Native Hunter Fruit Tree List

[Native Hunter]

I recently made the following list on another forum for someone from my state. This shows my successes, failures and items still under evaluation. I thought it might be helpful to post it on this forum too. However, keep in mind that something which seems to work at one location might not do well in another.

Apples: The following will give you a pretty wide variety of drop times and good disease resistance. These are proven varieties in South Central KY without spraying. Don't plant just any apple in KY unless you want to be spraying and babying them to keep them alive. Get the wrong apple and you will never have any fruit on it without constant life support.

• Liberty
• Priscilla
• Arkansas Black
• Dozier Crab
• Yates
• Betsey Deaton (minor CAR but great annual cropper))
• Black Limbertwig
• Black Oxford
• Horse
• Bevan’s Favorite
• Margret (aka Striped June)
• Callaway Crabapple (good DR and good Crops, but fruit doesn't drop without shaking tree)

Other Apples that could possibly work – need more time to evaluate

• Sundance (just recently planted – need time)
• Brushy Mtn Limbertwig (Has shown moderate FB but bears big apple crops. Still Watching.)
• Summer Champion (Excellent crop in 2018. Need to evaluate more) (no disease so far)
• Myers Royal Limbertwig (slow bearing so far. DR looks good)
• Caney Fork Limbertwig (slow bearing so far. DR looks good)
• Terry Winter (not great so far. Lots of apples rot on tree. Need more time to eval.)
• William’s Pride (only recently planted – need time)
• Eliza’s Choice Crabapple (only recently planted – need time)
• Freedom (only recently planted – need time)
• Franklin Cider (only recently planted - need time)
• Enterprise (only recently planted - need time)
• Several varieties from Northern Whitetail Crabs (only recently planted – need time)
• Roxbury Russet (slow bearing so far. DR looks good)
• Dolgo Crab (slow bearing so far. DR looks good. Seedlings have a lot of variability)
• Old Fashioned Limbertwig (Was looking good, but had to move tree. Small crop last year. Looks DR and clean so far)

Apples to avoid in KY:

• Goldrush (Gets CAR bad)
• Winter King (aka Stark) premature fruit fall and rotting
• American Summer Pearmain (FB and other diseases bad)
• Mrs. Bryan (FB magnet)

For persimmons, I would suggest:

• Topworking any existing male trees that aren't too large with female scions that cover a long drop period. For instance, an early variety is Morris Burton and a late variety is Deer Magnet. This is the best thing you can do to get persimmons fast.
• You can also set seedlings and start having fruit on the females in about 10+ years if all goes well. You can also topwork the males.
• You can buy grafted persimmons from the following places, but they are high dollar: Wildlife Group, Stark Brothers, Nolin River Nut Tree Nursery, Chestnut Hills Nursery and England's Orchard. Check out their web sites. Look at England's first.

Don't forget Pears: Deer love them and they are easier to grow than apples in KY. They are also faster fruiting than persimmons. My pears look supermarket quality without any spraying, but you have to get the right ones. Grafted pears can also be bought for about 1/2 the price of a grafted persimmon. Recommended Varieties:

• Kieffer (beware of fake Kieffers...they are toxic like FAKE NEWS)
• Moonglow
• Ayers
• Senator Clark
• Gallaway (minor Fireblight. Good cropping.)
• Several different ones that Wildlife Group sells that they advertise as fireblight resistant. Read the descriptions on the web site and decide which you want. Just make sure they are disease resistant.

Pears under evaluation that look Promising – but need more time:

• Gate (super clean growing so far) (Planted in 14 and no fruit yet. Blooms Froze in 18)
• Mrs. Lanene (same info as Gate)
• Becton (super clean growing so far (Planted in 16)
• Hunter’s Choice (Planted in 16. Clean growing so far. WG says it can show FB but productive)
• Olympic Giant (Planted in 17. Need more time)

I also wanted to mention that we have some great local varieties that are not available commercially, so I have not included them in this list.

 

[Native Hunter]

Had to revise this list again this morning. Just keep thinking of apple trees I had forgotten about.

 

[Cedar Ridge]

This is great info! Thanks for sharing. I’ve been trying to get going with some tree planting and just keep putting it off. This may prompt me to action. It’s not like I’m getting any younger......

