Big Rock Hybrid Poplar

[mnbirddog]

Those with experience planting hybrid poplar and 3' weed mat. If you are in an area of high density, have you had to protect your cuttings year one? I'm a little worried the deer will either nip the cutting off or eat every leaf as it pops and kill them. If I do have to protect them, I'd like to use maybe 4' tubes (hopefully they can get up past the deer once they get to 4') but I want removeable ones since they should only need one year. What kind of removeable/re-useable tubes do you like?

 

[Tree Spud]

The issue of browse becomes a real problem in winter. If they are nervous steeping on the weed barrier in warm months, no issues when there is snow on the ground.

Once you remove the tree tube, they are nice and flexible for rubbing.

 

[noodle]

The deer don’t seem to eat my poplar but they love rubbing on them but it dousnt seem to hurt them. I have lost more to overgrown weeds than anything else

 

[Bill]

My deer dance on weed barrier for fun and eat hybrid poplar shoots. I used 4 foot tubes and the started munching them as soon as they poked out. Eventually they did out grow being eaten.

Then like noodle said. They will rub them.

 

[Spiider]

I used Deer Stopper Concentrate from Amazon the 1st year, spraying them every other month until gun season in November. Then I stopped all together. Some got rubbed heavily but they were already growing tall and survived. Love my hybrid poplars! Planted in spring of 2014.