Timber Screen

[Travis Bahrt]

Hello everyone I am looking for some advice on what to use as a screen in the timber on my property. My wife and I closed on our first property in the end of September. It is 39 acres of timber in a big rectangle shape running north to south.
There is a dead end lane that runs up about 3/4 of the west border of my property, it runs back to a couple gas wells and some timber company property so it is heavly used during hunting season. I would like to plant some sort of screen just off the lane in my timber. I was thinking a mixture of normay spruce and red pine. I would probably end up falling the red pine in a couple years as it matured and the bottom thinned out. Is this a good plan or is there a better option? How dose MG do in the timber? Maybe mix that in with some conifers?
Thank you everyone for the help and I look forward to learning from you all.

 

[scott44]

Hello everyone I am looking for some advice on what to use as a screen in the timber on my property. My wife and I closed on our first property in the end of September. It is 39 acres of timber in a big rectangle shape running north to south.
There is a dead end lane that runs up about 3/4 of the west border of my property, it runs back to a couple gas wells and some timber company property so it is heavly used during hunting season. I would like to plant some sort of screen just off the lane in my timber. I was thinking a mixture of normay spruce and red pine. I would probably end up falling the red pine in a couple years as it matured and the bottom thinned out. Is this a good plan or is there a better option? How dose MG do in the timber? Maybe mix that in with some conifers?
Thank you everyone for the help and I look forward to learning from you all.

MG likes full sun, I doubt if you could get much height on it without full sun.

 

[Bill]

No MG won’t grow in the timber.

What kind of trees do you have?
Might just need to hinge cut the heck out of the first 20 yards along the lane. High cuts low cuts In between cuts.

Then maybe use the tree tops as protection for some type of evergreen.

 

[Travis Bahrt]

Along the lane is mostly big mature oaks and cherrys. There a couple pockets of big mature red pine a little deeper into the property.
The property was logged roughly 8 years ago so the interior of the property has a lot thicker understory and better cover with large oaks that they left standing.


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[Natty Bumppo]

There should be a sticky thread with all the acronyms that habitat guys use. Have no idea what MG is?

 

[scott44]

There should be a sticky thread with all the acronyms that habitat guys use. Have no idea what MG is?

Miscathus Giganteus

 

[chickenlittle]

I looked at some bamboo that would grow in shade. It was the clumping variety that would not spread by rhizomes. Not cheap but you could propagate it over a few years to keep the cost down. Not native and you want to be sure you are confident it won't spread on its own.

 

[chickenlittle]

http://www.habitat-talk.com/index.php?threads/bamboo-for-screening.8690/#post-161593

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Being from Pa. with a camp up in N.C. Pa. - I like Bill's idea from post #3. I'd drop / hinge cut along the border ( like Bill suggested ), and then plant some white pines, Norway and white spruce in and along both sides of the resulting brush. Most likely, you'll get some blackberries & raspberries growing in that line of cover too. That'll only make it better.

The white pines will grow the fastest to give you some screening until the spruce get established. Once the spruce get up to around 6 or 7 ft. tall, they'll be the major "thickener" of the evergreens. The hinge-cut trees will green-up and make a good living "wall" along with the evergreens & briars. You could also plant some gray dogwood along that edge too. Those get thick and clumpy, and produce berries that birds & critters like to eat. The more sun you can get on that cut edge, the faster it'll grow and thicken up for you. Don't be afraid to make a border that's 20 to 40 ft. thick ( deep ). If you want a "no-see-through" screen, the thicker / deeper it is ...…. the better.

 

[Travis Bahrt]

Thank you everyone for the great advice, I think I will get some hinge cutting down this winter and then start planting some pines and spruce this spring, is spring the best time to plant these species?

Bowsnbucks do you have any suggestions on nurseries to buy from in PA? I did see that the game commission is opening back up their tree sale in January.

 

[Rit]

Thank you everyone for the great advice, I think I will get some hinge cutting down this winter and then start planting some pines and spruce this spring, is spring the best time to plant these species?

Bowsnbucks do you have any suggestions on nurseries to buy from in PA? I did see that the game commission is opening back up their tree sale in January.

There are a ton of variables you may want to consider before you start hinge cutting. You can create some unique scenarios depending on how you hinge the area.

Not sure but sounds like there is cover on both sides of that access road. I assume the deer would use it and there are probably scrapes up and down the access road. Depending on where you will be hunting you can create bedding along that edge, pinch points. You can block access in certain areas by dropping the trees parallel to the trail and you can create browse and access trails by hinge cutting perpendicular to the access road. A lot to consider before you fire up the saw. I was very eager to get started when I first started working on habitat and I created a bigger mess before I had a solid plan in place.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Travis Bahrt, post #10 - We've been using Flickinger's Nursery in Sagamore Pa. for about 6 years now for our spruce and balsam fir seedlings. I've found their stock to be much nicer than the Game Commission's. They're bare root and avg. about 16" or better. I've been paying right about $70 for 100 seedlings - and they've been nice trees. I also like to keep the business local if possible.

Flickinger's phone # - 1-800-368-7381 and website www.flicknursery.com