Treeshelter system for seedlings, saplings, and the like

Abstract

A treeshelter system comprising a unitary treeshelter with integral staking means is disclosed. The treeshelter system may include treeshelter extenders with a lower edge having connector means which cooperate and connect with connector means provided on the upper edge of a unitary treeshelter or on the top edge of another treeshelter extender. The unitary treeshelter comprises a hollow tube, preferably in the form of a truncated cone, open at both ends, and formed of polymeric material. The tube comprises integral staking means consisting of a plurality of rods secured to and supported in a like number of bosses formed integrally with the tube, and spaced substantially evenly around the lower edge of the tube. A unitary treeshelter according to the invention is installed in a single step by positioning it over a seedling and pressing downwardly until the lower end of it is flush with the ground and the rods are securely embedded in the ground. The height of a treeshelter according to the invention can be customized, on site, with no tools, by the use of extenders, thereby eliminating the need for foresters to maintain an inventory of treeshelters of various lengths. The treeshelter system according to the invention gives foresters the ability to extend the length of a treeshelter comprising a treeshelter base or a treeshelter base and extender, while the treeshelter is still installed over a seedling which has grown within the treeshelter to the top of it.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.