Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Quality Deer Management Fruit Trees

Will be planting 1-2 fruit trees a year to honor my grandfather around his “fruit tree patch”. There already is a big pear tree on it and many saw tooth oaks he planted before he died. He also planted 4 peach trees that have never produced but are fully mature. What would y’all recommend for the deer in south west bama? I’m strongly consider deer candy persimmons. I do want to plant dunstan/Chinese chestnuts in the future. Anyone plant apples etc for the deer or others? Thanks!

Kieffer pear (the hard, ugly, "canning" pear seems to stay on the tree the longest in my experience. And pears aren't as finicky as apples.

I’m planting pears now. We had one in the camp when I first got there but it got gone to move a camper in. It was popular when it was dropping fruit.
I’ve put in 9 pears of 4 varieties in the last two seasons. Two peaches that came recommended for the area(one Sam Houston and I forget the other) plus a few native blood peaches. I have at least one crabapple that was already on the property. Five chestnuts(Dunstan and hybrid Chinese). I’ve also planted 6-7 grafted persimmons. Out of the 30+ mature-sized persimmons I have right around the camp, only two are productive females.
I also have a lot of pawpaw. It’s all asimina parviflora, a dwarf variety. I planted 3 of the asimina triloba last year but they are all from the same supply. I’m going to look for some from another, genetically distinct, source this year to help with cross pollination. I have planned and expansion where I want to establish a wild plum thicket.
Also, I have a blueberry thicket in progress.
There are also a few mulberry trees and the does will walk right out in daylight to eat them while you are standing 30 feet away. I’m interested in the dwarf, everbearing variety but for the house where I can enjoy them.
Not strictly in line with the question, I’m also planting Turks-cap hibiscus for the hummingbirds. The hummers love them, they have a long bloom season, and the flowers are edible as well as make a delicious summertime jelly.

Make sure whatever pear variety you buy has a rootstock that is fire blight resistant. The Wildlife Group has several late dropping heirloom varieties too.

Where did y’all buy these? Taking notes and appreciate the replies

The Wal Marks near me has a surprisingly good selection of fruit trees starting around February. You can plant this time of year too, if you can find any to buy.

I like to get most of mine from the co-op when they arrive bare root in late winter. Others, like the pawpaw, blood peach and blueberries, I get from a local nursery that specializes in natives. But I’ll stalk the local Lowe’s, HD and other small nurseries for sales in fall. Sometimes they’ll let stock go cheap. I bought a bunch of 3 gal blueberries for $3ea last year. I do not shop at Walmart but I know that some of them get shipments of dunstan chestnuts.
I’ll add that I prefer bare root because they are cheaper(like half or better), lighter(no dirt), and no leaves. My camp is 2-2.5 hours from home and that means there’s a hurricane in the back of the truck or the trailer if I don’t tarp it very well. Beats the leaves to crap.

Mdees, what do those blood peaches look like? The meat inside especially? Ive been trying to find some particular blood peaches

The foliage is red much of the time so far as I can tell. The nursery I got them from said they are also known as sand peach/Indian peach and I think it’s a clingstone variety. They are only 2.5 feet tall currently so I have no idea about the actual fruits so far.
I’m pretty sure it’s prunus persica.

Mdees…any tips to planting and keeping the hogs/deer off of them?

Hogs don’t tend to bother my young trees although I have plenty around. The deer will nip the new growth on my pears and such. I build cages out of concrete reinforcement mesh. I also do the same to make tomato cages. I make these about 4-5’ diameter. It’s far enough away from the trunk and most of the lower branches that the deer can’t reach much. Rabbits can be a problem chewing bark but they haven’t bothered mine. A little chicken wire at the base would deter that. I’ll set a T-post on one edge of the cage to keep it in place. Then later it’s not right in the root zone when it needs pulling.
Aside from that, most are like any other tree or shrub. Dig your hole 2-3 times wider than you need to just shoehorn the roots in. Keep them moist if bare root. Pack your soil in carefully but well so as not to damage the roots but leave the tree stable and steady in the ground.

Wildlife group down near Auburn has all the varieties of fruit trees for deer.

Will call tomorrow thanks!

Thats not the one im looking for. The one im looking for has red flesh. We had one tree and it died last year. Never managed to bud any. We have some indian peaches, theyre purple inside.

Next time you Bud/graft trees, post us a tutorial. I think it would be cool to be able to do that.

Theres several youtube videos on grafting. Its really pretty simple. My dad and i grafted about 200 treed in his orchard. I tried to graft some peach buds on wild plums this year but i believe i was a little late. I plan on trying that again next year. Its really easy, you can do it with a exacto knife if you have a sapling and some budwood

I have had zero luck with any stone fruit.
Chestnuts and pecans have been the easiest thing for me to grow. The squirrels will help you plant 100 more pecan trees in just a few years time.
Id look into some Asian pears. They hold late into season.
I just planted 8-9 different heirloom variety of apples this year. Wont know anything on them for a few years.

I prefer planting a very small root ball tree vs. the larger size ones you find at TSC/Walmart/etc.

Less transplant shock and they seem to catch up pretty quick despite starting smaller. I've planted trees from TSC and Walmart and would not recommend anybody else doing the same. Local nurseries are likely your best option. I like Mossy Oak Nativ Nurseries and have had good luck out of their trees.

I planted 2 pear from tractor supply about 3 years ago at my buck field - nothing yet - prob need to fertilize - hoping they produce one day
What fertilizer would u use?

I planted a variety of peach trees down my circle drive and they are all doing well except for the one at the corner of the property. It transitions from pines to thick hardwoods and the deer use it for a travel route. The tree on the corner is something they walk by and they stop and rub the bark off the tree which kills it. I've replanted trees right there a couple of times and every year it gets shredded. Need to replant it again this month and put a protector around it.

I've planted over70 fruit and nut trees on my land . the ones that produce the fastest is kieffer pears put in the ground if it lives 6 months then you cant kill it ,they are great. the most production is from the native varieties of persimmon trees the dunstan chest nuts took 8 yrs to make mast and at 10 yrs started making quite a bit .peaches plums and nectorines where slow growing and took along time 6 to 7 yrs to make nice fruit. exception is a native type of indian peach ,very small fruit but it flat out makes hundreds of them on the tree . its 9 years old now and 20 ft tall. apple trees have been the hardest for me to get started and make past a few yrs old...but so far there making it. i have a wide variety of oaks too ,some will take 25 yrs to produce....
best thing i ever did was start planting trees .