| Trees available from forest service |
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| Opinion | |||
| Written by Mike Epler | |||
| Wednesday, 27 January 2010 09:00 | |||
It seems to me that most people who own some acreage in the country are interested in planting some trees for a reasonable price. If this applies to you, then your annual chance to do so is here. It is now time to start ordering conservation trees from the Kansas Forest Service.  These are low-cost trees that are one to two years old and usually 5 to 18 inches tall, depending on the species. The Forest Service accepts orders from now until the first week of May, but to ensure that what you want is available, ordering early is recommended. Orders will be shipped from the second week of March to the first week of May. Approved uses by the Forest Service for these trees include windbreaks, wood lots, riparian plantings, wildlife habitat and Christmas trees. Windbreaks are an efficient way to use these trees, since our energy costs are so high. Windbreaks are known to greatly reduce heating bills if used properly. Also, for those of you wondering, a riparian planting is a highly recommended buffer strip of vegetation that is planted along streams and other water channels to slow soil erosion from rainfall runoff and flooding of the stream. Uses of these trees that are not approved are landscaping (ornamental) and growing them for resale. You can purchase single species of trees to use (there are many to choose from), or you can buy prepackaged bundles of several species that are specifically designed to enhance habitat for certain species of wildlife (quail, songbird, etc.). Whether you are buying a single species or a bundle of multiple species, the bundle sizes will be either 25 or 50 trees. If you do not need all 25 trees in a bundle, consider talking with a friend or neighbor about the chances of splitting an order. You will always want to plant a few more trees than you need. Trees planted at this size face many challenges as they get established. They especially need water during hot, dry weather. For details and a printable order form, go to www.kansasforests.org/conservation/index.shtml, or go to www.kansasforests.org/public_saps/Welcome.aspx to order trees online. Another option is to go to any K-State Research and Extension office and pick up a paper copy of the order form. Remember that newly planted trees are normally targeted by wildlife. After planting the trees, you may want to consider putting a wire cage over these trees for a few years, if not longer, if you do not want them to get eaten and destroyed by deer and other animals. If you remove the cage, think about putting covers on the trunks of the trees because deer like to scrape their antlers on young trees. However, be sure to keep an eye on the trees as they grow so the trunks do not grow into the covers. As good as these covers can be in protecting trees from wildlife, they can be just as destructive to the tree if the wood grows into the cover. Trees will sometimes not fully recover from injuries sustained from these covers being left on too long. If you have any questions about this article, feel free to contact me at the Miami County Extension Office at 104 S. Brayman St. in Paola, call (913) 294-4306, or e-mail us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
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