Tree Planting

Who is planning to plant trees this Spring? For those who are, what are you planting? It’s hard to imagine but a lot of the nurseries around here are not only taking orders (but filling up for the Spring Season). If you haven’t ordered but want to plant a large quantity of small trees, check with your local soil conservation district as some still have availability and sell them to landowners at cost.

We plant trees every year, but the deer are hard on ones we can’t protect at the hunting land. This year we are dialing back the number of trees and will be purchasing larger trees and fencing/protecting what we can.

Homestead List:
-x5 6-10′ potted maples
-x15 3-4′ potted norway spruce
-x2 8′ potted willows

Hunting Land List:
-x250 white pines
-x100 red oak

I’m sure I’ll be planting something. My guilty pleasure/toxic trait as they say is adding trees to our property. And the way I view it (or maybe I’m just justifying the money to my wife) is that to even enjoy some trees on the landscape on our property in our life, we’ve got to keep planting now.

Agreed on the tree protection. I’ve said before on here, I’ve probably got well over $300 invested in fencing between our gardens and young trees and I’m sure I’ll be adding to that this year. That can get expensive but it’s a no-brainer to me. Paying money for trees and not protecting them is completely wasting that money because our local deer will destroy them.

Last year we spent about $300 combined between a potted white oak and a potted birch cluster. Don’t know the size but they must’ve been at least 6 feet tall already. Might add another birch cluster this year. These were purchased from Sargents in Red Wing, which from what everyone says seems to be the gold standard as far as plants go around here.

Three years ago we planted two apple trees that have been fenced and are doing quite well. We bought them in May or June from Runnings in Red Wing so by then they were marked down a little and were about $75 apiece. As long as they continue to survive we’ll easily make our money back on them in apples.

And I’ll probably continue my habit of randomly picking up some 2-3 foot potted pines from Menards, Runnings, or Walmart depending on the price. Typically I’ll grab a few when they’re $25-$30 and put them in the ground in the hopes they’ll make it.

I’ve never gotten a large volume of saplings. I’d be interested but not sure I’d have the time to tend to them (mainly watering the first few years) and protecting them.

Planting bare root White Oak and October Glory Maple for hardwoods here and at our place in Missouri. I also ordered 12-18″ Norway Spruce seedlings for the homestead. We have a variety of fir, pine, and spruce but no Norway and I have heard good things. Maybe some Norland Apple too.

You are correct on getting your order in, my deadline was last week.

Dan wrote:

I’m sure I’ll be planting something. My guilty pleasure/toxic trait as they say is adding trees to our property. And the way I view it (or maybe I’m just justifying the money to my wife) is that to even enjoy some trees on the landscape on our property in our life, we’ve got to keep planting now.

Agreed on the tree protection. I’ve said before on here, I’ve probably got well over $300 invested in fencing between our gardens and young trees and I’m sure I’ll be adding to that this year. That can get expensive but it’s a no-brainer to me. Paying money for trees and not protecting them is completely wasting that money because our local deer will destroy them.

Last year we spent about $300 combined between a potted white oak and a potted birch cluster. Don’t know the size but they must’ve been at least 6 feet tall already. Might add another birch cluster this year. These were purchased from Sargents in Red Wing, which from what everyone says seems to be the gold standard as far as plants go around here.

Three years ago we planted two apple trees that have been fenced and are doing quite well. We bought them in May or June from Runnings in Red Wing so by then they were marked down a little and were about $75 apiece. As long as they continue to survive we’ll easily make our money back on them in apples.

And I’ll probably continue my habit of randomly picking up some 2-3 foot potted pines from Menards, Runnings, or Walmart depending on the price. Typically I’ll grab a few when they’re $25-$30 and put them in the ground in the hopes they’ll make it.

I’ve never gotten a large volume of saplings. I’d be interested but not sure I’d have the time to tend to them (mainly watering the first few years) and protecting them.

I’m trying some of the cages off those large water totes this year for trees. I’m hoping they’re light enough to move for some mowing/weed tending but enough of a deterrent to keep deer off some of the more spendy trees we plant. I’ll report back with how well they work. Fencing has done well, but I get sick of tending to weeds and either stepping over fencing or untying it to get at the tree base.

I should give up. I plant trees every year but now that my dads retired he likes cutting trees down. Just bought a bigger saw the other day. Oh yah.

