Miscanthus screen planting
Contributors to this thread:General Topic
From: t-roy
02-May-18
I have a couple of food plots that are kind of open on one side of the plot. I’ve used a couple of different options to close those sides in and create an edge (corn and Egyptian wheat) and both have worked ok, but they were both annuals and, as such, needed to be replanted each year. I was contemplating planting some cedars/plums/Redosier Dogwoods, etc, but unless you put a barrier around them, the deer here will still browse extensively on them. I didn’t want to have to fence them off, so, after some research, I’ve decided to try the Miscanthus Gigantis grass. It is suppose to get 12’-14’ high, get a bit thicker each year, hold up well to snow loads, plus the deer supposedly will not browse it.
I’m going to try and document the process (if I don’t forget to take pics!) I’d welcome any suggestions, tips, comments, etc. from anyone that has any experience in planting this, or any comments/suggestions in general.
This is a pic of what it can look like when fully mature, which is suppose to take at least 3 years.
From: t-roy
02-May-18
I researched several ways to plant it and decided the best way for me would be to come up with some way of plowing some furrows with my tractor. I ended up buying a drawbar from Northern Tool, some flat steel and robbed a couple of shanks from an old 4 row cultivator. I wanted to be able to set the distances between my furrows to varying widths, if need be, so I welded the square stock the shanks were mounted to, to some heavy plate steel and drilled some holes in that to be able to bolt it almost anywhere on the drawbar. I can also remove either shank if need be as well. I had to add some flat steel to the sweeps to make a deeper furrow. The cultivator sweeps are designed to run fairly flat, just under the surface to plow out shallow weeds. McGyver, I’m not, but I thought it turned out pretty good and worked great.
From: t-roy
02-May-18
I disced the ground several passes to work it up thoroughly and hit it with my culti-mulcher to have a good planting bed.
From: t-roy
02-May-18
I couldn’t decide if I was going to plant 4 rows of rhizomes, or only 3. I ended up deciding to plant 3 rows of the rhizomes 2 feet apart. Here’s my McGyvered rig in action.
From: t-roy
02-May-18
The finished product.
From: t-roy
02-May-18
I ordered 2250 rhizomes from Maple River Farms in Michigan, for 3 friends and myself. (750 for me). They were great to deal with and Don will answer any questions you might have.
From: IdyllwildArcher
02-May-18
Are you doing this to try and funnel deer?
From: t-roy
02-May-18
I had everything ready to go the day before the roots arrived, but, of course, 5 minutes after I got to the farm, it had to rain just enough to muddy everything up! I had to take a garden hoe to clean the furrows out a little bit, which made it more labor intensive, but I did end up getting this section all put it. I was going to lay out each rhizome 18” apart and stagger them in each row, but gave up on that idea pretty quickly. I ended up planting the roots in the first row roughly 15”-18” apart just by eyeballing them. I then covered that row before starting on the next one. I tried to position each root horizontally in the trench, raked a little bit of dirt over them, then pressed them into the dirt with my foot gently, before completely covering up the rest of the way with dirt. I was going to go over the finished planting with my cultipacker to firm everything thing up, but the rain screwed that idea up. I ended up compacting each row by walking over it, and that actually worked pretty well. When it dries up, I’ll go over it with the culti-mulcher and smooth everything out.
From: t-roy
02-May-18
Correct, Ike. There’s several reasons, actually. I’m hoping that by closing the end of the field in, the deer will feel more secure coming into it earlier. Also, I should be able to get to a couple of my stands without, possibly getting busted. This spot is also kind of a bottleneck or narrow between two deep ravines. Whitetails like to cruise along the edges of cover and I’m hoping to create an edge that they will feel comfortable using.
From: t-roy
02-May-18
I got roughly 250 rhizomes planted in about 3 hrs, including about a 20 minute rain delay. Hopefully, I can get the rest of them planted this weekend!
From: pav
02-May-18
Are there any concerns regarding this particular grass being invasive?
From: elkstabber
02-May-18
elkstabber's Link
Apparently it can only spread by rhizomes and not by seed so it's less likely to be invasive. Also, it is highly flammable and so could be easily burned back when dormant. Once it was burned back the new sprouts could be easily killed with herbicide if it was no longer wanted. t-roy has planted in an area that looks like it would be easily contained. The website link to invasive.org didn't have much bad to say about it and they usually say that the sky is falling.
Personally, I'm be very concerned about it escaping and getting into a creek bottom, where the rhizomes couldn't be killed back easily. I typically have to spray 1-3 acres of invasives (that I didn't plant) every year and it sucks big time.
From: t-roy
02-May-18
elkstabber nailed it. Iowa State University as well as other universities have been doing research on it as a possible source of biomass to produce cellulosic ethanol. Their research findings are similar to the info in elkstabber’s link. It will spread somewhat, but VERY slowly. Thanks for the link, elkstabber!
From: Brotsky
02-May-18
T-roy, do think your deer will turn it into bedding/security cover? We have thick stands of cane grass here where we hunt and our deer love to use it as bedding cover. They seem to prefer it over almost anything else. The miscanthus looks really similar to our cane grass, 8-10 feet tall and thick as can be (I call it cane grass, it could be something else entirely).
