3 Most OVERRATED Trees for Whitetail Deer

[TreeDaddy]

I'm old school and should be saying yuppies (or probably hipsters) instead of hippies. The terminology has a tendency to change over time. However, I'm talking about apples from the Bowels of Disease Hell that are demanded by people like Clark Wilhem Griswold, Jr.'s neighbors (Todd and Margo).

I like growing apples that support life rather than apples that require life support.

got it

honey crisp comes to mind

bill

 

[Native Hunter]

got it

honey crisp comes to mind

bill

Yes sir. That one would be a prime example.

 

[Bowhunter]

Couldn't disagree more with Don on saying that apple trees are overrated for whitetails.

Maybe in the Midwest they are where deer have thousands of acres of crop fields to choose from, but here in the Northeast where timber is the majority of the landscape he couldn't be more wrong IMO. Here on my farm in New York the deer much prefer apples over over any other options if they are available. Even Red oak acorns depending on the timing.

Look forward to hearing what he feels is the best three tree options.

 

[Chainsaw]

As I think about this Bowhunter it appears we are all about on or partially on the same page as Don. For example, I could proclaim that pears are a waste of time. There are 60 plus pear trees on this property and they are true deer magnets but they drop all of their pears by around October 20 each year. Therefore they do not meet my wants of drawing and holding deer during the rut and feeding deer during the winter. The same can be said for 99% of the apples people have planted for deer. As Native has stated the key is "PLANTING THE RIGHT APPLE TREE VARIETIES". And I'm sure the same can probably be said for pear trees which is why I don't think much of pear trees; I simply am not growing the right varieties.

The reason some of us are so excited about apples is that we have on our properties either by luck or conscious decision apple tree varieties that meet or exceed our expectations to feed, hold and draw deer; most people simply do not grow the best apple varieties available for feeding wildlife. And since the varieties suitable to feeding wildlife represent maybe less than 1% of apple varieties grown today, the cycle of planting and growing the wrong varieties has continued. So while apples are very important trees on your property, Native's, mine and a few others properties, that is not the case on most properties. edit-YET.

 

[George]

I think that it was just click bait, I didn't click.

I really don't think that pears, white oaks, and alfalfa sprouts are over rated.

G

 

[Chainsaw]

I think that it was just click bait, I didn't click.

I really don't think that pears, white oaks, and alfalfa sprouts are over rated.

G

Am getting used to your wonderful humor George and remembering that great pear tree you had in Iowa I know that you of all people wouldn't think pears are over rated.

 

[Baker]

Once again it is a fact that different properties have different needs. On my farm planting ANY TREE is overrated. My whole farms covered in oaks [whats left after the hurricane ] along with wild persimmon, wild plum , grape, brambles etc. I've planted a whole bunch of Apple, pear, plum, Chestnut & Japanese Persimmon on the farm . The coons , possums and squirrels have loved me for it. Not sure a deer has ever eaten anything from a fruit tree I ever planted. Been a waste of time for deer IMO.

Course I'll be planting more in next couple weeks cause I like doing that stuff.

 

[cutman]

Once again it is a fact that different properties have different needs. On my farm planting ANY TREE is overrated. My whole farms covered in oaks [whats left after the hurricane ] along with wild persimmon, wild plum , grape, brambles etc. I've planted a whole bunch of Apple, pear, plum, Chestnut & Japanese Persimmon on the farm . The coons , possums and squirrels have loved me for it. Not sure a deer has ever eaten anything from a fruit tree I ever planted. Been a waste of time for deer IMO.

Course I'll be planting more in next couple weeks cause I like doing that stuff.

I’ve shot one animal from my pear orchard - a coyote.

 

[George]

If i could only have one tree on my property it would have to be asexual not sure what. If I could have two trees, then two pears.

G

 

[Chainsaw]

If i could only have one tree on my property it would have to be asexual not sure what. If I could have two trees, then two pears.

G

I'm presuming you did not mean two pears but rather two pears that fed deer like those in your old home. Pears are like apples; not all are specically wild life friendly.

 

[George]

I'm presuming you did not mean two pears but rather two pears that fed deer like those in your old home. Pears are like apples; not all are specically wild life friendly.

Perhaps that would explain this.





G

 

[MarkDarvin]

I'm not 100% anti-tree planting, but I'm close. I'm a fan of managing the tree base by subtraction via chainsaw. Nothing every failed that was put there by mother nature.

 

[Jon]

As I think about this Bowhunter it appears we are all about on or partially on the same page as Don. For example, I could proclaim that pears are a waste of time. There are 60 plus pear trees on this property and they are true deer magnets but they drop all of their pears by around October 20 each year. Therefore they do not meet my wants of drawing and holding deer during the rut and feeding deer during the winter. The same can be said for 99% of the apples people have planted for deer. As Native has stated the key is "PLANTING THE RIGHT APPLE TREE VARIETIES". And I'm sure the same can probably be said for pear trees which is why I don't think much of pear trees; I simply am not growing the right varieties.

The reason some of us are so excited about apples is that we have on our properties either by luck or conscious decision apple tree varieties that meet or exceed our expectations to feed, hold and draw deer; most people simply do not grow the best apple varieties available for feeding wildlife. And since the varieties suitable to feeding wildlife represent maybe less than 1% of apple varieties grown today, the cycle of planting and growing the wrong varieties has continued. So while apples are very important trees on your property, Native's, mine and a few others properties, that is not the case on most properties. edit-YET.

