# Shrub Pictures



## bishs (Aug 30, 2000)

I went out today and took a few pictures. Then the battery went dead. I stuck a flag on a 4 foot rod, and stuck it in the ground to give an idea how tall the shrubs are. I will try to get more pics in a few days.


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## bishs (Aug 30, 2000)

Speckled Alder grown for 3 summers, 2 foot tall at planting. The top 3 feet have been trimmed off the tree 2 weeks ago, to encourage outward growth.


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## bishs (Aug 30, 2000)

Ninebark grown for 3 summers, 8 inches tall at planting. Five feet tall now.


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## bishs (Aug 30, 2000)

Black willow thicket, already established when I purchased the land in 94. I flushed 6 pheasants getting this picture. You can't walk through it, 16 - 20 feet tall.


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## Live2Hunt (Nov 23, 2004)

Thanks for sharing the pics Bishs. Unfortunately I can't view the black willow. I am amazed at the alder growth in just three years. 

I am interested in some of the black willow if you have not committed them all. How do you feel they would interact (blended in with) the speckled alder. I have a 2 acre area I would like to fill.

I haven't done any weed control in this area, how do you feel my success will be with an early spring planting? Or would I be further ahead to prepare the area this year and plant next (hope not)?


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## bishs (Aug 30, 2000)

Black willow and Alder will both grow in the same area, they often grow together. They will both grow on dry land but prefer moist sites. 
Weed control is important the first year or so. If you buy the taller Alder you can get away with little or no weed control. 

a few suggestions:
1) Plant the seedlings, you may want to mark them with orange markers. Then hold a section of 6" dia duct pipe over them and spray round up around them. Get yourself a 4 gallon back pack sprayer. I will spray an acre of trees in a 1/2 hour. Spray twice or more that first year. The second year I spray around my trees in the morning when there is no wind, I don't use a pipe. 

2) Or spray the areas you intend to plant the trees with roundup, and plant the trees in a garden this summer. Sprinkle a few inches of mulch on them to keep the weeds back. Then plant them the next year in your bare spots. My best success with crab apple trees has been with the garden. I put 300 crabapples in a garden. Planted the trees 6 inches apart, so they grow tall fast. I sprinkled mulch a few inches deep. Then put a small fence around them. The trees were 3 to 4 foot tall in a few years. Then I planted them with plastic drain tile to keep rabbits from eating the bark. 

If your planting this year and you have sod, you may want to scalp the area out. Grass sod is tough on seedlings. Or you can turn the piece of sod upside down and plant in it. This messes up the grasses, and they will not grow that summer.

Keep seedling roots moist until planting. Never lay them out or let the wind dry the roots. Roots can dry out in a few minutes on a breezy sunny day. Keep them in a bucket until planting, only carry enough to do a row.

I have plenty of willow seedlings available.

e-mail anytime for questions.


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## DEERSLAYER (Mar 29, 2000)

Looks like a mix of Black Willow and Alder (or some Dogwood) would work out great for deer cover (heavy on the Willow). Although I'm not sure what % of each I should use. Anybody have any suggestions?

P.S. I just hope this stuff will survive in a couple inches of water for several months a year.


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## bishs (Aug 30, 2000)

Norway spruce 10 years old,


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## bishs (Aug 30, 2000)

White spruce 10 years old


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## bishs (Aug 30, 2000)

Red oak 10 years old


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## bishs (Aug 30, 2000)

White oak 10 years old


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## bishs (Aug 30, 2000)

Highbush cranberry 10 years old


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## johnhunter (Jun 17, 2000)

Great pics, bish. I think it's safe to say that your site grows Norway Spruce a lot better than my property does. I've got thousands of seven year old Norways, and they are nowhere near that big. They're mostly planted in heavy loam soil, which isn't the best for fast growth for this species.

The job you've done on your property is inspiring to many of us. Great work!


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## bishs (Aug 30, 2000)

Thanks, I have some 7 year old Norways, they were planted as 1 to 2 foot transplants. They are 8 -9 feet tall. The spruce pictures posted above were planted as seedlings. Soil conditions are a big factor, my soil is sandy loam. The problem I have is that it really dries out in the summer, I have no clay. If your 7 year old seedlings were planted on my place they would be 6-7 feet tall, they are at the age where they would take off. As you can see on my pics, my spruce are growing 2 foot a year. How about yours? How long is the top shoot?


