Is a deciduous fast growing shade or windbreak tree that can grow 6-10 ft per year,
and after 7 years top out at 40 ft. No competition from grass and weeds and adequate moisture is necessary for rapid growth.
One row planted 4 to 10 ft apart will give an effective windbreak, screen and
snow catch in just a couple of years. Our favorite spacing is a double row
spaced 8 ft apart in the row and 8 ft between rows. With our 8X8 spacing we show
a 25% reduction in the wind during the winter with no leaves. They get
leaves on in early April and hold them until the middle of Nov. here in Iowa so
offer a great windbreak during this time period. More rows with wider spacing would be even
better. The Austrees to the right in the picture are a double row 4 years old from a
potted plant. A 5-8 ft potted tree will usually be 12 ft tall by the fall
of the first year it is in the ground. We sell and plant potted Austrees anytime
the ground is not frozen (March-December).
. The branches are very flexible and not brittle like other willows so we rarely see any branch breaking in high winds
or ice storms (see picture below). They do not spread by suckers or seed like other willows can.
At this time the long-term life of these plants are not known but we have seen
some 20 years old and they still look good. I always suggest planting
evergreen trees on the inside of the Austrees so you do have better windbreak protection in
the winter and long term. We have shown a 20% faster growth on evergreens
planted inside of the Austrees in a windbreak. It appears that the
Austrees with there leaves on in the early spring help by keeping the wind off
of the new growth, protecting the evergreens from the strong spring winds that
can damage the new growth.
We also do like to plant an Austree 6 ft from the last evergreen in our windbreak rows and some in the middle of our newly planted windbreak. The buck deer in the fall
(Sep- Dec.) will first come into your windbreak and “attack” with their horns
these 8ft tall flexible trees and destroy them instead of your valuable
evergreens. The below tree has had this happen. The following spring
cut the Austrees off 1 ft from the ground and they will re-grow and be ready in the fall for the next round of buck deer rubs, do this every year. After the evergreens are
10 ft+ tall you can cut off the Austrees used for deer protection, in the fall
at ground level, apply roundup to the stump and remove the above ground part from your windbreak.
No reason to remove the roots as they will rot away in just a couple of years.
These Austrees had 1 inch of ice on them.
After the ice melted, they spring back up and no branches were broken.
