Creek chub
Active Member
I’m looking to plant some apple trees in VA. The elevation is about 2500’. Can anyone recommend any varieties?
Thanks
Thanks
Apple trees for deer
- Thread starter Creek chub
- Start date
Yes sir, been doing a lot of research on it the last few years. CF is normally sold out a year ahead of time. I will post a detailed write-up later when I have more time but several things are pertinent. What do you want the apples for - cooking (what kind), hunting over, eating, etc. to factor into apple variety. Also the size of the tree at maturity (rootstock mainly determines this). Dwarf trees stay smaller but have a weaker root system & should be staked, semi-dwarfs grow a little bigger (what I mainly bought) are more solid, & standard size (the largest) are the most solid in terms of tipping. Recommend several varieties for better cross pollination & even a crabapple or two really help.
Hey Creek - our elevation is 1,500' you're about 1k higher but I don't see that being an issue (hopefully). The Apple trees we ordered are Golden Delicious, WineCrisp, Jonafree, Enterprise, & GoldRush.
Also ordered some Moonglow, Kieffer, & Bartlett pears. More to follow but this is just to get us started this year from what I've seen & read, they do well in 6B.
Also ordered some Moonglow, Kieffer, & Bartlett pears. More to follow but this is just to get us started this year from what I've seen & read, they do well in 6B.
weekender21
Well-Known Member
Sounds like typical apple elevations for the Appalachians. Our property is in north western NC. We probably had around 100 apples and crabs in our creek bottom when we purchased the property in 2017. Last year I planted 24 apples and crabs from Northern Whitetail Crabs, all of them really took off this past summer.
I really focused on disease resistance this year more than anything else. I'm also starting to look hard at standard (full) size trees vs. semi dwarf due to our bear population. My order below is largely the result of recommendations on this forum (Native Hunter) and a few others. I'm no expert but thoroughly researched the topic prior to placing my 2019 orders.
2019 orders:
Northern Whitetail Crabs:
3006 crab-3
Droptine crab-3
Liberty-3
Enterprise-3
St. Lawrence:
Priscilla-1
Liberty-1
Freedom-1
Enterprise-1
Chestnut crab-1
Wildlife group:
Apples:
Dolgo crab x2
Transcendent crab x2
Arkansas black x2
Pears (one of each):
Arthur Ledbetter
Becton
Dixie Delight
Gate
Kiefer
Ms. Laneene
Harrows Delight
TS Hardy
Moonglow
Warren
I really focused on disease resistance this year more than anything else. I'm also starting to look hard at standard (full) size trees vs. semi dwarf due to our bear population. My order below is largely the result of recommendations on this forum (Native Hunter) and a few others. I'm no expert but thoroughly researched the topic prior to placing my 2019 orders.
2019 orders:
Northern Whitetail Crabs:
3006 crab-3
Droptine crab-3
Liberty-3
Enterprise-3
St. Lawrence:
Priscilla-1
Liberty-1
Freedom-1
Enterprise-1
Chestnut crab-1
Wildlife group:
Apples:
Dolgo crab x2
Transcendent crab x2
Arkansas black x2
Pears (one of each):
Arthur Ledbetter
Becton
Dixie Delight
Gate
Kiefer
Ms. Laneene
Harrows Delight
TS Hardy
Moonglow
Warren
Last edited:
Creek chub
Active Member
Would apple trees do good in poor, infertile mountain soil? I could add compost or similar at planting time I guess
weekender21
Well-Known Member
Certainly wouldn't hurt to get a soil test. That allows you to be very specific with fertilizer and lime. Without the test you're only guessing how poor or infertile your soil is. I planted quite a few trees in an area with a PH of 5.6, not the best but not horrible. They're doing great so far but I'm sure a little lime is in order if I hope to get maximum production.
Creek chub
Active Member
I had a soil test done about two years ago. The ph was 5.0. I can’t remember the details
weekender21
Well-Known Member
Most of the nurseries will gladly assist you with lime and fertilizer recommendations at planting. With a 5.0 I’d imagine it couldn’t hurt adding a few handfuls if lime. A phone call to someone like Allan at the wildlife group, Terry at NWC, or Conner at St. Lawrence would be the best way to find out for sure. All of them are very knowledgeable and helpful.
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Creek chub
Active Member
Does the public libraries in VA still have soil sample kits for VT?
Not sure if the libraries do but your local Co-Op will. Here's a link:
https://ext.vt.edu/offices.html
