Favorite shrubs for habitat improvement

[JP14]

Hi all,
I'm looking for suggestions on what everyones favorite shrubs are for habitat improvement. Im curious about not only preferred browse shrubs but others for screens, thermal protection, and use in bedding areas. Im working on a 3- 5 yr plan, with the first year working on increasing browse vareity, bedding, and screens as the property has been depleted by years of cattle grazing in the trees. Additional years will include additional mast production, thermal protection, and continuation of hinge cutting.

The region is NE SD, in the glacial lakes region. Current area has corn/beans, open pasture, prairie hay field, large slough with rushes, oak and green ash, chokecherry bushes and a thorny brush about 3' tall that never gets browsed but provides a small amount of cover. I have small plots, 1/8 to 1/2 acre, with clover, brassicas, and other fall plot mixes.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[wiscwhip]

Is that in USDA Zone 3 or 4?

 

[JP14]

Usda 4

 

[wiscwhip]

Highbush Cranberry, Elderberry, Wild plum, will work great in most areas and IMO should be staples for shrub plantings. In wet areas, ROD and buttonbush rank very high. Deer have been known to hoover them all, so if you have a bunch of deer, either overwhelm them with huge numbers of shrubs, or do something to protect them, either through fencing or planting into down treetops. There are many others as well, but you can't really go wrong with the above choices.

 

[bwoods11]

I live plum over everything, but I would add some chokecherry and elderberry as well. I am 2 hours from you same zone.

 

[bwoods11]

Let me add that if you want fruit, consider common wild apple. They seem to grow very well in my area, and I am guessing they would do well in your area of SD as well. Survival is off the charts, slow to grow fruit, but they will branch out for good cover too.

U of Idaho Nursery sells plugs for $3 each.

 

[JP14]

The deer numbers are pretty moderate so my goal was for a large increase in numbers and variety of browse as we have some of the major sources but not necessarily the additional sources to maintain. The deer usually migrate out of our area once the snow comes so at this point im not too overly concerned about winter food sources, but thats part of the long term goal of making sure we have the resources established to sustain a wintering herd once more thermal protection is added.

Cranberry, elderberry, smooth sumac, nannyberry, hazelnuts, and ROD have been strong considerations for me for browse. There is a few small wild plums already present but i should add more. Im not very familiar with buttonbush so ill look into that. Anyone had much luck with use currants, juneberry, or gooseberry for browse?

Ive got some apple and pear trees started that will be planted this fall. A few years ago i tried some American chestnuts but the cattle got out and well they didnt make it as i used 1/2" pcp tube for stakes rather than fence posts so the tubes got pushed off. Im hoping to retry those again and will add better protection for them and an electric fence.

 

[H20fwler]

Pin oaks, hazelnuts, wild crabapple and dogwoods are some that I put in for shrubs, I like to mix in some conifer patches too.

 

[chummer]

I have had the best luck with dogwoods. If you have a lowes or Home Depot near watch for end of year sales. You can get some large 1 gallon plants for a couple bucks if you hit it right.

 

[Ouachita]

I know Autumn olive can be invasive, but does anyone have direct experience with Eleagnus pungens as a fall blooming, spring fruiting wildlife plant?
Lane

 

[JP14]

Im looking at doing conifer patches of 15-25 trees for doe families and isolated 2-3 conifers for bucks. Around these patches i was thinking about using shrubs not readily browsed to aid in protection and isolation, so more dense thicket forming shrubs. Im not sure if this would be effective but i think it would increase holding capacity for doe families and mature bucks.

I'll have to consider pin oaks as i should get some other varieties as we only have bur oaks now. Are pin oaks considered white oaks?

 

[Ouachita]

No, pin oaks are in the red oak family. Would swamp white oak succeed that far north? Lane

 

[Native Hunter]

Im looking at doing conifer patches of 15-25 trees for doe families and isolated 2-3 conifers for bucks. Around these patches i was thinking about using shrubs not readily browsed to aid in protection and isolation, so more dense thicket forming shrubs. Im not sure if this would be effective but i think it would increase holding capacity for doe families and mature bucks.

I'll have to consider pin oaks as i should get some other varieties as we only have bur oaks now. Are pin oaks considered white oaks?

No, they are in the red oak family.

 

[Tickrancher]

The black chokeberry 'Aronia melanocarpa' is an easy to grow shrub that should do well in zone 4. They are definitely worth considering. The Missouri Department of Conservation sells them in the fall at a bargain price. The deer on the Tickranch can and do browse hazelnut, black haw, native plums, deciduous holly, elderberry and arrow wood. They are all good. The chokeberry is the local deer favorite. They will eat the leaves in the spring and summer and the berries until they are gone. The down side is you must protect them from over browsing. I am planting more every year and slowly developing a shrub orchard. The name chokeberry is not all that inviting but the small fruits are edible and not as bad as they sound. Yes I've tried them. They are said to be an excellent source of anti-oxidants so they should keep the herd healthy.

 

[wiscwhip]

Do you have any wet areas on you property? Any areas with consistent water or moist soils, like a marsh, stream or even a low run-off point that stays wet consistently?

 

[wiscwhip]

No, pin oaks are in the red oak family. Would swamp white oak succeed that far north? Lane

SWO is typically listed as a Zone 4 tree, but I have seen many and others have them growing in Zone 3, so zone wise, he should be fine with SWO. That said, the caveat is that it is not native that far west, and SD can be fairly dry at times. While I have seen them in upland settings numerous times, they definitely prefer to be in an area with ample moisture. I could see them surviving if they were planted near a stream, pond or some other type of wetland where the ground does not get overly dry, but on high and dry arid ground, they may be an effort in futility?

 

[JP14]

There are some wet areas with rushes. Our winters can get pretty brutal for a week or longer, but its worth a try. In my low wet areas i was thinking on using sandbar willows, golden willow, and quaking aspen. My thinking with the use of these is they can be started with cuttings easily, so I've read, grow quick, and provide cover and some browse. They also provide habitat for grouse and pheasants.

I'll share my my designs as soon as i get a chance to change their format. I appreciate all the feedback, this forum is awesome!

 

[wiscwhip]

There are some wet areas with rushes. Our winters can get pretty brutal for a week or longer, but its worth a try. In my low wet areas i was thinking on using sandbar willows, golden willow, and quaking aspen. My thinking with the use of these is they can be started with cuttings easily, so I've read, grow quick, and provide cover and some browse. They also provide habitat for grouse and pheasants.

I'll share my my designs as soon as i get a chance to change their format. I appreciate all the feedback, this forum is awesome!

In those low areas, buttonbush and ROD will thrive. Also, I forgot one of my favorites, even though it can become a tree, plant some mulberry on both the upland and the lower areas, you and all the critters will not be disappointed. Mulberry can be started by just cutting a large branch and shoving it in the ground if moisture is ample.

 

[JP14]

Any specific variety of mulberry? This area of SD traditionally gets a good amount of moisture year round and the water table in most places isnt down that far.

 

[wiscwhip]

Red mulberry is native and is said to be Zones 5 or 4 depending on where you look, so it may or may not thrive that far north? White mulberry is a non-native, but it doesn't really have any tendency to become invasive, and the only real threat it poses is it readily hybridizes with the native mulberries(i.e. Illinois Everbearing mulberry is a hybrid), thus weakening the gene pool of the natives, but if you don't have any natives to worry about, it really is a non-issue in that regard. There is a guy in No Dak that has had a very mature tree growing for many years that I know someone who posts on here got some seedlings from, so if you could come across any of those, they must be hardy in So Dak.

Cold Stream Farms nursery in MI sells them and they are about the same latitude as Brookings, SD.