JEREMY wrote:

I should give up. I plant trees every year but now that my dads retired he likes cutting trees down. Just bought a bigger saw the other day. Oh yah.

Iowaboy1 has a hilarious story about that

I’m interested in hearing what all of your watering practices are. I think in the past I’ve probably been guilty of both over-watering and not watering enough. I’ve seen before from the DNR or something that trees that are 1-3 years old need 15-25 gallons of water per week, more if it’s been really dry. I swear I spend half my summer with a hose in 5-gallon buckets, waiting for a dozen of them to fill up, and then driving around in my SxS watering them. I might see if I can find an affordable large tank of some sort to save some time this year.

Just wondering if you all water them often or just let God take care of it, and how you go about doing it.

I could use some advice on the deer protection. I’ve probably wasted over $500 on trees that deer have destroyed. Kinda gave up. But… we had to take down several large oaks near the house recently so this spring I HAVE to plant some trees. Thinking a mix of maple and pine.

buckybadger wrote:

Who is planning to plant trees this Spring? For those who are, what are you planting? It’s hard to imagine but a lot of the nurseries around here are not only taking orders (but filling up for the Spring Season). If you haven’t ordered but want to plant a large quantity of small trees, check with your local soil conservation district as some still have availability and sell them to landowners at cost.

We plant trees every year, but the deer are hard on ones we can’t protect at the hunting land. This year we are dialing back the number of trees and will be purchasing larger trees and fencing/protecting what we can.

Homestead List:
-x5 6-10′ potted maples
-x15 3-4′ potted norway spruce
-x2 8′ potted willows

Hunting Land List:
-x250 white pines
-x100 red oak

Get those Willows in a low wet spot and they will double in size every year.

lindyrig79 wrote:

I could use some advice on the deer protection. I’ve probably wasted over $500 on trees that deer have destroyed. Kinda gave up. But… we had to take down several large oaks near the house recently so this spring I HAVE to plant some trees. Thinking a mix of maple and pine.

i like pines in my yard…great cover for the birds i feed……but me…….i’d avoid the long needles at all cost……..they are messy!!!!!!

The best deer resistant evergreen trees are Colorado blue spruce and Juniper varieties. Never plant an Arbvitae species if in deer country/city if deer are a problem. Deer think Arbvitae are candy.
Also the Norway spruce is very suseptible to winter sun/wind burn if not protected for the 1st 2 years. Don’t ask me how i know. After established should not be a problem.

Dutchboy wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>buckybadger wrote:</div>
Who is planning to plant trees this Spring? For those who are, what are you planting? It’s hard to imagine but a lot of the nurseries around here are not only taking orders (but filling up for the Spring Season). If you haven’t ordered but want to plant a large quantity of small trees, check with your local soil conservation district as some still have availability and sell them to landowners at cost.

We plant trees every year, but the deer are hard on ones we can’t protect at the hunting land. This year we are dialing back the number of trees and will be purchasing larger trees and fencing/protecting what we can.

Homestead List:
-x5 6-10′ potted maples
-x15 3-4′ potted norway spruce
-x2 8′ potted willows

Hunting Land List:
-x250 white pines
-x100 red oak

Get those Willows in a low wet spot and they will double in size every year.

Perfect! It’s going about 20 yards from the low end of a culvert that drains one field’s runoff under the driveway.

lindyrig79 wrote:

I could use some advice on the deer protection. I’ve probably wasted over $500 on trees that deer have destroyed. Kinda gave up. But… we had to take down several large oaks near the house recently so this spring I HAVE to plant some trees. Thinking a mix of maple and pine.

Lightly spray some Tabasco sauce on the low hanging leaves they eat.

mxskeeter wrote:

The best deer resistant evergreen trees are Colorado blue spruce and Juniper varieties. Never plant an Arbvitae species if in deer country/city if deer are a problem. Deer think Arbvitae are candy.
Also the Norway spruce is very suseptible to winter sun/wind burn if not protected for the 1st 2 years. Don’t ask me how i know. After established should not be a problem.

