fruit trees
- Thread starter JAY B
- Start date
skipperbrown
Well-Known Member
I got 100 bare root trees, apples, pears, and peach through a deal with my forester for about $8 each. You can get wholesale pricing with the nurseries if you get a forester to call for you. My trees came out of Smithville. But here is the rub. The deer have destroyed almost all my trees either eating them or rubbing them. You will likely have to put up a tall fence to allow the trees to reach maturity.
bjohnson
Well-Known Member
Looking foward to the replies as we are planning to do the same on our property after season. We want to stick with natives so crabapples, american plums, and persimmons are at the top of our list. I planted some oaks last February with tree tubes and so far nothing has messed with them.
squackattack
Well-Known Member
I have had great success with trees from wildlife group or reids century farm. That being said I found fruit trees can be a lot of work. Cedar apple rust and fireblight make it tough.
buckaroo
Well-Known Member
Arkansas Black, and several others are disease resistant
hillbillyfab
Well-Known Member
BSK
Well-Known Member
Fruit trees are a real favorite for bucks to rub on.
backyardtndeer
Well-Known Member
Yes, your fruit trees will absolutely need to be caged. I planted Bartlett and keifer pears, and a variety of apples, all bare root trees. I got a good deal from tyty nursery, and while they do not honor their warranty, I might buy from them again due to their prices. I lost two trees out of the couple times I have bought from them, those were trees I planted in my yard though. One thing to be sure of, is that you don't get more trees than you can plant in a timely manner. I think one of the times I bought 30 trees at one time, that was a lot of holes to dig and plant trees in in a weekend by myself.
bjohnson
Well-Known Member
I would think planting them in an open field or food plot would lead them to be rubbed on more than if planted inside the wood line? Numerous podcasts talk about putting a rub post(most of the time a 2-3" diameter limb) in a food plot and its gets hammered.
backyardtndeer
Well-Known Member
Fruit trees won't typically grow as fast on a woodline or inside the woods, in my experience anyway. And they may still get rubbed. Have cedars here that get hit inside the woods here every year.
I use 2 t posts and 2 inch square 48 inch tall panel wire around each tree.
Persimmons will do good around the edge of woods. Fruit trees are really good when they are not many acorns. This year I have pears and apples rotting on the ground.
Like everyone said keep them protected until they are mature. I don't know the proper name for the type of pear tree but I have the old type that's for canning that come in late around the end of September deer usually clean up what we don't pick.
Like everyone said keep them protected until they are mature. I don't know the proper name for the type of pear tree but I have the old type that's for canning that come in late around the end of September deer usually clean up what we don't pick.
TN-Hunter
Member
Yes deer will destroy everyone you plant if they are not protected while young. I have had good luck with planting bare root seedlings in tree tubes then placing a small circular 5 foot fence around each, roughly 1.5 feet in diameter.
I protect mine with tree tubes made of 4" corrugated black drain pipe
Check out fast-growing-trees.com.
They claim to bear fruit in 1-2 years where as a "normal" one from a nursery will take another 7ish years to produce fruit.
I planted 5 back in spring to see how well they will take off. To me, it was worth gamble of the extra money to be able to enjoy fruit sooner and not wait another 10 years.
They claim to bear fruit in 1-2 years where as a "normal" one from a nursery will take another 7ish years to produce fruit.
I planted 5 back in spring to see how well they will take off. To me, it was worth gamble of the extra money to be able to enjoy fruit sooner and not wait another 10 years.
hillbillyfab
Well-Known Member
Has that worked well for you? I ask because I've got a few different trees that I've drove t-posts and put fence around to protect them. If I can get away with just corrugated pipe, that would be much easier for us, especially on the trees we'll plant in the future.
It works great. Out of 45 trees i had a buck rip the tubing off one tree. The tree had a little damage but was fine. This was a small young sapling. Once they are established they are deer proof
If you don't fence and or cage them good chance they won't survive. Deer love the little leaf buds in the spring or will strip the bark in Winter when food is scarce. Apple trees require a regular spray schedule for Cedar Apple rust. Persimmons are low maintenance Muskdines are easy also . Your best information will come from the County Extension office. Lots of information here also. https://extension.tennessee.edu/pub...=https://extension.tennessee.edu/publications
Does anyone have any experience with Dunstan Chestnut trees from the nursery down in Georgia? It is supposedly ran by the grandson of the man that developed the Dunstan Chestnut hybrid back in the 1940s or 1950s.
BSK
Well-Known Member
Had a client give rave reviews for Dolgo crabapples. They hold their fruit until late in fall, early winter.
I've planted about 15-18 over the last 3 years. They are anywhere from 2-4 years old. Some are over 10 foot tall already and 3 had burrs this year. But I picked them off to let the tree put its effort into growing vs just a few chestnuts. I got 6 more this fall from Walmart I got to get in the ground soon. They are fast growers. But all of mine are caged as well.
I've also planted roughly 20 different apple trees. Granny Smith, ark black, pink lady and a couple others. They range anywhere from 2-5 years old. I started off with a tube around them and then went to cages when they came out of the tube. After they get past browse height I split a tube and slip over them with a t post to keep deer from rubbing them. Several produced some apples this year. But like my chestnuts. I picked them off early (ones I could reach) to help let the tree grow instead of putting the energy into the apples. I've lost a couple this year for no reason. Was doing well and they just died. They was side by side and in bad soil. The remaining 2 on that hillside I'll move this spring. But they are anywhere from 7-14 foot tall in 2-4 years.
I just add a little each year due to cost. Caging, tubes, t post and spray gets expensive. Make sure to get a couple good sets of hand pruners to cut the suckers off the bottoms that pop up when dormant. But it gives me and my son something to enjoy together and learn at the same time.
Edit to add. I like to prune to where I can mow under them as they grow. Mossy oak nativ nursery and the wildlife group has good info on their sites of keeping them up. It's a lot of work. But I enjoy it.
