Eucalyptus punctata | Grey Gum |
Eucalyptus quadrangulata | White Topped Box |
Eucalyptus saligna | Sydney Blue Gum |
Eucalyptus sclerophylla | Scribbly Gum |
Eucalyptus viminalis | Ribbon Gum |
Melaleuca armillaris | Bracelet Honey Myrtle |
Melaleuca linariifolia | Flax Leaf Paperbark |
Melaleuca styphelioides | Prickly Paperbark |
To view more information about any of these species, visit our Trees for Firewood category on our online store.

Trees for Timber
Botanical Name | Common Name |
---|---|
Acacia implexa | Lightwood |
Acacia melanoxylon | Blackwood |
Allocasuarina torulosa | Forest She-Oak |
Allocasuarina verticillata | Drooping She-Oak |
Angophora costata | Gum Myrtle |
Angophora floribunda | Rough Barked Gum Myrtle |
Corymbia citriodora | Lemon ScentedGum |
Corymbia gummifera | Red Bloodwood |
Corymbia maculata | Spotted Gum |
Eucalyptus agglomerata | Blue Leaved Stringybark |
Eucalyptsu cypellocarpa | Mountain Grey Gum |
Eucalyptus eugenoides | Thin-leaved Stringybark |
Eucalyptus fastigata | Brown Barrel |
Eucalyptus globoidea | White Stringybark |
Eucalyptus melliodora | Yellow Box |
Eucalyptus obliqua | Messmate |
Eucalyptus oreades | Blue Mountains Ash |
Eucalyptus punctata | Grey Gum |
Eucalyptus quadrangulata | White Topped Box |
Eucalyptus saligna | Sydney Blue Gum |
Eucalyptus sideroxylon | Red Ironbark |
Eucalyptus sieberi | Silvertop Ash |
Eucalyptus tereticornis | Forest Red Gum |
Eucalyptus viminalis | Ribbon Gum |
Syncarpia glomulifera | Turpentine |
Toona australis | Red cedar |
To view more information about any of the species for timber, visit our Trees for Timber category on our online store.