Poplar is good for firewood because it lights quickly when dry and will warm your house well during the shoulder seasons. Poplar is a relatively quick burning firewood therefore it is also great for campfires because typically campers only want a fire that lasts a couple of hours.
Keep reading to learn more about Poplar and what makes it a great choice for firewood.
Common Characteristics of Poplar Trees
There is quite a bit of controversy when it comes to Poplar trees. People can’t even seem to decide whether they are a hardwood or a softwood. Typically, any tree that loses all of its leaves in one growing season is a hardwood, and trees that lose only some of their leaves in one growing season are softwoods.
A lot of the confusion comes because regionally people have referred to one kind of tree in a generic way for years and that name stuck even though technically it’s not accurate.
The issue for us is not whether it is a hardwood or softwood, but whether it produces a high, clean, fire.
The wood of the Poplar is very flexible. Although Poplar varieties range in height and breadth, most share some common traits that make them easy to recognize.
Leaves: You can often distinguish a Poplar by its leaves that are often heart-shaped and rimmed with tiny teeth. In the Summer they are bright green, and in the Fall they turn gold.
Flowers: Male and female flowers grow on separate trees and bloom in drooping clusters.
Fruit: The fruits are small thick-walled capsules that contain many tiny seeds covered in cotton-like tufts of silky hairs. The seeds are often released in great quantities and blown around by the wind.
Age: The majority of Poplar trees don’t live very long. On average they die in about 50 years.
Common varieties of Poplar trees used for firewood
There are around 35 different species of Poplar, but you are most likely to see the White Poplar, Eastern Poplar, Lombardy Poplar, or the Balsam Poplar in the United States.
Eastern Poplar is also a massive tree and can grow to over 100 feet tall. It is grown throughout the eastern, central, and southwestern United States.
Lombardy Poplar grows in a pyramid shape.
Balsam Poplar is found in swampland in the northern half of the country. It is distinguished by its aromatic resinous buds.
Working with Poplar Firewood
What does Poplar smell like?
All types of wood can be used as firewood but some are better than others. Besides investigating how much heat is produced you also need to consider the aroma of the wood. Most woods produce fruity, nutty, or piney fragrances.
Poplar has a reputation for having a unique smell when freshly cut. You will most likely love it or hate it. Some say it reeks while others say it smells a bit sweet.
Is Poplar sap messy?
All trees produce sap in one form or another, but there are trees that produce a lot less sap and ones that won’t bother you as much when you are splitting firewood. Overall Poplar is not a messy wood to work with unlike Pine which is notorious for its messy sap. Pine sap gets on everything when splitting it.
How hard is Poplar to split?
Poplar cuts and splits easily.
Poplar is great to leave in big chunks, and use it in the warmer seasons. Also, keep some around for a quick warmup in the morning or throw some in when your fire is almost out. It will light up for your quickly.
Poplar is often sold at campgrounds to the park visitors. Most visitors want a wood that will start a fire quickly and last 2 hours and Poplar does the job.
How long does Poplar take to season?
Poplar can be burned green, but expect a lot of smoke. It’s best to split it and stack if off the ground right away to avoid rot. It typically takes around 6-12 months to season.
It’s great fire starter when dry and makes great kindling.
Buy an inexpensive easy to use moisture meter like this one, to ensure your split wood is ready for the fire.
Does Poplar burn clean?
Poplar burns fast and hot with a moderate amount of smoke and throws some sparks.
On really cold days if you are only heating with Poplar, you will need to keep adding to the stove to keep your fire going. Typically Poplar has around half the BTUs as Oak.
A lot of people use it for their summer fires when they don’t need a long fire or at the end of Spring when the weather is warming up or just at the beginning of Fall when the weather is beginning to cool down. This is called a shoulder season wood.
It’s known as “gofer” wood because you throw some in and then “go fer” more! It’s a good wood to burn when you are around the house and can tend the fire pretty often.
It doesn’t make a lot of coals and works great for a fire starter for the harder to light woods like Oak, but it produces a moderate amount of smoke and throws some sparks, so keep that in mind when burning Poplar firewood indoors and keep your screen up.
Heat Output and Efficiency of Poplar
Poplar doesn’t usually get listed on a BTU chart, but is in the same family with Aspen and Cottonwood. Cottonwood is rated between 12.6 to 13.5 million BTUs per cord and Aspen 13.7 to 14.7 million BTUs per cord. For the sake of this article we will average those numbers and use 13.85 million BTUs per cord for Poplar.
On average a cord of Poplar is equal approximately to the following common heat sources:
- 13,356 cubic feet of natural gas.
- 152 gallons of propane.
- 100 gallons of heating oil.
- 4,059 kilowatt hours of electricity.
BTU stands for British Thermal Unit. One BTU the amount of energy required to heat one pound of liquid water by one degree Fahrenheit.
A cord of firewood is equal to 128 cubic feet of wood. Typically firewood is cut into 16 inch lengths and is tightly stacked in three rows, 4 feet high and 8 feet long, totaling 128 cubic feet.
How does Poplar compare to other types of firewood?
Poplar is similar to Pine in the way that it lights quickly and gets the stove temperature hot fast.
Poplar falls somewhere near the low side in terms of BTUs per cord. At the high end would be Eucalyptus at 34.5 million BTUs per cord and Osage-Orange at 32.9 million. On the low end you have Ohio Buckeye at 12.1 million BTUs per cord and Linden Basswood burning at 13.8 million.
Fire quality, amount of smoke and creosote.
Green wood tends to smoke and smolder creating the possibility for creosote to form in the chimney. Creosote is nothing more than a condensation of small, unburned particles contained in the smoke that coats the chimney surface as it exits. The creosote will stick to the sides of the chimney and can ignite, causing a chimney fire.
All wood creates creosote. You can reduce the amount of creosote by properly seasoning your firewood. Be sure to clean your chimney at least once a year to prevent chimney fires.
The Pros and Cons of Burning Poplar as Firewood
Pros
- Lights quickly.
- Splits easily.
- Seasons fairly quickly.
Cons
- Doesn’t burn long.
- Has low BTUs.
Other Common Uses
There are many different firewood species to choose from. However, not all of the options will be available to you since some trees only grow in certain parts of the country.
In my opinion, Poplar doesn’t make the best firewood because of it’s low BTUs, but I wouldn’t pass up the chance to burn it if it was free. Free wood is good wood! Poplar does make good fire starter though and is great for a short campfire.
Tell me what your favorite type of firewood is in the comments below.
