any suggestions for tree guards?

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any suggestions for tree guards?

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dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46238
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Aug 05, 15 1:01 am Post subject: any suggestions for tree guards?

ive been looking at trees for the proposed community orchard and recon that part is probably fairly easy(i will get back to you on that )

as it is a public space,with wabbits/sqizzers and dogs and kids and folk going home from the pub ,potentially theft resistance might be good as well as it is in a fairly visible spot and i recon 2/3 year maidens will need some protection for the first few years

what sort of tree guards do you folk think are sensible ?

we will need about 30 so price matters although some costs are expected,they need to look ok and do the job for a few years until the trees are strong enough to resist "pests"of a variety of species.

OtleyLad

Joined: 13 Jan 2007
Posts: 2737
Location: Otley, West Yorkshire

Posted: Wed Aug 05, 15 6:05 am Post subject:
Waterwillows do spiral tree guards (made from recycled pvc). The two-legged pests might defeat them though.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45674
Location: Essex

Posted: Wed Aug 05, 15 6:26 am Post subject:
We've had mesh tree guards and trees nicked. Hard to say. Spiral guards are cheap and easy to replace if nicked

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Wed Aug 05, 15 6:42 am Post subject:

I wouldn't recommend spiral guards for fruit trees as the rootstocks send out roots into the damp area covered by the guard.

If you want a cheap low guard then I'd make some out of chicken wire, Wilko for example are selling off rolls of 25mm x 60 cm x 10m for �1.50 at the moment.

For higher guards I prefer the length of tree guard mesh on a roll, but that's expensive.

For some pests, squirrels etc, then culling is the only option unless you grow the whole tree inside a metal meshed cage.

henchard

Joined: 23 Aug 2012
Posts: 232
Location: Carmarthenshire

Posted: Wed Aug 05, 15 8:18 am Post subject:
Personally I've found these the best for my young apple trees in a sheep paddock. Strong enough when fixed to a tree stake but not 'silly money'. https://www.pitchcare.com/shop/tree-guards/welded-mesh-tree-guards.html

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46238
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Aug 05, 15 8:52 am Post subject:

thanks folks,the tip about roots and spiral guards confirms my suspicion they can kill/inhibit as many as they save/nurture.

chicken wire is too fragile i recon but the weld mesh looks promising at about �20 a tree for stake and mesh it seems reasonable if protecting a tree costing about the same or a little more.they are not "pretty" but they wont look scrappy after a while and seem fairly similar to the ones used by the council for their trees along the river which have a variety of urban pests to resist.

im working on a proposed budget of about a grand for the initial planting of 30 trees so they are sort of close enough to budget.if we can get as much stuff donated locally as possible and the 3 funding sources that have said to approach them once we are set up all come good at �500 each we should be ok for a full set this winter.

again thanks this has helped a lot to make another planning decision.

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6612
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Wed Aug 05, 15 1:05 pm Post subject:
spiral plastic tree guards work fine around here, but we only keep them on for overwintering so that rodents don't get around to nibbling bark. Remove them in the spring....

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15988

Posted: Thu Aug 06, 15 5:54 am Post subject:

Spiral tree guards are designed to protect against mice and voles. Tubes are designed for protecting whips from rabbits, hare and deer, but they have to be taken off before they strangle the tree. That is a good few years later though, so with fruit trees there would be plenty of time. Those weldmesh tree guards look good. You could also fix them down with pegs so they don't get pinched, but they would have some of the disadvantages of tubes.

Lorrainelovesplants

Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 6521
Location: Dordogne

Posted: Thu Aug 06, 15 7:35 am Post subject:
dont recommend spiral tree guards - I like the tubes better.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46238
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Aug 06, 15 10:23 am Post subject:
if the weld mesh ones are connected to the post with screws/washers opening them twice a year for sacking/grease banding(against coddling moths)should be fairly easy i think the system using one strong post to hold them and prevent em being nicked too easily(the pub overlooks the orchard and is active for all but a few hours overnight and even then folk live in)should work.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15988

Posted: Fri Aug 07, 15 6:37 am Post subject:
Spiral tree guards are mainly for hedging and where voles are active. They have a point on one end so they can be pushed into the ground to discourage the voles getting under them.

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