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15 Acre Tree Planting Options

Obsessed said:
Ever witness what happens to a field or pasture within 5 to 10 years of being taken out of production, without any human intervention? It's pretty amazing. With a little selective pruning, you shouldn't have to plant a single tree. Critters will do that for you. Unless you want specific trees that don't already exist within the vicinity of your property, I'd simply leave it alone and spend your time and money on something else.
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This is very much true.

Here is an example. This is only 4 or 5 years apart.
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I do have my goals figured out with this effort. I am not a board-foot guy so long-term timber harvests are not what I'm thinking about. But I don't want overgrown pasture timber either. I want good habitat (primarily for whitetails, but other animals as well) but I also want that habitat to be native and good quality. I like watching things like oaks that I have planted grow about as much as I like watching deer grow. I have done some prairie projects on other properties and I really don't want one of them here on this property. I have about an 8 acre spot in the middle of all timber on the place where I live that I let go back naturally about 11 years ago. I planted some trees and shrubs in it but very few of them survive today. It has gone from early grasses, weeds, and forbes to blackberry to shrubs (mainly Shrubby St. Johns Wort and sumac) and trees around the edges. It is great deer habitat and I rarely go into it. It's pretty hard to walk in anyway. But I do check it a time or two each year with snow on the ground to see how it has progressed. I will say this - it looks awesome for deer bedding but I find very few beds in it and these are always under what cedars are there. I still find way more beds in the timber surrounding all of this brush than I do in this brush. It is neat to watch the progression but man it takes time. And at 50 years old I'm starting to get a little short on that!
 
From a standpoint of improving a property for future re-sale value (oaks and apple trees) would be the top 2.....walnut/black cherry that planted for future harvest is an option as well--long time to grow those!
 
I am doing a little of this myself , just smaller areas I am using a lot of different trees not just crop trees , poplar , maple , oaks , dogwood , crab apple, red osier dogwood , Allegheny chinkapin , Chickasaw plum., sumac and willow . I think it's easier to work on an smaller area and do it right then a huge area that's hard to keep up on.. would for sure plant some junk trees if this is for wildlife.. Create cover and food is is my goal ... But if you goal is timber value you would know best ... good luck keep us posted.
 
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