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Spacing on Shrubs/Conifers

jerad

jerad

Member
I am planning a 1300 ft planting for road screening. I'm tired of trucks stopping on the road to glass my fields. I have sandy soil conditions and deer density in my area is pretty high because the local shotgun groups shoot mostly bucks.

What species of Shrubs would you reccomend? So far I'm thinking Grey Dogwood, Chokecherry and possibly Wild Plum. Conifers will be Eastern Red Cedar and some Spruce on the outside edge, was thinking two rows of Cedars and one row of Spruce.

Also interested to hear everyones thoughts on spacing.

Thanks
 
I am working with the Iowa Soil and Water Conservation to convert 3 acres of hilly pasture back to trees with wildlife (esp deer) in mind. I wanted to do Red Cedar. The plan the district forester came up with is rows 10' apart with the trees planted 7' apart in the row (600 trees/acre).
 
I have had the best luck with a 5 row tree screen or better. Cedar, Cedar, Spruce/Pine (caged if possible) and then one row of hardwood. That can be oak such as red oak that keep leaves on longer, or if you prefer to not have the deer walk that row, oaks will drop acorns in 10-15 years. I like Plum or Chokecherry for the shrub.
 
jlwdvm said:
I am working with the Iowa Soil and Water Conservation to convert 3 acres of hilly pasture back to trees with wildlife (esp deer) in mind. I wanted to do Red Cedar. The plan the district forester came up with is rows 10' apart with the trees planted 7' apart in the row (600 trees/acre).
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I would reconsider this to a certain extent....In 5-8 years those cedars will be so thick nothing will live in them....
 
I'm wondering if the plan takes into consideration death loss. I can always go in and thin out some areas, or transplant after a year or two to another area of the farm if everything is living.
 
I have to agree with Tmayer13. 600 cedars an acre, or any tree for that matter, seems counterproductive. If you don't have any forested areas I could understand a tree planting, however, if you do, I would take an old field management approach to the pasture. Remove the cool season grasses and see what the seed bank has to offer. You likely won't have to do anything beyond that but set it back with fire every few years and possibly introduce some shrubs. I am somewhat new to the game but I am not sure a better habitat exists for deer, turkey, and other game species.
 
I defer to the district forester on how many trees are to be planted per acre. If you want them to help with cost, you have to follow their plan. I'm converting an old pasture that has some pretty good hills that is surrounded by a new planting of switch grass. Right now, the acres have zero wildlife value. I'm not wanting to wait and see what happens with the seed bank.
 
Like others have said i would be real careful with cedars. They can get out of control and become a wasteland in a hurry. (I def do like some). I think a really cool habitat is native grasses with mass producing trees planted within. The old oak savanna scenario is super neat and badass for critters. You can do it with other species like chesnut, etc.

....just another option to consider.
 
Waiting to see what happens with the seedbank will be a lot faster than any benefit you are going to see with a tree planting. Cedar trees will grow 6 foot limbs, therefore at your spacing, 7 foot with 10 foot rows, you will have a biological desert in the future, as the limbs will overlap and start dying out. I understand the allure of conifers and the deference you want to give to your forester as opposed to a random stranger on a forum. However, I would strongly suggest you challenge your forester as to what he/she is trying to accomplish. A lot of tree planting "plans" are a fast track to closed canopy forest. A flat acre has 43,560 square feet in it. If you plant 600 cedars an acre or any tree, once the bottom limbs of those trees reach 4.5 feet, 48,600 sq feet will be occupied by tree branches.
Hilly pasture surrounded by switch grass seems like a great place for a diverse planting of shrubs, trees (cedars included) and herbaceous growth.
 
Can we get back to the original post before it was highjacked? You guys now have me second guessing my conifer choice. Remember this is for road screening primarily but I am naturally hoping to add more habitat to my farm.
 
Wasn't part of your question about spacing and using cedars? Just pay attention to what you see next time you drive down an interstate. Along I-80 in Iowa, the state uses several different styles of plantings between private and government land that are usually a combination of cedars, shrubs, trees, etc.
 
jerad said:
Can we get back to the original post before it was highjacked? You guys now have me second guessing my conifer choice. Remember this is for road screening primarily but I am naturally hoping to add more habitat to my farm.
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I apologize for not answering your question...

Here is what i would do, 2 rows of cedars and then 1 10-12' row of egyptian wheat
Cedars(unless transplanting) will take several years to grow tall enough to accomplish your goal so in the meantime the EW will help with your screening until the cedars will do the job. IF you want to add some habitat value you could throw in some wild plums and some sort of desirable shrub....now I would not do this solely because your goal of keeping people from seeing in is great but when you add something with some nutritional value your likely to bring wildlife to the road which goes against your original plan...

another option is you could plant a 10' wide strip of switchgrass and then the cedars, this will give depth to your screen

just my 2 pennies
 
I guess we did highjack your thread. I'm planting a single row of eastern red cedar for my road screen, mostly because they are free. I don't have a huge road hunting problem so I want them spaced far apart so the bottoms limbs don't die. This won't result in a quick road screen. I would think pin oaks would be great as well, fast growing, hold leaves, provides mast. Shrubs of just about any kind would be great and grow fast.
 
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