From: elkstabber
02-May-18
No problem t-roy. As a sidenote, I've been doing some controlled burns recently and often there are patches of river cane (arundinaria) in the burn area. The river cane is extremely flammable and it makes a popping sound like a small caliber handgun when it burns.
From: grubby
02-May-18
it amazes me that this stuff can withstand a snow load! I have a gas line pipeline that needs a screen where it crosses the road, this might be the ticket. they come through and mow it every few years... how would this stand up to that?
From: t-roy
02-May-18
That’s supposedly one of it’s strong points, grubby. It should hold up pretty well once it’s fully established. If you’re asking if it will survive being mowed occasionally, they say burning it off after it’s established is fine, as is mowing when it’s dormant. In colder climates, the leaves that it sheds help to insulate the ground and protect the roots from prolonged severe cold weather/deep frost.
Brotsky....initially, this screening will only be approximately 4’-5’ wide, plus it’s kind of in the open, so I doubt they will use it much for bedding cover in this area, but the Maple River Farms website has some recommendations on planting for that purpose.
From: APauls
02-May-18
Ver cool t-roy I'll be following this. Always been interested in these giant grasses and hope it works out well for you!
From: IdyllwildArcher
02-May-18
t-roy, have you considered using a dozer and making either a small ditch or small ridge along the same path and planting it with a 20-30 yard patch of oaks so that they'd have something they'd feel comfortable cruising along and would eventually provide mast and draw deer in besides supplemental feeding?
From: t-roy
02-May-18
This is WAY cheaper, plus, we already have tons of white, red and burr oaks on the field edges and in the ravines here, and I’ve got several Dunstan Chestnuts planted on the north edge of this plot as well, which I hope will be a draw in a few more years.
From: drycreek
02-May-18
We have some plants that look like that growing wild in a few spots that I've seen beside roads. That looks like it will work for your intended purpose.
But....you know McGuyver would have done it with a fingernail clipper ! :-)
From: CAS_HNTR
02-May-18
I'm still jealous of the planter......I planted several hundred with a shovel!
From: Deerplotter
02-May-18
Hey T-Roy good luck with the Miscanthus. I planted a couple hundred rhizomes a few years back. Unfortunately the following winter was super cold early and not much snow cover for insulation for most of the winter and the bulbs didn’t sprout well the following spring. I bought my rhizomes from Michigan too and they did warn me about the cold weather in MN may be an issue. It was- but I see you are from Iowa so may be it will work great for you. Good luck, keep us informed.
From: Hunt98
02-May-18
I just cut these stalks down yesterday.
I just cut these stalks down yesterday.
T-Roy, I tried it planting it two different years a few years ago. I also bought it from Maple Farms. I experimented with planting it in different areas. I didn’t go to the extent of bed prep that you did. My ph probably was not ideal either. All in all it didn’t work out to good for me. I have some patches that it is still growing and it stands up really well against the wet heavy snow in the winter. This winter was a good test. The leaves and tops blew off but the stalks were not phased at all.
From: t-roy
02-May-18
Thanks guys. CAS....when did you plant yours? How are they doing?
Don....I ordered some cheap rubber bands from China off of EBay and the UV rays ate them up right away, plus, you can’t hardly find chewing gum in foil wrappers anymore!
Yeah, the possible winterkill is my biggest concern. Iowa State University has several research plots of it going with pretty good results so far. I’m about 30 miles from them, so, hopefully we’ll have a couple of mild winters and mine will get a good foothold.
Hunt98.....I’m glad those decoys worked out good for ya. Thanks for helping me out!
From: Dutch oven
03-May-18
Please, please don't plant exotic invasives. There has to be better alternatives.
From: buckhammer
04-May-18
These land improvement threads are always refreshing. Nice job.
From: CAS_HNTR
04-May-18
Troy......mine is on year 3. It just looks like stalks now bit is starting to grow again. Overall I am happy with it.
I'll take some pictures as it progresses this year......should be a pretty good screen year.....I hope.
From: t-roy
14-May-18
CAS....feel free to share any pics if you’ve got em!
Got a new toy the other day. I should have bought one of these 10 years ago! This tiller prepared a great bed to finish putting the rest of my miscanthus rhizomes into. The rains we’ve been getting, kept me from being able to finish putting the remaining roots that I had left, in the ground. I finally finished with the remaining ones last night at 9pm, in front of the headlights on the tractor. Got another 3/10ths of rain overnight, so they should be poking through the ground in the next couple of weeks or so.
From: t-roy
14-May-18
Ready to plant
Ready to plant
Awesome seed bed.
From: loprofile
16-May-18
The tiller is the best implement we have invested in. Great for plot prep and super for fire lanes.
From: t-roy
31-May-18
Last batch planted.
Last batch planted.
