Just wrapped up my bi-annual spraying around the base of the trees with glyphosate to keep the weeds kicked back. 4 gallon backpack sprayer x 3 to get everything completed. FUN

I don’t have any long term history with this other than planting a handful of things in the past with no tubes and having almost 100% failure.

Several observations - I’m running +95% survival rate on everything that I’ve put in except for persimmon, which seems to be around 60%. If they (persimmon) get through year 1, they absolutely take off though.

Spraying the leaves and outside / inside the tube with pesticide as soon as the leaves start in the Spring keeps the June bugs from eating the leaves back. This seemed to be an issue for first year plants only though.

The various crab pear and apple varieties were 2 yr old stock when I planted them and I started getting fruit after 1 year growth with trees being 3-6’ out of the top of the tube. Not all, but around 50%.

The chestnuts that were planted were 1 yr trees and I’ve got around 30% forming nut (pods?) in year 3. Mostly just 6-8 pods, but more than I would have thought that quickly.

I believe I’m North of 175 trees planted over the last 2 years. Multiple varieties of hard and soft mast. The tubes and the stakes are expensive. Basically spending 1.5 times the costs of the trees themselves, if not slightly more, but I won’t put another tree in the ground without them. This all assumes that I continue to keep this type of survival rate moving forward.

No. I bought it at ACE.

AJE, everything thing I looked at claimed the holes were needed to minimize moisture / condensate build-up and to allow for proper airflow to keep a multitude of deseases down. You might want to get some holes drilled. All of mine have slits in the top, middle and bottom, both sides.

Interesting. You're probably right.

It occurred to me that I think what I was using in this case is more for protecting the bark (trunk) of a little bit larger tree

Those of you using Plantra tubes, how many years do you expect out of them?
How many years does it take for the trees to grow out of the tubes on average? Have 1,000 trees I'm looking to put tubes on and am working the logistics of when to do my next 1,000 trees and if I'll need to buy more tubes.

I have trees that have the tubes on that are 5 years old, I will be removing the tubes this year and put fencing, around them , takes 3 full growing season up here to get trees out of the top of a 6 foot tube, I started with 4 foot tubes ,and the deer just eats the tops off , so when with 5 foot tubes, still had problems, so went to 6 footer's, I try just trees by them self, no tubes and after 3 years, they were only, 16-18 inches high, I like the tubes that have zip ties, much easier to take off.

I got my tubes today. 125 at 5'. New. The guy didn't use all ~1,000 he bought. $2 each. I'm not sure what brand they are but they're the ones sold by Yellow River Nursery

I make my own wood posts out of old deck boards.

They came with the zip ties.

the deer will leave the trees alone till Dec-April, thats when they hit them, when they are feeding mostly on woody browse.

great deal for you,

Yes, tree tubes are so expensive nowadays.

yes , they are but well worth it in my opinion, with the cost of tree and time to plant them, plus they act as a green house here and gives a few months more growing time,

Maybe I missed it but do you guys add some bark/mulch/sawdust around some of your prized young trees/shubs?

I got 60 planted this week.

Nice. Sounds impressive.

In Virginia, so I’m not sure how my growing season compares to those outside of the state. All of my 2 year old bare root trees whether fruit or mast tree were out of the top of the 5’ tube after one full year of growth.

All 1 year stock took 2 years with maybe 5% just poking out of the top in the first year.

I’ve got to assume that I have the best conditions possible as I planted in fields that have previously been farmed for +30 years and I’d have to imagine that the soil was better than in a cutover or elsewhere.

All trees were mulched heavy with a 3’ ring of mulch and I simply spray around the tube with glyphosate once in the Spring and again late summer.

I’m still learning myself as I’ve never had enough property until a few years ago to go at it at this scale, but I’m convinced that I won’t plant another tree outside of a pine without the tube. The Plantra tubes are perforated, which I’ve read to just leave on until the tree naturally grows big enough to burst it on its own, but I don’t think I’m going to go that route.

I hope this answers some of the questions I’ve seen and again, just my experience with the tubes so far.

The lack of competition with other plants makes a huge difference in growth rates and the mulching, probably because of the moisture held in, helps a lot too.

I just got in 50 Everest grape vines and hope to get about half of them put in that way. The others I'll pot up and sell to pay for the ones I am keeping.

Keith

I've never tried that. I'll consider it, thanks.

I'm replacing my tubes with wire fencing.
I have mice either chewing the existing vent holes open so they get in or just climbing up the stake then down inside the tube on the tree.
Every now and then the will girdle the tree so it resprouts and your starting over again.
I don't think they are actively chewing the bark for food just for something to do during those long winter nights.
Few of the trees with tubes were girdled.

Only issue with the wire fencing is during burns that have lots of fuel if enough debris isn't cleared away before burning or risk top killing the tree.
Woodlands with pretty much leaf litter its not an issue.
But about 2 years after the native grasses and forbs get thick due to thinning of the trees it can be an issue.
Then it resprouts and starts again.

Seems I can't win.
I'm looking to make some easy guard to place over the tree to reduce the heat when burning. Maybe a garbage can with the bottom cut out.
2-3 guards would be enough.

All my trees are either Burr Oak or White Oak.