Waste of time?

[trampledbyturtles]

Have an opportunity to get my hands on around 100 leftover shrubs from a friend's shelterbelt tree planting. 25 redosier, 25 Siberian crabapple, 25 common chokecherry an 25 sandbar willow.

Thing is it is getting pretty late in the year, moisture is already a limiting factor in my mind. An the July heat will kick on soon.

But the price is right, free.

So is it worth the effort or am I just wasting my time?

Plan was to plant with a shovel or dible bar, Cover with a tube, spray roundup around to kill off the grass. Then they would be left to fend for themselves.

 

[j-bird]

Any means to hold them over the summer where you can keep them watered and then plant in the early fall? Can you put in pots (3 or 5 gallon buckets) or possibly heel them in? I agree that 100 trees left to their own in the summer dry and heat doesn't sound like a bright future for them without some help. But free is free and I would certainly consider any possibility before I turned them down.

 

[willy]

I'd take them and plant them where you want and how you described. The ones that don't make it, replace them if you want to make sure your tube money wasn't in vain.

 

[wiscwhip]

Get 'em in the ground!

 

[Tree Spud]

Have an opportunity to get my hands on around 100 leftover shrubs from a friend's shelterbelt tree planting. 25 redosier, 25 Siberian crabapple, 25 common chokecherry an 25 sandbar willow.

Thing is it is getting pretty late in the year, moisture is already a limiting factor in my mind. An the July heat will kick on soon.

But the price is right, free.

So it it worth the effort or am I just wasting my time?

Plan was to plant with a shovel or dible bar, Cover with a tube, spray roundup around to kill off the grass. Then they would be left to fend for themselves.

Grab them, find a good shady spot that gets some sun, soil maintains good moisture, and will see regular rain. Dig a trench where you can plant bunches, with the roots extended, and good soil covering all roots 12"-15" deep eliminating as air is possible.

If you get a 50% survival rate next spring, the strongest seedlings made it. I still have 600 norway spruce that are ground stored like this for 2 years and at least 60-70% are still good.

 

[cavey]

Are they potted? If they are which im guessing they are due to how late in the year it is... I would at least keep the crabs and the chokecherry till fall, if you got low ground shoot the others in. Otherwise i would just keep them all in some corner of the yard, put a cheap snow fence of something around them and plant them in the fall.

 

[trampledbyturtles]

Well, couldn't pass them up, an had some free time after work. So I did my best to get what i could in the ground. Ended up getting 75 in.

They were all bareroot, so planting went fairly fast. And I only had 1 tube, so I covered then sprayed an moved on to repeat. Time will tell if one spray pass will be adequate for them to establish roots before getting choked out by grass.

Stuck the dogwoods in along a low wetland edge, should have plenty of moisture.

The Siberian crabs also went in but they were on higher ground. The only benefit being they're sandwiched in between two rows of 10ft tall cedars so they won't just get completely blasted by the July sun.

Decided to pass on the chokecherrys an went with what he had left for smooth sumac around 22.

Also passed on the sandbar willows, if I can find time tomorrow, might try an sneak them in.

But honestly, I am finished after this, fighting the grass/ticks/skitoes is getting to be a bit much even for me.

Time to move on from tree/shrub planting for the year an move on to fall plot work and get the last of the treestands up.

Then take some time off (August), an what do you know, its already hunting season.

 

[Apple Junkie]

You gave them a better shot at life than they would have had in a landfill. My guess is some will make it, nice job tbt.

 

[mikmaze]

even this late you could get a tenfold back on the redosier and the willow, take cuttings, see if they root, and plant the rooted cuttings in the late fall. could go from a free hundred, to 200 easy.