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Tree Planting

Arrowhead78 said:
Happy New Year everyone. I have a farm in Mercer Co. MO that I am very interested in developing some road screens to screen alfalfa fields from the road. I have not done any fall prep. There are some spots that have power liners to consider. Any area I use will be removed from cash rent, so I would like to minimize the width.
Here is my plan: Spray and till a 20' wide strip this spring and plant with EW to provide a screen this year. Spring of 2015 plant 2 rows of Red Cedar and continue to use EW between the rows for several years to provide a screen until the trees are large enough.
Questions: Are there shorter varieties of Red Cedar to use near the power lines? If so, does anyone have information on where to buy these? Is there an alternative plan I should consider.

I appreciate all the information on this site. Thank you!
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I would check whether there is a legal easement on your property for the powerlines before planting anything that would interfere with the power company performing regular maintenance on the lines. If they need to, I believe they can cut anything within the easement. Correct me if I'm wrong on this guys! But I like your thinking as well, although I have no experience with EW.
 
Feeding area layout

Pictured is an example layout that has been a work in progress for many years now, the combination of tree orchards, year around food sources, screening and hinging to create thick adjacent cover has proven very effective.



Apples, pears, paw paws, persimmons and others provide soft mast from mid summer, chestnuts are irresistible early fall treats and hybrid native oaks provide sweet, low tannin acorns unlike anything the neighbors have.

The beauty of this is one can buy and fence/tube a couple trees a year if budget is tight and before you know it, your whitetail oasis is well on it's way.

Oikos Tree Crops is a great source for potted chestnut and oak seedlings.

Burnt Ridge Nursery has economically priced fruit and nut trees.

A variety of other sources can supply larger quantities at lower prices but new landowners often can not afford that many trees... ;)
 
Jesse wants to start growing trees larger, with well developed root systems using the RootTrapper system



We've used smaller versions with great success so we'll move up to the 15 gallon version with a timed watering system and slow release fertilizer to grow trees to much larger size.



My friend John Walton of Big Rock Trees carries Rootmaker supplies if you would like to try growing seedlings to a larger size in the backyard.

Rootmaker has both above and below ground systems, if you've experimented with both please share pro's and con's ;)
 
Jesse still has a strong back. Ready made timber there. Will be watching this. Good luck. I've only messed 1 gal. round rootmakers.
 
Cedar Question

I planted 4-5' cedars last fall and invested more time and water in them than I'd like to admit due to the drought....well a buck took it upon himself to work them over in November and in the process broke off the tops of several of them.

My question to you tree guys is: Will they regrow their tops and look right or will they take on the look of a big cedar bush? Trying to determine whether to replant or not.

Thanks!
 
I have not had Eastern Red Cedars re-grow a leader (top) very effectively, They usually stay shrubby and end up looking more like a Juniper bush.
 
Herbicides

The following is the herbicide mix that we use to get season long weed control in tree plantings, if applied over the top, do it before budbreak.


Oaks and cedars - per 5 gal water in ATV sprayer

2 qts simazine
2 qts prowl
1-2 ounce sfm-75 (oust)

If grasses and small weeds are present add

16 ounces clethodim
1 qt crop oil

If applying to shrubs and fruit trees omit Oust
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If you are getting season long control with a different mix, please share
 
I collected some Chinese Chestnuts last year and they are starting to grow. A few of them have started growing with multiple stems. Should I prune the stickers to help keep the energy into growing the main plant or just let them go? Example pic below:


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Looking good! If you do choose to go to Rootmaker pots, they are not expensive at all.

HERBICIDES.... I've experimented with a lot of things and then on doses. I have yet to spray too much as far as atrazine or Simizine. I prefer atrazine though. One thing I've had great success with is PLATEAU or also known as PANORAMIC. Extraordinary control & for how much you use, it's not that expensive. I'll saturate the soil and if I really want to nuke things for a long time, I've had excellent residual control with high doses of Atrazine (mixed with clethodim & crop oil if trees are budded out and I can't use round-up), Prowl, Plateau & Surflan. Of course, a guy could likely skip a few of those but I don't think I'll ever be skipping the Atrazine, Plateau or Prowl now. I've got some spots where the trees & shrubs were completely controlled for 2 years. Ok, the ground was glowing and I started growing a 3rd arm after getting the stuff on me but it worked tremendously. Ongoing trials for me though. :)
 
Just received an order of 80 white pines. They are 2-2's. I got 56 of them in the ground tonight. Using them to screen plots and the roadway. Any advice on making inexpensive cages?
 
medicsnoke said:
Just received an order of 80 white pines. They are 2-2's. I got 56 of them in the ground tonight. Using them to screen plots and the roadway. Any advice on making inexpensive cages?
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I'll let others chime in on the "inexpensive part". only luck I've had is to use 3 T-posts (standard heavy duty fence posts, $4-5 each) using the T post driver you can buy & then wrapping them very tight & heavy duty with something like woven wire. I say all this because I've tried "the cheap route" and deer literally have pulled off my cages with their strength to shred the trees. Good luck, your projects are looking great on all counts!
 
We buy 40" rabbit proof wire and small 5' U posts at Menards. Check with area farmers they often have rolls of old woven wire from cleaning out fence rows and are happy to get rid of it ;)
 
The recommendation here in Minnesota to protect white pine seedlings is just a bud cap in winter to protect the buds of the leader. We used 3x5 index cards folded and stapled over the end/top of the leader in the fall. The 'cap' is held in place by catching some of the needles while stapling. Next spring and summer the leader grows up thru the 'cap' and you repeat the next fall until the leader buds are out of reach. DNR says deer will browse the buds on side limbs but that does not adversely affect tree growth. The deer don't bother them much in the summer. I've planted and grown hundreds of white pines this way and some were planted to break up a food plot with apple trees and the famous Dbltree rye/brassica rotation planted, there are plenty of deer around.

We rarely have had trouble with bucks rubbing the trees, white pines in the open especially grow lots of limbs at each whorl that may discourage rubbing. I've got white cedar in the same area that absolutely need to be fenced.

If you're growing white pine you should also learn about, if you don't already know, white pine blister rust and proper pruning. You'll find information on the web or I can go on in another posting. That's my 2 cents worth from a still cold Minnesota.
 
Deer here in Iowa, eat and tear up everything. I used to do that when I lived in MI too. Protecting the lead bud. It worked there. For some reason though,,even though Iowa deer have plenty to eat , they absolutely LOVE Pine. They have little to rub on too. No poplar. A buck will rib cages off and destroy a white pine. You need to cage them good. I mean real good!
 
loneranger said:
Deer here in Iowa, eat and tear up everything. I used to do that when I lived in MI too. Protecting the lead bud. It worked there. For some reason though,,even though Iowa deer have plenty to eat , they absolutely LOVE Pine. They have little to rub on too. No poplar. A buck will rib cages off and destroy a white pine. You need to cage them good. I mean real good!
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Ed is dead on what works up north up north won't fly here
 
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