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watering red cedars

hillrunner

hillrunner

PMA Member
I searched a few posts but I cant seem to find any references to watering trees. I'm wondering how often, if at all it is recommended to water red cedar seedlings ?
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">is recommended to water red cedar seedlings </div></div>

If your getting as much rain up there as we are down here...no need to worry about it! /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif

1-2" of rain due in here between Tuesday and Thursday, no worries about watering trees for now.

All the seedling I have ever planted...watering was never an option and red cedars are pretty tough trees, capable of sprouting up in a CRP field on a clay knob somewhere and surviving just fine.

If they are in your back yard with in reach of the garden hose...that's another story... /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif
 
After working at my families tree farm for a few years when i was younger, I will never plant a cedar or pine in the spring again.

Ours we had to water once a week once summer started coming. Alot of them died.

My suggestion for planting these is to only plant them in the fall for future reference. Saves alot on water and time. Plus they seem to come out much healthier.
 
Really? Is planting red cedars in the fall a good idea.? I planted a fruit tree in the fall once and it died. Figured it would not have time to stand up for winter aND it didn't. I know Cedars are tough so maybe coming winter is not so big a deal? Have you had experience planting them in fall. I have planted 500 in spring and had almost 1005 survival.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Is planting red cedars in the fall a good idea.?</div></div>

Fall is a great time to plant trees and like TallTines I've planted plenty of them with far less mortality. Usually it's difficult to get seedlings in the fall but I have been able to purchase some conifers in the past.

The problem with fall planting is that it most likely will be right during prime deer hunting so most people aren't going to be interested

If seedlings are planted properly in the spring, especially red cedars then water shouldn't be a problem. Mortality often occurs because roots are not covered/packed properly especially when using a mechanical tree planter in heavy clay ground.

The top area may appear to have sealed but underneath is a big pocket of air which spells certain doom for new seedlings. We always have someone walk behind and tamp the ground tight.

Look at the length of your tree seedling roots...then dig down this summer and see if the ground is moist or not. If watering is possible...go for it however /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif
 
thanks guys. I put in 500 red cedars about a week and a half ago. I have an old 300 gallon sprayer I was going to strip down , and attach a nozzle out the bottom for watering trees. My biggest problem is time , or a lack of it. If I can get by without regularly watering it would be great. I may still water em a couple of times during the dry months .
 
Another problem with fall planting,, and I just remembered now why I don't do it is that you will have nice tender young seedlings ready for the deer to nip all winter. In the spring green up deer will seek the new green veg and leave the trees alone for the most part. They will get the whole summer to grow unmolested. Now I've answered my own question.
 
I don't know if guys would want to try this on their hunting farms where they are planting trees but when the deer started to rub our trees on the tree farm real bad we took soap on a rope and put that on the barrier of all the trees.

The bucks did not rub nearly as many trees after that, but then again the deer density is not to high there either.
 
Anybody who knows much about planting trees knows that the fall is the best time. I am not trying to sound like a smart a$$ but in the fall the trees are going dormant. Hardwoods are losing there leaves and evergreens are at a stand still. Therefore if they get planted during this time they have no idea they were moved because they are not producing or under any stress. They wake up in there new home next spring a are a live and ready to go.

In the spring trees are starting to bud, growing new roots and under a lot of stress just trying to grow. If you plant them somewhere new they have to get used to the area and try to make it through all the stress of getting uprooted moved around and replanted. Not to mention competing for water from all the grasses and weeds around the area.

Now dont get me wrong it is ok to plant trees in the spring but if I were a betting man I would put money on the fall planted tree anyday.
 
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