Apple trees

Its a great idea. I planted a bunch on my property. About 15-20 of them. I also planted crab apple, choke cherry, june berry, dog woods and some others. As far as the apples, you may as well plant a couple you can get some great eating from as well. If they grow and are sold in your area, snag some Wealthy, and for sure a couple Honey Crisp. Both are great pie apples, and there is not a better eating apple then the honey crisp. Not sure if anyone told you but you need different variety's in order to pollinate. There needs to be other trees close by or you need to put some in. And some that pollinate, or flower at similar times. Wealthy and Honey Crisp are a good mate, I get tons every year from them. Harolson and Big Red etc. They all have times. Meaning flowering and dropping of fruit. If you go pick up say 8 more would be a great idea and you will love it. Pick different ones. Some early producers, some middle season and some late season producers. So you have fruit for the deer all season. Otherwise the visits are short lived. Say you do all early producers. You have a week or 2 and the deer are all fed and gone. You will also want to put wire screen around the trunks for a 5-6 years till you get good bark. Tree wrap if it gets cold as well. Wire will keep the rabbits and mice from eating them up. They will kill your young trees in minutes. Trust me I learned the hard way. You will also want to get chicken wire or fence and corral off the tree at least 3 feet or more around each tree. And plant at least 20-30 feet apart. They seem small and far enough apart when they come as sticks LOL. But in 4 years your like WTF was I thinking as the branches touch LOL. I did that dumb move too. Have fun its a great little project that pays off. I did a nice stand of them in the middle of a antler king clover plot. Needless to say, the deer likey.:thumbsup:
 
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The trees are planted close and different varieties. They are supposed to be self pollinators. I put ring of old tomato cages around them to keep the deer off. I also put fabric at the base to keep weed grass competition down.
 
The reason also for the fence is because the deer will eat them down to nothing as well. Even with a fence they will nibble some tips off your branches. Keep it up till the tree is big enough to withstand the deer. Good bark, and tall enough to have branches they can't reach. Then you can move the fence in to say a foot away from the trunk later. Bucks will destroy them rubbing otherwise. And again, something you nurtured for 3-4 years gone in minutes.:eek:
 
Not to be sarcastic. I will just say from being ravaged by deer on mine LOL. That the tomato cage idea may work a little. But them deer will most likely find it to be rather non intimidating when sweet little buds pop in spring. Anything new they may avoid for a bit. I did steel 6' posts and fence and they still bulled that around some. I did 5 posts on each and then it stopped. They would push it down with there front legs and nibble away till then. With tomato cages only being so high, I would be willing to bet they will be right over them once they realize the tree became food for them. Not sure about the self pollinator trees. Or how they produce seasonally. I went with the advice of an orchard, and now have fruit from August through late October, and even in to Nov. If you plan to hunt it, that will pay off having them early and late ones in. It took me a couple years and loss of trees to figure out how to keep mother nature at bay, and just how good my deer fence had to be :). What your trying to draw in will come, but that can also ruin your project if not barricaded well LOL. They can be very determined.:D
 
I actually took 4 tomato cages and tied them together and secured with 6' t posts. They were also free a big contributing facture in the not for profit habitat work area. LOL
 
Checked on the trees. The Apple look GREAT. The Crab Apple did not make it. I will replant in the fall. The bushes are going like gang busters.
 
WE have two plum bushes/trees in a row between two football size food plots. I added two apple trees to the plum trees. Will continue to add fruit trees to the row if the new ones make it.

We put t post in the ground and put 6 foot livestock gates around each tree close enough to the tree to keep the deer from jumping over and far enough away that they shouldn't be able to nibble on the trees.

Trees looked good going into the fall, but darn cottontail rabbits started nibbling on the trees so had to add chicken wire to the gates.

Location is South Dakota where it can be tough to get trees to grow due to the animals, wind and large temperature swings.

Had some oaks planted that were doing great then the weather went from -10 to almost 60 then back below freezing in just a few days and the trunks of these trees just exploded. Dead tree now. Would love to have some oaks with acorns.


SDviking
 
Fruit trees

I have/am trying to grow some fruit trees here on the ranch. Have about 10 right now (apple,cherry,peach and plum) I also have 3 prarie fire crab apples.

Some things I have learned over the years:

Protect the trunks, one year I forgot to and the rabbits girdled the bottom and killed all my apple trees

If you mulch around the base of the tree it helps retain moisture

We have lots of cedar trees next to us so cedar apple rust resistance trees do much better for me



I have not built cages around mine yet and the new ones I planted this year the deer ate the leaves off of the part that stuck out above the trunk protector.

I hope that sooner or later I start to get some fruit and my trees live and do well or I may give up.
 
I had a great crop this year in the food plot. In listening to others demise here, I will share again what worked well for me for deer, rabbit and mice trouble. I had all 3 destroy hundreds of $ and hard work.
Plant tree.
Wrap entire trunk with tree wrap expandable fabric. Comes in rolls. Protects against cold till bark develops, and lasts several years. never have to mess with ever again.
Buy 1/4" hardware cloth and wrap around trunk about 3' high down to dirt. No more mice and rabbit trouble. Will kill your trees in minutes without.

