Norway Spruce Planting after logging

[BJE80]

I am having 1.5 acres of wooded land cleared during my logging for a Norway spruce plantation. It is a poorly drained soils basically there are humps that the trees grow out of and then the low spots water sits in the spring until it dries out. Do you think I will be better spending the money to bulldoze this area and remove the stumps and flatten out a little bit or just plan on planting on the highest points of the humps? One concern I have is I'm not sure deer will have enough dry area to bed in spring but maybe that isn’t the end of the world as it is more for fall and winter anyway. Or maybe deer are craftier than I think in terms of finding good dry bedding. Thoughts?


Here are some pics from the area in spring.

 

[wiscwhip]

It is almost the exact opposite of the county forest by our old place. Dry, nasty, sandy soil. When they would replant trees in those areas after logging they would "trench" the area into rows and plant into the bottom of the trench to capture as much rain water as possible to keep the tree alive in summer droughts. Looks like you would be the total other end of the spectrum(the normal end), you would have to plant on top of the hump to dry them out some instead of the bottom of the trench to keep them wet. Similar to this...






You may be best off trying something like what is in the photos above?

 

[BJE80]

Interesting.

So what created those ditches? That roller didn't do it did it? They run a dozer through every row to create those ditches?

 

[West Branch]

Interesting.

So what created those ditches? That roller didn't do it did it? They run a dozer through every row to create those ditches?

Looks like a big disc in front of the roller breaking up the soil which allows the roller to make the ditches.

 

[BJE80]

Looks like a big disc in front of the roller breaking up the soil which allows the roller to make the ditches.

Ahhhhh yes. I see that now.

 

[BJE80]

So back to the original question. How will it work if I do nothing and just plant around the stumps on the high points. How will it work that way?

 

[wiscwhip]

I don't think you will have much of a choice. Planting anything but hemlock, balsam fir, or maybe white cedar in those waterlogged areas would likely drown them out. Spruce will have to go on the humps.

 

[West Branch]

What about black spruce in the wet spots? Then deer could bed on the high spots as the trees mature.

 

[wiscwhip]

What about black spruce in the wet spots? Then deer could bed on the high spots as the trees mature.

They would certainly work better than white spruce in an area like that! But it still may be too wet in years like this.

 

[BJE80]

Are you guys saying you would stay away from Norway?

 

[BJE80]

Black spruce don't want to be waterlogged, but they'll grow in moist soil. Whatever you plant, I'd plant on the small humps. If you want to create some deer beds, have the dozer build up a couple areas with limbs/trunks/etc. and push soil on top of them.

Well the goal is thermal bedding. And hopefully they bed there at other times in the year. I'll be honest. I'd rather not take a dozer into this area unless it isn't going to work any other way.

 

[West Branch]

I would plant a combo of norway, black, and white spruce and balsam fir, and that is what I have done the last two years :D. White spruce in drier areas mainly. Norway on drier areas and humps in wetter areas, and black spruce closer to wetter areas, and balsam fir all over.

 

[West Branch]

Well the goal is thermal bedding. And hopefully they bed there at other times in the year. I'll be honest. I'd rather not take a dozer into this area unless it isn't going to work any other way.

I think you would be fine planting on the high spots and around stumps and no dozer work would be necessary. Stumps sprouting might compete with the the planted trees but the browse for the deer would be good so I wouldn't worry about that too much. No experience to base this on.

 

[wiscwhip]

I would plant a combo of norway, black, and white spruce and balsam fir, and that is what I have done the last two years :D. White spruce in drier areas mainly. Norway on drier areas and humps in wetter areas, and black spruce closer to wetter areas, and balsam fir all over.

Not a bad plan at all WB. The mixed variety planting will keep you from losing everything in that area if it gets too wet for too long. I do worry about the competition from the stump sprouting, it could be worse than what you think and it may take a long time to get those conifers to get above all the additional foliage from the stumps? Just be prepared to go back through and replant in a couple years to fill in wherever the first planting failed.

 

[SD51555]

Can u sneak that water out with a small tile line?

 

[SD51555]

If it's going to be wet, have u considered black spruce?

 

[BJE80]

Can u sneak that water out with a small tile line?

Considering the site it would be a massive undertaking. Not really feasible considering its a flat 1.5 acres. You would need a lot of tile to drain it because it isn't just one section. It is the entire 1.5 acres.

If it's going to be wet, have u considered black spruce?

Have not considered anything but Norway because that is what everyone talks about but I'm open to considering. ;) Tell me more.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

I have a black spruce/tamarac swamp in Rusk County Wisconsin and there will be standing water in most areas for months at a time and black spruce still grow. The black spruce grow the fastest when they're on dryer humps in the swamp, but they definitely grow in extremely wet areas. I would throw in some black spruce and tamarac into your mix and I think they'll do very well. I like the idea of sticking with the same type of trees currently found in there (some of the closer evergreens look like balsam firs to me) and then throw in a few white spruce and more black spruce and tamarac. If you try to concentrate planting the seedlings on high spots and go with a variety of evergreen species you'll end up with a nice bedding area.

 

[dipper]

U got balsam growing there naturally. Those also look like maples. Those dips are just temporarly holding water till it seeps into the ground.. You'll grow any spruce in those humps, or dips for that matter .Dozing is way over the top. Drain tile is insane. Be ready to spray and cut back native regeneration after u let the sunlight in. Otherwise your baby conifers will get choked out

 

[BJE80]

Will gly affect those young trees at off if they get hit from spray?