Protecting new seedlings

[Bc4abc]

IVe planted over 45 trees so far ...Chestnuts , fruit trees mostly and I have caged them all to protect from deer damage. ..All of these were larger trees with rootballs.......However I'm getting ready to order 300 seedlings from my state Forester ..These will be the small 12 inch bare root seedlings....They will consist of silky dogwood , whitnand scotch pines, grey dogwood, plum, and various other bushy type trees for cover.

Question how do you protect this many seedling or do you just take your chances, knowing you will have some losses ?

 

[rocksnstumps]

300? Might take a couple of weeks instead of a few days to ravage what they want. Seriously, think you have to talk about numbers in the thousands before the overcome with numbers effect. Lots of times they can look good until the first winter and than when times get tough they get hammered for all that tender growth or buds in easy reach in late winter/early spring. The scotch pine can probably be planted without much protection and if browsed will likely be light but you may have to take care of some double leaders down the road. The WP, just plant a bunch and the second year try to find the 3 or 4 survivors and cage em than. Cuts down on the number of cages used, lol.

 

[sandbur]

Some can be protected by planting them in downed tree tops. Hinged areas or tops left from logging might work.

 

[rocksnstumps]

Some folks do talk about folding a index card in half and staple over the leader tops in the fall and make sure to remove just before any new growth in the spring. Might b worth a try

 

[Bc4abc]

That bad huh?

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[rocksnstumps]

Actually sometimes we are our own worst enemy for getting critters to get used to the munchies. If this is the first time on your property for any improvements you might be good for the first year or two. Once they "discover" what you have going though they don't soon forget and it can be more difficult. I could even grow sunflowers the first year or two of owning my land (the cheap birdseed type, figured why not try) not gonna happen anymore. So if this is still an early stage, sure maybe give it a shot without much extra work/cost beyond the seedlings. I'm way past that point in my neighborhood.

 

[buckdeer1]

Some trees and shrubs are more susceptible to browsing or rubbing than others.You will lose a high percentage to one factor or another.With tubes I average 75% survival after 2 years

 

[yoderjac]

If you are not going to protect them, don't plant them with other food. When my deer numbers where high, I planted chestnut trees in high volume without protection trying to overwhelm the deer presuming I'd get a tolerable loss. I planted them in a clover base. What I found was that since deer are browsers, they would come to feed in the clover and simply take a bit of chestnut. That would have been no problem but some got the central leader. I then ended up with a high percentage of bushes rather than trees.

From that experience, I would say unprotected (but not particularly attractive) trees like chestnuts will get less attention by deer if not planted in food. With other trees, consider what effect having the central leader munched will have on the tree.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Sandbur nailed the tree top protection idea. ( post #3 ) 4 state foresters here told me the exact same thing. When we logged, we planted spruce in the tops left on the ground, and also used some top limbs to " wall in " some of our other planted seedlings. Free protection.

 

[Bc4abc]

This would be in the woods with some undesirable trees I would thin out

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