cedars

EarthySpirit

5 year old buck +
I have about 2 acres of a field which is just starting to show 1 year old cedars spread throughout (Junipers). I live in Central KY. I want this field allocated for bedding for deer. Question is, should I just let the cedars come in and leave it alone for a few years until they get so tall they no longer provide cover/browse, or is my best bet to eradicate them now, and turn the field to early succession with burning/spraying. And I should also add that right now it is dominated by fescue. Thanks for any suggestions.
 
Going from fescue to cedars is like going from the pan to the fire. Please do not let the cedars grow--burning is a great way to control them, and will also help control the fescue. If you are not in a hurry, a burn this year followed by frost-seeding natives next winter might be a cost effective way to get the browse/cover you desire.
 
I would kill the fescue to see what come up in the seedbank. A few cedars won’t hurt. Last spring, we had an old field of brome we sprayed with gly 2 weeks after spring green up, then burned. Went from a desert of deer habitat to 3-4 feet tall of amazing cover. Has several Osage orange and cedars scattered through.


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Up here in the zone 3b, I’ll take every single cedar I can get. We all read a lot about switchgrass being so good for thermal cover but a winter like this year, the switch has been laid down and has 40” of snow on top of it for 3 months now, zero cover. Same for the 8’ tall cattails on my property, chuck full of snow.
Here, cedars are the best thermal cover for deer when winter really hits hard. (I’d love from someone to show be something better, cause I’d plant that too) I buy and plant them by the thousands.
 
Heres what small groves of cedars can do.I think after seeing this on the new 80 I will trim some bottom limbs for bedding.They are moving through these and bedding at all times of day
 

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I hear that. My cattails are smushed too. The pheasant find a way to live under there somehow though.

As far as deer are concerned, they can all go somewhere else once my last legal hunting opportunity is over and come back in the spring. If cover lasts long enough for my modest hunting needs then I’m all set.

As Yoder would say, I “don’t have enough acreage to make any difference for QDM”.


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I know cedar gets a bad rap but if they are thinned out I think they can be great to have. If there is a cedar tree in a NWSG field it has a bed under it.

I’ve also got spot like buckdeer posted that always have beds.
 
Idk I’d probably round up the fescue and plant native grasses and leave the cedars alone if it’s the only area of them you have. I like some thick cedar cover for the deer but it can get out of hand if not reined in from time to time with a controlled burn.
 
Heres what small groves of cedars can do.I think after seeing this on the new 80 I will trim some bottom limbs for bedding.They are moving through these and bedding at all times of day
I too left some cedars for bedding, windbreaks and travel, but the OP is speaking more about the fields. Here is how our EQIP plan addressed the cedars. Before removing (a costly process) the open field looked like the NE areas of the property. Some were 30’ tall and with 24” stumps. In 1999, that field was in row crops! Yes, the cedars provide bedding, cover and some browse. However, the OP spoke of bedding, and our EQIP fields are bedding magnates that provide quality forage. The downside of cedars in a place like Kentucky they grow fast, use water resources heavily, attract birds that will spread cedar and invasive seeds throughout the property.

A946FEBC-5D1B-4041-9584-38E3141923BB.jpeg
 
Thanks for the feedback so far guys. Definitely mixed opinions. Some say keep them (ie. the videos of bedding deer), some say get rid of them. I'm conflicted. The lazy guy in me wants to keep the cedars. the conscientious me wants to spray the fields and see what comes up in their stead. But honestly, I don't know what to do given the mixed feedback.
 
I would definitely be trying to get rid of the fescue. Any chance you can mow and then spray the fescues before warm season grasses and forbs break dormancy? The mowing would take care of the cedars and allow for better uptake of herbicide on the tall fescue.

Otherwise, burning would accomplish the same thing and be cheaper.
 
In my area, thin cedars seem to be preferred bedding. A solid stand is still good, just not as good in the fall/winter. I would mow paths through the cedars to thin them and encourage movement where you prefer it and maybe plant some shrubs and switch in some of the openings.
 
Cedars are one of the best for cover & bedding. If you have cedars naturally growing you are already ahead of the game for creating cover. I would eliminate the grasses with Clethodim. This will expose the ground to more sun further stimulating cedar sprouting. Once the trees get to 2-3 years old they will really jump in growth.

Cedars prefer slightly acid soil and are very drought tolerant, this may not be optimal for other conifers.

Thin the cedars and dig/replant to allow room for their canopy to spread. I would also cage them if their is a worry about deer rubbing them when they are still small. Cedar trees once mature are prefered rubbing trees for deer.

Below is bedding under a cedar on south facing side.
IMG_20230204_170313.jpgYou can then add spruces for additional cover to fill the gaps.

Too many people think they are going to change what mother nature is already doing and waste a lot of time.
 
Here, cedars are the best thermal cover for deer when winter really hits hard. (I’d love from someone to show be something better, cause I’d plant that too) I buy and plant them by the thousands.
Spruce??? Limbs from the ground up and great windbreaks. You can prune off some lower limbs for bedding if you like.
 
Kill the fescue and keep enough cedars to have them spaced out enough for sunlight to reach the bottom limbs of the ones you keep - maybe a cedar ever 35 feet or so. You will eventually have a great bedding spot. In the beginning keep more cedars but thin them some as they grow bigger.
 
Kill the fescue and keep enough cedars to have them spaced out enough for sunlight to reach the bottom limbs of the ones you keep - maybe a cedar ever 35 feet or so. You will eventually have a great bedding spot. In the beginning keep more cedars but thin them some as they grow bigger.
Thank you Native! I appreciate it. This sounds like a hybrid approach where it is neither eradication of cedars, nor just letting them come at will, but also killing fescue. I know that will thicken things up for sure with a variety of forbes.
 
Can you to some of both? Maybe break down the field in a few strips and leave half the strips alone to keep the cedars and just run a disk or digger through the other half to see what pops up?

Around here cedar patches are almost always great bedding areas.
 
Thank you Native! I appreciate it. This sounds like a hybrid approach where it is neither eradication of cedars, nor just letting them come at will, but also killing fescue. I know that will thicken things up for sure with a variety of forbes.
Yes, proper spacing is the key with them. If they get too thick, the bottom limbs die and you have neither cover nor food. But keep them spaced out and you have the best of both worlds.
 
I'm trying to get cedars to grow in the many acres of swamp land I've got. Trying to get a few rows growing across the swamp to encourage deer to travel where I want.
 
Yes, proper spacing is the key with them. If they get too thick, the bottom limbs die and you have neither cover nor food. But keep them spaced out and you have the best of both worlds.

Thank you Native! I appreciate it. This sounds like a hybrid approach where it is neither eradication of cedars, nor just letting them come at will, but also killing fescue. I know that will thicken things up for sure with a variety of forbes.

Like Native said ... remember, all conifers need at least 12' between them, both in rows and actual row width, to keep lower branches from dying and to allow canopy to stay low and spread.
 
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