When to remove tree tube?

[yoderjac]

I tubed and caged a few crabs last year. Partly because I was too lazy to build all the required window screens to protect 24 trees and partially because I wanted to experiment with the growth of a tubed vs. non tubed tree.

I plan to remove those tubes this year and will take more precise notes but during my early March trip I didn't notice dramatic difference with growth between my tubed and non tubed trees.

One year, I used short tubes on seedlings. Because the tubes warmed faster, the first issue was lots of water sprouts in the tube below the graft before the tree pushed any buds above the tube. The second issue was powdery mildew. We have wet springs here. That may not be an issue in other climates. I ended up with the powdery mildew starting in the tub and them moving to other parts of the tree.

Just like with other trees, tubes can cause problems sometimes depending on conditions and be beneficial in other cases depending on conditions. For me, the only benefit that outweighs down sides is protection from deer at low cost (money and time) relative to caging. Since apples are so prone to disease and insect to start with I no longer use them, even on crabs that are general somewhat less prone than most domestic apples.

If I had caging, I would not risk using tubes since the protection benefit has been met by caging. I did not use window screen at first. Since I've been using quarry stone over landscape material as mulch, I've only had one trunk nibbled on and that tree recovered. I'm now using window screen but I'm in no rush to get it on the trees already in the field.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[weekender21]

We received record rainfall in an already very wet climate of western NC, so far so good. We’ll see how the trees look in a few weeks.

I left 11 chestnut trunks unprotected for an entire year, no issues. All my trees get window screen or tubes now. Screen is cheap insurance.


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[yoderjac]

We received record rainfall in an already very wet climate of western NC, so far so good. We’ll see how the trees look in a few weeks.

I left 11 chestnut trunks unprotected for an entire year, no issues. All my trees get window screen or tubes now. Screen is cheap insurance.


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I hope it works out for you. I think it was the combination of cold and damp that promoted the powdery mildew in my case. Our deer numbers have gone up and down and back up over time, and that seems to affect how they related to my planted trees. Another factor seems to be our mast crops. In years when we have good mast crops I see very little browsing on planted seedlings. One more factor seems to be the location of the trees. Trees planted in a food plot seem to get the most attention from deer. Deer come to the plot to feed on the crop, but when they walk by, they will take an opportunistic bite out of the tree. If it happens to be a central leader they hit, I end up with a bush.

As for rubbing, that seems to be changing over time as well. I'm guessing this has to do the changes in the social structure and age class of bucks. Last year, bucks started rubbing my trees where the protection was removed.

Hopefully you won't have the same issues I did. Each place seems to be somewhat different. I total agree with your comment on the window screen and I'm now using it on new fruit trees.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[NE PA QDM]

Wow! That is a lot. You must have a lot more time available than I do. I think I've caught most of the stuff before it became a major problem. I can't imagine doing this every year.

Yes I am fortunate enough to be able to visit my place almost 100 days out of the year, I spend an awful lot of time with my trees. They get pretty well babied.

 

[Redonthehead]

I have 700 5' tubes. If it wasn't for them I would not have any trees due to a high deer population. Mostly oak and some chestnut. (direct seeded chestnut BTW) Sure, some issues with the tubes but overall a big win for me. I have taken some off large trees before they "filled the tube" so I could use on other trees, but most are being left on as long as possible to prevent rubbing. I look forward to the day when all of them are sent to the landfill.

Some of those cut to be removed will curl up - seemed to be variation in the original manufacture of the tubes. You can mostly fix that by un-curling them onto a 4" pipe, then running a propane flame thrower over it to soften and re-set the plastic.