Screening in the woods

PatinPA

5 year old buck +
I'm looking for a fairly quick growing screen for a woods road. I have planted spruce for a long term screen but I would like something a little faster growing in the short term. I'm on the shade side of the mountain with poor soil, so growing is kind of tough. I would prefer something perennial. Would switch grow? I have no experience with it. I still want to be able to drive up and down it. I killed off all the stilt grass overtaking it this year. I'd like to plant something to help choke it out before it comes back.
 
In the woods? Like mature woods and this would be along a road or drive?
 
Yes, it's wooded but was timbered pretty heavily 3 years ago. For some reason it's not growing up along this road. The deer bed within view of this road so I'd like to be able to sneak down it without being seen. There really isn't anything left to hinge cut significantly to make a screen. I was just looking for ideas for something quick growing. I tried egyptian wheat with no success at all. If it grew at all it only reached about 1-2 feet tall. Thought about planting the road in switch and keep a path down the middle to drive but allow the sides to grow up. Not sure how well switch grows in semi shaded areas though.
 
Can you get beech seedlings at a good price?
 
Hmm. I didn't think about that. I actually have a fair amount of beech. I could try to transplant some in the winter.
 
Hmm. I didn't think about that. I actually have a fair amount of beech. I could try to transplant some in the winter.

If you fertilize them they should grow pretty fast, and they hold their leaves really well. Eventually you can chop the top off and they should grow out bushy.
 
Thanks Telemark. I'm going to try that this winter.
 
The thought of intentionally planting that weed of an invasive tree/beech is wild to me. HA

We have a piece of mature timber with road frontage. Plan is to go in with chainsaws in february or march and lay down a row that'll work as a visual break. Then leave our pinch point open for htem to cross where we want them to. If you have any junk trees, you can make the visual break fairly easily with a chainsaw
 
The struggles you may have are #1 - sunlight and #2 soil conditions. Many logging roads don't have much top soil and as such things like switchgrass or MG may struggle to grow well. And both require a decent amount of sun for best results. A lot also depends on just how tall the screen needs to be. Conifers and or trees that hold their leaves well into the fall/winter could help. Oaks and beech come to mind. keeping them in more of a shrub form should help your situation and limit any mast they may produce. Depending on where you are - vine honeysuckle is nearly an ever green as well. Transplant some on some brush to support it and you will get a decent screen also. Just keep an eye on it as it can get aggressive and need to be held in check. Good luck....
 
The thought of intentionally planting that weed of an invasive tree/beech is wild to me. HA

We have a piece of mature timber with road frontage. Plan is to go in with chainsaws in february or march and lay down a row that'll work as a visual break. Then leave our pinch point open for htem to cross where we want them to. If you have any junk trees, you can make the visual break fairly easily with a chainsaw
Well I’d do that but it was 75% hemlock until about 3 years ago. Had all that taken out because it was all dying from wooly adalged. Not much left except for some scattered oak which I prefer not to cut. Most of it is growing up pretty good except for the south east corner where I want to sneak in. Not much is growing
 
The thought of intentionally planting that weed of an invasive tree/beech is wild to me. HA

We have a piece of mature timber with road frontage. Plan is to go in with chainsaws in february or march and lay down a row that'll work as a visual break. Then leave our pinch point open for htem to cross where we want them to. If you have any junk trees, you can make the visual break fairly easily with a chainsaw

They're not invasive, and they are excellent wildlife trees. They provide mast for birds and deer, nesting sites for wood ducks and other birds (and raccoons and squirrels), scrape sites for deer, and excellent cover when small or coppiced. And they are a habitater's dream, as they can grow in low light. And when you want to get rid of one, they make excellent firewood.
 
They're not invasive, and they are excellent wildlife trees. They provide mast for birds and deer, nesting sites for wood ducks and other birds (and raccoons and squirrels), scrape sites for deer, and excellent cover when small or coppiced. And they are a habitater's dream, as they can grow in low light. And when you want to get rid of one, they make excellent firewood.
cut em all, let God sort em out

:D
 
Give it time. You will learn to love the mighty beech.
 
The struggles you may have are #1 - sunlight and #2 soil conditions. Many logging roads don't have much top soil and as such things like switchgrass or MG may struggle to grow well. And both require a decent amount of sun for best results. A lot also depends on just how tall the screen needs to be. Conifers and or trees that hold their leaves well into the fall/winter could help. Oaks and beech come to mind. keeping them in more of a shrub form should help your situation and limit any mast they may produce. Depending on where you are - vine honeysuckle is nearly an ever green as well. Transplant some on some brush to support it and you will get a decent screen also. Just keep an eye on it as it can get aggressive and need to be held in check. Good luck....
Ya I have some conifers planted for the long term. They're only about a foot tall though. Stupid deer like to bed right behind the neighbor's house and they can watch me walk in to that stand every time.
 
Ya I have some conifers planted for the long term. They're only about a foot tall though. Stupid deer like to bed right behind the neighbor's house and they can watch me walk in to that stand every time.

Sounds like they are actually pretty smart.
 
Ya I have some conifers planted for the long term. They're only about a foot tall though. Stupid deer like to bed right behind the neighbor's house and they can watch me walk in to that stand every time.
Do they have an elevation advantage? If so...that makes it even more difficult because you need height as well. Your other option is to reconsider your access to the stand....but that tends to not be an option.
 
If you need something temporary you can put up snow fence until your screen trees grow up.
 
Do they have an elevation advantage? If so...that makes it even more difficult because you need height as well. Your other option is to reconsider your access to the stand....but that tends to not be an option.
Yes, not much maybe 10 feet.
 
Do they have an elevation advantage? If so...that makes it even more difficult because you need height as well. Your other option is to reconsider your access to the stand....but that tends to not be an option.
bedding are the red blocks. problem is the southeast. you can see the road zigzagging back through the woods. This is an old photo. It's been considerably thinned. The stand is at the bend in the road along the eastern border. It's more of a morning stand but I like to sneak in when the wind is right in the evening. I've thought about accessing along the southern border and intentionally spooking them so they stop bedding there but I'm not sure that would be good. That property to the east is completely unhunted (animal lovers) so I use it as my sanctuary. I have a trail that goes through the green oval (food plot) to the bottom part of the road. I've snuck down that and back up the road which works until I have to cross that last 40 feet in the wide open. But then I also My map land.pnghave to cross my food plot and use the deer trails I created which I'd rather not do either. They love to use that edge along the border now so I really want to be able to hunt it.
 
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