Tree tubes on silky dogwood

[marlin]

Has anybody used 5 ft tree tubes on dogwood with success? Trying to enhance a small 2acre low area with high deer density. There is already some silky dogwood growing but would like to add 100- 3 to 4 ft. bareroot plants in tubes. Currently spraying RCG with clethodim. Seems to be working but I know it will be an ongoing battle.

 

[trampledbyturtles]

In for the comments.

Cause I will be attempting the same thing next spring but with Greys. Roughly 150-200 of them. Was thinking 3 ft tubes tho. Mostly to keep the rabbits off the base. But deer are a concern.

^OP
Keep up the good fight

 

[Hoytvectrix]

I'm not sure if the tubes will work or not, but why not just use cuttings? You can get them for free (minus your time) and propagate them yourselves faster than planting bare root seedlings. I have been doing this with several dogwood species on two of our farms and not protecting them. One has a high deer density and the other doesn't. Even at the high deer density farm several of them make it, but maybe not at the rate you would prefer.

One thing I am going to try this winter is a few panels of hog fencing secured with t-posts. My goal is to rotate these panels after the shrubs get high enough, which for hazelnuts or dogwoods, this shouldn't take long.

 

[Telemark]

Personally, I would go with cages and mulch. For mulch I can get cardboard and wood chips for free. It only lasts about a year, but that's all I need to get the shrub tall enough to grow above the surrounding grasses and reeds. Then in the winter I cut them at about 12 to 18 inches (depends on location of buds) to induce branching.

If you're going to tube them, I would pull the tubes and cut the stem back to about 18 inches the following winter. Dogwoods seems to survive deer and rabbits best by having multiple stems. Animals like to chew on the outer ones but leave the center pretty much alone. If you have problems with your rabbit population, 3 foot tubes might be a good idea the first year.

 

[marlin]

I guess I wasn't too clear. There are a lot of 3 ft. tall silky dogwood in this area. Advancing them past the 3 ft. height is nearly impossible due to browsing. Caging would work but not as cost effective or as easy as tubes. Will do caging if no other way. The soil in perfect as far as moisture and texture. There will be Witch Hazel. Snowberry, Winterberry, Serviceberry, Ninebark and chokecherry shrubs around the edge. Silky Dogwood in already somewhat established in the center. Looking to advance what is already there and add about 100 3-4 ft bareroot shrubs. Picture below is area I'm working on. The Dogwood in picture is desired height. If you look at the suckers on this shrub all are browsed. My thoughts were to just slide a 5ft. tube over the new shoots and continue the spray routine on the RCG?

 

[RGrizzzz]

Tubes should work. The growth will be a little odd, because you'll only be protect something that amounts to a central leader. We tubed and caged a variety of shrubs due to browse, and they survive in the tubes. Deer chew off anything that comes out of the cages below the browse line. They're at the age/height where it's time to take off some of the cages and see how they survive.

 

[H20fwler]

Mine get browsing heavy here too, but I don't look at it as a bad thing.
I plant mine in spring from cuttings around 2' into heavy grass area and push them in as deep as I can which is usually about a foot. I'd say over 90% take right off pretty good. In winter they get nipped back and that makes them even bushier...mine are planted for road screen and browse, the 4-5 year old stuff has really bushed out nice and is a little over 3' tall and spreading.
I do same with ROD but after it gets over 4' it doesn't hardly get browsed at all and the low "trunks" get pretty thick...still good cover and deer rub on them...wish I would have kept them cut back a little more.
I still cut buckets full of cuttings in spring from both and plant to thicken up shrub strips, both are about invnicible once started, this past spring I added some flame willow along with them for diversity and I like the way they look in winter with the snow.

 

[Ohio Darin]

I planted some grey dogwood bare root seedlings this Spring with 48" blue tubes. I drilled maybe a dozen vent holes in tubes. Put a little mulch around them too that I had left over. Also planted some in pots and kept by the house to keep watered. The ones planted in the tubes all are about 6" above the tubes. We have high deer pressure but the deer haven't messed with them. We have been really dry and I did not water them once. The pots that got regular water are 2 1/2 - 3 ft tall.

Edit - they might be 54" tubes. I have to get on my tiptoes to look down them....

 

[bigboreblr]

You can take branches and make a mess that is annoying for the deer to get to. I do that with small 1ft diameter apple tree cges.