apple trees and fir trees

hunts_with_stick

5 year old buck +
Just curious, if I wanted to plant some sort of fir tree, spruce or what not and have a bunch of apple and pear trees, what would you recommend? I would like something that would act as a barrier from the road, but maybe something that would provide cover as well? And would planting fir trees give my apple trees car, or is that only juniper trees?
 
Only juniper. Id recommend Norway or white spruce depending on your soil (Norway in good, white in poor)
 
I like fir trees. Not so picky. Cedar Apple Rust is only spread by Eastern Red Cedar (not white cedar).
 
Of the spruces, Norway spruce are the fastest growers. We have hundreds of them at camp. The more sunlight they get - the faster they grow. White spruce are good too - but slower growers. We have some of the white spruce too. FWIW.

Eastern red cedar is a member of the juniper family.
 
I like balsam fir.
 
I have Norway, Blue and Black Hill spruce planted as road screens/wind blocks on orchards. All of those will work fine, I think Norway seem to grow faster and the other two are thicker foliage wise for me anyway.

Like others have said only the juniper varieties will host CAR, red cedar is the bad one in my area. It will sprout on its own in any fallow ground.
 
Awesome! Ty
 
Of the spruces, Norway spruce are the fastest growers. We have hundreds of them at camp. The more sunlight they get - the faster they grow. White spruce are good too - but slower growers. We have some of the white spruce too. FWIW.

Eastern red cedar is a member of the juniper family.
Do they provide good cover or are they used for just screening? Do they reproduce on their own? I don
t mind a few for screening, but I planted a bunch of oaks that I would rather see grow.
 
Do they provide good cover or are they used for just screening? Do they reproduce on their own? I don
t mind a few for screening, but I planted a bunch of oaks that I would rather see grow.
Are you talking Norway spruce?? Norway spruce make great thermal cover, windbreaks, road screens, bedding cover. They will reproduce eventually once they get big enough to make cones / seeds. Norways are said to be the fastest growers by tree experts, and they like sunlight to grow well / thick. Shade = thinner spruce limbs. So where you plant them can make a difference in how they flourish. Norway spruce are very disease resistant compared to some other spruce varieties - blue spruce especially.

We planted Norway and white spruce seedlings in our logged areas at camp over the last 25 years. The spruce thickets have become bedding / thermal / security cover for deer and grouse mainly, as well as nesting / security for tweety birds that eat bad insects. All good.
 
Yeah, I just bought 10 Norway spruce plugs. Excited to plant them! I picked up 10. now, the question is: do I plant them near the road - hoping someday to build a cabin on the property so it would screen the cabin from the road (it will also help screen the rest of my property). I probably need more then 10, but I have oaks and other things planted as well. Or do I plant them closer to my orchard to provide more security for the deer?
 
Yeah, I just bought 10 Norway spruce plugs. Excited to plant them! I picked up 10. now, the question is: do I plant them near the road - hoping someday to build a cabin on the property so it would screen the cabin from the road (it will also help screen the rest of my property). I probably need more then 10, but I have oaks and other things planted as well. Or do I plant them closer to my orchard to provide more security for the deer?
If you're thinking of planting those spruce near the orchard - don't plant them on the south / sunny side of the orchard. When the spruce get tall, they'll shade out your apple trees = few blossoms / fruit. If you're able, given your layout, think about planting them on the north side of the orchard. They won't block the sun for your fruit trees then. We've planted Norways along the mountain road that borders our camp land as a screen. They work GREAT for screening!! Norway spruce like lots of sunlight to get the best growth from them. Been planting Norway spruce for over 25 years around our camp land. Hope that's of some help.
 
Thanks a bunch, yes it is
 
Are you talking Norway spruce?? Norway spruce make great thermal cover, windbreaks, road screens, bedding cover. They will reproduce eventually once they get big enough to make cones / seeds. Norways are said to be the fastest growers by tree experts, and they like sunlight to grow well / thick. Shade = thinner spruce limbs. So where you plant them can make a difference in how they flourish. Norway spruce are very disease resistant compared to some other spruce varieties - blue spruce especially.

We planted Norway and white spruce seedlings in our logged areas at camp over the last 25 years. The spruce thickets have become bedding / thermal / security cover for deer and grouse mainly, as well as nesting / security for tweety birds that eat bad insects. All good.

How did the white spruce perform?
 
How did the white spruce perform?
White spruce are doing OK - not nearly as fast-growing as Norway spruce are though. Norways are reported by tree experts to be the fastest-growing spruce ......... and from our experience - I have to agree. YMMV, depending on soil, sunlight, etc.
 
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