George- Do you have any Kieffers down there? If I remember right, that’s what you thought your yard tree was in IA. I have a few grafts from scion wood, that you sent me, growing here in WI yet. They are doing well! Good drop time with some still falling a week into November and the rut here.
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Pick Your favorite Deer Tree orchard
- Thread starter NoviceTreeGuy
- Start date
George
Well-Known Member
That's awesome, thanks for the update. In Iowa, those old trees were finishing the drop around the first week in November.
Here I have a dozen Kiefers and a couple moonglow scattered about. I also have, apples, dolgo crabs, peaches, plums, blueberries, paw paw, cherries, honey locust, chinese and dunstan chestnuts, wild persimmons.
G
DouglasCorrell
New Member
I bought a homely misshapen 5gal Kieffer-marked pear tree from Tractor Supply on discount. It bore one fruit this first year. The fruit certainly didn't look like a Kieffer. But it was big, delicious and, more importantly for me, it dropped November 16th here in West Central Indiana. In this case my big box store gamble paid off.
Flatiron75
Member
Liberty, Enterprise, Sundance, Galarina, Wolf River, Turning Point, Sweet November, Roadkill crab, Winter Wildlife crab, Chinese chestnut.
That's 10 tree varieties. I could add numerous others that have proven themselves in northern Pa.
That's 10 tree varieties. I could add numerous others that have proven themselves in northern Pa.
Mennoniteman
Well-Known Member
Liberty and Enterprise are great names for a no spray orchard. I bought some apple trees from a commercial orchard only to discover that they needed sprayed every month, and supported or they'd fall over. I wish I had never seen these commercial apple trees. I found that what Patrick Henry said also applies to apple trees; give me liberty or give me death.
yoderjac
Well-Known Member
A rather enterprising comment!
Flatiron75
Member
Choosing the correct rootstock that the apple variety is grafted to is important, as to will it be a free-standing tree or not. Rootstock variety also helps determine resistance to diseases and pests as well. Knowing the rootstock of the grafted tree is key.
9x56MS
Active Member
Dunstan chestnuts.
Before choosing any tree, decide if you plan to hunt over them. If you do, find trees that drop when you're hunting. Seasons vary by weapons and state.
Personally, I'd go with a mix of apple, crab apple, pears, and chestnuts. Any Chinese/Chinese hybrid Chestnut is a good choice. (Dunstan is Chinese)
As others have said, rootstock matters too. I would always choose a full size root stock for wildlife trees.
Personally, I'd go with a mix of apple, crab apple, pears, and chestnuts. Any Chinese/Chinese hybrid Chestnut is a good choice. (Dunstan is Chinese)
As others have said, rootstock matters too. I would always choose a full size root stock for wildlife trees.
yoderjac
Well-Known Member
I think one's objectives play a significant role. My objective, for most of the trees I planted at the farm, is permaculture to feed deer in the long run. In order to feed deer (as part of a QDM goal) it requires volume. The other driver for feeding deer is drop time. The idea is to put food on the ground during periods when nature is stingy. This typically requires a variety of trees. When you have many trees and many drop times, one needs to consider maintenance. There is no way I could maintain the volume of trees I've planted. So the biggest driver in choosing trees for my place to feed deer was the lowest amount of long-term maintenance. When I finally got around to planting apples, I chose the most disease resistant varieties I could find. Once my trees get planted and protected on the farm, they are pretty much on their own.
At my retirement property, I have a different objective. Here, I need much less volume. A handful of trees can produce enough fruit to attract deer. My objective here is to attract deer to a specific location during a specific period (hunting season). With a handful of trees planted where I live every day, I can devote much more time to maintaining the trees.
At my retirement property, I have a different objective. Here, I need much less volume. A handful of trees can produce enough fruit to attract deer. My objective here is to attract deer to a specific location during a specific period (hunting season). With a handful of trees planted where I live every day, I can devote much more time to maintaining the trees.
Flatiron75
Member
I did the very same plan with our camp apple & crab apple trees. DR, cage / screen, and let grow. Full-sized rootstocks to get BIG trees as the years go by.
Folk Rock Farm
New Member
I know this is old, but just coming across it. I've planted a food forest in my landscape and they definitely have their favorites. I will list 10 different species, not necessarily specific varieties. Persimmons are a classic for a reason, late drop and high yields of high energy fruit when not much else is available. Chestnuts and oaks are always a big draw because of many tons of starchy nuts. A less common one is honey locust which drops huge pods loaded with protein rich seeds and a sweet syrup in the pods that all animals seem to enjoy. Arborvitae is commonly called deer candy for a reason. They can't seem to eat enough of the sweet evergreen foliage. Apples and pears can hold on fairly late as well and drop highly fragrant fruit. All these trees are also desirable even after fruiting since deer love browsing the buds and branches. Medlar trees are late and highly fragrant as well. Plums and cherries are also great for attracting deer earlier in the season hoping they will stick around for the other trees.
