Tree shelter

Additionally, tree tubes accelerate growth by providing a mini-greenhouse environment that reduces moisture stress, channels growth into the main stem and roots and allows efficient control of weeds that can rob young seedlings of soil moisture and sunlight.

[1] Wrought iron, wire and wooden tree guards were used in Victorian England since the 1820s, but not always because of their cost.

[2] Plastic tube tree shelters were invented in Scotland in 1979 by Graham Tuley.

There is considerable debate among tree shelter manufacturers as to the ideal colour, size, shape and texture for optimal plant growth.

One style used in northern climates of North America has a height of 5 feet to offer the best protection from deer browse, with vent holes in the upper portion of the tube to allow for hardening off of hardwood trees going into the winter months and no vent holes in the lower portion to shield seedlings from herbicide spray and rodent damage.