white pines

[TreeDaddy]

My deer treat baby pines like Andes dinner mints

bill

 

[Oaktroll]

My theory is the nursey pines are well fertilized and where growing under ideal pH, etc. This makes them deer candy when you first plant them. I have found after the first year they don't hit them as hard. I use spray repelent with good results for the first year or 2 and haven't seemed to have any problems after that.

 

[Fish]

They have eaten my pitchXlob pines down to nubs at Little Blue. Virginia's too. I have gone to planting them in brushpiles or not at all.

 

[Brushpile]

I have been trying to post pics, but my system is slow. Okay. protect the central leader with window screen caps. Deer can eat the rest of the tree so long as the leader is protected. Loblolly x Pitch can be browsed to the ground and will come back. Capping absolutely works!

 

[Brushpile]

Not White Pine but the principle is the same. In this case the leader is browsed.

I have selected a branch to be the new leader.

Here I am stapling on the window screen to erect the new leader.

Catch a few needles with the staples to hold the screen in place, and you're done. Takes about 10 seconds!

 

[Brushpile]

Not White Pine but the principle is the same. In this case the leader is browsed.

I have selected a branch to be the new leader.

Here I am stapling on the window screen to erect the new leader.

Catch a few needles with the staples to hold the screen in place, and you're done. Takes about 10 seconds!

 

[Brushpile]

Deer can eat everything that isn't capped and all of the energy will go to growing the capped leader! So, capping absolutely works!!!

 

[Brushpile]

Occasionally a deer will browse a capped tree. The tree is never damaged and the deer learns that window screen is not good!

 

[Brushpile]

Pines need to be capped until they are about 6' tall.

http://s291.photobucket.com/user/brushpile/media/IMG_1128.jpg.html?sort=2&o=1192

 

[Brushpile]

Capped White Pine.

 

[buckhunter10]

Capped White Pine.

brush I have looked into this a lot. My question is can you cap them when they are just little plugs?

 

[Brushpile]

The pines should be fine when they are planted in the Spring. I have never had a problem with seedlings being browsed during the growing season. I apply caps about the time trees go dormant in September/October, and remove the caps at green-up in the Spring. Repeat the process until the tree is 5-6 feet tall. Also plant extra trees with attrition in mind

 

[kansas-Andres]

Deer will eat white pines in the winter if they are unprotected......I wont go as far as saying they seek them out, but If there is snow on and they wander by.....they will chomp it!

^^^^ I've observed the exact same thing on my property. Some years we've had plenty of food available but they still nip at the white pines.

 

[Brushpile]

There is something deer like about the leader on a pine; it's my guess that the leader is rich in nutrients.