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Planting Longleaf

Started by GATreeGrower, January 11, 2013, 05:34:21 PM

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GATreeGrower

Started putting them in the ground today...will set 84,000 this week and next.  I love the business, but I don't think you could pay me any amount of money to ride in that little buggy and drop pines.  :)

  

 

WDH

What type of site prep did you do?
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Bogue Chitto

Me and brother did that when we where in high school.  I bet we planted over a million trees.  A lot of them were long straw. 

Okrafarmer

Is more longleaf being planted these days than, say, a decade or two ago? It's a better quality pine than loblolly, isn't it?
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

Operating a 2020 Woodmizer LT35 hydraulic for Upcountry Sawmill, Dacusville, SC

Now selling Logrite tools!

Writing fiction and nonfiction! Check my website.

GATreeGrower

Had it root raked and piled, I sprayed for hardwoods with a backpack, and burned the piles twice.  We cut it this summer

GATreeGrower

Man my hats off to you...back in HS I could have...but I see those dudes now and they're about my age (28) and my back hurts for them

GATreeGrower

From what I have seen it is a good quality pine if you keep it living and healthy but slash in the right conditions looks just as good to me for timber.

GATreeGrower

And everybody around here bought long leaf thinking the govt was going to help pay for the trees...stupid us  :)

Bogue Chitto

Quote from: Okrafarmer on January 12, 2013, 12:01:56 AM
Is more longleaf being planted these days than, say, a decade or two ago? It's a better quality pine than loblolly, isn't it?
It seems to be planted  down here more than it used to. Its hard to find. When  planted it will stay in the grass like stage for years, looking like tuft of grass.  Sometimes it will not get out of this stage unless fire is set to it then it will shoot up what we call a candle.  Makes great wood, but grows slow.  Most of the pine planted down here is the genetically improved loblolly  pine. 

Magicman

Same with Loblolly here.  There are some folks planting some Longleaf, but it really is more of a gimmick sort of thing. 

I have very mixed results from my Longleaf planting with a few 6'-8' trees and some just out of the grass.  Also, the deer are really hitting them, so I doubt that very many will actually make a tree.   :-\
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Bogue Chitto


WDH

They are the best quality from a wood products standpoint.  They were very prevalent before the Europeans came over.  The habitat was maintained by fire set by the native americans.  European Americans cut them down and removed fire from the landscape.  Loblolly took the lead role.  The USDA has a Longleaf restoration program with cost shares to plant them on prior AG land.  When I planted in 2009, my land was not approved for the Longleaf Program.  Loblolly will outgrow it by a significant margin and is not as dependent on fire, making loblolly more civilization friendly. 

The problem most people have is that they plant the plugs too deep, and the soil washes over them by rain.  Then they die.  The experts say to plant them with the plug 1/2" above the ground on well drained soil and 1" above the ground in wetter sites.  Counter-intuitive, but that is what the research has shown.  Jake (Customsawyer) is an excellent resource on planting longleaf and he has planted many acres.  Maybe he will chime in with his experience.

One wily old veteran said the key to properly planting longleaf was a long hickory stick about 1" thick.  First thing you do when you meet up with the tree planter is take the stick and beat him to 1" of his life, then tell him to plant the plugs high.  Otherwise, they won't and soil will wash over the root collar and that will kill the seedling  :)
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Magicman

Prolly what happened to some of mine, except I was the planter.   :-\
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

GATreeGrower

Yep they either plant too deep or barely set the plug in the ground.  But when they have had a guy walking behind the setters I haven't had many problems.  So far.  Still have 40 acres to do but that will be advanced select slash.

WDH

It sounds crazy to plant the plug 1/2" above the ground, but that is the ticket. 

Check out this link:

http://www.auburn.edu/academic/forestry_wildlife/longleafalliance/landowners/forestrestoration/plantingb.htm
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Okrafarmer

So-- if you plant it in the grass stage, and after a couple of years it's still just sitting there like a clump of bog grass, can you just torch off the whole property and make the trees jump up the next year? Or maybe just burn each individual plant?
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

Operating a 2020 Woodmizer LT35 hydraulic for Upcountry Sawmill, Dacusville, SC

Now selling Logrite tools!

Writing fiction and nonfiction! Check my website.

Bogue Chitto

Yes, Okra we will torch the whole property.  We have some long leaf that just will not jump.  If it does not after we burn it for the third time we will replant.

WDH

Most times they come out of the grass stage beginning after the first burn. 
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Okrafarmer

That is really neat! If I can get Poston distracted somewhere else, maybe I could try it around here!  :D :D :D :D
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

Operating a 2020 Woodmizer LT35 hydraulic for Upcountry Sawmill, Dacusville, SC

Now selling Logrite tools!

Writing fiction and nonfiction! Check my website.

Texas Ranger

Try some sonderagger pine, or spelled some what like that, a  natural cross between LongLeaf and Loblolly, looks like long, grows like lob.  Some nurseries producing now, I think one over in Louisiana.  Saw a 30 acre plantation a few years back that was really producing.
The Ranger, home of Texas Forestry

customsawyer

Planting longleaf is not hard, getting them to survive is the hard part. ;D I will start with assuming that you are planting container seedlings and not bare root. WDH is spot on with planting the plugs with at least a ½" of the plug exposed. I would also hope that you are using the 6" plugs as there survival rate is higher. I have had trees survive when the rain washed all but the last 1" of the plug out of the ground. I have had them die when just a ½" of dirt covers the terminal bud. You will have better survival with 2" of the plug sticking out then if you plant the plug level to the ground.
In looking at your pics of the planting I would say they have taken the fingers out of the inside of the planter and are setting the trees in the ground by hand. If this is the case then this is best as the man doing the planting can feel the dirt as he plants each tree. Don't get to mad at the guy doing the planting if you have poor survival and have to go in by hand and replant some next year. I would not have have recommend machine planting longleaf in a cut over site due to stumps and uneven terrain shifting the planter around. It can be done but is a challenge. 
Two LT70s, Nyle L200 kiln, 4 head Pinheiro planer, 30" double surface Cantek planer, Lucas dedicated slabber, Slabmizer, and enough rolling stock and chainsaws to keep it all running.
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Wick

In this area longleaf pine straw is a big seller for landscaping. It seems to grow better in the sandy soils of the state. We plant loblolly, or similar, mostly in our clay soil areas.
Timber Harvester 30HT25

Okrafarmer

So, is Longleaf pine straw the only species used for this, due to its long needles? Or do they do others too?

Seems like another great reason to plant it, because you have a secondary crop to harvest.
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

Operating a 2020 Woodmizer LT35 hydraulic for Upcountry Sawmill, Dacusville, SC

Now selling Logrite tools!

Writing fiction and nonfiction! Check my website.

Magicman

Longleaf straw is the preferred straw to be harvested here for landscaping, but not the only species.  Harvesting straw is very labor intensive because all of the pine cones, dropped limbs, and other undesirables such as cow pies have to be removed.  A plantation about 15 years old is ideal for harvesting.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Okrafarmer

Quote from: Magicman on January 16, 2013, 04:17:57 PM
Longleaf straw is the preferred straw to be harvested here for landscaping, but not the only species.  Harvesting straw is very labor intensive because all of the pine cones, dropped limbs, and other undesirables such as cow pies have to be removed.  A plantation about 15 years old is ideal for harvesting.

Not to mention dead squirrels, right?
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

Operating a 2020 Woodmizer LT35 hydraulic for Upcountry Sawmill, Dacusville, SC

Now selling Logrite tools!

Writing fiction and nonfiction! Check my website.

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