Help me stop trespassers/poachers: Onramental grass seed sources

[Bfitzgerald3]

I have 50 hazelnuts in large pos in the garden. Purchased as root stock this spring. Will plant when the get some beef to them. I won't touch poison ivy...theres none here ANYWHERE and I like not having to deal with it. Bamboo sounds interesting. I like the idea of getting hundreds of plugs of pampas or other tall grasses. Russian Olive would work, but I've heard too many friends cussing about trying to keep it from where the don't want it.Fruit as a hedge maybe counterproductive for me. The goal is to keep the deer lusting passers by from being tempted. Blackberries wold keep tem from casuall walking onto property, but would do little if anything from stopping their initial probing. I wish I could do trees, but after losing500 this year, I dont feel like it's a winning strategy.

 

[forgeblast]

Dont go bamboo. It will not stop. If you put the trees in 5' tubex tree tubes they will protect them from the deer and voles. I have been doing a crep (conservation planting) and the tubex tubes are working great. My oaks are 7' tall now and the black walnut and butternut about 6'.

 

[dave1949]

Dont go bamboo. It will not stop. If you put the trees in 5' tubex tree tubes they will protect them from the deer and voles. I have been doing a crep (conservation planting) and the tubex tubes are working great. My oaks are 7' tall now and the black walnut and butternut about 6'.

That must be (tubex or similar) what the American Chestnut recovery project is using in their plots to stop deer from killing them. They have all there young trees in protective tubes.

OP: What was the cause of death for the 500 pines?

 

[Brad_Blazer]

A "cedar" (arborvitae) hedge can make a good barrier. You may have to protect it from the deer just like the pine. http://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_thoc2.pdf
Maybe combine it with a barb wire fence to make crossing inconvenient.

Hedge your bets with a multi-species barrier.

 

[homedad]

Miscanthus. Search elephant grass. I have this behind my garage. It grows to about 12' and requires no feeding. What started as a 6" pot seems to double in diameter every season. I cut it down to the clump every fall just before the snow. I don't know if you need to cut it if it's not in a landscaped situation. I also need to dig up each plant every other year just to divide it into 4 plants or it will overtake my beds. I just use an ax and spade. Very resilient stuff. Also very pretty in the fall with these tufts on top. In this case I had to cinch the plants because of the ac unit and the electric meter access. Time to divide again. The small plants in the middle are fountain grass, also quite prolific.

 

[mmurphydds]

I'd like to plant a seasonal hedge, about 1500' long. A tall ornamental grass seems like a quick and dirty option....pus i really like the look of some of the species. Anything 5 feet+ tall will suit the bill. I need cold hardy varietals (zone 4-5). I've hunted in vain for a reliable source of seed...the only sources I've fond are generally given very poor reviews for germination. While I do have some preferred varietals, I'm leaving them off...this may be a more interesting thread to all this way.

Please help...I have to stop the deer shiners/poachers from being tempted to come onto my property!

I'm no grass expert, but a guy near us plants a couple fields with switchgrass, which gets around 6-7 ft tall and is winter hardy in central Minnesota. It's something you could plant in a belt 25-50 yards wide and which would provide cover as well as a visual barrier. If your road bed is much higher than your field, then forget everything I just said...you'll be too high Good luck!

 

[300UGUY]

I'd plant a fence. Then plant "NO TRESSPASSING" signs on it. Then I'd plant a pine about every 10 feet in 2 staggered rows. The first year or so, you need to make sure they get water, and mulch them up good. I really think that a fence is the most effective. A lot of hunters I know have eaten too many big Macs and fries to climb any sort of fence!

 

[SPIKER]

Someone said plant Multi-flower Rose, for gods sake if you dont have that DON'T PLANT ANY! and if you decide to try some PLEASE COME DIG IT OUT OF MY PLACE!!!!! It makes a good fence and shoots up anywhere there is a spot for a bird to land and drop some seeds. It will out grown anywhere you plant it and comes up and tears the flesh from you when ya mow! I have half a dozen open wounds on my now from it...


There are some good choices already mentioned are arborvitae, the White Pine will be great too. already mentioned was keeping them watered when NEW Planted. Be sure to not plant them too deep as they need to be slightly even above the original planting depth.
Mark

 

[Jstpssng]

I'd plant a fence. Then plant "NO TRESSPASSING" signs on it. Then I'd plant a pine about every 10 feet in 2 staggered rows. The first year or so, you need to make sure they get water, and mulch them up good. I really think that a fence is the most effective. A lot of hunters I know have eaten too many big Macs and fries to climb any sort of fence!

These aren't hunters; they're poachers. There is a difference. The rest of what you said is true though...

 

[Bfitzgerald3]

Miscanthus is winning in my book...the big thing for me is I need to find a source for maybe 1000 plants or 20000 seeds...cheapish. With 95%+ losses in pine seedlings this year, I'm not ready to take that path again.

Switch grass sounds promising...I'm off to research that now.

Arborvitae...toooooo slooooowwwww growing. Plus, there isn't a night that goes by where a flashlight won't light up 10-15 pairs of eyes staring back at me. They'll decimate cedar in a heartbeat.