The last batch of rhizomes is looking great so far. The first two, not so much. On the first 2 spots, I disced up really well, but it rained before and during the time that I planted them. I mudded them in, for lack of a better term. I planted them, covered them up, then compacted the soil over them by walking on it. I’m thinking that the soil got too compacted, then crusted over hard. We have had basically zero rain since they were planted until a couple of days ago. There are some plants coming up, but not as many as should be, IMO.
On the last batch, I tilled up with the tiller, firmed the rhizomes into the soil, then simply covered back up with soil. They are coming up very nicely.
From: t-roy
08-Oct-18
This pic was taken in August. The last batch I planted are over 6’ tall and looking great. The first 2 plots are failures. Spotty emergence and the weeds took them over. I will redo them next year.
From: t-roy
08-Oct-18
Different angle.
From: KHNC
09-Oct-18
I have a customer in my insurance agency that grows this stuff for a living. They process it for chicken house bedding, erosion socks and other animal bedding as well. Very interesting process. In eastern NC
From: APauls
09-Oct-18
Looks like a dang good screen once you figured it out t-roy!
From: t-roy
23-Jun-19
UPDATE:.....my miscanthus screen is really taking off this year. I took this pic today. Part of it is already 6’-7’ tall.
From: APauls
24-Jun-19
Awesome t-Roy!
From: 'Ike' (Phone)
24-Jun-19
Very cool, thanks for sharing...Always like seeing how food plots and these kind of projects turn out...
From: Brotsky
24-Jun-19
Wow! That looks awesome t-roy. Amazing how much that grew in a year!
From: Habitat for Wildlife
24-Jun-19
This is really great information. I need to screen an area to help get to my stands undetected. This is the prefect how to thread, thanks!
From: Mark Watkins
24-Jun-19
Great stuff T-roy!!!
You are the "plot master!"
Keep it rolling!
Mark
From: Habitat for Wildlife
28-Jun-19
Troy,
Did you get the pictures in my PM? Those implements should work fine I would think? Thanks.
From: t-roy
28-Jun-19
Yes I did, Frank. Sorry I didn’t get back to you on that quicker. It’s kind of hard to tell in the pic. There are 2 different implements, correct? Looks to me that one is a single plow and the other has two gangs I think. If they’re configured like I’m thinking, then, yes, I’d think either one would work just fine for you. Anything’s better than digging holes by hand or using a hoe! ;-)
From: Habitat for Wildlife
28-Jun-19
The one is a single shank sub soiler. The other is a one row potatoe bed prep.
I thought I would spray gly. Wait 7-10 days, rip with the sub soiler, til, prep a row with the other device, place the roots, cover with a rake?
Thanks!
From: t-roy
28-Jun-19
Sounds like a good plan, Frank. One added suggestion would be to cover the rhizomes with about an inch of soil and firm them in a bit, then rake the remaining soil over them.
From: Habitat for Wildlife
28-Jun-19
Thanks!
From: BullBuster
29-Jun-19
Is it that much better than switch grass? SG is cheaper and easier to establish.
From: Habitat for Wildlife
29-Jun-19
Switch does not grow nearly as tall Bull.
From: BullBuster
29-Jun-19
Agree, but how high do you need?
From: t-roy
10-Oct-19
October 9th
October 9th
Opposite side view
Opposite side view
From: t-roy
03-Dec-20
TTT
There are a couple of recent threads on food plot screening questions. Here’s some info on my Miscanthus project from a couple years back.
From: CAS_HNTR
03-Dec-20
I have several screen areas planted with this as well and it has worked well. I had almost no issues getting it going and after 3 years it was a heck of a screen. At 5 years it is impressive.
From: Bake
03-Dec-20
Cool thread! Any updates from 2020?
From: t-roy
03-Dec-20
I didn’t take any pics this year, Bake. We had a major drought, and the stuff I planted last year didn’t do much, plus the stuff in the pics didn’t grow nearly as well as it did last year. It didn’t put any plumes on this year either, for some reason. It should do better next year (year 3) IF we get some decent rains.
Knowing what I know now, I doubt I’d plant it again.
From: t-roy
03-Dec-20
CAS........post up some pics of yours, if you have any. Would love to see them.
From: CAS_HNTR
03-Dec-20
Along an access road. Thick and green in August.
Along an access road. Thick and green in August.
From: CAS_HNTR
03-Dec-20
You can see it in the background here (with light tassels)...... it's blocking an orchard and shaped like and "L"
You can see it in the background here (with light tassels)...... it's blocking an orchard and shaped like and "L"
From: CAS_HNTR
03-Dec-20
I'll have to take some more now for later winter reference.....stay tuned
From: t-roy
03-Dec-20
Good deal.......Thanks CAS!
From: t-roy
06-Aug-23
TTT for a buddy.
From: drycreek
06-Aug-23
Troy, that looks great ! I need the same thing on my lease, but I think they will clear cut in the next 2/3 years so I planted some screening stuff from seed. Not gonna put much time or money in a lease that I’ll probably get off of. Some of it did fairly well, some didn’t. I don’t have any pics of it but I won’t plant it again. To be fair, our rain just shut off in early June and it’s been 100* or over for the last three weeks, all the counties surrounding us, including ours, are under a burn ban so I don’t see how anything grows much.