How do you suggest protecting them? My 3’ers seem to have done fine thus far…by just putting fence around them. They’re in a pretty windy spot too with no real protection from that or the sun

Perfect! It’s going about 20 yards from the low end of a culvert that drains one field’s runoff under the driveway.
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We had 2 giant willows in my old yard, absolutely beautiful trees. More of a pain in the ass then any of the giant oaks we had. They make such a mess. The juice was not near worth the squeeze

When they drop leaves it’s a mess but it’s only a problem if you rake them which I would guess you don’t. Just take the mower and mow ’em up. I always made a pile around the base (this was when they got large) the leaves would hold the moisture from winter and jump start them in the spring.

lindyrig79 wrote:

I could use some advice on the deer protection. I’ve probably wasted over $500 on trees that deer have destroyed. Kinda gave up. But… we had to take down several large oaks near the house recently so this spring I HAVE to plant some trees. Thinking a mix of maple and pine.

I could get back to you on exactly what I use. I always get it at Menards, it’s maybe 3-4 feet tall. Comes in a roll and I just cut it to the length I need. I’ll put 3-4 rebar rods or fence posts in the ground and wrap the fence around it.

I typically keep mine closed by bending one of the wires on the end to sort of make a latch but you could use anything really to secure it. Every week or so I’ll open the fence up to trim. Usually I can get by with staying outside the fence to water the tree from a bucket.

I’d recommend being very conservative and giving yourself plenty of distance for protection. Obviously deer will reach over with their head and neck so it’s gotta be a few feet wider than the branches. That 2022 winter with all the snow, my apple tree fence just got mangled.

It can be a pain and somewhat of an eye sore at times but I keep telling myself that when the trees are finally big enough to pull the fence away things will look real nice. And like you mentioned, the dollar amount… might as well protect the tree money you have invested.

600 Norways and Spruce Transplants; 25 various Apple trees &then probably top off my spring planting with a few more Contender Peach Trees.

Amazing the satisfaction one gets! This will get me to 19,000 in 21 years

Dan wrote:

I typically keep mine closed by bending one of the wires on the end to sort of make a latch but you could use anything really to secure it.

I use hook and loop cable wraps to secure fencing to posts. It gets brittle after a couple of years but is cheap and easy to replace.

Thanks Dan. That helps to give it a visual.

I occasionally order form my county SWCD. I like to mix it up a bit. New species for the homestead this year on order is 10 white spruce, 10 paper birch and 25 American hazel nut. The SWCD classify this hazel nut as a shrub but at full size of 15 – 18 feet it sounds more than a shrub.

Going with the water and try to protect (from deer) method…

Bearcat89 wrote:

Perfect! It’s going about 20 yards from the low end of a culvert that drains one field’s runoff under the driveway.

We had 2 giant willows in my old yard, absolutely beautiful trees. More of a pain in the ass then any of the giant oaks we had. They make such a mess. The juice was not near worth the squeeze
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It’s probably 100 yards from the house. We have an awkward patch of an old hay field sandwiched in by the driveway and the woodline that is more than I want to mow regularly (probably an acre that’d add to mowing) and is too small to be worth the time to run hay on it. I think the wife is going with a few trees in the area and then I will get the task of tilling it up for her to try and plant as many wildflower seeds as possible. I too stressed that willows can be messy and they weren’t going somewhere close to the house with landscaping that I regularly mow.

It’s probably 100 yards from the house. We have an awkward patch of an old hay field sandwiched in by the driveway and the woodline that is more than I want to mow regularly (probably an acre that’d add to mowing) and is too small to be worth the time to run hay on it. I think the wife is going with a few trees in the area and then I will get the task of tilling it up for her to try and plant as many wildflower seeds as possible. I too stressed that willows can be messy and they weren’t going somewhere close to the house with landscaping that I regularly mow.
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I do love the look of the willow trees, a couple of my favorite pictures we have were under the willows but man I needed a much bigger mower to mulch through those things when they drop both the branches if that’s what they are called and the leaves. They did make a good switch when the kids were not listening lol

Bucky
What I did was put 3 stakes in a triangle shape and cable tie burlap to them on SW & NW facing direction. Worked good.

I’ve got chestnut and hazelnut seeds sprouting under a grow lamp. Fingers crossed they’ll take and I can keep the deer off.

I’ve had luck planting Norway Red Pines seedlings in my area. Deer don’t bother them at all. County sells them for $35 or so for 25. I’m in sandy soil and watered extensively the first year I planted. But after that I’d just stick them in the ground and let it roll. I’d say I had a 65% or so success rate.