I’m going to plant apple trees

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I’m going to plant apple trees

Unread postby Lockdown » Wed Dec 08, 2021 6:14 pm

In an effort to try and improve our permission property, I’m going to be doing some habitat improvements. The goal is simple… food and bedding. One of my main food sources is going to be apples. I’m hoping to get some regular food plots started as well, but the idea of having a good crop of apples in the years to come is very appealing.

Last year I saw what a lone crabapple tree is capable of. It was VERY eye opening.

I’ve been doing some research already, and will be updating this thread as I go. However, I would also like some input from any members who have planted apple trees. I’m in zone 4 (central Minnesota).

I’ve been reading about diseases like fire blight, cedar rust, etc. so I’m hoping to plant trees with a high resistance to these diseases.

I am going to plant multiple varieties, including crabapples, so the deer will have apples dropping from September through late November or early December. My initial thought is to have 12-15 producing trees. I understand it will be a while before I see heavy production.

My tentative plan is to plant 4-5 per year. I’m going to put landscape fabric down to kill competing grass, I will cage them to prevent deer browse, and tube the trunks to prevent rabbits from chewing the bark.

If you have any suggestions or advice, I’m all ears. This is all brand new to me.


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Re: I’m going to plant apple trees

Unread postby Ryan549 » Wed Dec 08, 2021 11:18 pm

I graft and plant a lot of apples. It’s become more than a hobby and I love what an apple can provide for the deer.
I’ll just start with the basics so this doesn’t get long winded- feel free to ask more questions on here or by message.
Cultivars- you cannot go wrong with Liberty, Enterprise, Kerr(crabapple)
I still have liberty and enterprise hanging here on the south shore of Lake Ontario . They crop annually and heavy.
Kerr will handle the coldest of cold and the deer here devour it.
Biggest things- whatever variety you choose, it must be rootstock that will fill your goals of the tree. Disease resistance is a huge factor- unless you want to spend time and money spraying every 14-21 days. Drop times need to be considered as I doubt you want an apple dropping in August- for hunting purposes anyway.
Pollination is also critical, ensuring a good crop.
I love talking apples!
Ryan
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Re: I’m going to plant apple trees

Unread postby wolverinebuckman » Wed Dec 08, 2021 11:57 pm

Keep talking, I want to hear everything there is to hear about this as well!

I've got an area I want to clear and do the same thing. It's on the side of a hill with Southern Exposure. Rocky soil, but grows plenty of trees... is there any soil preparation that I'll need to do?
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Re: I’m going to plant apple trees

Unread postby Ryan549 » Thu Dec 09, 2021 12:24 am

wolverinebuckman wrote:Keep talking, I want to hear everything there is to hear about this as well!

I've got an area I want to clear and do the same thing. It's on the side of a hill with Southern Exposure. Rocky soil, but grows plenty of trees... is there any soil preparation that I'll need to do?


Just like a food plot, a soil test should be done. Also like a plot, an apple will grow in poor soil, but will not maximize its potential. It will have slow growth, small fruit and very light cropping.

Even on the hillside you are speaking of, good drainage is a must for apples. Slow draining or pooling will destroy trees quickly.

Grafting your own instead of buying from Tractor Supply has it’s perks. You need to know what rootstock you have- many box stores graft onto a fully dwarfing rootstock and that is no good for the deer woods- they will eat the whole tree.

I purchase my rootstock and source varieties that I want. Roadside apples that produce annually and show good disease resistance are my favorite- they have withstood the test of time and are always welcome on my property.

The possibilities are endless and it is rewarding. You are literally creating trees.
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Re: I’m going to plant apple trees

Unread postby Swamp Stache » Thu Dec 09, 2021 12:46 am

Was told after I planted some of mine that your trees should get sun right away in the morning to dry off dew and help reduce molds
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Re: I’m going to plant apple trees

Unread postby Haus86 » Thu Dec 09, 2021 1:00 am

I wouldn’t tube the trunks. Wrapping and stapling window screen around the trunk works better. I’ve had wasps get in my tubes and then the raccoons tear them apart. Tubes suck in my opinion. Put the screen an inch or two below the soil and high enough above typical snow levels. You need to prevent voles from girdling your tree. Use 5ft welded wire and two steel posts per tree. 16 ft of welded wire gives the tree plenty of room. Use landscape fabric and a stone mulch as well.

Search for disease resistant trees, cold hardiness, a desired rootstock, and preferred drop times. I’ve planted Freedom, Liberty, Enterprise, Arkansas Black, Kerr, Chestnut and more just for fun. Those trees are disease resistant and give you drop times from September to November. Check out Blue Hill Wildlife Nursery for great deer hunting crabs(too late for this year). Don’t overlook pears as well.
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Re: I’m going to plant apple trees

Unread postby Ryan549 » Thu Dec 09, 2021 1:07 am

Haus has some good points.
I prefer tree tubes. 60”- but the second that they pile out of the tube, I remove it and cage it, like he said, with welded wire.

I learned a tree tube lesson. I left tubes on for 3 yrs. Great vertical growth and branching. However, when I cut the tube away, the trunk was very spindly and had a hard time supporting the weight of the head. Never again. Once they bust out of the tube, they are going to want to branch- that’s when you also need to be putting on caliper size to support it. Usually this means my trees are tubed for 1 year.

