Another thing on pecans. Some of the best selections for yard trees, low input/scab and aphid resistant, are selections from seedlings. McMillan comes to mind.
Most of the big papershell fancy halves varieties need more input such as spraying, shaking, hedging, etc to be their best.

I was told the best time to plant a tree was yesterday. Any time you can get a potted tree in the ground is good. When I started planting trees, I was told twice as wide and twice as deep. Now, the recommendation is same depth as the pot, but double the width. I like a ragged, star shaped hole at least 4 ft in diameter so the roots have soft soil to grow into in the next few years. Haven’t lost a tree yet.

My neighbor dug a small hole barely larger then the pot the tree was in and ten years laters it died. The roots never got out of the hole, just keep circling until it choked out.

Got a few small oaks in containers. I'll plant them in early Sept

bears too!

It's getting to be that time of year again..transplanting trees. I like to find areas where they are unnecessarily thick, & fill gaps around my property.. plus I favor tree diversity, to lessen the risk of losing my forest to a disease. That, & our DNR nursery requires mininum order qty's that are too high for me.

I got 140 red pines planted this week. I ordered them on the 13th & they arrived on the 26th. I recommend Paint Creek Nursery in Caddott, Wi. This is my 1st time ordering from them. I am impressed. I enjoy planting trees. This weekend I'll plant American Plums & black walnut, but I have to do a little research. I've never planted either of those species. Figuring out the spacing & keeping deer away from the 6 plums may be a challenge. The 2 walnuts I am going to try planting from seed, just for something different. Painted Creek doesn't have minimum order qty's like DNR, & the trees look great (@ a good [$] deal). I've tried Arbor Day Foundation in the past but have had bad luck w/ them. Plum trees are sometimes hard to find, too.

Last weekend I transplanted 30 jackpine. I have 1 spot w/ some sandy soil.

Last year I planted some white spruce. I heard they are quite deer resistant, but it appears the deer found the ones I planted.

With all the pests targeting trees, I'm going for diversity on my property.

I put out 150 Red Pine seedlings last weekend, at the hunting land/camp, and felt it in my knees and shoulders till mid week. This weekend I will plant 50 white spruce along with 25 white cedars in a damp area next to our lake, The lake area was white ash, killed by the emerald ash borer bug a few years back. The dead ash have been picked over for firewood, still some there but the trunks are getting punky. Time to give up on those. Lost about 5 acres of ash right up to the shoreline. I plant black walnuts like a squirrel does. Kick a depression with my heel, drop in the nut with husk, kick duff over it and press in with body weight. Black walnuts need to freeze to crack shell seam to sprout. I have good results with the walnuts. In my life I have never seen so much disease and pests causing tree mortality. Between Oak Blight, Emarald Ash borer, Gypsie Moths, Pine bud beetles......All invasives from other countries.

Cedar and apples need to be Not near each other

Cedar apple rust

Yes, and they do well if you can keep the tree rats out of them. I buy pecans at the grocery store bulk bin, and stick 'em in the freezer till spring and shove them in a bucket of potting soil.

Planted 25 White oak and 25 Black Cherry yesterday with my son. 25 tamarack are waiting but will need to transplant in the fall when the swamp is drier

EDIT: This is the situation here in my area based upon my experience in this market. Your situation may vary.
Red Pine trees are usually not a good variety to plant except for basic soil erosion prevention. They have little value for anything else and no value for lumber. They are good for pulp when transportation is minimal. I have thousands that were planted for erosion control only because they were free. I did not plant the red pines - someone else owned the land back then. White pine seedlings at the time we’re about 5 cents per tree. Something else would have looked better, lived longer, and created economic value.

Where did you find black cherries that will grow in zone 4?

Cedar apple rust requires a member of the juniper family for transmission, not the more traditional cedars (Thuja).



Remember, he’s not in Ohio. Red pine is valuable around here and used for lumber all the time. It can also produce utility poles which pay quite nicely.

Clark....which trees ...Cedar will grow in or next to my Swamp

That won't harm my Apple trees

I had one of those Tree assessment plans done in 1998 or so and I wanted cedars....the guy said No if I wanted Apples.

Too bad they could be 20 years old already.

Do you buy timber? LOL I buy 3 to 5 tandems a day of red pine, and only red pine, to feed my fence post mill. We spin out a 8 foot by 4, 5, or 6 every 7.5 seconds. Into the kiln then pressure treatment vessel. I culled out 10 in and bigger by 12 foot logs and sold them for $180 a cord, I had 60 cord. My pressure treated posts are sold at Tractor supply, Home Depot, Lowes. I also sell to Hops farms, Ginseng farms, Pot farms and the orchards. I pay $150 per cord for 8 foot Red Pine up to 10 inch in diameter. Red Pine are very valuable to me and many mills in northern Michigan.

I have natural, thick northern white cedar swamp of about 60 acres within 200 yards of my 14 tree orchard, never had a problem.

330 - Our native white cedar is Thuja, not Juniperus, so it’s fine around apples. Although you are far enough south that you could have eastern red cedar which is Juniperus and that will transmit cedar apple rust.

My dad called it the $1 tree and $5 hole. Of course he was born 1910 so things were cheaper.

Thanks Clark
Is white cedar slow or fast growing?

Is Tamarac sold as seedlings here?

I have 600 seedlings to put in, 100 each of sawtooth oak, Hawthorne, pin oak, spruce, locust and red oak.