Now is a good time to buy apple trees!

[BLACKJACK]

If you're ever considered planting some apple trees to attract deer on the north 40, now is a good time to buy them, a lot of garden centers are marking them down to get rid of them. I bought three 8 footers last week for $10 apiece. My plan is to leave them by my step where I can easily water them until September, then I'll plant them once we get some more moisture. I also have my eye on some crabapples, maybe they'll mark them down one more time.

[PerchJerker]

That's great info Blackjack. I'll look around but the problem for me is I'm far enough north that I for sure need a zone 4 tree and a zone 3 tree would be better. Most of the trees for sale around here probably wouldn't make it for too many years at my place. But I'll be looking, especially at at those prices.

[BLACKJACK]

Good point Perchjerker, anything farther north than Alexandria and you'd want a zone 3. Also, you need to get two apple trees for cross-pollination, unless you have other apple or crabapple trees in the area. Think about mixing an early season variety with a late season variety, if they're available. That way you'll have apples dropping all season long. I made the mistake a few years back of buying 10 bareroot Harelreds, which are all late season apples...

[luckey]

Good ideas here! I will have the wife check when she is out shopping. (gonna do a lot of checking, lol). You will need more than one to get apples.

[PerchJerker]

I've ordered a bunch of wildlife trees and shrubs from St. Lawrence Nursery in upper New York State. They are a zone 3 grower specializing in cold hardy stock. My trees are still too young to produce fruit. I've got about 3 dozen apples, pears, and plums planted, plus a bunch of other wildlife trees from St. Lawrence. Can't wait to have that soft mast available for the deer!!! And you make a great point about getting different trees for pollination and when they produce - something a lot of guys probably don't think about.

One of the trees I planted is a HoneyCrisp. Got it in the best spot and it gets more care and attention than any of my other trees. Can't wait to get the first apple off that tree!

[BLACKJACK]

Perchjerker, went out and looked at the St. Lawrence Nursery site, now I'm tempted to buy some more trees!! Plus they have lots of good info on winter hardiness and varieties. For the money and longterm, they may be a better buy than the 'sale' trees a person buys, just because they have a better chance of surviving longterm. In the past I've bought trees from Lawyer Nursery in Montana but the problem with them is that they have a high minimum order amount, St. Lawrence doesn't seem to have that. Thanks for the info. Now where can I plant 10 more trees??

[luckey]

Don't forget to check out a local Minnesota nursery.

http://www.itascagreenhouse.com/page3.html

Over the years we have purchased thousands of trees from this nursery. They don't have a lot of fruit trees but the do have crab trees.

[PerchJerker]

Itasca Greenhouse is only about 40 mintures away from my property. I've looked at their stock but not bought much from them - not that I wouldn't buy from them, I've just bought most of my stock from other sources. We've bought a lot of bare-root seendlings through the DNR, and most of my wildlife trees and shrubs have come from St. Lawrence.

Whatever you do Blackjack, DON'T PLANT THEM WHERE THE DEER ARE I've planted too many trees and can't keep up with taking care of them and protecting them every year. But the deer are always willing to pitch in and do some pruning

[Mark Christianson]

I best get out there and check into this. I have made the mistake the past couple years not jumping on this exact thing.

Cheap fruit trees in the late summer.

Hey PJ

I guess when I have the highfence installed around the farm to contain the deer, I should have some put up around my apple trees to protect them from the deer!!!!

[PerchJerker]

Here's another idea - plant your apple trees right outside the fence that holds in your deer, then have your kids throw the apples over the fence and under your stand

[Mark Christianson]

Heck

I like it. I could also bring a generator out there so I could plug in the flood lights after dark.

Do you think if I collared and tethered "big daddy" that it would rub his neck fur off and hurt the potential mount????

[woodview]

lol

I say go all the way and put in a little "rain room".

Careful where you aim the pipe though.

Then again a mount with an apple stuck in his mouth, collar around his neck and dyed tidy-bowl-blue would be unique..

[PerchJerker]

BLB, I wouldn't worry too much about the fur on his neck. He'll look just like your other mounts ---- just tell anyone that asks "it must be something in their genetics"

[Mark Christianson]

ow

[luckey]

Perchjerker,

You make a point about trying to protect the trees you plant. However, we go by sheer volumn and hope they don't find them all. Three years ago we planted 7500, last year we planted about 2400 replacements and this year we only did about 400-500. There is no way to protect these trees. We can only hope the deer, insects, weevels, and dry weather don't get them. It can be difficult to "start" a forest. The first year I cut the grass on each side of the tree rows. Big mistake, the deer now had a food source with the fresh growth and easy access to the new trees. Now I hope the grass hides the trees.

&@&*&*(&^%$?##$^%&&* deer. How do you make them reliaze they are eating their future home!

[BLACKJACK]

Good one perchjerker (concerning blb's mounts)!

I used to cuss about the deer going thru my trees rows and pruning the tops off for me but then my wife said "isn't that why you planted all those trees? To attract wildlife?" That shut me up. On the apple trees, I do put tubex or wire around them to protect from chewing and from the bucks rubbing their antlers on, the apple tree trunks are just the right size for that.

[PerchJerker]

My place is heavily wooded and there's not many spots to plant "forest" trees, although we have put several hundred pines, spruce and balsams along our boundaries and in open spots. The deer pretty much leave them alone except for some of the white pines. But the apples, pears, plums, honeysuckle, mountain ash, black cherries, oaks etc. get nipped pretty quick. I've got wire cages around as many of those trees as I can but I just can't keep up with it all - got too carried away with ordering the first few years

BJ, I also think all of BLB's fish mounts have fat lips and flat noses from swimming into the side of the tank before he caught them

[Mark Christianson]

Who shot a wall hanger last year PJ?

Huh?

HUH???

Wait till you see what I've got in store for this years spot on the wall.

[PerchJerker]

I can't wait to see it, whatever it is

[Mark Christianson]

Didn't you see my post in the Hunting forum under trail pics? A little surprise for ya...