Also- as Haus mentioned- choosing the correct tree for your area is critical. A complete waste of time and money planting a tree that won’t work in your zone.
Ryan
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Re: I’m going to plant apple trees

Unread postby BRoth82 » Thu Dec 09, 2021 1:15 am

One thing I can point out for apple trees is if you want a good mast production you have to keep them trimmed up almost every year.
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Re: I’m going to plant apple trees

Unread postby NorthStar » Thu Dec 09, 2021 1:46 am

I planted about $2000 worth of root stock fruit trees and shrubs at my place 3 years ago and one thing I learned is to not stake the trees down. I staked down a few apple trees and they seem much weaker than the ones I let blow around in the wind.
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Re: I’m going to plant apple trees

Unread postby Ryan549 » Thu Dec 09, 2021 1:55 am

NorthStar wrote:I planted about $2000 worth of root stock fruit trees and shrubs at my place 3 years ago and one thing I learned is to not stake the trees down. I staked down a few apple trees and they seem much weaker than the ones I let blow around in the wind.


Agreed. Depends on the rootstock as well. Some rootstock don’t anchor as well as other and they require staking.

A common misconception about staking is that you have to forcefully pull a tree. First of all, plant it straight. Second, my staking of trees in their first two years allows them to move freely in the wind- but no so far that they will get damaged.

You make a great point that movement of the tree from the wind promotes a stronger overall tree.
Ryan
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Re: I’m going to plant apple trees

Unread postby Lockdown » Thu Dec 09, 2021 2:18 am

Ryan549 wrote:
wolverinebuckman wrote:Keep talking, I want to hear everything there is to hear about this as well!

I've got an area I want to clear and do the same thing. It's on the side of a hill with Southern Exposure. Rocky soil, but grows plenty of trees... is there any soil preparation that I'll need to do?


Just like a food plot, a soil test should be done. Also like a plot, an apple will grow in poor soil, but will not maximize its potential. It will have slow growth, small fruit and very light cropping.

Even on the hillside you are speaking of, good drainage is a must for apples. Slow draining or pooling will destroy trees quickly.

Grafting your own instead of buying from Tractor Supply has it’s perks. You need to know what rootstock you have- many box stores graft onto a fully dwarfing rootstock and that is no good for the deer woods- they will eat the whole tree.

I purchase my rootstock and source varieties that I want. Roadside apples that produce annually and show good disease resistance are my favorite- they have withstood the test of time and are always welcome on my property.

The possibilities are endless and it is rewarding. You are literally creating trees.


Some of the ground I want to plant on is lower ground. Too low to farm. In the lowest of these low spots, canary grass will grow. That stuff only likes wet ground. The patches of higher ground are brome grass. That should be dry enough to adequately grow trees shouldn’t it?
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Re: I’m going to plant apple trees

Unread postby WV Bowhunter » Thu Dec 09, 2021 2:21 am

I’m loving this apple tree info. I have a 2 acre food plot that I’m wanting to plant apples and persimmons along the edges.
Luck is when preparation meets opportunity!!
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Re: I’m going to plant apple trees

Unread postby Lockdown » Thu Dec 09, 2021 2:21 am

Haus86 wrote:I wouldn’t tube the trunks. Wrapping and stapling window screen around the trunk works better. I’ve had wasps get in my tubes and then the raccoons tear them apart. Tubes suck in my opinion. Put the screen an inch or two below the soil and high enough above typical snow levels. You need to prevent voles from girdling your tree. Use 5ft welded wire and two steel posts per tree. 16 ft of welded wire gives the tree plenty of room. Use landscape fabric and a stone mulch as well.

Search for disease resistant trees, cold hardiness, a desired rootstock, and preferred drop times. I’ve planted Freedom, Liberty, Enterprise, Arkansas Black, Kerr, Chestnut and more just for fun. Those trees are disease resistant and give you drop times from September to November. Check out Blue Hill Wildlife Nursery for great deer hunting crabs(too late for this year). Don’t overlook pears as well.


Yeah I found the blue hill site a couple days ago. Looks awesome but I noticed everything was out of stock.

Thanks for listing the varieties… I had a couple of them on my list but it’s good to hear someone having success with them.
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Re: I’m going to plant apple trees

Unread postby Lockdown » Thu Dec 09, 2021 2:29 am

Ryan549, when you’re talking grafting, can you tell me the do’s and don’ts for that? I’m probably going to buy some and graft some. Grafting is obviously much cheaper, and I know of a couple good trees I could take cuttings from.

The crabapple at the sugar patch was LOADED last year. And the pics and activity around it was crazy. I was getting morning and evening pics most days. Some evenings I would have deer come in 3 separate times. It was crazy! Bunch of scrapes around it too. Those were the craziest card pulls I’ve ever had.

This year was a terrible drought and it only produced probably 30 crabapples. Activity by it was terrible. No scrapes. Not even close to worth hunting. Probably averaged 2 daylight pics a week, period.

Figure that would be a good one to graft from ;)

It’s a big, old tree.
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Re: I’m going to plant apple trees

Unread postby UntouchableNess » Thu Dec 09, 2021 2:32 am

Lockdown wrote:
Some of the ground I want to plant on is lower ground. Too low to farm. In the lowest of these low spots, canary grass will grow. That stuff only likes wet ground. The patches of higher ground are brome grass. That should be dry enough to adequately grow trees shouldn’t it?



I planted some apple trees down on a creek bottom that has reed canary grass. The cold air pools down in the valley during the spring, with potential frost damage to blossoms. I didn't get many blossoms to set apples until the trees were tall enough to get above the cold, pooled air. I mulched the trees, so the grass wasn't a problem. I made wire cages out of old farm fence and a couple of fence posts. I've aggressively trimmed the trees two winters ago and they are due up again. Last year was the first time I had apples and the trees are something like 6+ years old (?). Not sure I'd plant more apples down in a low spot. The red oaks I planted there are doing fantastic, but that is a longer term investment for mast. Swamp white oaks would be quicker.


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