The right apple trees is so subjective to me, the varieties amongst what I’ve used has varied over the years and I doubt I have more experience than many of you. But after 15 years of planting apples specifically I’ve tried g, b, m and standard rootstock and 50-75 different scion varieties and each tree is different and reacts uniquely in the conditions they are grown. Respectively, I’m hardly one to suggest a apple variety nowadays.... but one thing to remember about Don, if you have a chance to look at his property he’s a single woodlot amongst thousands (miles) of row crop, apples are very limited to non-existent in his local area. He may have planted trees but his region of the world doesn’t value the same things like some of us especially in good ole New York.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Native Hunter]

I forgot to mention that I'm anti-tree too. I tell all my neighbors that they are not worth planting, and that they will never get any fruit off of them:

 

[Baker]

^^^^^^ Your just showing off!

And I love it

 

[George]

That's quite a smorgasbord!

I figured out what one asexual tree that I would have on my property up north, a single populus tremuloides clone that covers the whole property.

G

 

[THE LLC]

This is my take on the three trees he mentioned:

Sawtooth Oaks:

• I have a strain that drops into early November.
• Deer are crazy about the acorns.
• My trees started bearing in about 6 years and were strong bearing by year 9.
• We had a historic late freeze last spring that killed all fruit and toasted leaves on all trees at my farm. Yet, the sawtooths were able to rebound and make acorns when everything else failed.
• I've never had one to die. We experienced a -28 degree winter a few years ago.
• No other oak that I've seen is as reliable. A friend of mine says it best: "It's not because the acorns are any better, it's because they are always there."
• I'm adding more this spring,

Dunstan Chestnuts:

• I don't like them as well as Chinese.
• Mine have been slower to put on growth and slower to bear than Chinese.
• The Chinese are much heavier producers of chestnuts for me.
• The drop times on the ones I have are about the same.
• I like having a few Dunstans, but I prefer Chinese.

Apples:

• Unless you plant the right apples you are better off not planting any apples in my area. However, if you get the right ones, they are a great whitetail tree and worth all of the effort. In fact, they are no harder to take care of than any other tree. The reason most people fail with apples is because they try to grow hippie apples.
• When choosing varieties, make sure you stay with ones that have a high resistance to all of the diseases in your area. For me, that is fireblight, juniper rusts (including CAR), scab and powdery mildew. For instance, if you are in an area with no CAR (or very light CAR), Goldrush is considered a very DR apple and easy to grow. However, in my area it is a total disaster without spraying.
• Look at the apples in some of my threads. None of these have been sprayed or had any special treatment. All of the major diseases are strong in the area where I live, and you will only be successful here without spraying if you choose the right cultivars.
• You must cage them to protect from rubbing/browsing, and I highly recommend screen wire to protect from rodents - but that is true of most any good tree that you invest in.
• It is a pain for a beginner to try and figure out all of the variables when planting apples. I started a thread or two in the fruit tree section of this forum to try and help people, because of the things I had to learn the hard way. Drop times vary from location to location, and there is some bad information and recommendations out there that can cause problems down the road. For instance, I planted a few B118 rootstock apples and now many of them are starting to lean badly. However, all of the ones I planted on MM111 have done outstanding, and I wouldn't take anything for those trees.
• Think of choosing apples like you were choosing players on your football team. You would want Tom Brady but you wouldn't want Pee-wee Herman........

^^^^^^This^^^^^^
Thanks for writing it so I didn’t have too.

 

[Triple C]

^^^^^^This^^^^^^
Thanks for writing it so I didn’t have too.

Had the opportunity to tour LLC's property. When it comes to trees...Well let's just say he and Native H would get along just fine. LLC got one heck of a green thumb on crabs, apples, pear, sawtooth and chestnuts. Showed me how to graft apples. Tried it on my own and not a durn one of em took. Blaming it on the rootstock.

 

[Fishman]

Don has released his three favorite trees video. To save everyone time, his favorites are Chinese chestnut, pear, and persimmon. He talks about species of trees at the end of the video. Not to pick nits, but Dunstan is a Chinese chestnut cultivar. It is the same species as all other Chinese chestnuts. I get that he thinks Dunstans are overpriced, but there are other Chinese cultivars that are probably worse for wildlife than Dunstans. It would have been nice if he would have mentioned other Chinese cultivars that he thinks are superior to Dunstans for drop time or higher production. That would have been more useful to me.

 

[Native Hunter]

My take on the second video:

• Dunstans: They do have a high percentage of Chinese genes, but they are not 100% Chinese as he is saying. You can tell a distinct difference in the growth habits and form of the two trees. I do agree that they are overpriced and that Chinese is a better choice for most people. My guess is that there may be some people selling Chinese and calling them Dunstan - would be an easy dirty trick....

• Pears: Pears are equal to apples, but they are no better than apples - and you need to make good choices when choosing pear varieties, just like I mentioned in my above post about apples. If pears have any advantage, it may be because they don't get CAR, but there are plenty of good apple varieties that are not bothered by it. Both can get fireblight, but both have cultivars that are highly resistant to it. Anyone planting trees for deer should plant both good apples and good pears. I do agree with him that Kieffer is a good pear choice, but there are others just as good.

• Persimmons: I've had a love affair with persimmons for a long time. Rather than repeat everything I've said about them, you can read my thread on persimmons at the following link: Persimmons...how do I love thee...let me count the ways..... | Deer Hunter Forum PS: Be sure to look at Page 6 and see the tree that grew 11 feet tall and produced a boat load of fruit the year after topworking. Persimmons are easy to grow and not affected by any diseases. The leaves on some of my trees will get to looking bad toward the end of the season, but fruiting is not affected at all.

I find it odd that he doesn't give much attention to oaks. When good acorns start falling - WATCH OUT......!!!!!