I am having a couple of trees cut down next week. Is it OK to use the wood as firewood? One is a maple and the other is a pine tree.
— Jackson Bos, Libertyville
I am a big fan of having a fire in the fireplace at home, especially on a snowy weekend or a cold rainy one when I do not have to travel. There is something very relaxing about a fire in a fireplace while I am reading a book. The most important thing to consider regarding your firewood is to make sure that it is properly seasoned before burning it in the fireplace. This will minimize the buildup of creosote in the chimney. Creosote is a highly combustible substance that condenses in liquid form as wood smoke cools in the chimney and then solidifies as it dries. It is a product of combustion and builds up when the fireplace operation is cool and inefficient with smoky, smoldering wood that is wet or unseasoned. Properly seasoned wood produces the most heat and the least amount of creosote. Freshly cut wood from a live tree contains up to 80% moisture and needs to be seasoned (or dried to 20-25% moisture content) before it is burned indoors. Wood containing more than 25% moisture is considered green and should never be burned in a fireplace or woodstove in a building.
If your maple tree is not dead, the wood will probably not be ready to burn this winter, as the wood will contain too much moisture. I avoid using wood from pine, spruce and arborvitae for my fireplace as they tend to throw out burning particles and the tarry smoke from burning can quickly coat the inside of the fireplace with creosote. Be sure to have your chimney cleaned regularly when using a fireplace or wood stove. A trained, professional chimney sweep will clean your chimney with the proper equipment and inspect it for cracks, water leaks, misalignment and deterioration. I cut down four callery pear trees this fall and I look forward to burning the wood next winter, though I may try a few logs this year to see how it goes after drying for four months.
The ground in my garden is somewhat frozen now. That means that in our area it is a good time to remove large trees. There will be less impact on the garden during the removal process if the ground is frozen. If any of the trees in your garden are dead, the wood may be used for burning this winter. I cut a dead birch tree down in late summer 2025 and the wood is fine for burning now.
If the tree is alive now, season the wood you generate with the removal by cutting up the logs and splitting them into fireplace-sized pieces. It is best to stack them out of the rain for six to 12 months. Hardwoods like oak will burn better if seasoned for more than a year. Improperly seasoned hardwoods can smolder and lead to the buildup of creosote. The firewood will start to deteriorate and not be good to burn after four to five years. I have some old logs at home that I now must dispose of as they are starting to rot. Stack wood off the ground in a way that allows air to circulate and carry away the moisture as it evaporates through both ends of each piece. Protect the wood pile from the rain but try to avoid completely covering it with plastic tarps as air circulation is necessary for proper seasoning.
If steam bubbles and hisses out of the end grain as the firewood heats up on the fire, the wood is wet or green and needs to be seasoned longer before burning. Other signs of unseasoned wood are bark that is tightly attached and a wet, fresh-looking center with lighter and drier looking wood near the edges or ends. You can tell the wood is dry from the hollow sound it makes when you knock two pieces together. Seasoned wood is also cracked, gray in color and much lighter without the water content compared to green wood. When you split a seasoned piece of wood, it will have more of a white color on the inside with cracks running through each piece and a lot of small cracks on the inner rings. The wood will also be more brittle.
I have had success using logs from a variety of different trees in my fireplace. Use caution when splitting your wood with an axe as it is easy to slip with the axe and injure your leg or foot. I make sure my two small dogs are indoors when I split wood as the pieces often go flying out from the log as the axe cuts through. If you have a lot of wood to split, consider renting a gas-powered log splitter. Bulk firewood is sold by the cord or a portion of that, such as half or quarter cord. A cord of wood measures 8 feet long, 4 feet high, and 4 feet deep.
For more plant advice, contact the Plant Information Service at the Chicago Botanic Garden at plantinfo@chicagobotanic.org. Tim Johnson is senior director of horticulture at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
