4ft Tree Tubes - Still the "workhorse" tree tube height

Recent years has seen a skewing of tree tube sales from 3ft and 4ft heights to 5ft and even 6ft heights.  This is indicative of two factors:

1) The deer population continues to grow virtually unchecked, putting more and higher browse pressure on tree seedlings.

2) Tree tubes are increasingly being used by sportsmen to improve wildlife habitat which means

• They really care about the success of each individual tree, and the speed with which it will begin producing mast
• They are planting tree species that are especially attractive to deer like fruit and nut trees
• They are planting in places with high concentrations of (hopefully!) very large deer

In light of these trends it's not surprising to see an up-tick in the market share of 5ft tree tubes.  However, it's important to note that 4ft tree tubes still represent by far the lion's share of the tree tube market.  The 4ft tree tube is still the workhorse product that's getting it done, especially on large scale projects.

The reason is simple:  In the majority of cases 4ft tubes provide all of the deer browse protection needed for success.  Wilson Forestry Supply's web site puts it in perspective well:

• 4ft Tubex Combitube Plus Tree Tubes provide enough protection to grow trees past the deer browse line about 75% of the time.  Deer can browse trees emerging from 4ft tree tubes.  In most cases the tree will have enough stored energy to send a rapid growth shoot past the deer browse line.  However, in some areas deer will repeatedly browse trees as they emerge from 4ft tree tubes, not allowing them to grow taller.  In these cases the protection of the 4ft tube can be supplemented either with deer repellent or a 2ft Tubextender kit (sold separately).
• 5ft Tubex Combitube Plus Tree Tubes provide enough protection from deer approximately 90% of the time.  In areas with extremely high deer densities, the deer can browse trees as they emerge from 5ft tree tubes.  Cases of deer browsing trees emerging from 5ft tree tubes are most common with fruit trees such as apples, crabapples, pear, etc.
• 6ft Tubex Combitube Plus Tree Tubes provide enough protection from deer 99.87% of the time (OK, we made that up, but 6ft tubes are as close to complete deer protection as you can get).

 All tree planters have a limited, finite budget.  All tree planters want to accomplish as much as possible within that budget.  Given that, and in the face of deer browse pressure, there are two entirely reasonable approaches, both of which end with success:

1) Use 4ft Tree Tubes to optimize the number of seedlings you can plant and protect within your budget.  Then, if the trees get browsed heavily upon emergence from the tubes, supplement the browse protection with either a deer repellent or a 2ft Tree Tube Extender.  This is a way to spread out the cost over a span of a few years.

2) Use 5ft Tree Tubes and protect a smaller number of seedlings within your budget, but know with (almost) certainty that you will not have to supplement that level of deer browse protection.

Actually, there's a third way - one which probably makes the most sense of all:  Strategic deployment of 5ft or 6ft tubes.  If you are planting a field of trees, the deer do not browse them equally.  They hit certain species (fruit trees in particular, such as crab apples) harder than others.  They browse more heavily along creeks and alongside woods and cover.  A very effective strategy is to use 5ft or 6ft tree tubes on trees that are the most "at risk" based on species or location, and 4ft tubes on the rest.

This argues heavily in favor of choosing a tree tube supplier that offers a range of sizes and lets you order any quantity of mixed sizes, so that you can customize your planting to your exact needs, budget and goals.

Tree Tubes on American Chestnut Trees #3

To quickly review:  When tree tubes arrived in the USA from the UK in the late 1980s, people dedicated to the restoration of the American chestnut were quick to recognize the potential benefits.  Unfortunately, the performance of tree tubes on American chestnut seedlings didn't fulfill the promise.  Chestnut seedlings grown in the old, unvented tree tubes suffered from frost damage due to improper hardening off for winter, and grow spindly trunks with a corkscrew growth habit.

That was then, this is now.  Over the last decade advancements in tree tube design and Best Practice recommendations - most notably the introduction of vented tree tubes and the widespread adoption of flexible PVC tree tube stakes - have dramatically improved the performance of tree tubes on American chestnut seedlings.

A grower in Mississippi recently texted these photos and messages:

Text message:  Here's a friend of my standing beside the tallest tree. It's above 7-1/2 feet. Completely straight and stiff, it is not spindly. This is a ten month old 100% American chestnut. Growing in a 5 foot Tubex (Combitube Tree Tube), it was planted in July.

Here's the other photo he sent:

Text message:  Here's another. A little over 5 feet and straight. 

There is no project in all of forestry and ecological restoration more important than the restoration of the American chestnut to its rightful throne as king of the Eastern hardwood forest.  It is a test of our collective resolve, of our willingness and ability to undo some of the damage we have wrought (chestnut blight was unleashed in the USA after entering the country in infected - but co-evolutionarily immune - Chinese chestnut planting stock).

Tree tubes have always held the promise of being a powerful arrow in the quiver of restoration ecologists.  Design improvements made over the past decade mean that tree tubes are now fully able to fulfill that promise.

Tree Tubes on American Chestnut Trees #2

This is the second in what will be an ongoing series of posts on the effectiveness of tree tubes on American chestnut trees.  To find the others, type chestnuts into the search bar.

A private landowner and American chestnut enthusiast in Mississippi purchased some 100% American chestnut seed last winter, and sowed the seeds in root pruning pots, grew them into 12 to 18 inch seedlings, and the planted them on his property.

