Cages for norways

g squared 23

5 year old buck +
I've tried planting Norway Spruce unprotected in order to improve cover and they get destroyed by deer. What circumference cages do you normally make for norways? What about shrubs like dogwoods or buttonbush or elderberry? How long do you normally leave them on? Lumite needs to be removed from thicket forming shrubs at what point? Thanks in advance.


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2.5' circumference or about 6' linear feet.

Stake one edge and make sure you spray with gly the cage interior & outer area.

As they grow & expand, you can release the outer cage connections to let the tree grow & expand. This will keep the bucks from rubbing and destroying them.
 
My own experience with Norway or white spruce is that bucks love to rub them. We get a few that get nipped in the winter - usually only the latest new growth - but our biggest damage is from rubbing.

I don't cage ALL of our spruce, but the ones I want to survive for sure I keep caged for at least 7 years. That way they can get a good foothold and get some wood on them, so if a buck rubs them and busts some branches, the tree will still survive. I make my cages about 3 ft. in dia. to give them some room to grow. I use concrete re-mesh for cages, 5 ft. tall.

As Spud said above, you can then open the cages slightly to allow for more growth and deter bucks from rubbing just because the cage is still around the tree.
 
This is year 3 in the ground for these 3-0 seedling Norway Spruce. These are 3.5' high and would never have made it this far without the cages. Between winter browsing & bucks rubbing, they are getting a good start. I went out this Saturday and cleared all the grass, weeds, & blackberries that were growing in and around the cages, then sprayed with Gly. If I was more diligent about the weed/grass competition, they would be farther along ... too much to do and not enough time.

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