Gives trees time to establish before onset of hot dry summer.
Soil conditions often better in Autumn than Spring.
Less drying winds assists establishment.
Greater variety of tree stocks available in Autumn.
Often more time in Autumn for farmers to devote to preparation, planting, weed control, post planting care, etc. than in Winter/Spring when feeding out and lambing/calving, takes most of the available time.
Any losses can be replaced in Spring thus avoiding the loss of a year's growth.
Note:- Autumn planting is not recommended in areas which experience severe winter frost.
(Stock have been known to eat hundreds of dollars worth of trees overnight.). Experience tells us permanent fencing is more reliable than electric fencing. A standard 7 wire fence with an electric outrigger is excellent.
It should be stressed that all hedges (or shelter) need to be DOUBLE FENCED from stock. i.e. a fence either side of the trees to protect them from being eaten or rubbed and therefore ruining the low foliage and ultimately creating a very drafty hedge. Farm shelter needs this double fence to be at least 3 metres apart and plant the trees in the middle. If the double fence is 3 metres apart it must have 'hot wires' to protect the trees. A double fence with no 'hot wires' must be 4 metres apart with the trees planted in the middle. (This is if stock are BOTH sides of the hedge.) If stock are not grazing on one side that fence can be closer to the trees by about 1/2 a metre.
Spray vegetation out if recommended by Nurseryman. (Shelter trees overgrown by grass restricts growth considerably or can kill young trees.) Grass growing up around young trees also rots the foliage and forms a drafty hedge that may never recover. Early management care pays dividends in later years.
April, May, June, July, August for most of the coastal areas of New Zealand.
August, September for properties near Egmont National Park or at a higher altitude areas of New Zealand.