Fast growing trees tend to make inferior lumber. This is readily apparent with modern plantation grown species like fir and poplar that are not as high a quality as the same trees grown in natural forest conditions where their growth is slowed by competition for space.
>Fast-growing oak has widely spaced annular rings, sometimes up to 1/4″ per year (see fig. 3.3, above). This timber is exceedingly strong because it has fewer rings, which creates a great concentration of the dense latewood that grows in the summer. But the resulting timber is visually distracting. Its radial face comes out looking heavily striped. It can also be difficult to work; it has an
uneven texture resulting from the widely spaced transitions between the earlywood and latewood.
