thetrooper
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Post by thetrooper on Dec 25, 2021 11:45:55 GMT -6
What is the most durable pine tree someone can plant? I have a small section of road that i need to screen. It is on the side of a very steep slope so it is well drained soil. I wont be able to tend to these as well as i would like so I need a tough guy. I'm already planting red cedars on the top and the deer dont mess with those, but I've had trouble with spruce getting eaten by deer. There's really only a handful of pine trees in the whole area and I dont usually mess with conifers besides cedars. I was surprised to see our deer eating spruce trees so what is the best as far as deer resistance? Do you have a photo of this location?
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Post by loshonhora on Dec 25, 2021 11:54:23 GMT -6
So, if they don't mess with cedars, why not more cedars? Not trying to be a smartass...
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Post by nhmountains on Dec 26, 2021 6:35:23 GMT -6
Do you have a photo of this location? That’s a tough spot because there’s not a lot of sunlight. Are you wanting the screen to protect against poachers or to block your approach there? Or is it to act as a funnel? I think without sunlight whatever you plant will struggle. The lower limbs of whatever you grow may self prune as the top grows and fights for light. You could run two strips of fencing along there to protect whatever you plant. Hemlock grows well here in NH with moist soil and along my trails but, again it’ll eventually self prune lower branches.
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thetrooper
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Post by thetrooper on Dec 26, 2021 9:11:56 GMT -6
So, if they don't mess with cedars, why not more cedars? Not trying to be a smartass... I wanted to put some pine on the slopes because they get significantly taller than ERC and when they lose the lower limbs the tops will still be at the road level. I am doing a row of ERC right off the road the pines just on the slope. I'm afraid in 10 years they might grow too fat and too far into my road so I can cut them out and have a few more layers of pine behind them.
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thetrooper
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Post by thetrooper on Dec 26, 2021 9:17:22 GMT -6
Nhmountians- I want to screen it for my own access. It's right off that slope is a bottom. It's the mouth of a big valley. Very exposed when walking that route. I though it would fill in with brush over the years but come winter and Leaf drop it's still quite exposed. Was thinking about dropping/hinging some of those trees so that there is sunlight, partially screening being cut down and then also the dead brush could cage the pines on the slope. What do you think?
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Post by loshonhora on Dec 26, 2021 9:46:24 GMT -6
If you drop enough trees to get enough light for pines, the you might want to consider adding a double row of miscanthus right long the edge of the road to your plan. You'll have a good screen in 3 years with the pines coming up long term.
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Post by nhmountains on Dec 26, 2021 10:05:17 GMT -6
Nhmountians- I want to screen it for my own access. It's right off that slope is a bottom. It's the mouth of a big valley. Very exposed when walking that route. I though it would fill in with brush over the years but come winter and Leaf drop it's still quite exposed. Was thinking about dropping/hinging some of those trees so that there is sunlight, partially screening being cut down and then also the dead brush could cage the pines on the slope. What do you think? I know your deer seasons there are different than a lot of us. Would you be hunting that from September through January or just early, or late, etc? Once leaves drop do the deer there change their travel in that area? Here in NH they do but, I noticed the deer on the property we hunted in Ohio this fall had no problems going through open hardwoods.
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Post by nhmountains on Dec 26, 2021 10:06:19 GMT -6
If you drop enough trees to get enough light for pines, the you might want to consider adding a double row of miscanthus right long the edge of the road to your plan. You'll have a good screen in 3 years with the pines coming up long term. I was thinking this same thing but, wasn’t sure if he’d be willing to drop a lot of trees to get more light.
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Post by smsmith on Dec 26, 2021 10:08:54 GMT -6
Miscanthus is great stuff from zone 5 south.
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Post by nhmountains on Dec 26, 2021 10:17:04 GMT -6
Miscanthus is great stuff from zone 5 south. We saw a ton of fields with Egyptian wheat with travel lanes cut through them when traveling through upstate New York on I90. They looked high enough that they’d provide screening as well. I’m not sure if it was for bedding, screens, or feed?
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thetrooper
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Post by thetrooper on Dec 26, 2021 11:55:47 GMT -6
Yeah idk if I'd be able to get miscanthus quality light that would be topping a lot of trees off
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Post by Sandbur on Dec 26, 2021 12:00:36 GMT -6
Nhmountians- I want to screen it for my own access. It's right off that slope is a bottom. It's the mouth of a big valley. Very exposed when walking that route. I though it would fill in with brush over the years but come winter and Leaf drop it's still quite exposed. Was thinking about dropping/hinging some of those trees so that there is sunlight, partially screening being cut down and then also the dead brush could cage the pines on the slope. What do you think? Can you change your access? If you are walking this route, open up the ditch on the opposite side of the road and walk the bottom of the ditch.
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thetrooper
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Post by thetrooper on Dec 26, 2021 12:26:09 GMT -6
Nhmountians- I want to screen it for my own access. It's right off that slope is a bottom. It's the mouth of a big valley. Very exposed when walking that route. I though it would fill in with brush over the years but come winter and Leaf drop it's still quite exposed. Was thinking about dropping/hinging some of those trees so that there is sunlight, partially screening being cut down and then also the dead brush could cage the pines on the slope. What do you think? I know your deer seasons there are different than a lot of us. Would you be hunting that from September through January or just early, or late, etc? Once leaves drop do the deer there change their travel in that area? Here in NH they do but, I noticed the deer on the property we hunted in Ohio this fall had no problems going through open hardwoods. We hunt sept 26-feb 6. Usually that's only a handful of hunts over an entire season. I try to leave the deer alone as soon as my plots and work is done from late Aug/early sept all the way til early Feb when the season ends. The deer travel habits change a little bit due to rut and local pressure but the density is so high here that it's pretty consistent. My farm is split in two by this valley so it's almost like 2 separate herds. Obviously there is carryover between the two sides but I usually have separate doe family groups on either side and bucks that favor one side to the other. Access is just hard because on the total farm there is usually 30-40+ antlerless deer 5-10 small and mid level bucks and 1-3 tanks running around. My propert has very little open hardwoods and I dont ever hunt in the inner core areas so I don't know how they move through the open hardwood to be honest. I usually hunt the edges and food sources
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thetrooper
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Posts: 106
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Post by thetrooper on Dec 26, 2021 12:30:55 GMT -6
Nhmountians- I want to screen it for my own access. It's right off that slope is a bottom. It's the mouth of a big valley. Very exposed when walking that route. I though it would fill in with brush over the years but come winter and Leaf drop it's still quite exposed. Was thinking about dropping/hinging some of those trees so that there is sunlight, partially screening being cut down and then also the dead brush could cage the pines on the slope. What do you think? Can you change your access? If you are walking this route, open up the ditch on the opposite side of the road and walk the bottom of the ditch. If I hunt the northern part of the farm i dont have to go anywhere near that road but if I want to hunt the south side I have to use that road... or go through the valley in some way which I dont usually do because its loaded with deer
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Post by Sandbur on Dec 26, 2021 12:58:32 GMT -6
Can you change your access? If you are walking this route, open up the ditch on the opposite side of the road and walk the bottom of the ditch. If I hunt the northern part of the farm i dont have to go anywhere near that road but if I want to hunt the south side I have to use that road... or go through the valley in some way which I dont usually do because its loaded with deer . Is the road high enough to act like a berm to block view of your access via the ditch? Or push up a dirt berm?
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