The trouble with tree tubes

[rfb]

Headed over to the farm today and had a couple tree tubes off their stakes. Didn't know if I should blame the recent storms, someone, or something. Luckily I caught one of the perps on trail cam. This is why we can't have nice things...

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I purchased my tubes and stakes from Chief River Nursery in Grafton WI (800-367-9254) and no I have no relationship with them. They sell quality materials and they included a stake pounder and heavy duty rubber stake ties, The 6' tubes are heavy and have holes in them that I ran the ties through around the stakes and back out and tied it to the tube. The trees and tubes have been out for three years and are 6'-8' and producing apples. In a couple of years I will remove the tubes and put 3 'T posts around them to eliminate the bucks from rubbing them. We do not fence them and have been doing this successfully in a heavily deer populated area in SWWI for years. The last pic is the end results that has 4 T-posts to protect it from bucks rubbing, no fencing to fight weeds etc. and working great. Bob

 

[MN guy]

I’m in year three with my plantra tubes. I’ve read of some removing the stake but leaving the tube in place when tree is out of the top of the tube. Idea is you still get deer protection, but trunk gets strengthened more without support stake. Anyone else done this?

Also the tubes are perforated to “tear” open as tree diameter reaches size of tube. Anyone relied on this for tubes to come off? None of mine are at that point yet.

Do you feel you got faster growth with the Plantra tubes? My plan was to slowly start fencing trees , several per year afyer this year..

 

[MN guy]

I purchased my tubes and stakes from Chief River Nursery in Grafton WI (800-367-9254) and no I have no relationship with them. They sell quality materials and they included a stake pounder and heavy duty rubber stake ties, The 6' tubes are heavy and have holes in them that I ran the ties through around the stakes and back out and tied it to the tube. The trees and tubes have been out for three years and are 6'-8' and producing apples. In a couple of years I will remove the tubes and put 3 'T posts around them to eliminate the bucks from rubbing them. We do not fence them and have been doing this successfully in a heavily deer populated area in SWWI for years. The last pic is the end results that has 4 T-posts to protect it from bucks rubbing, no fencing to fight weeds etc. and working great. Bob

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Bob this looks awesome! Nice work! So the 4 t posts have no fencing and that stops the bucks? What kind of trees tou have in these pics?!

 

[Teeder]

I’m in year three with my plantra tubes. I’ve read of some removing the stake but leaving the tube in place when tree is out of the top of the tube. Idea is you still get deer protection, but trunk gets strengthened more without support stake. Anyone else done this?

Also the tubes are perforated to “tear” open as tree diameter reaches size of tube. Anyone relied on this for tubes to come off? None of mine are at that point yet.

I do this. Remove the stake when the tree can support itself, usual when it's about an inch + in diameter. I cut the tube down to about 4' and leave it in place. It protects against bucks and lets the trees move in the breeze.

 

[Teeder]

I try and do it a few times a year can’t say that it actually happens that way but I try. Winter after leaf drop to clear leaves and prune usually during the growing season at least once because it’s pretty common to have a weed or grass in the tube competing with your tree and I will occasionally summer prune if something is annoying me like a double leader. I simply enjoy checking on my tree babies more than once a year myself any time spent out wondering around on the farm is a good time.

This sums what I do. My wife thinks I check them so often, that I name each new leave as they emerge!

 

[rfb]

Bob this looks awesome! Nice work! So the 4 t posts have no fencing and that stops the bucks? What kind of trees tou have in these pics?!

The t posts have no tubes, we are just protecting the trees from bucks rubbing them. We have planted apple and pear trees and they are doing great.

 

[buckdeer1]

I don't like tubing fruit trees ,only oaks,I cage fruit trees.You will have faster growth and higher % of survival in tubes,make sure they are vented

 

[Teeder]

I did put tubes around my grafts this spring, but they are doubled and vented. I'll cage them before winter.

 

[Wild Thing]

I don't like tubing fruit trees ,only oaks,I cage fruit trees.You will have faster growth and higher % of survival in tubes,make sure they are vented

X2 - Except for crabapples I start from seed. I do tube those and they grow very rapidly...

I found a wild crabapple on my property some 14 years after I had purchased that parcel. I know there is a good chance that trees grown from seed may or may not clone the mother tree but I wanted to try it out anyway so I collected some seed and kept it in the barn fridge overwinter. In the spring I potted them in "Jiffy Pots" - this was in April of 2020


That fall I healed them in to one of my wife's raised boxes in the garden and tubed them for the winter to protect them from voles. This is what they looked liked at 1 year out from seed - April 2021.


I planted them out in their permanent homes - April 2021


I did pull the tubes a couple of times and prune off the lower leaves/branches. This is what they looked like on July 28, 2022 - a little over 2 years after I potted them as seeds.






Don't have any pics of them yet this year but some of them are up to 7-8 feet tall. Time for me to select the permanent scaffolds and get them growing the way I want them to look. I will leave the tubes on until the stem can support the trees without a stake. If they don't grow large fruit like the parent tree, I will graft onto them with another variety.

 

[ajtxwi]

What an awesome thread! We planted about 300 white oak, white pine and grey dogwood last year and few less than that this year... have struggled looking for a cost effective strategy to protect them. Came up with this 16 gage fencing idea secured with the ground with electric fencing line posts. Hearing some others, we might try rebar too. Nice to see other folks experiments and success stories.