WI DNR Tree Sale

[mtholton]

Hi All,

I just got my notice that my trees will be available for pickup on April 24th. I ordered 1000 white spruce. I won't be able to plant until the 27th. As I understand it, I should keep the bags in cool temps in shade and make sure the paper on the roots stay moist. Currently there is a a couple of feet of snow still on the ground. Hoping for a quick melt, but are there any considerations based on our crazy snowy spring in terms of planting/survival that I should be aware of?

Thanks - Matt

 

[bueller]

I'd be concerned about not only snow but also the possibility of the ground still being frozen up there on the 27th. If you are unable to get them planted within a few days of taking possession, I would "heel" those spruce in a thawed garden bed, if available, or in potting soil in a cool garage or basement.

 

[TreeDaddy]

Agree with above

As long as roots don't freeze or get "dry" you will be fine

bill

 

[Northbound]

Same situation here. My trees come Friday from a private nursery. Have the 3pt Planter rented for Saturday, even with snow chains I don't think ground will be soft enough... crazy year

 

[ksgobbler]

It’s been the 4th coldest April on record so far here

 

[mtholton]

I got the 3 year old white spruce. Can anyone give me a rough idea of how big of bag/box's 1000 trees will come in? I haven't ordered a bare root tree before. I'm assuming they won't take up a ton of space and could easily fit in a truck?

 

[4wanderingeyes]

Forsure it will fit in the back of your truck.

 

[Da U.P. 'eh]

I think you'll be surprised at how small in size 1000 trees will be.

 

[Northbound]

These 2 boxes contain 1000 N.S. and 100 S.w.o. these are from private MI nursery.

The Wisconsin boxes are about 2/3 of this size and fit roughly 600 trees each
Also the Wisconsin trees are not impressive but their boxes are a really nice plastic coated cardboard. Very useful for deer apples or other things that would dampen and fall though a normal box

 

[Big Snow Man]

Well after you plant those two boxes of trees you can jump into that hot tub and relax !

 

[cavey]

We have lost a ton of the snow here in the last couple of days, north slopes still have some snow but your southern exposures and most of your flat ground should be snow free. I have not dug into the soil yet. But I am going out tomorrow to try and get some trees into the ground. By the amount of snow melt that went directly into the ground Im going to guess there isnt much frost in many places... mud is going to be a bigger issue.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I still have about 10 inches of snow on open flat areas. More in the woods, north slopes, and in drifts. Still plenty of frost in the ground as well. But this week should finish it off.

 

[mtholton]

Checked it out yesterday (NW Dunn County WI). Fields are half clear of snow. Muddy in thawed areas. Some areas in the shade have thigh deep snow still. Hoping that my main planting areas will thaw enough by next weekend. The main planting areas are already exposed, so I think with another week of 50 degree weather, I'll be able to get them in the ground. If not, I'll heel them in.

 

[cavey]

I dug in a small tree today on one of my south slopes, no frost; laid out and pushed in 30 stakes for more apple trees - expanding my cider orchard. It was very hot today... so the melt is on! I have some steeper shaded north sloping hill sides with snow but there is open spots scattered all over it so it wont be long before everything is melted. As I dug the hole for the tree I stared across the valley - snow on the opposite side and dry bare unfrozen ground where I was. If these warm temps hold you will have no snow by next week.

 

[bwoods11]

I don't mean to pry, but have you considered plugs...? You could plant 1000 plugs in less than 1/3 of the time, better survival and no worries about storing the trees, just water them in the trays.

 

[cavey]

I don't mean to pry, but have you considered plugs...? You could plant 1000 plugs in less than 1/3 of the time, better survival and no worries about storing the trees, just water them in the trays.

bwoods11, what are you finding for costs on spruce plugs ... plus I dont think you can get them in 3yr olds ??? Just guessing but at .37-.42 cents a tree for bare root at a 1000 count or if you go bulk with 3000 or more your down to only .17 (2yr) - .23 (3yr) a tree thats way cheaper then plugs. Plugs usually are far more expensive I believe plus the added shipping. His shipping would only be 6.00 to the Menomonie DNR office for those 1000 trees. Im guessing the plug tool is about the same cost as a good tree spade.

 

[Northbound]

I've done the plug thing and went back to bare root. Bigger tree off the bat is easier for me to spray around (planting former ag land). Plugs are also harder to handle for whoever is planting (on 3 point tree Planter).

Think it really depends on each situation, one option is not always better than the other option. The auger bit on cordless drill would be really sweet for some Gravel hill sides I'm tackling next year

 

[bwoods11]

bwoods11, what are you finding for costs on spruce plugs ... plus I dont think you can get them in 3yr olds ??? Just guessing but at .37-.42 cents a tree for bare root at a 1000 count or if you go bulk with 3000 or more your down to only .17 (2yr) - .23 (3yr) a tree thats way cheaper then plugs. Plugs usually are far more expensive I believe plus the added shipping. His shipping would only be 6.00 to the Menomonie DNR office for those 1000 trees. Im guessing the plug tool is about the same cost as a good tree spade.

Bulk bare root are cheaper. Depends on situation, the plugs just seem to survive better.

 

[cavey]

I have nothing against plugs, wouldn't mind trying them.
Plugs should have better one on one survivability just due to the way come but with bare root being cheaper you can up the volume and in many ways volume of trees planted may have more of an effect on long term survival.

I do know that from what I've seen most people poorly handle their bare root stock once they receive them. They do not immediately open the boxes and spray down the roots, and with that they need to pull each bundle out and make sure the centers of each root masses are damp, they often dry out during shipping and even a liberal top spraying of water isn’t enough to hydrate the roots. They tend not to cold store them, leave them out on site in direct sun instead of covered or in the shade while planting. I rarely have seen the root stock handled right during planting. You see bare root apple trees stuck halfway into a 5 gal bucket of water with half the roots hanging out. Most people don’t realize that it only takes seconds to dry out roots while planting – dry days with a slight breeze and a minutes worth of drying can have a big effect on survivability – inducing root shock.