# Pears or apples



## mjh4

Do deer prefer one over the other? Going to plant some trees this spring.
Also what plant or bush makes the best screen for coverage.

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## koditten

Subbed.

All I know is the squrrells steal all my apples before the leaves fall.


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## sourdough44

Check out the ‘Dolgo’ crabapple tree. It grows about anywhere, hardy, good amount of larger crab apples most every year.

A small tree needs good protection starting out. You may have to mail order.


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## LabtechLewis

I planted some pear trees and some apple trees in my backyard over 10 years ago. Pears are more prolific. Deer like them well. Just my experience.


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## ezcaller

Going to try some Giganthus Miscanthus in our yard this year and we separated plots in Gladwin Co with switch grass .


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## cmonkey

I have both pears and apples. The pears get cleaned out very quickly by raccoons, and although I do see deer eat them, many often turn to mush on the ground. Same goes for early apple varieties such as Transparent. Much of the fruit is wasted.

The later producing apples however, bring the deer like flies. I can take a photo in the evening of the apple fall, and short of a few fresh drops they're gone come morning. In the evening, the deer can hardly wait to get out there to see what is stocked in the grocery. Also the later apples are ripe at a time when other feed seems to be on the wane, so if there are no acorns they hit the apples hard.

For bowhunting, I'd probably choose either. For rifle season, get a late variety apple.

I also second the crabapple suggestion. Besides being relished by deer, they are excellent pollinators for other apple trees. I have several Whitney crabs, and they just took off after being planted as bare root sticks. Mine produced in the very first year too, and are golf ball sized little apples. I eat a few, they're not bad.

I prefer standard sized trees, as in the sandy soil they have a larger root system and produce more than semi dwarfs. Dwarf trees will simply be devoured by deer if not caged or fenced.

Maple Grove Orchards usually has a good selection of standard sized trees each year.

http://www.maplegroveorchard.com/wordpress/


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## cmonkey

Oh, and I always try to find trees that are cold rated one point lower than my location. I'm in 5b, and prefer apple trees with a 4 or 3 rating. Lost 6 young trees a few years back, because I thought 5 was good enough.


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## 12970

There is more to what Deer will eat... If the AG Crop is Corn then they have that food source and fruit might not be what the deer are looking for... I know it seem to change. 8 years ago I had deer hitting my apples trees as soon as the apples popped out the last 3 years they don't touch the Apples but just the leaves right next to the apples? No one is sure why just that some years late frost and few if any apples then we had so many and the deer were picking all they could reach on their back legs and now they rarely touch the apples... I also have Crabapples and they just start producing and they also are eating the leaves and not the crab apples? Maybe they have other "Browse" and Fruit is not high on their list now. There are other trees non fruit that they are also eating as I have a couple cams set up and notice this the last 5 years. Asked the DNR and they had not answers either... I have wild pears, crabapples and apples I have planted some are producing some not yet... But the Bears will try and climb the trees to get to the apples... For me the more variety the better I have also planted nut trees like butternut, hazelnut and chestnut as well as dogwood & speckled alder which are to be winter browse. Deer eat what they eat... Still not sure why now apples aren't high on the list for them but the leaves are?

Newaygo1


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## buckwacker 48097

One thing I have learned is don't plant pears and apples near each other because of the disease factor. Pears are done at my place by the start of bow season. My orchard that I keep with grafted semi dwarf trees (papmered) never has an appl eon the ground first thing in the morning. The wild varieties and crabs I keep out back seem to draw deer over a longer period of time. The crabs are whitney from Morse nursery but some are not what I ordered and seem to be a smaller red variety unlike the whitney. Deer love them just the same.


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## limige

Pears produce the highest mast crop of any of the fruit trees but they are done pretty early on. Late ripening apples will be around later in the season.

I believe it's good to have a variety like most things in life, it's all about balance. Too much of a single thing can be bad

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## fairfax1

I have both.
A lot of both.

I'll stick with this advice: Have both.

On my farm, apples seem to be preferred over pears....but....
...but all will be eaten. Guaranteed.

Many of my pears are Kieffers....which hold fruit into early November. And depending upon conditions maybe into mid- to late November. My pears out-produce any of my apples...fruitwise.

I also have seedling pears that hold fruit ---about 75% golf-ball size ----into January.
There are seldom 'drops' under these trees as the critters check 'em out regularly and take whatever is down. My trailcams have shown me that.

I have lotsa grafted apples and seedling crabs.
The seedlings hold fruit the longest....into December.
Apple drops are cleaned up a bit quicker than pear drops.
Grafted apple varieties are higher-maintenance than any of my pears.


