Norway spruce trees planting

[OakSeeds]

Deer think mine are tasty ... ouch The one on the right still has the remains of a cage on it.
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[4wanderingeyes]

Do you guys that plant a lot at once water them? I know if I’d planted trees this spring they would have all perished without supplemental water.


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I planted them and didn’t do anything to them. I didn’t even cap them. Live and learn.

 

[BuckSutherland]

I once tried tubing some white pines with taller tubes than you used. They grew like mad and died back over winter. I don’t think they hardened off enough before our winters. I haven’t grown a white pine yet, they get rubbed. Nearly the same for balsam fir. I probably need to plant a thousand of each at a time to get by this.


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With white pine less is more. Plant fewer trees, protect them, care for them. They are super easy to grow and have a super response to management. Planting 2 and caging them will yield more trees then planting 1,000s of andes diner mints. I'm doing 30 eastern white pine this year. Also trying 10 western white pine from the university of Idaho to replace some cannan fir trees that haven't been able to penetrate my clay soil in 4 years. Cage, weed mat, mulch for all 40.


42 months old

 

[BuckSutherland]

Do you guys that plant a lot at once water them? I know if I’d planted trees this spring they would have all perished without supplemental water.


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Usually the only plantings I water in the spring are 1 and 2 gallon pots. I dont water ditch tree transplants, I dont water plugs, I do soak bare roots, but I dont water them. If you install a weed mat and mulch at planting that helps conserve moisture. When I'm planting in my woods in the spring its usually soaking wet from the spring thaw. I use water puddles or snow to water my potted trees. In 2021, I had to give my potted trees supplemental water all summer long cause of the drought. I hauled 1,000 of gallons of water filled at a natural spring in cat litter pails to save my plantings. I will never do that again. Putting in a bunch of Itasca plugs this year for my white pines cause they are gonna be on parts of my property that would be hard to water. Smaller stuff needs less watering, but takes longer to grow.

I did not water at all after planting in 2022, and 98% survival through the summer. Probably lose another 1-2 in the water. Pretty typical.

 

[sandbur]

Do you guys that plant a lot at once water them? I know if I’d planted trees this spring they would have all perished without supplemental water.


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It might be worth a try to plant just a few, use a weed mat, and use some of those water sorting crystals.

A local SWCD (Benton) sells small packs that you mix with water and dip bare roots in. I have used a pinch of those crystals in the bottom of the hole when planting fruit trees.

Walmart used to sell a larger packet of bigger crystals.

These crystals won’t get you through a severe drought, but they sure help.

In exposed areas, I also like to shade young conifers.


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[OakSeeds]

I water EVERYTHING I plant, including acorns (most of mine have radicals when planted). It is important to ensure your root structure has good contact with the soil without any air pockets that would possibly dry out, and kill the roots ... thereby killing the plant/tree. For longer term watering, I use a water pipe; 3-4 gallons slugged down the pipe during a particularly dry period will usually sustain a tree for several weeks.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Did the same with Norway spruce. Same result. But every time I go into that imaginary bedding area I still look for one.

Did the deer EAT them?? Our Norways only seem to get nipped on the very top, newest shoots. Deer browsing hasn't killed any of ours. Rubbing after 4 or 5 years HAS killed them. We cage any Norways that we definitely want to survive for cover or hunting strategy.

Drought play a part, Bill??

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Deer don't eat white pines here, or spruce either, really - just the tips at the top of spruce seedlings. Pitch pine doesn't get eaten either - but is a favorite for rubbing. Our spruce get rubbed from about age 4 onward - if they aren't caged. Even big, old spruce get their lower, biggest limbs rubbed along their lengths - or broken from thrashing by angry, frustrated bucks.

Deer eat / act differently in different regions.

 

[Tree Spud]

Did the deer EAT them?? Our Norways only seem to get nipped on the very top, newest shoots. Deer browsing hasn't killed any of ours. Rubbing after 4 or 5 years HAS killed them. We cage any Norways that we definitely want to survive for cover or hunting strategy.

Drought play a part, Bill??

I think rabbits will also browse the new bud tops once the snow is high enough. Have seen trabbit racks around my norways.