Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Property Projects & Construction Chestnut other trees for wildlife

I've done two plantings of Dunstan Chestnut. Four trees spring of '22, ten trees spring of '23.

One of the first four made it a year in good condition. One died and the other two aren't doing well.
Was my fault for not watering them consistently during the heat of summer last year.

Six of the ten I planted this year are up and out of their grow tubes. I improved my irrigation setup in the spring,
which got them through the early drought we had here. I'll buy another ten pack in the fall for spring planting.
Three to fill out the grove, two to replace the ones that aren't healthy, and a handful of spares to heel in as backups.

I'll build cages around the good ones before winter but I won't pull the tubes until they've leafed out in the spring.
The dang deers will eat a young tree down to a nub so protection is necessary until they've sized up quite a bit.