Common Tree Planting mistakes
Here is a person using a weed wacker to control vegetation around the trees. DO NOT do this! The thin bark at the base of the trees will be damaged and removed and the tree will die.
Here is a Norway Spruce that has a mulberry tree growing up the middle of the tree. This is a very common occurrence in windbreaks as birds bring in seeds and they start growing. If left, this mulberry will eventually kill the Norway Spruce. Cut the mulberry off at ground level and apply any number of safe herbicides that can be used to kill undesirable trees growing in your windbreak. We can advise you on this.
Do not ever use any product that has Tordon around your trees.
Here is a White Pine with grass growing around the base of the tree. DO NOT let any vegetation grow within 2 ft of your trees the first 5 years. Grass takes all moisture from the tree and growth rates are reduced significantly. We advise using herbicides to control this vegetation and can advise you on the proper and safe ones to use.
Here is damage done from a buck deer rubbing his antlers, to avoid damage, reduce the numbers of destructive animals (rabbits, deer, pocket gofers) and take action to prevent damage in the future. We can advise on different steps to take.
Here is a row of shrubs that were planted 10 ft from a row of Norway spruce. They were the old fashioned lilac and they quickly spread by suckers in the Norway spruce area. The Norway spruce responded by losing there bottom branches, and now the wind is beginning to blow right threw the bottom of the windbreak. This is one reason I am not a big fan of planting deciduous shrubs in a windbreak as this can happen if planted closer than 20 from the trees. Deciduous shrubs in the winter without their leaves provides only a 15% reduction in wind velocity, were any evergreen provide over a 50% reduction in winds.
Here is a row of Norway Spruce planted 6 ft apart, they are now over 12 ft tall and are beginning to thin out at the bottom of the plant. This is so they can keep the top growing and not be shaded out as in nature. At this time every other one of these trees should be removed. Simply cut them off at ground level, and the trees left with the new sunlight and moisture will keep the bottom limbs from dieing on the ones that are left.
Here is a picture of a windbreak with the two smaller trees in the middle. The one on the left is 6 ft tall and the one on the right is 8ft tall, these trees are 28 years old, as I planted them myself. These are Douglas Fir planted in a heavy clay soil that was along a gravel road and the soil PH in this area is over 8.5. I wanted to show this picture to show what happens when the wrong trees is planted in the wrong site. Many kinds of trees will grow in this area and do well, so plan carefully when selecting your trees for a certain area, especially along gravel roads.