While the seeds were getting started he researched tree tubes, knowing that upon planting his seedlings would immediately be subject to heavy deer pressure.  He contacted experts with the various chestnut restoration organizations for advice.  He was universally told that 4ft and 5ft tree tubes don't work well with American chestnuts.  The recommended method of establishment was either to use a 2ft tree tube (for rodent protection and initial moisture stress reduction) coupled with a wire cage for deer browse protection.

As we have discussed the basis of this recommendation was the poor results experienced by chestnut growers 15 to 20 years ago with the old, unvented, small diameter tree tubes sold at that time.  A 'corkscrew' or spiral growth habit of American chestnuts growing in tree tubes was a complaint back then, as was winter injury or die-back.

This gentlemen also discussed the issue with reputable sellers of today's vented tree tubes, and of course got a completely different story; he was told how the problems cited by chestnut experts harken back to earlier tree tube designs, and that results on chestnut with the vented tubes sold for the last 10 years have been excellent.

It was the typical conundrum for a private landowner and hobbyist:  Ask 10 foresters for advice and get 24 different - and often completely conflicting - answers.  Who to believe?  Luckily, this landowner did what so many other dedicated tree planters have done:  He didn't believe anyone, and put both methods to the test.

The upshot after nearly one full growing season:  "Tree tubes for American chestnuts should be 5 foot and trees should be above the tubes by August.  I really like the way the seem to help manage moisture."

Click the photo to enlarge.  The photo above is of his 'prize' American chestnut tree: Planted as an 18 inch seedling in spring 2013, photo taken Labor Day, 2013 with the tree now 2 feet beyond the top of a 5ft tree tube.

Asked about spiraling growth of American chestnuts in tree tubes he wrote, "The spiraling wasn't significant and now the trees have emerged straight as an arrow."

Here's another American chestnut tree emerging from a 5ft tree tube in the first season - note the very straight growth habit.  Click to enlarge to see the venting pattern on the tree tube.

The trees grown in 3ft tree tubes within wire cages also did well, but...

1) Aren't nearly as tall as those grown in 5ft tree tubes.

2) The wire cages for deer browse protection are an unnecessary added hassle and expense as compared to using the 5ft tree tubes which provide increased survival, faster height growth and deer browse protection.

Results like these show why a sea change among American chestnut enthusiasts. 

The "old" recommendation of using a 2 or 3ft tree tube along with a wire mesh enclosure for deer browse protection was based on a recognition of the effectiveness of tree tubes for rodent protection and increased seedling survival rates, but were also based on the negative results experienced when using the old unvented 4ft and 5ft tree tubes.

American chestnut planters using the newer vented tree tubes are seeing excellent results - and tree tubes are now fulfilling their promise as an indispensable tool in the monumental effort to restore the American chestnut to its rightful place in our Eastern hardwood forests.

When to remove tree tubes

Probably the biggest area of confusion about using tree tubes is when to remove them.  The most frequent mistake tree planters make when using tree tubes is removing them too soon, before they have completed their task of successfully establishing a tree.

There has been a lot of discussion about this issue recently on sportsman's online forums.  A common complaint seems to be that the tree planter, eager to remove (and perhaps reuse) the tree tubes, removes them as soon as the trees emerge from the tubes - only to find that the trees are not fully self-supporting.  They "flop over."

Tree tubes designed to fulfill three functions at different stages of a seedling's development.

1) Establishment - tree tubes protect newly planted seedlings from deer, rabbit and rodent damage, reduce moisture stress to dramatically increase survival rates and accelerate growth, and shield them from herbicide spray and/or mowers to make weed control fast and easy (or even, in many cases, possible).

2) Support - the introduction of vented tree tubes and the adoption of flexible tree tube stakes such as pvc conduit has resulted in a dramatic increase in the stem diameter of trees when the emerge from tree tubes.  However, since we're still talking about growing a tree up through an enclosed space to rapidly pierce the browse line, trees that have recently emerged from tree tubes are quite thin-stemmed relative to their height.

That's why tree tubes - at least good tree tubes - are designed to last several years.  When the tree emerges the tree tubes assumes a new role, that of trunk support.  Tree tubes are meant to be left in place to support the tree while the newly emerged canopy sways in the wind and the trunk rapidly gains caliper.

3) Trunk/Bark Protection - A year or two after emerging from the tree tube the tree will be completely self supporting.  Even then the tree tube still has a role to play in the successful long term establishment of the tree.  Bucks love to scrape and rub their antlers against springy saplings.  Rodent still gnaw on the tender bark of young trees.  Treeshelters protect the trunk of the newly established tree from these dangers.

To gain the full spectrum of benefits tree tubes can provide, they should be left on young trees until they reach about 3 inches in diameter at the base, at which point the tree tubes should be removed and properly disposed of or recycled.

Does that mean you can't reuse tree tubes?  Not at all.  Given the cost of tree tubes - and tree planting in general - and the fact that most folks are trying to achieve as much as they can within very limited planting budgets, it is natural to want to establish more than one tree with each tree tube.

In the next post we will cover three methods for reusing tree tubes, and weigh the risk and benefits of each.

Tree Tubes - defying predictions

People who have never tried tree tubes nearly always predict dire results, the most common of which is that the seedlings will "burn up" or "cook" inside the tree tubes.

Here's an interesting tree tube post about how this near-universal prediction has been proved wrong time and again.