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## johnhunter (Jun 17, 2000)

Here's the history on my Norway Spruce 1997 planting.

The trees were 2-0 seedlings. Did weed control spraying at planting, and again the next two years. About 2500 trees.

It took 4 years before the trees were visible amongst the weeds/grasses they were growing in. I would guess that a good 25% of the trees died.

Now, I'd guess they're getting about 12-18" growth a year. They range between 5 and 7 feet in height. Up until the last 2 years, their growth was slow; seems to be accelerating.

By contrast, I also planted 1500 White Pine at the same time. These were bigger trees that I got a bargain on (2-2 transplants). Still, virtually all of them lived, and they range between 14 and 18 feet tall. I really need to thin them out this winter.

Also in that area, I planted 250 Tamarack that were tiny seedlings, that never got any weed control. For the first 3 years, I assumed they all died. They are now all over 10 ft. tall, and making good growth.

In 1999, I planted another 7000 conifers, Norways, White Pine, White Spruce, and some Red Pine. This time, all of the trees were 2-1 transplants. The Norways and White Spruce have once again lagged (average height probably 2-4 feet), had higher mortality (probably 25-30%) while the White and Red Pines have thrived. The Red Pines started very slowly, and really took off this past year, probably putting on 2 ft. of growth. The White Pines kicked butt right from day one.


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## bishs (Aug 30, 2000)

The spruce are slow at first, but take off good. Yours may not be that far behind mine. Here is a pic of 7 year old spruces planted as 8" seedling.


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## bishs (Aug 30, 2000)

10 year old amur maple, "shrub maple"


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## bishs (Aug 30, 2000)

10 year old Autumn Olive.


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## bishs (Aug 30, 2000)

10 year old Siberian Crab apple


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## bishs (Aug 30, 2000)

10 year old silky dogwood, struggling from deer browsing.


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## daddyduck (Nov 2, 2001)

I can't see no pics. Just little box with an X in it??


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## mike hartges (Jun 9, 2003)

I have planted willow sticks several times over the years. Some were planted about 9 years ago. Many of them are over 8 ft tall. These were planted as a border to a safe area so it would make it more difficult to see into the safe area. The ground is not wet and the willows have grown very well. I have also planted willow sticks into some clay soil and they are doing well. Weed control is important until the willows get tall enough to compete with the weeds for the available sunlight. I tie orange ribbon on the sticks so I don't mow them down with my DR field and brush mower. I have also planted red osier dogwood sticks with fair success. I get the willows and dogwood for free as they both grow naturally on my property.


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## DEERSLAYER (Mar 29, 2000)

mike hartges,

How far into those 9 year old willows (with the leaves off) would you say a deer has to be in order to not be seen? 20 yards? 30?


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## mike hartges (Jun 9, 2003)

The 9 year old willows are planted as a perimeter to a safe area. Just inside the willows are pines and spruces and tall weeds. I've walked by that area during bow season only to catch a glimse of a deer 5 feet inside the cover. It felt safe as I walked by. I have a pure stand of willows(shrub type) that deer bed in daily. I let weeds and brush grow up around that spot and I also put in a small pond that is about 10 feet from the willows. You cannot see into these willows. That's why deer are in there all the time. I maintain trails in the willows. I check them during the winter to make sure they're not blocked. My willow thicket is only about 50 yards long and 20 yards wide but it is the most consistent bedding spot on my land. One year, there were 3 dozen rubs in that small spot. To answer your question, if the willows are thick enough, you wouldn't see a deer that was 5 feet inside the edge of that cover. My mature willows spread which makes the thicket bigger each year.


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## DEERSLAYER (Mar 29, 2000)

Why do you maintain the trails? Is it so thick the deer don't want to use it much without the trails? I plan on making a safe area 110 x 110 yards. I'm hopeing that it will be big and thick enough to hold a big buck. I'm hopeing to put a 60 x 200 yard corn field on the south side of it hopefully with enough screening cover (only 20 yards wide) along the endges so you can't see the corn field. If I'm lucky, I will figure out a few more goodies to put back into the safe area (maybe where it meets the corn) to hold the deer in there so they don't want to go to anybody elses place ( where if it's legal it's down) during daylight. Then maybe I can get a few youngsters thru the season.

P.S. My property is only 110 yards wide so it is somewhat limiting.


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## DEERSLAYER (Mar 29, 2000)

Man am I getting pumped! I can't wait to get my land logged so I can get it the way I want it!!


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