Sitka Spruce?

[slowp]

I am wondering if any of you know how well Sitka Spruce will survive in the Randle, Packwood, Warshington area?
I want to plant cedar, and put a spruce in the same hole to discourage deer from munching the cedar. Do you think Sitka will live and grow long enough to get up to 3 or 4 feet high? That's when you lop it off and let the cedar grow.

Weyco is having a tree sale next weekend and Sitka is the only spruce they have on their list.

 

[chucker]

? would it not depend on the size of the planting's? as you know there are 3 types of planting's , seedlings, transplants and bush/sapling... with the seedlings probably not, but planting a transplant being older and larger(8" to 24") as a rule ... the larger transplant has all things in it's favor for growth! something I've done to help the bud to survive is to use poultry wire or netting to deture the split hoofed vermin from eating our white cedar......... or just eat more venison!








/

 

[slowp]

Cedar is deer candy. Hunting is restricted more here. I know what size of trees I will get, but Sitka Spruce is native to the coast. I'm inland about 100 miles and in the Cascade Foothills. I'm wondering if anybody has any experience growing it in my climate. It is the only spruce I see on their list.

I've had excellent results with planting trees from Weyco's nursery. I guess I'll have to try Sitka Spruce out if only Minnisodians know what grows here.

 

[chucker]

Cedar is deer candy. Hunting is restricted more here. I know what size of trees I will get, but Sitka Spruce is native to the coast. I'm inland about 100 miles and in the Cascade Foothills. I'm wondering if anybody has any experience growing it in my climate. It is the only spruce I see on their list.

I've had excellent results with planting trees from Weyco's nursery. I guess I'll have to try Sitka Spruce out if only Minnisodians know what grows here.

?? smart mouths mostly! it looks like while guessing, you asked for thoughts an you received..... lol

 

[northmanlogging]

Should do ok, they like it a little wet around here, but they get BIG fast, almost as fast as the cotton woods. Usually see em wild near swamps or river banks, when they get bigger the ceders grow up around them and push out the hemlocks, just my observations. I'm just a little north of ya, and it is a little wetter, but the temps are about on par.

Besides if my ma can keep redwoods alive in Darrington, you should be able to handle something a little more native.

 

[slowp]

Should do ok, they like it a little wet around here, but they get BIG fast, almost as fast as the cotton woods. Usually see em wild near swamps or river banks, when they get bigger the ceders grow up around them and push out the hemlocks, just my observations. I'm just a little north of ya, and it is a little wetter, but the temps are about on par.

Besides if my ma can keep redwoods alive in Darrington, you should be able to handle something a little more native.

That's what I wanted to know. Big fast is good, because they will be cut away when the cedars reach about 4 or 5 feet high. The purpose is to have poky, uncomfy sharp needles discouraging Bambi from munching on the deer candy.

The deer and elk will rip the velux tubes off. A friend of mine is trying netting, and the spruce thing, but that's a wetter site. I'm on top of a knob, but cottonwood and cedar are here naturally. I've ripped out a bunch of blackberries and have bare ground to start trees in.

 

[OlympicYJ]

The spruce will grow. On a dryer site they may lag behind the cedar. What size cedar seedlings you getting Miss P? I would try the mesh tubes and since it's not production planting I'd zip tie em on. I agree with the spruce planting method on production ground but I think you can keep the mesh tubes on. shoot do the spruce seedling and tube the sucker. I've had some luck with cedar plugs I planted along the driveway. Has bamboo in there and it keeps the deer off of em and provides nice shade too. Once they get tall enough I'll whack the bamboo down and hopefully they'll make it so acidic the bamboo won't grow.

 

[madhatte]

Spruce only find themselves competition-limited in a closed stand. A few solitary trees will do just fine.

 

[slowp]

I'm getting what they are selling on Saturday for a buck a tree. In past sales, they're bare root and about a foot high. They usually limit the amount of cedar you can buy to 20, which is plenty for my little area (of rocky ground.) My friend has a huge roll of the netting, and she is putting that on plus putting a spruce in the hole. I can get netting for free from her. I guess I will.

I've not had any trouble with deer, until the lady with all the annoying dogs died. The neighborhood is quieter, but I think her dogs must have had something to do with deer control. Plus, I'm planting farther away from the house although some beast stripped a couple of 4 foot tall cedars that I planted about 4 years ago in the front yard.

I am ripping out the lovely Himalayan Blackberries. For now, I've been piling the berry vines around the chewed on cedar seedlings. That's going to add to my yarding costs for the alder firewood I have lopped up. My hand cart skidder will have to park farther away.

Fun with mini-forestry, I guess.

 

[slowp]

This tree has been in the ground for two years, and was doing well until The Attack Of Bambi this year.


This one was planted here a year ago, and it also was growing well. Note the blackberry vines I threw on it.


The project area.


I just cleared blackberry vines off this strip of ground.

 

[slowp]

I'm also cleaning up. This area was a dumping ground for extra lumber. It was still in the plastic wrap, had come from the cedar mill, and was covered with blackberries and duff. It had become a carpenter ant motel. I burned most of it. Today, I hit the ground with my hoedad thinking there were more decomposing boards and heard the breaking sound of glass. Yup, the former occupants of this place had laid down a plate glass window, covered it with plywood, and left it. It too was covered in decomposing leaves and had blackberries on it.


A maple snag had also landed on the side. So, I started uncovering it and then ended up cutting the snag off, which was also on top of some of those concrete footings which were dumped there.

I dug and checked where I was going to cut, and got it off the window. Then the sky opened up, and I woosed out.

 

[Gologit]

Find any bones?

 

[slowp]

Find any bones?

Not yet. I'm getting closer to another mystery mound.

 

[northmanlogging]

Find any bones?

Those are in arlington under a garage... or kenniwick...

 

[slowp]

Those are in arlington under a garage... or kenniwick...

Or behind Wanapum Dam.

 

[madhatte]

Or on the back side of Cook's Hill behind Centralia.