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Tree Planting

I have been slacking on sharing my projects recently, so I'll share a couple more while I'm at it...
My Trees came in from Chief River Nursery (www.chiefrivernursery.com) and so I was pretty busy for awhile there planting trees.
The Trees came well packaged in a big plastic bag and moist newspaper shreddings.
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As soon as I opened the box I got the roots soaking in the supplied root gell and rounded up the troops to start the annual ritual.
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Most of them went in by hand, but I was able to get a tractor/planter to some of the spots... Here I am doing more screening along the property edge.
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And of course mother nature has her way of telling me to get off my lazy butt and to it by hand!
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ha ha I knew someone would call me on the spacing (I think like 5ft apart in some spots)... I went very close together because I ordered too many trees for the planting area. My grandfather has a tree transplanter so I will be able to take some out later if I need some trees here or there. Plus they are on the property edge so the thicker the better I guess.
 
For some reason bucks seem to love to shred my hybrid oaks to piece each fall! They can't kill them because they grow back each spring but send up multiple shoots that then become an even bigger magnet for marauding hormone charged bucks!

Some of these trees have been repeatedly damaged for 10 years now so i have been working on fencing them as time allows. Pruning them back to one central leader allows me to try some tree protectors on some....

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After pruning

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and installing protector

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I have grave concerns that bucks will find these "protectors" very attractive and rip them and the trees apart so I may try some heavier fencing around some of them as well.

There are downsides to turning your farm into a sanctuary for whitetails because increased numbers of charged up bucks can really wreak havoc on tree plantings. Keep an eye on your trees because as you improve habitat both the quanity and quality of whitetails will increase and and your 4-5 year old tree plantings can be decimated overnight.... ;)
 
dbltree said:
I have grave concerns that bucks will find these "protectors" very attractive and rip them and the trees apart so I may try some heavier fencing around some of them as well.

There are downsides to turning your farm into a sanctuary for whitetails because increased numbers of charged up bucks can really wreak havoc on tree plantings. Keep an eye on your trees because as you improve habitat both the quanity and quality of whitetails will increase and and your 4-5 year old tree plantings can be decimated overnight.... ;)
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I really worry about those rigid protectors with bucks and does, over time I think they figure any protector out except heavy fencing with t-posts. :way:

That is why I plan on hitting them hard and fast for these next few years so I can get everything in, protected and off to a good start before they figure me out. :D
 
Tree tubes

I bought some tubes that were blue in color. I planted roughly 80 trees and they fried. Deader than a doornail. The tubes baked the trees, they put on leaves, and then a week later, they are shriveled. What a waste of money.......
 
jonathanjt said:
I bought some tubes that were blue in color. I planted roughly 80 trees and they fried. Deader than a doornail. The tubes baked the trees, they put on leaves, and then a week later, they are shriveled. What a waste of money.......
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Where are you located? My tree have never baked in any of the tubes, blue or white. They made the growth much better, but I have to ask were they tubed with the leaves already on them or were they dormant and then leafed out inside the tubes?
 
letemgrow said:
Where are you located? My tree have never baked in any of the tubes, blue or white. They made the growth much better, but I have to ask were they tubed with the leaves already on them or were they dormant and then leafed out inside the tubes?
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I agree with Phil...that would be highly unusual and I suspect that to have died so quickly, something else is to blame. If they were new seedlings I would guess they were dead when you planted them.

I have planted thousands of seedlings that died within a week because they were neglacted at the nursery prior to shipping. They appear alive and healthy but every single on died after planting and every seedling planted by others also died...the seedlings were replaced the following year.

At any rate it is possible for unvented tubes to cause some harm to young trees but they would not die that quickly. We use vented tubes or drill holes in non-vented ones for that reason...;)
 
leaves

Well, they were planted in the first week or two of april I believe. I planted and tubed, then they got leaves. A few weeks later I check on them, and they have the leaves burnt to a crisp. I'll take photos next time i'm out there. Good habitat for wasps though!!! lol
 
I do not see how it got remotely close to frying them inside the tubes at that time of year. I have them over seedlings in 90+ degree weather all summer and they explode in growth. Where did you get the seedlings from and what type were they??
 
jonathanjt said:
Well, they were planted in the first week or two of april I believe. I planted and tubed, then they got leaves. A few weeks later I check on them, and they have the leaves burnt to a crisp. I'll take photos next time i'm out there. Good habitat for wasps though!!! lol
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After walking through the pasture over the weekend, I saw that my trees are having the same problem. Probably 75% of the trees, didn't matter what type, had their leaves burnt, and are now having to regrow new ones. But I'm pretty confident that it was a late heavy frost that did it. And it made no difference in my plantings whether it was in a tube or not. Possibly you are experiencing the same thing?
 
Persimmons are one of the toughest trees to have live. Done correctly I only have around 20 percent make it. Not uncommon to have lots die- occassionally all- when they dig up persimmons for u- they need perfect care vs other trees. I would say not the tube- its the type of tree, planting area conditions or everything that took place up to the point u got the trees. Persimmons are a pain but I'll keep planting them- even if I get 30 to maturity- worth it
 
trees

I think I would side with Joey, probably frost. Did you experience a frost? We did in MN, and although my trees are fine, one of my buddies lost all his sweet corn, and I am hearing of some dieback to sugar beets.
 
What you all think of POST OAKS? I have lots of them on my farm, had the forester out inspecting my TSI job and was surprised to see how many I have. I freed many up to encourage them. Just curious you all's thoughts or experience with Post oaks and wildlife preference for them?
 
Post oak are fairly rare in my area...never found one on my property. If I remember right, they grow on poorer soils??
 
Sligh1 said:
What you all think of POST OAKS? I have lots of them on my farm, had the forester out inspecting my TSI job and was surprised to see how many I have. I freed many up to encourage them. Just curious you all's thoughts or experience with Post oaks and wildlife preference for them?
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The Post Oak has a "Maltese cross" shaped leaf and despite being just down the road from Skip I haven't noticed any on my place?

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Post oak (Quercus stellata), sometimes called iron oak, is a medium-sized tree abundant throughout the Southeastern and South Central United States where it forms pure stands in the prairie transition area. This slow-growing oak typically occupies rocky or sandy ridges and dry woodlands with a variety of soils and is considered drought resistant. The wood is very durable in contact with soil and used widely for fenceposts, hence, the name.
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Poast Oak Range:

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In most prairie areas, fire may have limited Post Oaks a bit

In general, small post oaks are top-killed by low-severity fire, and more severe fires top-kill larger trees and may kill rootstocks as well.<!--/gc-->
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No idea if they are more or less attractive to wildlife....;)
 
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