Fruit trees

[cecil30-30]

I'd like to plant a few fruit trees for the wildlife on my property. Apples and pears ideally. Any tips or info would be appreciated. I'm assuming I'd have to put a small fence around them to keep the deer off of them. When's the best time of the year to plant? Any species better than others? What about disease? Will I need to spray them? Will I need to water them through the summer?

 

[TnKen]

Definitely will need to fence. The apple trees I planted at the house are heavily browsed by the deer, enough to stunt their growth. You also need to be sure to get a variety that is not affected by cedar rust if you have cedars anywhere near you.

 

[cecil30-30]

No cedars in the area.

 

[WestTn Huntin man]

You can find a wealth of information here or talk with your county extension agent. https://extension.tennessee.edu/pub...=https://extension.tennessee.edu/publications

Disease Susceptibility Ranking of Apples – Database of Apple Diseases

blogs.cornell.edu

Plums and some Pears have more disease resistance than most apples. Muscadine's and Persimmons are worth considering for low maintenance,. In General most Green apples have more disease resistance than reds and golds. Old time Heirloom types have the best resistance than modern. Arkansas Black grows well in Tn.

 

[PickettSFHunter]

I have planted around 300 in this area. If I were doing it over again, I wouldn't plant any apple or pear. You just can't keep bears from destroying them. They destroy them well before the fruit is even close to ripe. They will usually rip the whole tree down or at least break the entire top out. The only way I would do it again is with a electric fence maybe around the whole thing? I have wasted some serious coin due to the bears. I now replace with chestnuts, sawtooths, etc. Bears will chow on some chestnuts but won't damage the trees so bad.

 

[atnvol]

Plums and Chestnuts do well here.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Search fruit trees. Some valuable info has been shared on here. If you have bears, that's a big hurdle. Best of luck!

 

[backyardtndeer]

Have had pretty good luck with my Kiefer and Bartlet pears. I planted red delicious, granny Smith, and another type apple, don't remember. Those were all bare root trees. Right now is not a bad time to plant, so long as the ground is not frozen. Remember you will have to dig holes for however many trees you intend to plant, may be time consuming.

Caging the trees is critical. I used 2 t posts per tree with a fairly rigid 4ft tall fence wire.

 

[cecil30-30]

We don't have much of a bear problem here. I've seen a few over the years but very few and far in between.

 

[jaxvol]

I'd like to plant a few fruit trees for the wildlife on my property. Apples and pears ideally. Any tips or info would be appreciated. I'm assuming I'd have to put a small fence around them to keep the deer off of them. When's the best time of the year to plant? Any species better than others? What about disease? Will I need to spray them? Will I need to water them through the summer?

Plant 2 or 3 of each so they can get pollinated easily.

 

[Tn_Va_Hunter]

The trees is the cheap part. Protecting them is where it gets expensive if you plant several.

Im up to 24 apple trees, 30 dunstan chestnuts and about 20 sawtooth. I've got 6 more dunstan to plant this weekend and cage if I can find the time.

I've planted red delicious, Arkansas black, pink lady, Granny Smith, yellow delicious and another I can't remember.

It's addicting for sure. Once you plant a few. You want more lol

 

[Shooter77]

The trees is the cheap part. Protecting them is where it gets expensive if you plant several.

Im up to 24 apple trees, 30 dunstan chestnuts and about 20 sawtooth. I've got 6 more dunstan to plant this weekend and cage if I can find the time.

I've planted red delicious, Arkansas black, pink lady, Granny Smith, yellow delicious and another I can't remember.

It's addicting for sure. Once you plant a few. You want more lol

When you coming over to plant my 10 chestnuts you talked me into buying?

I agree with TN_VA_Hunter, the trees are the cheap part. time you buy the fence, tree tubes, tube stakes, weed mats add to the cost. I've also got 5 persimmon, 3 enterprise apple and 2 Kiefer pear to plant in the coming weeks.

 

[Tn_Va_Hunter]

When you coming over to plant my 10 chestnuts you talked me into buying?

I agree with TN_VA_Hunter, the trees are the cheap part. time you buy the fence, tree tubes, tube stakes, weed mats add to the cost. I've also got 5 persimmon, 3 enterprise apple and 2 Kiefer pear to plant in the coming weeks.

Let me know a day ! I'll come help

 

[spur necklace 3]

I'm up over 250 planted now of all kinds. Always recommend anyone to start with the wildlife group, all of their trees have grown great for me. Had decent apple and chestnut crops within 4 years and sawtooths produced in 5. Pears grow great but keep getting hit with late frost, apples bloom long enough that the frost didn't affect them much. No bears around here in middle TN to compete with.

The Wildlife Group – Fruit Trees and Hardwoods for Deer Food Plots

www.wildlifegroup.com

 

[spur necklace 3]

Also for a couple of your questions, I plant as many as possible in January and February but plant all the way into April when I have shipments come in from northern nurseries. Will need to use tree tubes or fencing, and the last couple of years I've actually had a few bucks rip full length tubes off a few of mine. I don't spray anything but sevin when the Japanese beetles invade in early summer, but should spray fruit tree oil every year and just never get around to it. Watering in the summer definitely helps for at least the first couple of years while roots get developed, not necessarily every week just have to keep an eye on how much rain you get each week. Weed mats help keep the weeds from getting right next to your trees, mulch on top will help hold moisture better.

 

[AlabamaSwamper]

Miracle Tube | Tree Grow Tubes - Seedling Tubes - Plant Tubes

Miracle Tube Grow Tubes for Trees are the #1 Tree Tubes for seedling trees. Tree Tubes provide a protective environment from inclement weather conditions, rodents, deer rub, and browse. Our Grow tubes are vented to create a micro climate within the tube to promote plant growth and better...

www.treepro.com

All you need to protect them.

Buy the 48" miracle tubes and some 1" pvc to cut as supports.

If you are a prime member on Amazon you can order them there easier

 

[Tn_Va_Hunter]

Miracle Tube | Tree Grow Tubes - Seedling Tubes - Plant Tubes

Miracle Tube Grow Tubes for Trees are the #1 Tree Tubes for seedling trees. Tree Tubes provide a protective environment from inclement weather conditions, rodents, deer rub, and browse. Our Grow tubes are vented to create a micro climate within the tube to promote plant growth and better...

www.treepro.com

All you need to protect them.

Buy the 48" miracle tubes and some 1" pvc to cut as supports.

If you are a prime member on Amazon you can order them there easier

Deer around here eat them as soon as they grow out of tube. That's why I also cage mine. I've had bucks rip off the tubes as well and kill a tree

 

[Chiflyguy]

Planted 5 trees last year.
Fat buck I nicknamed "Chunko" didn't like the apple trees