Crow’s Nest: Freeing Trees

Our work is not finished when we plant new trees. Each year we check on our young charges, making sure they are free from vines and still adequately protected from deer browse by a tree tube shelter or a cage. We usually check tree tubes in the winter, since sometimes bees make their summer home inside them.

I planted the white pine in the photo above when it was a 6″ seedling; now it’s about 15 feet. It’s one of several that I planted more than twelve years ago to fill a gap in a hedgerow. Each year I spent a few minutes clearing vines off of the cages, made from concrete-reinforcing wire, that surrounded them. This year, I am finally able to remove these cages (and will reuse them on other new trees).