# Fruit Trees



## Joe Archer (Mar 29, 2000)

Has anyone planted any apple or pear trees for deer? If so, how much will it cost and how soon can they be productive? &lt;----&lt;&lt;&lt;


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## Yooper (Feb 1, 2000)

I planted trees I bought from Hilltop Nursery, they have a special on wildlife trees, I think from broken bundles. I figured about three years for apples but I was hit 2 yrs in a row with tent caterpillars which ate all the leaves and buds so that set me back.


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## marty (Jan 17, 2000)

Joe I also got my trees from hilltop. They are doing great and the people there bend over backwards to help you. Their web site is www.hilltopnurseries.com or call 1 800-253-2911. I figure it should take 3-4 years before fruit cause I got semidrawft.
They have a wildlife package for around 100 bucks for ten trees.........marty


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## johnhunter (Jun 17, 2000)

Joe, I have several producing pear and apple trees scattered around my farm. The deer devour the fruit. 
As a means of improving hunting success, unless you grow a varied, full-blown orchard, I believe fruit trees are somewhat overrated. The fruit is only available when they fall, which is a very brief period, and once they do, they're gone, and if you were at work that day, you missed it!

I have experimented with planting fruit trees. If you're looking for an economical way to go, check out the catalog of Oikos Tree Crops near Kalamazoo (616.624.6233). Their hybrid pear and wild pear paper pots sell for $.85/each in quantities of 25 or more. I know this seems incredibly cheap, but you're also going to have to invest in 4-foot tree shelters, available at Oikos (about $3 each) and elsewhere, and some 
wooden stakes. The tree shelters greatly enhance growth rates and, more importantly, protect the trees from being totally eaten by deer and/or rabbits. They're supposed to begin fruiting in 4-6 years. I planted 3 in '97, and about 25 in '99; excellent mortality and growth rate, though fruit production won't begin for a few years. 
If you decide to try them, e-mail me at [email protected] for some essential planting/propogation tips which I've learned through trial and error.
Incidentally, I highly recommend the catalog for other plants, including hybrid oaks.


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## henryboy32 (Feb 9, 2000)

I planted 4 apple trees from Meijers. Two were planted about 3 years ago this spring. They were both on clearance for 1 dollar due to cold spring, so they were in bad shape to begin with. One nearly had to restart that summer because the whole top died. Right now it is about 1 foot tall but still growing. The other had a big growth spurt this year and I expect apples next year. It was about 5 feet tall when I got it and is now about 8 feet tall. 

The other two I bougt two years ago for about $5 each from Meijers. They have grown OK. One of them I expect apples next year but the other may be two years.

I was also successful in starting apples from seeds. I have a couple in a garden which are almost ready to be moved to the back fields. They are both about two feet tall. I had a dozen seeds started this spring out of about 60 seeds but they all died. I froze the seeds over the winter. Then in March I put them in some moist peat moss in a baggy in the refrigerator for about a month. I then planted them in a seed starting kit. One of those you set up like a greenhouse. Within two weeks I started having sprouts. Does anyone else had success in starting apples from seeds?

I have apple to protect my current trees from deer browsing and rubbing by placing old pasture fencing around the trunk and up above the browse line. The fence was made in about a two foot diameter with a fence post to hold and the post was pounded in the ground. I also fertilized every spring and even the fall.


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