 

[weekender21]

Apple goals!


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[lakngolf]

Some people eat "an apple a day". You must plant an apple a day!

 

[Native Hunter]

Some people eat "an apple a day". You must plant an apple a day!

And I think I'm the only person on this forum who has worn out the rear end in a DR mower cleaning out around trees....

 

[Mennoniteman]

And I think I'm the only person on this forum who has worn out the rear end in a DR mower cleaning out around trees....

Do you ever spray any herbicide like paraquat around your fruit trees?

 

[Native Hunter]

Do you ever spray any herbicide like paraquat around your fruit trees?

No, that would ruin my exercise program and fun. The DR is my version of the bowflex max...... Hang on to it for about an hour without stopping and you will see what I mean.

I do put down ground mats on new plantings and sometimes I will replace one of those mats when it wears out in a few years. I think these can continue to give some benefit and make it easier to mow around the tree.

I clean up the orchard at the farm in early spring and continue to keep it clean for a few weeks. Then about mid summer, I quit mowing and let it grow up around the trees for fall hunting season. Works real good - gives a level of needed maintenance to the trees but also give a natural situation for fall hunting.

 

[Mennoniteman]

That's about what I do. But my smaller trees have a 36" dia of 4' high wire fencing to keep browsing down. This makes mats and mowing around small trees impossible. My farmer friend got me addicted to paraquat, but this stuff is very toxic and I'm looking for alternatives. What do you do for browsing protection on seedlings?

 

[Native Hunter]

That's about what I do. But my smaller trees have a 36" dia of 4' high wire fencing to keep browsing down. This makes mats and mowing around small trees impossible. My farmer friend got me addicted to paraquat, but this stuff is very toxic and I'm looking for alternatives. What do you do for browsing protection on seedlings?

I cage all my trees with 5 foot welded wire. Sometimes, later on I will cut this off at the top to 4 feet when the trees get very large. I use two electric fence post to hold the cages in place.

 

[TreeDaddy]

lotta "pearls" in this thread

Thanks for posting,Steve

bill

 

[Ed Brodt]

I recently made the following list on another forum for someone from my state. This shows my successes, failures and items still under evaluation. I thought it might be helpful to post it on this forum too. However, keep in mind that something which seems to work at one location might not do well in another.

Apples: The following will give you a pretty wide variety of drop times and good disease resistance. These are proven varieties in South Central KY without spraying. Don't plant just any apple in KY unless you want to be spraying and babying them to keep them alive. Get the wrong apple and you will never have any fruit on it without constant life support.

• Liberty
• Priscilla
• Arkansas Black
• Dozier Crab
• Yates
• Betsey Deaton (minor CAR but great annual cropper))
• Black Limbertwig
• Black Oxford
• Horse
• Bevan’s Favorite
• Margret (aka Striped June)
• Callaway Crabapple (good DR and good Crops, but fruit doesn't drop without shaking tree)

Other Apples that could possibly work – need more time to evaluate

• Sundance (just recently planted – need time)
• Brushy Mtn Limbertwig (Has shown moderate FB but bears big apple crops. Still Watching.)
• Summer Champion (Excellent crop in 2018. Need to evaluate more) (no disease so far)
• Myers Royal Limbertwig (slow bearing so far. DR looks good)
• Caney Fork Limbertwig (slow bearing so far. DR looks good)
• Terry Winter (not great so far. Lots of apples rot on tree. Need more time to eval.)
• William’s Pride (only recently planted – need time)
• Eliza’s Choice Crabapple (only recently planted – need time)
• Freedom (only recently planted – need time)
• Franklin Cider (only recently planted - need time)
• Enterprise (only recently planted - need time)
• Several varieties from Northern Whitetail Crabs (only recently planted – need time)
• Roxbury Russet (slow bearing so far. DR looks good)
• Dolgo Crab (slow bearing so far. DR looks good. Seedlings have a lot of variability)
• Old Fashioned Limbertwig (Was looking good, but had to move tree. Small crop last year. Looks DR and clean so far)

Apples to avoid in KY:

• Goldrush (Gets CAR bad)
• Winter King (aka Stark) premature fruit fall and rotting
• American Summer Pearmain (FB and other diseases bad)
• Mrs. Bryan (FB magnet)

For persimmons, I would suggest:

• Topworking any existing male trees that aren't too large with female scions that cover a long drop period. For instance, an early variety is Morris Burton and a late variety is Deer Magnet. This is the best thing you can do to get persimmons fast.
• You can also set seedlings and start having fruit on the females in about 10+ years if all goes well. You can also topwork the males.
• You can buy grafted persimmons from the following places, but they are high dollar: Wildlife Group, Stark Brothers, Nolin River Nut Tree Nursery, Chestnut Hills Nursery and England's Orchard. Check out their web sites. Look at England's first.

Don't forget Pears: Deer love them and they are easier to grow than apples in KY. They are also faster fruiting than persimmons. My pears look supermarket quality without any spraying, but you have to get the right ones. Grafted pears can also be bought for about 1/2 the price of a grafted persimmon. Recommended Varieties:

• Kieffer (beware of fake Kieffers...they are toxic like FAKE NEWS)
• Moonglow
• Ayers
• Senator Clark
• Gallaway (minor Fireblight. Good cropping.)
• Several different ones that Wildlife Group sells that they advertise as fireblight resistant. Read the descriptions on the web site and decide which you want. Just make sure they are disease resistant.

Pears under evaluation that look Promising – but need more time:

• Gate (super clean growing so far) (Planted in 14 and no fruit yet. Blooms Froze in 18)
• Mrs. Lanene (same info as Gate)
• Becton (super clean growing so far (Planted in 16)
• Hunter’s Choice (Planted in 16. Clean growing so far. WG says it can show FB but productive)
• Olympic Giant (Planted in 17. Need more time)

I also wanted to mention that we have some great local varieties that are not available commercially, so I have not included them in this list.

Native, I am close to you. Marion County KY. I currently have about 8 mature persimmon trees scattered across our property. Some drop in September/October and some were holding well into modern gun this year. I am interested in adding some pears and looking at Keiffer and Olympic. Are you familiar with Peaceful Heritage Nursery in Stanford KY? Talking to the owner he has also suggested Chinese Chestnuts. Do you have any experience with these Chestnuts or this nursery

 

[Native Hunter]

Native, I am close to you. Marion County KY. I currently have about 8 mature persimmon trees scattered across our property. Some drop in September/October and some were holding well into modern gun this year. I am interested in adding some pears and looking at Keiffer and Olympic. Are you familiar with Peaceful Heritage Nursery in Stanford KY? Talking to the owner he has also suggested Chinese Chestnuts. Do you have any experience with these Chestnuts or this nursery

Hello Ed. Your persimmons sound pretty typical of our native 60 chromosome trees. Most will be dropping during modern gun season, and some will still be holding fruit into late January. Extended drop times are a hallmark of our native trees and a very desirable attribute.

I haven't had any dealings with that nursery, but I have many, many nice Chinese Chestnut trees that are doing excellent. Some of them have been in the ground about 15 years now, and those trees are dropping bucket loads of chestnuts. Deer really gobble them up. My guess is that at my farm I probably have 30+ chestnut trees, and most of them are old enough to be producing.

Most Chinese Chestnuts will be on the ground by the end of October. However, this year they seemed a little later, and I still had just a few falling into November on the latest trees. Seedling trees will have some drop time variability. The earliest will start around September 15 and the latest are usually done by Halloween. WG sells a grafted tree that is supposed to go into November every year.

You will get an occasional Chinese Chestnut seedling that seems to have blight problems, but it is very rare. Nearly all of them are blight immune. I had only one tree that kept dying and coming back from the roots in a continuous pattern. However, I can't really be sure that was blight or some other problem below ground that I couldn't see.

Japanese Beetles and Bagworms can both defoliate chestnut trees. I've not had any serious problems with them, but it pays to watch. Also, you must absolutely put a strong cage around every chestnut tree. Deer seek them out as a tree to rub - almost as bad as they do a White Pine. I even have to cage the ones in my yard. Deer come from hundreds of yards at night just to rub them.

