Tree Tubes to Protect Our Trees!- April 29, 2023

[@marky3131]

Good on you two for helping the church go a little more natural

[@Lou_Mansfield]

I'm glad youre planting trees at your church. Great job

[@TheWoodlandSteward]

Thank you! we have over a hundred volunteers helping to plant, weed, and remove invasives now.

[@CFAinNoVA]

Great video. Replanting 3 acres of former pasture being placed under Conservation Easement. Very helpful video.

[@TheWoodlandSteward]

Glad it was helpful!

[@surgeinc1]

Love that your church is working on such a great project! And the releasable cable ties are new to me.

[@balahmay]

I did learn from you. Thanks for sharing! Tree tubes on order and I'll be getting some rebar.

[@Z64025]

Understand minimizing expense but if there’s not periodic maintenance on those tubes, some rebar will fall and pose a risk to mowers, brush cutters or worst case, become part of a mature tree. Ideally, use 72”x1x1” hardwood stakes (or softwood if oak stakes are too expensive). Some might fail early but most will last long enough and rot away by design (as will the tube) as trees mature. I’m planting Bur, White, Shumard oak and Sycamore using tubes to prevent deer browsing. Oak seedling growth in tubes in many cases has been remarkable.

[@TheWoodlandSteward]

Thanks! We will monitor them.

[@markjones5561]

We had 6 acres put in that way, and for the first 2 years the wooden stakes worked great. On the 3rd year they all began to fail. The trees were not quite robust enough, and any trees that fell the deer got to them. Now I use metal but I do check them regularly and I'm responsible for mowing so I'm very careful :) Having said all that, we have a 93% survival rate, so the tree tubes work great! Some trees are 10 feet tall on their third year!

[@Nick-z8j]

This is a great video! Very informative and well presented.

[@petersagan7713]

You just need to score the rebar then bend it a few times and it will break rite off. You don’t need to cut all the way threw. Saving effort and tool wear.

[@TheWoodlandSteward]

Good point! Thanks!

[@CharlieKellyEsq]

we planted 10 trees on our property this year, and like you the deer are a real problem, we just fenced in the saplings, and it was soooo much work.

[@TheWoodlandSteward]

It will be worth it once those trees start to grow!

[@markjones5561]

I'd prefer to fence ours, but 6 acres of deer 'proof' fence...yeah...I'd have to win the PowerBall. :)

[@jeffweber8244]

Great info. Will use rebar when I get some tubes. Tip: Get a cheap angle grinder at Harbor Freight to cut them, if you haven't already.

[@TheWoodlandSteward]

Good idea!

[@christophergrossman5470]

Consider burying the tubes 2-3” bgs. Otherwise, temperature differences between the bottom and top of a tube may create a chimney effect and can desiccate young saplings.

[@TheWoodlandSteward]

Interesting. Thanks!

[@Leonidimus59]

It depends on the local climate. In US southeast, it's too humid and the main issue with tree tubes is fungal disease, so extra ventilation is recommended.

[@stephenkutney9626]

The ventilation hardens off the tree for winter.

[@phillipsmith21]

An easy way to drive the posts and keep 4' out of the ground is to take a 4' piece of pipe jyst a bit bigger than your rebar and put a cap on the end. Use this as a post driver and it stops at ground level.

[@TheWoodlandSteward]

Good idea!

[@1voluntaryist]

You need to know at what age/highth the trees no longer need protection from the deer/predators. Also, some trees need to grow thick trunks when young, some not, depending on species. That is regulated by the tube filter. Have you tried a cone at the base, about 20-30" diameter, 2-3' tube? When the tree outgrows it, you can replace it with a taller tube of greater circumference, the trunk being sturdy enough to support itself.

[@TheWoodlandSteward]

Thanks for the ideas. When you say a cone at the base, what do you mean?

[@1voluntaryist]

@@TheWoodlandSteward A tube with large diameter, or a cone around the tube to keep it stable in the wind, no stake needed.

[@mohammedtalibi5575]

❤

[@ranfam99]

We have a bunch (possibly hundreds) of small ash trees growing in our woods. What do you recommend doing with them, considering the EAB? Thank you for providing so much useful information. We are in SW Ohio as well.

[@TheWoodlandSteward]

I'm not sure I've heard a good answer to this. We also have a carpet of young ash trees. I'm hoping that some of them will grow up to be resistant to EAB.

[@dominadomestic-goddess-coo5264]

Do you have to trim the lower leaves off during the growing season?????

[@matte3839]

I’ve put wooden stakes with the tree tubes, going on 5 years and no issues with them losing structural integrity

[@TheWoodlandSteward]

Good to know.

[@phillipsmith21]

Could you put a link to the tubes?

[@TheWoodlandSteward]

www.amleo.com/max-grow-tube-tree-shelters-60-inch-length-bale-of-50/p/MG60B

[@prof.parallax2664]

Thanks for the video. Where did you purchase the seedlings?

[@TheWoodlandSteward]

The Warren County Soil & Water Conservation District (Ohio)

[@benalbrecht5431]

What was your logic for spacing between trees for this project?

[@TheWoodlandSteward]

Thanks for assuming there was logic! I looked for recommendations on spacing and felt like the recommendations were all over the map. Then I looked at woods I wanted to replicate and decided there was often too much competition. I pictured the trees full grown and thought, "Where would I like the trunks to be?" Smaller trees were planted "under the canopy" of bigger trees. Shrubs filled in other spaces. Ideally, we should have planted denser, and let the best adjusted trees take over as dominant. I just hated to buy trees that were not going to survive.

[@careybrinckman9071]

why don't you invite bowhunters to come in and help control the deer?..that would be free and a whole lot less work

[@shiftnsix]

May not be applicable to your situation, but check out the Purdue extension paper on protecting new planting from deer. Edit for link: www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/FNR/FNR-486-W.pdf

[@markjones5561]

Thanks for the link. We lost/lose so many seedings and native plants from deer browse that I'm planning on putting up deer exclosures within the existing woodland. This link is perfect timing :)