YOU CAN plant without tree guards but when it comes to revegetation and planting large areas they can be a valuable aid in protecting the time and money you have invested. Tree guards protect your trees from several threats including weeds (why can’t our trees grow as fast!), Weeding (oops, did I just spray my tree too!), frost (cold enough to freeze your leaves off!) and last but not least grazing animals (always up for a free feed!).
There are many tree guards available on the market from polyurethane bags, cardboard guards and Coreflute guards. At Brush Turkey we’ve been experimenting with many over the years but have settled on two types of guards that we are very happy with. At the bottom end of the scale we use a 2 Ltr juice/milk carton. These guards are quick to install, cheap and provide short term protection for fast growing trees. We use these with a bamboo stake and this combination can provide good visibility for your planted stock if the weeds get away over the summer and you have to brushcut or spray. They only last about 6 months and are only 300mm high, so they don’t provide much protection from grazing animals. For plants that we really want to look after and make sure they get off to a good start we use pink coreflute guards. These guards cost more initially but can be re-used several times because of their rigid construction and provide many years of protection. These guards come in a range of sizes and you may see them on several revegetation projects around the Range including Mary Cairncross, Maleny Precinct and Woodford Folk Festival site.
“Why pink?” I hear you ask. Visible light can be split into a spectrum of colours. Green leaves absorb light from the red fraction to drive photosynthesis. Research has shown that the colour pink reflects and focuses the red fraction, concentrating this photosynthetic energy to enhance plant growth – well you did ask!
I also like the pink colour of these guards for their high visibility. We often maintain some weed cover on our sites to provide soil protection and improvement. These guards stand out and provide great protection during weed maintenance runs. Tree guards are great for protecting stock in the summer months when the ground really heats up and some plants can get cooked at the base.
The two guards listed above are now available through Brush Turkey Enterprises.
Check out our guards and other products at shop@BTE on this website.
