Planting Apple trees??
Whitetail Deer
If I buy 6-7ft. fruit baring trees, when is the best time to plant them? Also will I have fruit the first year if the bees do their jobs? I found a great buy on trees already baring fruit and want to plant several. Any suggestions or knowledge would be great! Thank You! Shawn
Plant in spring....protect bark from rabbits voles deer etc....they will bare fruit first season....that has been my experience
pears drop during hunting season, apples drop before the season opens so you are better off with pears as far as I am concerned
There are varieties of Apples that ripen as early as August and as late as November (here in the Northeast). Try to get some that span your whole season. Make sure you have at least one pollinator. You can certainly get fruit the first year if they are already bearing. Dig bigger holes than you think you need, and backfill with excellent soil. Protect them from rodents and deer, and make sure they get enough water. Your mileage may vary, Good luck.
I am buying and planting braeburn apple trees. They will be 6-7ft and have already born fruit the previous year. i was just concerned if they would fruit after being planted the same year. These will be perfect for the time of year I want them to start to drop. Shawn
Do it!!
I will be planting 12 fruit trees this spring!
Seems to be some miss-information on this thread.....each variety is different. Some pears drop later than apples, and visa versa. Very dependent on variety and rootstock. Generally speaking pears hold later, but apples are actually the latest holding if you buy the correct variety....Arkansas black is a good one
Anyways, spring or fall planting is fine. Just watch the tree the first year as a bigger tree will need more water.....so, I would expect to give it some water the first year over the summer. I would also recommend putting a weed mat or mulch down to help hold moisture. Lasty, as stated.....PROTECT THEM of you are simple wasting your $
I guess it depends on where you live. I know many people who planted apples in my home state of Arkansas and none of them ever shot a legal deer during open season. This includes old orchards that were already planted. However, I know many people like myself who have had shooting deer around pear trees. Just my experience. Never seen any results from apples. FWIW, I am a beekeeper too.
my neighbor has a pear tree and an apple tree, i would go pick up all the ones that fell off the tree and throw them out for the deer, they always ate the pears before they ate the apples.
Apples and Pears, Use a good starter fertilizer and good dirt like Ace said, plant in spring after last frost. Also fence them, if deer don't eat them down to stalks, they will antler whip them and rub off every scrap of bark off in the fall.
Also depending on location, Pine and Cedar trees will put orange spots all over the leaves. You have to treat with fruit tree oil initially before the bud and then spray with fruit tree spray every 10 days or so until summer or as need through the year. These orange spots will kill the leaves and they will all drop off by July. It’s 50/50 on the tree coming back the next spring. You can find oil and spraying directions on-line to include mixing ratios. Easy to get started and grow.
Also depending on rain, water every 5 or 6 days.
Eating variety apples will have all fallen off the trees by November. Some of the varieties of crab apples retain their fruit throughout the winter and are quite a draw for wildlife of all varieties.
When they bear 1st depend on a variety of things. Weather, how much they were stressed when planted, moisture (rainfall), coolness (or warmth) of Spring temps during bloom, and last but not least, variety and rootstock.
If you live east of the Mississippi River, apples are a very high maintenance tree fruit. They are susceptible to all kinds of fungal disease and insects. If you have time to spray them and really take care of them, they're great. I've got 70 apple trees where I live in southern Ohio. But I spend a lot of time spraying, pruning and otherwise taking care of them. If you want some "disease-resistant" apples, try Liberty and Enterprise. In New York state, Liberty will likely drop in late September to early October, and Enterprise probably a month later. Even though they are disease-resistant, though, you will still have difficulties with insect damage.
If you want a lower maintenance tree fruit, look into pears.
