Will Dog Fennel and other Weeds Choke out Planted Pines?

Stonewall

Member
I had my old fescue cow pasture planted in loblolly back in February of 2016. This is in middle GA

(Prior to planting, we had sprayed in June 2015, then burned in Oct 2015)

In May of 2016 the weeds had shot up 5 or 6 ft tall and my forester recommended I spray, so we did.

Now, a year and change later, some of the pines are doing better than others. Some are poking up above the weeds, but vast majority are not.

Will the first hard freeze this year kill the dog fennel? That is what is growing the most vigorously....its over 6 ft tall in some areas.

After seeing the wasteland we had last year and lack of deer using the property due to all the disturbance and lack of cover, I really don't want to spray again.......it is thick now and I am seeing big momma does and fawns this year.....I think they are really liking all the cover.

My primary priority is deer having cover...the pines, aesthetics of rows and future income (will I even be alive then?) are all a distant second, but I also don't want to waste the money I spent on planting.

Will the pines eventually break through next year or is this dog fennel going to choke them out?

I'm about tired of trying to control what is going on in that field and am about ready to let mother nature do what she wishes. I think I have had my fill of letting people go out there and stir things up. We planted 600 seedlings per acre so I can't imagine in a couple of years enough of them are not going to pop up and take over.....

Let me know your thoughts
 
Our forrester doesn't seem worried about dog fennel in our planted longleaf. The main concern for us is volunteer slash/loblolly (they are clearly thriving). I think you will be just fine. A couple more years and the dog fennel will be a distant worry.
 
Dog fennel has been around as long as pines and we still have lots of pines. Don't worry about it. It is an early successional plant and will face as the pines grow.
 
Our forrester doesn't seem worried about dog fennel in our planted longleaf. The main concern for us is volunteer slash/loblolly (they are clearly thriving). I think you will be just fine. A couple more years and the dog fennel will be a distant worry.
Yes, loblolly in particular is a concern in longleaf stands due to how much faster it grows. It will absolutely out-compete long leaf (almost every other pine will, too).
 
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