Tree Planting Tips

[hunter49]

If you wanna deep dive.
Habitat-talk.com

 

[hunter49]

Has anyone tried the root gel? It is supposed to help the seedlings hold moisture as they get established.

Probably not worth the added step and cost with your heavier soils in MN

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

I’ve planted several thousand saplings over the years in northern MN and WI. Always with the expectation (and result) of significant loss. Blowdown areas always do the best. Remember that spruce varieties need quite a bit of sun. Your cedar choices should be more forgiving.

Assuming you ordered DNR trees, no?

I was chatting trees with an old timer last fall that grew Christmas trees for a long time in MN & WI. He is sold on the “bag method” (I believe). Had poor results with the bare root saplings, much like I have. I’ll see if I can pick his brain again soon. If anyone knows a cheap way around the bags, it’s him.

I ordered the bigger trees (8-16") from the Anoka County Soil and Water District. The 5-12" are from the DNR.

I planted about 50 x 8-16" white spruce last spring and only lost a handful. They all had good sun, really good roots, and decent moisture. I think a few that I lost were due to poor planting on my part. Specifically, not trimming the roots enough and having some of them point back up so they grew to the surface. Kills them pretty quick.

 

[Benjamins]

That Dibble bar will be your best friend. I have the one made by jim gem. Not only can you plant seedlings 10x as fast, I feel like I get way better survival since you don't disrupt the ground a ton.

 

[hank4elk]

Planted thousands of trees for the Parks Dept. Hundreds for myself.
Mass plantings in areas got 60% survival rates. Tubes,cages. CA.

I've been dealing with elk now. Totally different story. Elk habitat enhancement with G&F.
Going to weld up well pipe corrals ,10x10 and plant a few in each one. Wrapped in fence wire, mesh on the ground to keep rodents at bay. 7ft tall.
Narrowleaf cottonwoods, aspen, wild plum and currants.
Hope a few make it. They will all have water.
Maybe they will spread in the streambed.

My fence around the house is 7' and so far they have stayed away. They ate all my berries one year. Plants,thorns and all.

Sedges have sprouted out of nowhere where a valve leaks. That will be one spot.

 

[ewludwig]

Some really helpful stuff here. Thanks fellas! We will try and keep this thread updated for Those that like stories that takes years, if not decades, to fully play out.

 

[Shangobango]

I am about to either plant or have planted about 3500 bare root hardwood seedlings. Seems like a pretty daunting task with my work schedule to plant them myself so I am thinking seriously about letting a pro do it.

 

[Fullquiver]

If you have a high water table could try some poplars(willows too) these you can cut back every yr or three for animal fodder,especially in dry times mid summer. 3mtr long poles sunk into the ground with crowbar. Multi tier farming. I'm also putting in thornless gleditsia for their pods which are sweet smelling and supposed to be very palatable to animals. I also find people are getting to tied up on trees that are local to area, planting some exotics opens up another fodder crop. Best of luck.

The thornless Honey locust pods draw draw deer like a magnet around me. Plus the flowers are a huge draw for bees and other pollinators. However they're considered invasive and are illegal to plant in many states so I would check before planting any of them..

 

[Slam]

I suggest (if you haven't already) you reach out to your local state forester and discuss your objectives. My experience over 30+ yrs of owning/managing a 300+ acre tree farm is that the insight a professional can provide, not to mention specialized resources will greatly improve your success. The state may also have cost share programs available for tree planting, invasive control, wildlife management (bedding and food source plans), etc. In Ohio, working with a forester (state or private) who can help you gain (Tree Farm) status has many benefits: 1 - professional management plan (forest and field), 2- gateway to cost sharing opportunities, 3 - possible tax advantages....reduced RE Tax, the ability to expense costs involved in managing the resource (tree farm), and finally a go to resource who is educated on the matter.

And, picking a state forester's brain doesn't cost you any monetary outlay.

 

[JAG]

Neat thread. I like the forester idea above and you may have done that or considered it. I guess if you've worked with the soil district, you may have already inquired of the MN County Extension (maybe the same thing?)-. here, they do next-level 4H research and are usually very helpful to the general public.

What about a local biologist? I always go to this source for game information, but perhaps a biologist could comment on specific areas he knows of where the habitat reached the apex balance for feed and cover. He wouldn't have to tell you who's land, but at least describe the nature of the crops, habitat, etc.

 

[Mrc]

You might want to try this on the cedars. You’re only planting 100 so it’s doable. You have do do it every fall. I had a friend plant white pines and after it snowed the deer came along and snipped the terminal bud that was sticking out of the snow. Ate them like candy. He tried stapling paper on the trees but he had thousands of them so it was to much trouble to do every year.

 

[Bonasababy]

Cedar are picky need the right site and conditions and are highly favored by deer. Id be inclined to put in a fence or cages if I wanted good survival with them. Bud capping (as in the previous post) might help but cedar are very attractive to deer. Bud capping on jack and white pine works though, most of the time.

White spruce are rarely nipped by deer. I wouldn't bother with the expense of taller stock with white spruce. Worse survival and harder to plant. They can sit for a few years before they start much growth.