Deer- heavy duty fence 4-5' tall around entire tree, far enough out deer can not reach branches, yet close so they don't jump over as said above by others.

= success.:thumbsup: Plus plant several varieties that produce at different times. All simple, and all pay off huge. I wasted lots of money and years finding this out.:D.

Those looks on my face the following year after I just planted a tree and found it destroyed had to be priceless LOL.
 
Fruit trees

FCSpringer, how big are your trees now and how many apples did you roughly get on each one?

I have tried all different sizes of trees also from 6-8' tall well branched ones to 3-4' sticks from stark brothers last year. I'm not sure what ones are better yet. I have had quite a few of the large ones die on me.


My trees are on the north side of the property on the top of a south facing slope. They get plenty of sun Im pretty sure.


This year I would like to plant 5-10 more trees and some blueberries or raspberries along my east side property fencline, something to attract more bees here. If I ever get some apples I would like to try and make some hard cider.:thumbsup:
 
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Mine were all that typical 6-7' tall potted tree. I got them from a nursery and wally world. Wallmart trees sucked. Mine now are 10-12 feet tall and a canopy as wide as a truck bed. I bet from the honey crisp we have had as many as 15-20 bushel from 2 trees at least. The nursery was about 35$ per tree, but also guarantees them. If they die in a year, you get a new one. I am going to do a good prune on mine this year for the first time. They are way too thick. And pop in 4-6 more as well. I will not get dwarf ones again. Semi dwarf has been a nice tree. My dads are 12-15 feet tall and 12' or so wide canopy. Took some time, but now it is paying off. First year you need to keep them watered well. I also put the ground rubber style mat, or tree ring around them. They work great for grass and weeds next to the trunk. And keep the soil moist. Mulch can mold and kill them. Been there done that. Killed some trees we had moved with too much mulch. Raked it away and saved some. So I never do that anymore. Just those mats. They breathe, allow moisture, and keep out weeds.:thumbsup:
 
Apple Trees

I haven't had much luck with apple trees. Make sure you control the weeds and put 1/4 inch square mesh around them to prevent the rodents from eating the bark no matter what time of year. We have two old trees on our place with a crabtree. The deer love the apples and I place a camera on the tree to see what comes in. Make sure you plant more than one for polination and don't plant close to evergreens they don't like each other.
RLH
 
Honey crisp harvest.

Made a couple pies a week or so ago, and sent two huge boxes of the nicest ones home with friends. One big cooler in mason jars as pie filling. 12 jars so far, and this left to do. Should end up with about 50-60 pies worth of canned filling:thumbsup::D:). There is at least this much still on the 2 trees and equal on the ground. These 2 trees are about 8 years old. Semi dwarf honey crisp. The bees that made them are filling up the hives with the fruit now as well. I have 6 trees out in my food plot that I have not even hit yet. Deer are loving it.
:cheers:

 
Well, 37 jars of honeycrisp pie filling, and only about half done :eek:. I did walk out to the food plot to see how my other trees were doing. Not one apple left on the ground. The deer ate every single one. But there is some on the tree yet, and should still drop fruit for a few weeks. I will have to find a couple later producers to add in the mix:thumbsup:. I have one crab apple that is a large standard, and that has lots of fruit yet. It takes a little time, but it pays off. And before you know it, your enjoying your work.:thumbsup:




Here is the crab apple. Should drop for a few weeks yet.:thumbsup:

 
Man good job. I appreciate the lesson as I am going to get some planted on my property. Send me some pie
 
RedLeg Hunter said:
I haven't had much luck with apple trees. Make sure you control the weeds and put 1/4 inch square mesh around them to prevent the rodents from eating the bark no matter what time of year. We have two old trees on our place with a crabtree. The deer love the apples and I place a camera on the tree to see what comes in. Make sure you plant more than one for polination and don't plant close to evergreens they don't like each other.
RLH
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You are correct. I treat for cedar apple rust all the time on apple, crabapple, and hawthorn trees. Them and the evergreens do not get along. I hate spraying fungicide in the game fields but it makes the trees do so much better.
 
:D:thumbsup: The only things you need to do are plant it correct height. Too high tree won't die, to low tree won't grow. Do not mulch next to trunk, only out around the canopy. Protect with tree wrap and wire for mice and rabbits. Steak it and fence it in. Keep well watered the first year and drought years. Once it gets tall enough where deer can not destroy it, and the tree has bark your good. A buck can trash it in a minute, and they love to eat them. About the pine trees, Mine are surrounded by them, but not next to any. Pines are acidic, and the dropped needles kill any growth below next to the tree. So yes keep 20 feet away from expected area of pines at predicted full growth.:thumbsup: After I did this stuff, I have not lost one apple tree. 12 now. And some crab apple trees. I planted some American plumb as well and they had good fruit as well. I forgot to take a pic. By the time I noticed and went back with the camera, the deer ate all the plumbs. Next year I will try to get them first LOL.

carptom1 said:
Man good job. I appreciate the lesson as I am going to get some planted on my property. Send me some pie
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