Best natural browse
Manitoba
What would be the best natural browse to plant in southwest Manitoba? There's several large clearings that I'd like to plant to food plots or preferably, some kind of natural browse. I would want something tall enough to be accessible above deep snow and preferred during the winter. They love the creeping ground cedar but right now, it's under 2 1/2 feet of snow. It's also in small patches and takes a lot of effort for it to get to them, so it's not ideal.
Does anybody have anything that they've planted successfully?
Id try a few things. My future plans in manitoba... Plant White pine for cover and browsing, white pine unlike other pines is suppose to be good browse. Plant is successive years for different growth rates. Going to plant wetter areas with taller cedar(not sure think I'm going to plant red, grows tall) for same reasons.
At my place dogwood is the number one browsed willow and grows anywhere. Plans to plant that thick and and cut out competition.
Going to try some small hinge cuts this year swell.
Your situation western MB, you prob have poor thermal cover?? Tall pines wood shade out the snow, and then you could plant something next to it for additional food.
Yes, poor thermal cover here. It's basically all white poplars. Once the leaves are gone, they might as well just be hydro poles.
Where are you getting your cedar? Is it hardy enough for Manitoba? The only cedar I was able to find a couple of years ago that were hardy enough for here were the columnar cedars that aren't very wide but very tall.
Are you hinge cutting in established bedding areas or creating new ones? I'd like to do that but I'm not sure how white poplars will hinge cut. What's the best time of year for that, in your experience?
I am lucky to have good thermal cover where I am and it really seems to make a difference on wintering. I still have room to improve it. Manitoba forestry has white pine and white cedar seedlings for sale. I haven't tried the cedars yet they are part of my future plans. Going to start with the white pines as I have seen deer prefer them for winter bedding in some of my hunting areas. Found many sheds in these locations. I'm hinge cutting near my winter feeding area so that they find it easily. This time of year the poplars basically just break because they are frozen, but still provide them with winter browse.
Okay, thanks! I'll get in contact with Manitoba Forestry.
