How to Install Vexar Tree Shelters

Vexar is a brand of tree protector netting used to shelter the tender trunks and foliage of seedlings and saplings. Manufactured by Minnesota-based Conwed Plastics, the Vexar brand is so well-known in the nursery trade that the name is often used to describe other brands of similar products, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Resources Conservation Service. Vexar shelters are used to prevent foraging from wildlife such as deer and trunk or root girdling by underground animals, such as voles. The rigid, but slightly stretchy, plastic mesh tubes are simple to install and can be trimmed to suit the height of your particular tree plantings.

Length of clean PVC pipe few inches longer than the Vexar tube
Vexar shelter

Instructions

- 1
  Slip the length of Vexar tubing over the outside of a PVC pipe that is large enough in diameter to slip over the sapling foliage. Slide the tubing along the pipe until smooth and even -- much like putting stockings on a leg.
- 2
  Gather up the branches of the canopy gently in one hand to compress them and make it easier to slide the PVC pipe over them.
- 3
  Slip the Vexar-covered PVC pipe over the top of the seedling or sapling carefully, with your free hand, being careful not o break off any branches or foliage.
- 4
  Nestle the Vexar-covered pipe down into the soil between 1 and 6 inches. If underground voles are a concern in your area bury the tubing closer to the 6-inch depth.
- 5
  Hold the Vexar sleeve firmly with one hand and with the other, pull the PVC pipe liner up and out of the tree protector.
- 6
  Firm any displaced soil around the base of the Vexar sleeve so it remains stable in the soil.
- 7
  Repeat, as needed, for each tree that needs protection. You can reuse the same PVC tube.

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