Planting pine seedlings

[LeeB]

Lindy put in an order for a thousand seedlings and the should be on hand any itme now. I have done nothing to prepair to plant them nor do i have any clue as to how to go about it. I don't really want to plant a large stand. I would actually prefer to have them scattered about the place. We have about 140 acres with probably 135 allready covered in oak, hickory and cedar. Any advice guys?

[Larry]

Hope you have something besides rocks to plant em in.  I put in 50 this spring and got another 75 coming next spring.  I'm still trying to finger out if it is easier with the digging bar, or the pick ax...maybe next spring I'll try dynamite. ;D  Out of the 50 the deer ate the tops out of...50.  They still look good though and made outstanding growth this year.

[LeeB]

Some places have a little dirt and some have a little rock. I told Lindy the deer wood eat a lot of them and she just wouldn't believe me. She also ordered 100 pecan, 100 mulberry and 100 Tupelo oak. No idea where I gonna plant all this stuff.

[Tom]

100 mulberry!!
You're going to be the State Agent for Mulberry.  Not only is that a lot to plant, but those that you do plant will create a bunch more one day.  Maybe they grow differently in Arkansas.  In Florida, every wet spot grows either mulberry or chinese tallow.  ..or both.

If you aren't wanting a bunch of pines, plant them thick and then, after a couple or three years, thin them out.  If you want sporadic placement, plant 5 in an area to get one or two.  Put'em maybe 3 or four feet apart and maybe one or two will survive the deer.Ultimately, 20 foot spacing is optimum for a mature pine, but as little as 10 will produce a good tree, especially if there is no other great competition for crown space. (Opinion not science.)

[LeeB]

I have neither seen nor heard of any mulberry any where around, so I can't say how they will do. What kind of sun will the pine require? As I said, most of the place is already  heavily wooded.

[Tom]

full sun for pine. 
A pickaxe works pretty good for a dibble.  Open a hole that is deep enough for the tap root to point straight down without bending back up and for the root crown to be at ground level, or just below. The way I do it is to run the seedling way down into the hole and then pull it back up to the proper level to straighten the taproot.  A "J" rooted seedling will not grow very good and will be slow at best. Use the dibble to close the hole by driving it in next to the original hole and then pushing down or lifting it to close the hole around the roots from the bottom up. You don't want air pockets.  Heeling it in as a last measure is good too.

Some folks root prune their seedlings to help prevent "J" rooting.  I don't like it.

[Dodgy Loner]

Tom's right about the full sun.  Pine trees don't like shade.  If your land is forested, that should narrow down your choice of sites considerably .

[Lanier_Lurker]

What is a tupelo oak?

[SwampDonkey]

I love planting pine, red or white is pretty much what is native in my area. Jack is more to the east half of the province in sandy ground. Red only grows natural where we have red soil, but we have planted a lot of old field in red pine, a little bit in cut over to. The worst thing about pine for me though is the cursed moose, they will destroy a place. I would like to plant 1000 white spruce this spring on a spot that hasn't a tree. I plan on planting them thick, about every step. The curses hare are so hard on them when under 3 feet. Some will be just a twig by the time them buggers nibble every thing green off them including the top. Only takes 2 or three of them to ruin a small area because they don't travel too far.

As Tom says, you don't want a J-rooted tree. Don't stuff the roots in a hole like stuffing a cat in a grocery bag. I assume your planting bare-root, that's the best for open country that might get tall weedy vegetation crowding the trees. Sounds like you should plant thick as well. I remember one red pine plantation planted on a field and the cursed deer pulled them all out trying to break off the new shoots. Another site the moose did the same pulling on spruce seedlings in a cut over. The hole was there but the tree was laying on the ground like the tree planter didn't stick them in.  :

[LeeB]

What is a tupelo oak?

Oops, Water Tupelo.

[Banjo picker]

If the pines are not planted on at least a 10 foot grid, they will have so many limbs they will not be worth a lot from a commerical viewpoint.  Start out thick then thin them out in 15 or 20 years and let the remainder make some good timber.

I'll bite what is a water Tupelo.  I live about 60 miles from Tupelo, we have a Tupelo gum around here.  Tim

[LeeB]

I dunno. Lindy ordered them from the state. She didn't consult with me as to what might grow in our area or what I might want.  >:(  :D

[SwampDonkey]

A take charge kinda gal. 

[LeeB]

I'm gone a lot so she has to be.