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1 contribution to Syntropic Sunlands w/ Milan
Infestation phase planting density for cold climates
I'm growing in a climate with a short growing season that gets very cold in the winter, and trees don't really grow as fast as they do in warmer places. I have seen others plant their infestation phase trees at 1m apart in the row, but I'm thinking I should plant at every 30cm or 50cm, and for cost efficiency mostly use willows and balsam poplars which I have basically unlimited access to cuttings for. Would I run into issues at such a high density if I chose to prune and coppice most of the trees after 3 or 4 years so I can start planting my stabilization phase trees, or is it fine to plant an extremely high density?
0 likes • Aug 12
@Phillip Greenwood what kind of nitrogen fixers would you use? I'm thinking of hairy vetch (winter annual legume) 60cm out from the tree lines, and then seeding in alfalfa and clover a few weeks after planting the trees in spring. I'm also going to be trying green alder for the infestation phase, and later plant seeds for Siberian pea shrub (caragana arborescens) which I think will establish slower.
0 likes • Aug 12
@Milan Marquis our winters in central Alberta here typically have lows around -35 or -40C, so that would probably be pushing the upper limit here.
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Carson Gulayets
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@carson-gulayets-3253
Aspiring farmer / food forester in Lamont, AB, Canada

Active 4d ago
Joined Jul 22, 2026