Slit tree tube options?

[Jordan Selsor]

What are you guys using for slit tree tubes? How you like them?

Want to try something a little different this yr. I want to plant 5 grafted Antonovka rootstocks in their permanent place and tube them with slit tree tubes. Want to try slit so I can take them off the fruit trees for tree maintenance. These will be temporary protection. Will cage them next year. I am planting allot of trees this yr therefore doing this for budgetary reasons.
I also want to pull some of the cages on my 4 yr old pear trees and use slit tree tubes for bark protectors. Will use the cages on newly planted turkey creek bear root trees.
NOTE: I have only used tree pro tubes in the past and like them but hate how you have to slide them up an off the tree for maintenance. Think the slit type would offer some advantages and be better as bark protectors for older mature trees. Thoughts?

 

[PoorSand]

I have some slit tree tubes. They are lasting a long time. My white ones were on trees until they reached 4" in diameter. Then they were gifted to me and I used them on trees for another twelve years. I took them off those trees this spring and reused them again on newly planted whips. I received some brown ones this spring. I think those were about twenty years old. I reused those as well. Mouse nests can be a problem, so I put out mouse bait stations. Wasp nests can be a problem too. Gypsy moth caterpillars attacked the whips I planted this spring and surrounded with wire, but for some reason left my whips in the tubes alone.

 

[Jordan Selsor]

I have some slit tree tubes. They are lasting a long time. My white ones were on trees until they reached 4" in diameter. Then they were gifted to me and I used them on trees for another twelve years. I took them off those trees this spring and reused them again on newly planted whips. I received some brown ones this spring. I think those were about twenty years old. I reused those as well. Mouse nests can be a problem, so I put out mouse bait stations. Wasp nests can be a problem too. Gypsy moth caterpillars attacked the whips I planted this spring and surrounded with wire, but for some reason left my whips in the tubes alone.

Wow! Solid investment it sounds like!
You have any sources for purchasing you recommend?

 

[PoorSand]

The only ones I ever paid for I got on Craigslist for $1 each, used. The rest were hand me downs.

 

[DrDirtNap]

Tree Pro tree protectors are all I’ve used. They are shipped as flat sheets that you roll up and form the tube and zip tie to the stake. They are heavy duty and last a long long time. In fact I’m still using and reusing the ones I bought six years ago. The reason I started using these is the ease of removing and cleaning them out. I do this every winter on most of my trees.
They are also good folks to deal with.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jordan Selsor]

Tree Pro tree protectors are all I’ve used. They are shipped as flat sheets that you roll up and form the tube and zip tie to the stake. They are heavy duty and last a long long time. In fact I’m still using and reusing the ones I bought six years ago. The reason I started using these is the ease of removing and cleaning them out. I do this every winter on most of my trees.
They are also good folks to deal with.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

thank you! I knew somebody could point me in the right direction for good quality product!

 

[DrDirtNap]

thank you! I knew somebody could point me in the right direction for good quality product!

If you order some of these I'd recommend that as soon as you get them roll them up in groups of about ten each and then duct tape each 10 tube roll. This will greatly aid you in the field when you start putting them around trees. That plastic sheet has "memory"...if it has already been rolled up into a tube it is much easier to put it around a tree as a tube.

 

[ksgobbler]

I use these
https://www.forestry-suppliers.com/product_pages/products.php?mi=16231&itemnum=17141&title=Protex® Pro/Gro Solid Tube Tree Protectors

 

[Jordan Selsor]

Just ordered 100 48” flat tubes from tree pro. That stung a little $$$$$ lol

 

[Someday isle]

I wish I had done that. My plantra tubes have been great but I was just looking at mine today and I need to do some pruning and clean the leaves out of the tubes. I’m thinking about taking some shears and turning mine into split tubes.

 

[Persimman]

Has anybody tried the ShellT tubes? Cost seems okay, and supposedly re-usable.

 

[Jordan Selsor]

Has anybody tried the ShellT tubes? Cost seems okay, and supposedly re-usable.

Never heard of them. Can you post a link?

 

[Jordan Selsor]

If you order some of these I'd recommend that as soon as you get them roll them up in groups of about ten each and then duct tape each 10 tube roll. This will greatly aid you in the field when you start putting them around trees. That plastic sheet has "memory"...if it has already been rolled up into a tube it is much easier to put it around a tree as a tube.

Rolled all my tubes up in groups of 6! Tried 10. To many to wrestle at once lol.
Thanks for the suggestion. I can see it will help when I go to use them in the field!

 

[Persimman]

I noticed ShellT on Forestry Suppliers website.
https://www.forestry-suppliers.com/Search.php?stext=tree tubes

The ShellT site is
https://www.shellt.us/products.html

If I order 60, they're $1.15 each. But, at 15", I'll need to put 3 together to get 45". so, that's $3.45 for a 45" tube. Slightly higher than Tree Pro Miracle or Tree Pro split, but less than most of the offerings.

 

[trampledbyturtles]

I wish I had done that. My plantra tubes have been great but I was just looking at mine today and I need to do some pruning and clean the leaves out of the tubes. I’m thinking about taking some shears and turning mine into split tubes.

Tried it once, was not happy with the results.
They tended to fold in on themselves and rolled up super tight if that makes sense.

Not sure what brand that was.

Although the plantras I now use. I dont think that would be as big of an issue.

 

[buckdeer1]

I tried tubes on fruit trees as I had used a ton of them on hardwoods with good results,I seemed to get some kind of fungus on the fruit trees so I removed them.I use small pieces of 2x4 inch wirethat is apx 36 inch long this is on couple year old trees and older. and cut to the height that I need.I usually leave about a 6 inch gap around trunk between wire.This keeps bucks from rubbing.I do same thing when oaks get close to the tubes