I'm the anti-planting guy, so keep that in mind as you read this...I'm looking at planting some shrubs next spring, wondering what you all plant? I live in Wisconsin so they have to be cold hardy, I would like something that made some sort of berries for deer, turkeys and birds. Any suggestions would be great thanks!
Ya definitely going to include witch hazel. I would like to try and get some turkeys back on my property instead of skirting it every chance they get.PatinPA -
Partly-shaded cuts the numbers of things that will grow well. A native Pa. understory shrub that grows well in shade / partial shade is witch hazel. In my experience, it's not so much a deer browse item as an attraction of sorts for other reasons for deer. Bucks love to rub on the multi-trunked shrubs, and also make scrapes under the mature, drooping limbs. The seeds shoot out of the seed capsules in October & November here in Pa., and are food for grouse, turkeys, birds of all sorts, chipmunks, squirrels, etc. They typically grow to about 10 ft. tall in mature woods, and as they mature, they take on a "bending over" look to them. They'll help thicken up an otherwise open forest floor. I haven't seen evidence of deer browsing on witch hazel.
I've used witch hazel in Pa. as a scouting tool of sorts, because bucks seem to love rubbing on them (it doesn't kill the WH) and making scrapes under the drooping branches. If I see a cluster(s) of WH, I go over to take a look for deer sign. Many times I've found current rubs / scrapes, or old ones from previous falls. Whatever the reason, deer seem to like WH here in Pa.
From published info on WH, the easiest, quickest way to establish it is to plant seedlings from a nursery. Supposedly, trying to start it yourself from seed is a time-consuming effort that isn't very successful. I've bought WH seedlings from Cold Stream nursery with good success.
I'm the anti-planting guy, so keep that in mind as you read this...
Odds are, your property is already covered in shrubs. I'd look at finding those first and identifying them, and then get to work releasing and promoting their advancement. Get out the chainsaw, do some strategic caging in various places around your property to create sentry bushes. Make some large brush piles nearby that deer cannot penetrate and birds will deposit native seeds into those piles as they perch there and take a dump. This is how fenceline trees and shrubs come into being.
If you haven't caught this thread, take a gander. Put the checkbook down, and grab some tools instead. Strategically promoting what you've already got will go infinitely faster than any amount of introduced plantings.
SD’s Buy-no-trees forest ease
I grabbed a bunch of pics from my feature this weekend. The rest of my saw work is in my sanctuary, and that is closed until after rifle now. The feature is a pie piece of intensely managed natural vegetation in one of my food plots. The big idea behind this is to show what I’ve been able to do...habitat-talk.com
That's how I feel anyway.
I think your mystery shrub is a winterberry holly. I've got a few of them on my place too.
You know what, I think you're right on the red berried elder. I think you nailed it there.Not sure SD - The first guess from the iNaturalist app I just downloaded says Red-Berried Elder. The next guesses were Mountain Ash varieties but I know it isn't a Mountain Ash.
red-berried elder (Sambucus racemosa)
... (Source: Wikipedia, '', http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambucus_racemosa, CC BY-SA 3.0 . Photo: (c) sarahggage, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC))www.inaturalist.org
Found this on Winterberry Holly - and it does also look very close?
How to Grow and Care for Winterberry Holly - The Sprucehttps://www.thespruce.com › Plants & Flowers › Shrubs
Not me...it was the iNaturalist appYou know what, I think you're right on the red berried elder. I think you nailed it there.