Pair of Understory Canadian Hemlock Trees Growing Up - Summer 2024 - July 2024

Back in May of 2019, I planted a number of very small, one-gallon Canadian Hemlock trees.  A few of them were destroyed by rabbits.  And a few died from drought.  But, two of them have managed to make it to today.  In terms of growing seasons, that: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and now...in the middle of their sixth growing season:  2024.  

After the rabbits ate these things up, I began to protect them with chicken wire.  The past few seasons, I've just left the chicken wire rings in place.  And the trees have just kept-on-growing.  

I heard from someone on the blog about the hemlocks and they wondered how they were doing.   Here's a couple of photos that show them - although...they're *hard to see*.   The first photo shows both of the trees - one on the left and the other on the right - split by that narrow tree trunk in the middle.  The second photo shows a close-up of the chicken wire ring.

I'd say that these trees are five-feet-tall and growing.  They're not putting on a ton of girth, but they're doing ok with their full-shade location.  Would I have planted these in a different spot today?  Probably.  But, I'm not moving them. 

This whole area has been transformed since 2019.  Go look at these pics - it is pretty bare over there.   And the bed is just four-feet-or-so deep.  Today?  Like 15.  Big change.