Best way to protect young trees from deer?

2 stakes and a plastic tree protector is what they use, at the nurseries, round here...

The only way here is 3 or4 steel posts set round the trees then wrapped with the orange/green plastic snow fence.

bale of alfalfa and or food plot. Could pay dividends in November.

I would choose maybe white or black spruce vs white pine. The white pines don't have much of a chance against the deer. The spruce will do better in moist conditions also. As far as fruit trees go-put some kind of fence around them so the deer can't get to the branches. We don't worry to much about the other critters. Good luck. 

Here is my method, been working so far. The silver maples should be taller than the 6' fence this year. We will see if the swamp donkeys reach up and mow them off.

https://www.allischalmers.com/forum/search_results_posts.asp?SearchID=20190323063219&KW=2017

I use concrete reinforcing wire for tomato cages so I just make a few extra for the fruit trees. I build them like John does so they are easy to remove when the trees get larger. Most of the time I put one metal post or scrap water pipe in the ground to keep them in place.

These days I plant all mine in tree tubes, spruce, pines, hardwoods, and fruit trees. I’ve got over 800 of them out and success rate is 90%+. The nuttall oak tree picture below was planted in the spring as the size of a No. 2 pencil, this is the fall of its second year, the tube is 5'. They’ve worked great for me. Thanks.

Bryan

DMiller wrote: We tried white pine at Gladden MO, farm of Brother In Law, white tails liked that really well, would nibble off the soft needles back to a straight stick and it would die, did chicken wire then old tomato cages until got big enough we thought to handle then the bucks started using them for rub posts, out of a hundred managed to save just at a dozen.

Diddo. Deer love pine trees. killed all my unfenced 4’ white pines. I’ll count up to 30 deer at times though. If the does don’t eat the tender shoots, then the bucks antler rub them til they die. But a sugar maple planted 30’ away that had corregated field tile around its trunk, was untouched.
I always used the “soap in sock” trick. Tied socks on the Norwegian Furs up by our house. Seems to work...? No antler rubbing, but does still nibble at a few shoots. When I get up at 4am to pee, I’ll see deer silhouettes by the furs while it’s still dark outside. I then know the dog is asleep or warm in its spot & not leaving it.

I made a fence of branches around my 3 fruit trees the last 2 winters.
This year I had an oak tree dropped off in my yard, even the branches.
 Made tripods and put branches between them.
 It was only 3 fruit trees so it was a circle.
 Looked pretty cool, folks took pictures and gossiped about it.
 I called it dancing trees.

 Before I started doing this my cherry tree was almost killed.
 Last year there were tracks from a whole herd heading toward my trees.
 They split when they got to them.
 One jumped inside but only 2 steps and it left, no bites.
 This year I made it a little taller and there were no problems,
 they wouldn't go near  it.
 Not a big fan of art I guess.
 
 I tear it down and cut it up for firewood in the spring.

For the hazelnuts I've been using my tomato cages.
 Stiff fencing rolled into a tube.
 I cut the edge off so all the wires are sticking out
 and stuff them down into the ground like stakes.

That might be artsy enough to keep them away,  ha.

mdm1 wrote: I would choose maybe white or black spruce vs white pine. The white pines don't have much of a chance against the deer. The spruce will do better in moist conditions also. As far as fruit trees go-put some kind of fence around them so the deer can't get to the branches. We don't worry to much about the other critters. Good luck.

MDM has been out to my place, so he knows it's kinda wet! There's some high ground and that's where I was hoping to put the trees. (Maybe spruce though as he suggests) Here at the house (in MN), spruce trees are dying off rapidly....lost two nice ones just last year. Tree guys are telling me not to plant spruce around here until the disease, etc is eradicated. Maybe over in WI it's not as bad (?) Pallets are free all over Craigslist, so I'll triangulate a structure around the saplings and wire them closed. I might also try some of those tubes on others and see if there's a difference. Thanks everyone for the suggestions!

The folks I know that have used pvc or something similar haven’t had luck with it, the trees burned up from heat.   The tree tubes are perforated to allow air flow and also allow sunshine through, they act like a mini greenhouse. The tree tubes are also scored that as the tree grows they break open on the scoring lines. Thanks.

Bryan

Do you do that for the garden too?

Bergie, the tree tubes are the best bet for the fruit trees.  I've tried ALL of the above ideas and had problems with all of them.  I finally caved in and bought the actual tree tubes and have some nice BIG maples after years of the deer eating the tops and new branches off.  It's the ONLY way to go, don't waste time (and $$$) doing anything else.

Mike (mdm1) can attest to my nice maples.  I've planted LOTS of blue spruce and balsam and the deer have never bothered them. 

YEARS ago I panted a bunch of white pines and about 3/4 of them made it to maturity.  I have no idea what got the other 1/4 as I didn't care.  Must have been better things for them to eat.

Hope it helps.....