I've used them for oak plantings on seedling. Kept them on for 3 years, 5's , worked great. Kept some on for 4 years and they caused rubbing issues on the trunk which caused damage they are just coming out of (3 years later)
I use a half of a 5' for protecting new hybrid willow and poplar cuttings from rodents, has worked great.
I've used half of 5' around new apple/pear/persimmon plantings. After a couple years I slit them lengthwise and they coil up around the trunks and expand as it grows, none have grown into the trunks yet. No rodent issues.
I'm using them for a large hardwood tree planting this week, mandated by the nrcs, of which they are paying a fourth of the cost. I will remove them after the third year based on the first example I gave.
Tree tubes have worked well for me. Something that I do that I think helps with keeping it from being a rodent house is I bury the bottom 2 inches of tube in soil. This seems to keep mice out of it. these tubes make it easyt to spray around the trees without worrying about damaging them.
They are worth the expense to me. They don't come without installation pains and time spent checking them each spring. In the ten years I've used them I have only found one dead bird, not saying it hasn't happened more but I don't think its happened much on my place.
For stake, unless you have a cheaper source, I recommend 4' steel electric fence posts. They can be had for 89 cents a post on sale at tsc or Orchelins (where I live) These are farm stores basically. 99 cents regular price, which isn't bad. A few years down the road when you don't need them anymore one can sell them via craigslist or fbmarket and get most of that back.
https://www.treeproshelters.com/ are the tubes I use and this is where I got mine. I'm still using ones that are over ten years old.
My truly negative experience was when I tried the mesh tubes(first time planting hardwoods). Worthless for tree protection, damaged the seedling as they grew through the mesh and animals destroyed them all in the first year I had them. It was like they were a toy and some animals loved to trash them. Lost every tube and tree that planting.
All of the acorns or chestnuts I've planted have been with a 30" tube over them and then surrounded them with a wire mesh fence for deer protections. They have done well this way. I've only been doing this for 3 years so not sure how it'll turn out several years down the road but I think it will be good.
www.starkbros.com
