Wrapping your trees

If you have not wrapped the trunks of your young deciduous trees, you still should. Failure to wrap, offers up tasty young/tender bark for rabbits when times get tough in the winter. I prefer the stretchy brown paper wrap that Drummers sells. Wrap the entire length of the trunk, overlapping like a spiral. Then, I use duct tape and 'tape' a ring around the bottom, middle and top, not too tight - but to hold it in place. I usually wrap the tree from the bottom up, and at the top of the trunk, wrap a few of the lower branches so I can secure the paper and tape there. Hope to post a few photos real soon. Rabbits are mostly fond of young trees with thin bark like fruits trees, maples & lindens. IF they chew the bark all the way around the trunk and 'girdle' the tree, it's pretty much history, so take the time folks! Once a tree is larger they don't usually bother it, it depends on how rough the winter is and if there are available food sources. I would even wrap a 4 inch maple, 30 cents and 5 minutes, verses a couple hundred in a ruined tree, no-brainer. Shrubs are harder to wrap and protect. Bird netting is probably the best choice. Some shrubs thrive with annual pruning, so not always a loss! Small evergreen trees, usually get the top (growing point) nipped out by deer. Back when I did my Woodland Advisor Program, they recommended taking a 4x6 (or so) piece of thin cardboard, like from a cereal box, fold it in half a staple it over the tip of the tree, and remove in spring of course. They found it effective to deter the deer from this naughtiness. Happy wrapping. email with any questions.
ddenise58@msn.com