I have pear trees in in one area. The deer hit them but they are done by our season opener. I am not looking to shoot deer over these trees as much as a variety to keep them on the property. I have a 140 acre lease and it is getting better. We had 35 acres of corn this year, 3 food plots anywhere from 1/4 to 3 acres and also 15 acres of clover and alfalfa. The clover did well the alfalfa the soil is too wet. I have been "managing this property for the last 7 years but have hunted it for close to 50. After the fruit trees I have to plant more thermal cover. I am looking at a pine thicket on a nice south facing slope I am clearing. I have been hinge cutting the last couple years and everything is working so far. I just wanted to do more fruit trees and was going to start with just 3 to see how they do. If they do well, I will plant more. I have a long term deal on this lease and hope to retire in 5 years and have it producing some great bucks, just gotta let them 3.5 year old 110" deer walk, which for me is tough to do. Thanks guys! Shawn
My problem is the moose like to eat the apples when they are green. Leaves too.
In Montana the big issue is bucks seem to like to beat them to death.
yes forgot to mention apples have many more diseases than the pears from what I have seen. we sprayed our apple trees and it helped 10X. but for deer pears get my vote 110:1 over apples
Pears do not require TLC like apples . Plant both Barttlet and keffer varieties as they drop at different times .
Not a food source just an alternative for them. I have pears on the property but they drop early. I also have some apple trees but they are ancient, still bare some fruit but they are at the back of the property. I want to offer them as many food sources and variety as possible to hold them on the property. Shawn
I lost all my pear trees to fire blight, the Barttlet really got wiped out I'm in the Catskill area
Pat, I am hoping it helps concentrate them some. I have some but they are old and do not bare a lot of fruit. Shawn
If you heavily prune your old trees, they should produce a lot better in the following years.
The old timers say if you can't throw your hat through the branches, you haven't pruned enough.
t-roy, I want to do that but was told to do it in the dead of winter when real cold. We have not had any cold this winter at all. Shawn
You don't need intense cold. Just when they are most dormant.
Both pear and apple benefit from pruning.
Has anyone had success with Peach Tree's? I have a few that I am going to be planting on our land mostly for myself but if they all survive I know there will be plenty left over for the deer but Ive never looked into it to see if its something that deer like to eat or not. Anyone out there have any first hand knowledge on whether or not deer like peaches?
I would like to see all the pics of deer killed over apples vs pears. I don't have any pics but we used to shoot a ton of does over pears.
Pat....that's a lot of apple trees. Can I ask why there are so many? Old orchard? That's awesome
KT3....I can tell you first-hand that deer LOVE peaches. I've got over 50 peach trees and the deer hammer them all the time. As a hunting "aid" they're not that valuable simply because the best-eating varieties are done by the time bow season opens in most states....say Oct 1. But for personal consumption, and sharing some fruit with deer, peaches are a great fruit to grow. Definitely takes some work, but if you plant several varieties with varying maturities; prune the trees correctly; thin the overabundant fruit (this is key); and don't miss a few key sprays; the fruit is very reliable and great eating. Apples and pears definitely better for attracting deer during hunting seasons.....along with chestnuts and hybrid oaks.
To my surprise, deer seem to prefer eating the leaves on my pear trees better than the pears themselves. All of the leaves will be stripped from the low limbs by the time pears become ripe.
Deer will surely decimate limbs they can reach. .....this is part of the reason protection is so critical for young trees from browse and older trees from bucks rubbing them. Hate to grow a tree for 10 years and have a buck destroy it in one night!
https://www.nativnurseries.com/p-51-wild-deer-pear-pyrus-communis.aspx I just ordered these.
About 10 years ago I planted a dozen 6 foot trees. I read up on the proper planting and pruning procedures and made sure they got plenty of water that first season. I planted 4 or 5 different varieties. No fruit the first or second years. They remained alive but didn't even grow an inch. It took about 5 years to get significant fruit. Now they are usually an every other year of heavy Apple production but I get some apples each year. And they have grown a ton. Just my experience. Good luck.
I am in the process of buying 10 acres that is perfect for planting a small orchard. I thought 20 apple and 12 pear should draw in some deer from the surrounding area. In walking the property, driving around the area and viewing from space I could not see any food plots or fruit plots.
From what I have been reading, Fall is a great time to plant as well.
