mast bearing trees

Question for the management gurus. I just purchased six acres that I plan on building on. There are deer around and I am wanting to be able to plant for them in the future. It would be nice to drink a beer on the porch and watch deer. Anyways, I already have potted 8 saw tooth oaks I plan on getting in the ground once I get them started. What other trees would yall suggest I plant

I have planted some soft mast (pears, persimmons, crab apples) on my land but I keep it out of the yard and in the bush hogged areas outside of the kids normal play area simply because fruit trees and rotting fruit can ruin a yard seasonally. Even if critters get to it before it rots you still have to mow if it's in the yard area. Mowing pears is a pain! Hoping to plant a few more persimmon this winter unless I can find an non-colonizing type crab apple to replace the trees that incidental fire and wind storms claimed over the years.

Thanks I appreciate the info. I wont have anything close to the house. My plan is to have a plot about an acre on the back of the property, it has a slight drop off that makes it secluded, and create the barrier in the edge of the incline with the sawtooths.

Apple trees

Kieffer pears, I still have several hang on trees. They seem to grow better than apples where I'm at. And I would add some chestnuts to the mix.

Chestnuts pecans and asian pears

With your location, you ought to call The Wildlife Group and talk to them. They have Wildlife packages of fruit trees, oaks, honeysuckle, chestnuts and others.

I planted a few pear trees on my lease last March - thought about planting few more - was either going w persimmon or pear

Thanks for he tips guys. Turkey I’ll try to give them a shout. I definitely want to get some chestnuts and likely will plant a few fruit trees as well. Still in the works but I’d like to bring in a few deer. They are in the area. I put out a bag of corn last week and already have a doe and 2 fawns on camera

Let me throw my two cents in, I would plant this tree within easy viewing, wait for it......... ........ a Mulberry Tree, an absolute wildlife magnet. Also, try to establish a clover patch, preferably under you Mulberry tree.

Pears and persimmons are a lot lower in maintenance and disease than apple trees. 6 acres ain't a lot to work with, but some fruit trees around a food plot with a corn feeder is hard to beat.

Allen, at The Wildlife Group will help you. Picking maybe slim this time of year though, they sell out on a regular basis.

Don't get me wrong. I don't actually believe I can do any hunting on my little six acres but it will be nice to be able to watch some deer as I drink a beer in the afternoons. Got my first buck on camera this morning and it feels like Christmas even if its only a little 8pt

Persimmon to me drop too early and pound wise don't put out much compared to other options. I have some 25 ft tall persimmon and they drop every yr by first of bow season. The Asian pears seem to hold well into December if we don't have a harsh winter.

american persimmons drop too early to hunt over but do the deer still eat those early drops????

do not plant Jap persimmons...they won't drop from the tree, useless for deer
apples have ben total waste of time and money for me. Plant pears or deer pears. Chestnuts are good as well as sawtooth oaks.

If the coons and coyotes let them.

Thanks Fred

Keiffer pears, crabapples, Bur oaks also. The right six acres could be a great honey hole

Agreed.
Fred id bet that deer get less than 15% of the states persimmon crop. The big persimmon tree I have (25ft) I keep a camera on and its mainly a coon, coyote and squirrel feeder. They get them before the deer have a chance.
Also, persimmon imo aren't consistent producers. Some years the ones I know of and watched over the years will have almost none. Years we have drought they drop very early like August when still very green. I don't see much of anything eating them when they drop that green.

Asian pears I have seen to be a consistent bearer, drop more #'s of food, and deer seem to get much more benefit from them over the coons and coyotes. The squirrels still wear them out.
This time of year my pecan and pears is what the deer favor. Ive got a dozen chestnut trees but for now I gather them for me before the deer can get them.

Six acres is plenty. We live on five acres and own 45 acres across the road. We see plenty of deer on the five acres, might be because we don’t shoot them on the five acre tract. We also don’t overdo it on the 45 acres.

If you have not done so I would urge you not to plant sawtooth oaks. Sawtooth oaks are invasive and the acorns are lower in nutritional value than native oaks. Sawtooths only produce acorns in the fall (Sep-Oct), native oaks will produce acorns throughout fall and winter when they are most beneficial. If I were going to plant oaks I would plant a mixture of native white and red.

I plan on planting a few white oaks but they aren’t going to produce for 50 years so I’d like to have something else dropping as well