good combo for trees

[marty]

Got my conservation tree sale book. Thinking about a row of red pines and a row of white spruce in an area about 1.5 acres. Is this a good combo? The rest was all popple which has already grown about 3-4 foot since july last year. Wanting to plant a bunch of clumps of norway in the new growth. When the new growth gets going with those big leaves with this keep the norways from growing? This is a total of ten acres that will be strictly deer cover for escape and thermal. This will be a no hunting area. So when I plant this I don't plan to go back in it. Also got another area that was cut about 3 years ago and the groth is about 8-10 foot high would it be worth putting some trees in there or is it too late?             thanks........marty

[Ron Scott]

Marty,
Do you have a Forest Landowner Stewardship Plan completed for your property? Such a plan would provide you with some good management direction to meet your objectives in an efficient and effective manner. You should work with the landscape in your plantings and plan the habitat areas, transition zones, winter,thermal, and escape cover areas. The rapid growing aspen thickets will suppress the new conifer underplantings. It would be better to locate any included openings and plant them with the conifers for diversity. Also remember that you should have some managed wildlife openings in your forest landscape.