 

[Native Hunter]

I'm bumping this thread up to the top for a forum member who has recently asked me a question about apple trees. I will update the list above, hopefully at the end of this year. Right now it looks like the following apple varieties will move from the "Possible list" to the "Approved list."

Franklin Cider
Summer Champion
Eliza's Choice Crabapple
Freedom
Brushy Mountain Limbertwig (can show some FB, but not severe. Good crops for several seasons now)

One thing to keep in mind - I'm in Zone 6B. I know that all of the varieties I recommend are acceptable in my zone, but you need to check your zone - especially for those north of me. Some of the well known varieties are easy to research. Just find them on the web site of a vendor that sells them, and usually you will find growing zone information. That is something you can do yourself.

Best Wishes - Native Hunter

 

[DrDirtNap]

Native, have you looked at Keener Seedling? I have a couple that look good so far but they’ve only been in the ground a couple of years.


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[Native Hunter]

Native, have you looked at Keener Seedling? I have a couple that look good so far but they’ve only been in the ground a couple of years.
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Yes, I planted one this spring and also planted two Mattamuskeet trees at the same time. I have high hopes for both of those varieties based on what I've heard about them. Have you also tried Mattamuskeet?

 

[Mennoniteman]

On pear trees, I have 3 kinds (mostly because around here the nurseries sell these 3 kinds predominantly) none older than 4 years but they are all doing well so far. I noticed that you don't list any of these, do you have any of them currently planted?
Harrow Sweet
Blake's Pride
Potomac

And what would be your #1 recommendation for the best pear tree variety to plant in the area of a deer stand strictly for hunting purposes in your zone?

 

[Native Hunter]

On pear trees, I have 3 kinds (mostly because around here the nurseries sell these 3 kinds predominantly) none older than 4 years but they are all doing well so far. I noticed that you don't list any of these, do you have any of them currently planted?
Harrow Sweet
Blake's Pride
Potomac

And what would be your #1 recommendation for the best pear tree variety to plant in the area of a deer stand strictly for hunting purposes in your zone?

Mennoniteman, I haven't tried any of the three you mention above. I've heard of all of them but would have to read about them again and refresh my memory. The main thing with pears is fireblight resistance, if you live in an area where fireblight is a problem. Of course, drop time is important if they are for hunting.

As of right now, I think Kieffer would be my best hunting pear. It will start dropping in October and go well into November. However, some of the ones I'm waiting on to bear should be a little later dropping. Senator Clark is just a little earlier than Kieffer. All of the first 4 in my list of those being evaluated are supposed to be later than Kieffer. Olympic Giant is just a couple of weeks earlier. I will get some small crops from a few of these this year but probably need another year or two to make a fair evaluation. If Becton is as advertised, it sounds like a slam dunk. It is supposed to be FB immune and drop all through November. The first two on that list are supposed to drop well into December, so they would be great for late muzzleloader season.

Look at the following link and read the two pages dedicated to Harrow Sweet. On the second page you will see that it can be a problem in a severe FB outbreak.

http://shaponline.org/wp-content/up...ew-Fire-Blight-Resistant-Pears-Bill-Shane.pdf

 

[DrDirtNap]

Yes, I planted one this spring and also planted two Mattamuskeet trees at the same time. I have high hopes for both of those varieties based on what I've heard about them. Have you also tried Mattamuskeet?

I have one Mattamuskeet that I also just planted a year ago. Looks like a slow grower so far. My Keeners are vigorous growers.


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[BUddy B]

Native Hunter-

Earlier this summer, I took some cutting from a really good Red Delicious tree outside of Nashville and started the who process to establish a root system and then transplant onto my farm. I have a good friend taking care of my cuttings while I am gone this fall/winter and I am hoping that by the time I get back, I will be able to transplant in the Fall of 2020.
Do you have any advice for these apple trees, and how they should grow in Central KY? I also looking at buy 3-5 good crab apples to plant close to these trees to help with pollination and also to help make sure that not everything drops at the same time. If I could get them to start dropping around mid October and carry through to the first of December, that would be great.

I am eventually going to grown 3-4 Peach and Pear trees to provide some variety and keep the deer on my property all fall long.

I appreciate your advice.