Anyone Planted Fruit Trees?

[EasternNChunter]

I think I am going to plant 8-10 apple trees on the farm in the next week or two.  Any else done any of this?  Thoughts?

[Struttin Spurs]

I know it will help the deer! Not really sure about the turkeys though.

[HogBiologist]

Make sure to put some protecters around the trees.  Deer love to rub on fruit trees.  Never fails, they will pass up every thing to get to a fruit tree.

[EasternNChunter]

I planted 8 apple trees, 2 pear trees, and 2 fig trees.  This was done mostly for the deer.  I planted them on a hedgerow by two Sawtooth Oaks that I planted a few years ago.

[Gobblestopper]

Make sure to put some protecters around the trees.  Deer love to rub on fruit trees.  Never fails, they will pass up every thing to get to a fruit tree.

X2 on protecting the trees.
I bought a 150' roll of that 6" X 6" concrete reinforcing wire mesh and made cages for my trees.  Small bolt cutter or barb wire fencing pliers cuts it pretty good.  Make em way bigger than you would ever think!  25 feet of mesh will only make about an 8' diameter cage and believe me you have to protect these trees and their lower branches for a long time before they are big enough to be considered deer resistant.  The deer in my neighborhood have put the rub on and killed at least a dozen fruit and ornamental trees in just the past three years.  That roll of mesh is cheap in comparison to the cost of those trees.  The deer also don't seem to like to stick their heads through that 6X6 opening much so it cuts down on the nibbling quite well.  I also put a sleeve of 4" flexible corrugated plastic drain tile around the lower trunk to stop the rabbits from eating the bark off and cats? from scratching on the trunk.

The other key consideration is to not plant them too deep in the ground.  Most fruit trees are grafted on to root stalk and you want to make sure that graft scar is well above ground level.  Otherwise the tree may rot out and die or may not produce fruit very well in the future.  Its good to mulch around the base to keep moisture in and weeds/grass down , but avoid using too much and dont mulch up against the base/ root flare.  Do use fruit tree fertilizer spikes pounded in around the drip line in the late fall to make the nutrients available in the Spring when the tree needs it most.     

[Dixie Whistler]

I have planted several apples, but they are not making fruit yet.  Turkeys will tear up some crabapples though.  The crabs will also help with the pollination for your regular apples if they are planted close by.

[joshb311]

Persimmon are good as well. Lots of different wildlife love em.

[MisterEd55]

I bought 27 acres about 7 years ago that was an old orchard.  There are more than 40 standard size apple trees scattered throughout the woods.  It also backs up to 6700 acres of state forest and there are a lot of red oaks up on the ridge above our property.  I just took a walk through the property this morning and because of the mild winter several of the apple trees kept their apples even until now.  Underneith those trees there are so many turkey tracks it's incredible.  There are actually more turkey tracks in the snow than there are deer tracks.

I've also got a lot of hawthorn on the property and the turkeys love the small red berries from those trees.

I've planted more than 35 burr oak and swamp white oak throughout the property near the 5 food plots I'm maintaining.  I'm hoping this draws the turkeys and deer to the edges of the food plots for something extra.  This morning it looked like a turkey highway going through 3 of the food plots.  There were turkey tracks everywhere in the snow, and I saw 11 as I pulled into the property right near the road.

I'm going to plant some very hardy pear trees this spring and put grow tubes around them.  I'll let you know in a couple of years when they start producing pears.

Another thing they like is blackberries and rasberries...if you make clearings on your property, they will naturally fill in with brambles and blackberries and the turkeys will be hanging around them all summer.  I had several roosting last summer right above a big patch that I had cleared and it had filled in with blackberries.

[jasperjet]

Here in NC the forestry dept has trees for sale very cheap. crab apple persimmon, oaks  just a couple dollars apiece but I think planting time has come and gone this year.

[BandedSpur]

I have planted apple, pear, plum, and plumcots.  As others have said, you absolutely must fence the trees to keep the deer off of them. I fenced mine with hog wire, but lost an apple tree to rabbits girdling the trunk. I now put a row of rabbit wire around the bottom of the hog wire to keep them out.

[wvcurlytop]

I have been planting apple, plum, and peach trees, but that was more for my enjoyment as well as the deer than anything else.  One thing to remember if you live in bear country, which most of us do now, once the trees get big enough to start bearing, in one night a bear can come in and destroy the tree as they climb it and break the limbs in an effort to get the fruit.  I have quit planting them for this reason.  Starting this year I am going to start crabapples and dogwoods.  Turkeys love both and bears aren't so hard on them!  I start them from seed from the trees already around my home.  Dogwoods are a great addition, cause turkeys love their fruit, they are shade tolerant, and they are beautiful in bloom come spring.  I buy those tree protectors that protect the tree, but also provide a more favorable environment for the seedling as well.  I don't try to plant hundreds of them, but just do my best to ensure the ones I do plant survive.  If that means carrying water into them their first couple of years, I do it.  I also keep them fertilized, or micacle grow, their first couple of seasons, which helps establish a good strong root system.  I think in the long term, mast trees are the way to go for wildlife.  I have tried to get some sawtooth oaks started, but so far I can't get them to sprout.  Anyone else try and have the same problem?  And speaking of oaks, if you have some spare time, go out and gather up acorns, especially white oaks, and plant as many as you want too.  I'll stick them in the ground in brush piles, or anywhere I think will be hard for a deer to get into so they don't browse them off so quick.  I know an acorn I plant now may not bear until I am an old man, but someone or something has to plant them.  I'll do my part to ensure some turkey and deer hunter in the future has a place to set come season.  Good luck, and keep planting.  If for nothing else, we can leave the world and woods a better place for all who comes along behind us..