Tubes vs cages

[nateb440]

quick question. I have the opportunity to buy 4000 ft of woven wire fence for $300. I've been using tree tubes for my new plantings and caging my fruit trees. Do the benefits of using tubes for new seedlings out weigh the chance to protect a lot of trees with cages at that price?

Secondly, if you had the materials and cost wasn't a factor would you rather tube or cage? Thanks guys.

 

[Needmorebrush82]

Depends on the tree you are protecting. However if I could buy wire that cheap I would buy it and cage fruit trees and shrubs just like you have been just with a fixed cost (cheap wire) for a little while! I like my oaks tubed for the rapid growth and cost is quickly forgotten when I see that oak topping my tube in one season!

 

[yoderjac]

If time and materials were not an issue I'd rather cage most trees. I typically cage Pome and tube most others simply because deer in my area use but don't seek out many of the trees I plant. Personally I don't like woven wire for a cage. The woven wire I've dealt with works fine for exclusion of large areas but it requires heavy posts to support it. It conforms to the ground well so when fencing a large area on uneven ground it is great. For individual tree fences I prefer some form of welded wire. My personal favorite is remesh (cement wire) it is heavy enough that it stands on its own. You just need a single light post to anchor it to a spot on the ground. Some folks even use rebar for this. Once anchored deer pushing on it won't deform it like lighter gage welded wire fence. The holes are large enough that rodents can still get in, so if you have rodent issues, you can use an 18" tube inside the fence.

I don't see great growth benefits from tubing my trees. I do it for protection. I also plant some trees with no protection. If deer don't nip off the central leader, I don't see much difference between tubed and untubed trees with my conditions.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[buckdeer1]

Cage fruit,tube everything else

 

[nateb440]

What height is the woven wire fencing?

It's only 4 foot.

 

[Redonthehead]

I have quite a few cages made from free old woven wire field fencing. Very tough and stiff stuff, assuming its not so old its getting brittle. The main benefit is keeping bucks from rubbing. It won't stop rabbits or probably not browsing, and won't help it grow faster like tubes will. I use them on pines, but it requires a heavy T-post to anchor it as bucks will try to rip the cage off a pine to get to it. Pines seem to enrage bucks on my place.

5' tubes is the first choice.

 

[MoBuckChaser]

Tubes are a waste of money. Hate them! I have had more trees chewed off by mice in tubes that at any other time. Then if the wasp sets up in the tube the raccoon's tear the tube up to get at the wasp nest. If the tree makes it through that and comes out the tube. The fricken deer eat the tops off!

Don't waste your money on tubes!

 

[Catscratch]

Role it in a spiral as you make the cage. You will double up or have some waste, but you will have cages as tall as you want.

 

[willy]

Tubes suck past 3 foot as it messes with tree growth and causes a weak thin tree sapling to develop. I have used some free 4 foot fence that I raised a foot off the ground and put a 2' tube around tree to protect it from rabbits. This has worked well. It takes two t posts to keep fence in place.

 

[sandbur]

Everybody has a place where they would like a blockade.

Raise that 4 foot fence a foot off of the ground or double it up. You will use it somewhere if it is in decent condition.

 

[Tree Spud]

quick question. I have the opportunity to buy 4000 ft of woven wire fence for $300. I've been using tree tubes for my new plantings and caging my fruit trees. Do the benefits of using tubes for new seedlings out weigh the chance to protect a lot of trees with cages at that price?

Secondly, if you had the materials and cost wasn't a factor would you rather tube or cage? Thanks guys.

Pros & cons to both ....

Tubes are fast, very portable and are good for mass plantings, and can sometimes be re-used. They do accelerate growth and can lead to whippy saplings, add are restricted to about 5-6" max dia. I would cut extra holes in the tube to improve air flow. Can't be used for conifers. Grass & weeds can grow inside tube killing the seedling.

Caging takes more time to cut & form and are less portable quantity wise. They are much stronger, can be used for hardwoods, shrubs, or conifers, and can be sized for any diameter desired. They also have better are flow and allow for tree sway to help with trunk hardening. You can spray weeds & grass inside the cage. Can be removed and re-used very easy.

Personally I have moved from tubes to caging. Without caging, my conifer plantings have never survived. I now plant larger transplants vs. seedlings and would rather spend more time on 150 larger transplants than 500 tubed seedlings.

 

[Bill]

I used to use mesh tubes. No mice no wasps. But the little limbs poke trough and get nipped. Protected the main trunk ok. But like MO says when the come out the top it's a snack.

Tree Spud are you growing your own for transplants? Or do you have a local source.

 

[nateb440]

Thanks guys. I'm gonna get the fencing. My first attempt at tuning was a disaster due to cheap money tubes that were basically plastic sheets I had to roll in place. Can't remember the manufacturer but they were horrible. Since then I bought some good tubes but like some of you have fought wasps and apparently coons getting a the nests and wispy young trees. I've found myself fighting to keep the tubes up and actually doing what they're supposed to do and end up caging trees that have had their tubes destroyed. I'm going to try to cage about three hundred trees and will take the advice given and cut many of my left over tubes to prevent rodent damage at the base. Thanks as always. I value the advice from pros like you.

 

[yoderjac]

I used to use mesh tubes. No mice no wasps. But the little limbs poke trough and get nipped. Protected the main trunk ok. But like MO says when the come out the top it's a snack.

Tree Spud are you growing your own for transplants? Or do you have a local source.

For a few years I tried a combination with a solid tube on the bottom (protection from rodents) and a mesh tube on top. This lets you protect the central leader to a greater height. It worked but I found the maintenance high. Branches that grew through the mesh would get girdled so I had to go around snipping the mesh to prevent it. This was with chestnuts in particular.

My deer populations and habit are changing so I'm using multiple methods including no protection in some cases. It really depends on specific location and application as to what works best. The best we can do is share our methods and the pros and cons and let folks consider them.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Tree Spud]

I used to use mesh tubes. No mice no wasps. But the little limbs poke trough and get nipped. Protected the main trunk ok. But like MO says when the come out the top it's a snack.

Tree Spud are you growing your own for transplants? Or do you have a local source.

Bill ... no I am not. Through our county Land water & Conservation dept they sell trees. Past 2 years they sell 2'-3' transplant spruces at a great price.

You can also get larger transplants through other sources, send me a pm.

 

[TreeDaddy]

Agree with observations of Mo and others above

Have moved to cages from tubes

bill

 

[SIL hunter]

Mo buck do you have a system you use or just plant them and let mother nature do the rest?

 

[MoBuckChaser]

Went from doing this:

To doing This:

 

[buckdeer1]

I take it you did after your trees got out of tubes.I do that once the trees get as big as tubes but I just put a wire cage about 12 inches diameter.Fruit trees I cage from start

 

[MoBuckChaser]

I take it you did after your trees got out of tubes.I do that once the trees get as big as tubes but I just put a wire cage about 12 inches diameter.Fruit trees I cage from start

No, I don't put any in tubes anymore. And the ones in tubes that were still living, whether 6" tall or 6', I put a cattle panel around and screened them.