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## mjh4

I was hunting over a white oak last year and was shocked when about 70% of the deer I saw where eating the sting nettles all around a creek 20 yds from the white oaks with acorns on the ground when in years past they demolished the acorns. I was surprised they would eat sting nettles like that non stop. I'm going to plant a few apples on one side of the property and a few late pears in the opposite side. (Or maybe I should plant a sting nettle food plot) lol.


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## Dish7

mjh4 said:


> I was hunting over a white oak last year and was shocked when about 70% of the deer I saw where eating the sting nettles all around a creek 20 yds from the white oaks with acorns on the ground when in years past they demolished the acorns. I was surprised they would eat sting nettles like that non stop. I'm going to plant a few apples on one side of the property and a few late pears in the opposite side. (Or maybe I should plant a sting nettle food plot) lol.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Michigan Sportsman


They also readily eat poison ivy.


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## mattawanhunter

Apples 100%



mjh4 said:


> Do deer prefer one over the other? Going to plant some trees this spring.
> Also what plant or bush makes the best screen for coverage.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Michigan Sportsman mobile app


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## Dustan Grieshop

Anyone have any input on cedar Apple rust? How close can the cedar trees be without infecting the crabs? What about plums and cedars? Are they susceptible to rust as well?


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## grapestomper

I plant a few apples and lots of crabapples. They grow faster and still get good production.


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## cmonkey

mjh4 said:


> I was hunting over a white oak last year and was shocked when about 70% of the deer I saw where eating the sting nettles all around a creek 20 yds from the white oaks with acorns on the ground when in years past they demolished the acorns. I was surprised they would eat sting nettles like that non stop. I'm going to plant a few apples on one side of the property and a few late pears in the opposite side. (Or maybe I should plant a sting nettle food plot) lol.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Michigan Sportsman


I had a similar experience this year. The deer are alway in the orchard picking up drops, but this year I noted two things. they first started by eating the long grass (weeds) growing around the fencing of the yearling trees. Only thing I can think is that when I fertilize trees in spring, the nutrients were taken up by those weeds, and deer searched that out around every small tree. Secondly, I left some brussel sprout stalks in the garden and never got around to harvesting them all. The deer have chewed all them them right down to a nub, although they showed little interest in them the rest of the growing season. I'm planning on planting more next year.


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## anon02032020

After planting apple trees myself I would not bother ever again for planting any. Too much work and time lost. I would rather have more food plots.


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## TriggerDiscipline

I have about 20 pear trees on one property, and the deer never touch them. They love the apples though.


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## on a call

Plant what you have and can get....better to have something than nothing.

To me a mix would be best


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## C20chris

If I was to choose one, it would be Apples. If you decide pears, do the research on the variety. Some will hold on much longer and rot much slower. I had some pear trees at my old house that if the pear fell off the tree it was mush rotten. We had to pick pears off the tree if we wanted any for canning etc. we had other varieties that were solid until snowfall. As others mentioned, the deer would eat the pears, but the apples that were on the ground in the evening were always gone by morning with nothing but fresh deer tracks remaining.


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## Hear fishy fishy

I prefer apples over pears. Late hanging varieties are nice for riffle. I believe the more varieties the better and as my knowledge has growing I prefer crabapples more than apples. I have experienced does going for the apple leafs many times and maybe as much as or more than the apples. I have seen bucks go more for the apples after the rut. The deer like to feed on what every grows under the apples. Don’t spray round up under them to kill composition weeds and grasses. A lot of the weeds under the apple trees with fertilizer are good deer food. 20 years of spraying round up under the apple trees can have negative affects on soil and apple trees.


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## Chessieman

Does anybody from the west side know if deer like PawPaw fruit? Tried to grow some before with no luck.


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## Hear fishy fishy

Paw paw trees are unpalatable to deer the bark has natural insecticide. Not sure on the fruits. The trees require shade to grow and will die if they get to much sun light. I tired to germinate some seeds with no luck.


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## unclecbass

Pears for sure. Apple trees do not grow or fruit quickly. Pear trees grow fast and fruit fast


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## 22 Chuck

Many yrs ago we cam up N bowhunting from Ohio.
Neighbor had 25+ pear trees so I picked up 2 grocery LARGE sacks full. Put them near where we were hunting and next am ground looked like herd of deer had been driven thu-pears ALL gone.
We never saw a deer while hunting there on a long weekend.


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## Lazy-J

I have both & deer devour both at my U.P. property. Pears seem to be more tolerant of poor quality soil and less maint. I'm planting dolgo crabapples this spring to help pollination. I have about 6 different apple varieties as some apples just seem to do better than others in cold climate.


mattawanhunter said:


> Apples 100%


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