Would you like to borrow my wife’s 6 lb chihuahua? It takes out every rabbit that enters our yard. 6 last year and 4-5 the year before… He also has kept the turkeys out of our yard. I let him out without seeing the 6 turkeys. Thought he was done for. He came back with feathers in his mouth. The 95 lb German Shepard tries.
We have a young apple tree and rabbits so I wrap it each fall and haven’t had any issues yet. I’ll be driving some posts in the ground and tying some guide wires to the tree this spring since it’s decided to take a lean.
I was out looking at it the other day and it looks healthy. Bud are tight yet and no signs that deer have paid it any attention.
This tree is about six years old and last spring I picked the small apples off so not to harm the thin limbs. How long should one do this?
Would you like to borrow my wife’s 6 lb chihuahua? It takes out every rabbit that enters our yard. 6 last year and 4-5 the year before
Sounds like the typical little guy, those things can be terribly mean. I really don’t care for tiny dogs most just seem to be moody.
You will never shoot your way out of rabbit damage and unless your chihuahua or other dog of choice is confined to yard patrol 24 hours a day, a dog won’t eliminate the problem either.
Between rabbits, mice/voles, and deer, it’s pure luck if you can get a tree to grow without it being damaged or being killed.
John, to be honest, if it’s a home landscape tree, I would tear them out and start over. Growth time is just too valuable for trees to waste a year or two waiting to see if they survive.
The only trees I’ve tried to nurse to health have been on my farm or in shelter belts where there was nothing to lose by trying.
MN is a horsesh!t place to try to grow trees. Between winter kill and animal damage, my track record is planting 1.7 trees to get one tree to grow to a point where it can’t be killed by animals and winter. And the more I plant, the worse that average gets and that’s with all kinds of protection including a full 6 foot high fence around every tree.
MN is a horsesh!t place to try to grow trees. Between winter kill and animal damage, my track record is planting 1.7 trees to get one tree to grow to a point where it can’t be killed by animals and winter.
I honestly have had pretty good luck I guess then. I have planted most of the trees on the property since storm damage from before we owned it took out most of the trees. I have planted three maples that are all growing good. The first one I planted is in the front yard and is already a nice mature tree providing a good amount of shade. I only lost a Birch tree it just never took. Your right I’m sure it just sucks as trees can be expensive but oh well. Looks like I will take up the city on Arbor Day for a couple more trees at Blaine promotes planting trees and offers a discount once a year. Hope other cities do this also.
Maples are about the simplest tree to grow. They grow fast and are pretty hardy. Birch trees are a short lived tree generally.
Looks like I will take up the city on Arbor Day for a couple more trees at Blaine promotes planting trees and offers a discount once a year. Hope other cities do this also.
This is a great way to get trees. If you are looking for some you better get on the list since they only get so many each year. Lakeville has the same program. Great discount.
Maples are about the simplest tree to grow. They grow fast and are pretty hardy. Birch trees are a short lived tree generally.
I’d agree that maples have been my best bet for surviving (critters, winter, soil conditions, deer, etc).
White Pine have been far and away the worst. The deer absolutely decimate them. I put a 5′ diameter, 4′ tall piece of fence around every tree I plant now. Then I also put the plastic wrap on the trunk. With all of those precautions, I probably get about 80% to grow and survive.
If I were to just plant more trees (like I used to) with no fencing around them, no wrap around the trunk, and just see what happens…I’d probably have 90% get killed. I used to plant hundreds to see a couple dozen make it. Now I’ve switched my efforts into planting fewer but protecting them more. Mice/voles and rabbits aren’t that big of an issue for me if the trunks are wrapped. It’s the deer that will pummel fencing around trees to get at them or reach up high as possible to bite off maple branches.
***To the OP, Grouse nailed it. Time is finite and trees take forever. There’s no way I’d plant close to my house in a landscaped area and just wait years to see if it survives. Rip it out and start over. If you’re planting in other areas like windbreaks or wood lines – that’s different.
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