Which apple trees?

[esox49]

Does anyone know of a good brand of apple tree to plant next to a food plot? I am looking for something fast growing with apples that the deer would love to eat! Any suggestions?

[Jameson]

A while back I did some searching for which apple trees deer prefer. Can't remember anything from the research, but "Johnny Come Lately" had a preferable late drop for rifle hunters.

I have two unknown apple trees at a place I hunt. One is maybe a McIntosh, the other maybe a Honeycrisp. The deer will walk past the maybe McIntosh to get to the maybe Honeycrisp. So deer will defiantly prefer one to another.

[archerystud]

You definetly want a "late" apple tree for deer hunting. I planted some Firesides trees about 10 years ago. The biggest problem I had was keeping the deer off of the tree itelf to let them grow. Try and protect the trees with some type of fencing while they are young. The deer will browse on the tree in the winter time.

Depending on the variety you may need another variety to cross pollenate them. I never got any apples for the first few years but I'm getting them now after planting a couple other trees.

I never find an apple on the ground from my Firesides, the deer love them. One of my trees is about 12 feet tall now.

[BLACKJACK]

I'll second the idea that you need protection for young trees!!! I planted some two years ago and put a 4 foot tree tube around it - not big enough!! They broke all the branches off at the top of the tube, trying to get to the leaves. It takes a 5-6 foot tube or a wire fence.

I usually buy my apple trees on sale in the fall, so it limits the varietys you can get, but my theory has been to buy different kinds each time so I'll have some late apples and some early apples. So far I've planted some Harelreds, Mckintoshs, Firesides, and Z-somethingorothers. Dwarfs and semi-dwarfs will produce sooner than standard apple trees.

[Cooter]

I'll join the chorus on protecting those young trees, and not just during winter(I found out the hard way this year). And I'd stay away from dwarfs cuz on a short tree the deer will pluck the apples early in the year and they might be bare come hunting time.

[tealitup]

Can you plant them in Northern MN.... How about keeping Moose away from them - or bear

[Paradice]

Chestnut Crab

I've got two, and a bunch in the orchard. They produce a ton of golf ball sized apples that are hard and sweet. Deer go nuts for them.

You've got to put a cage around the tree, large enough to keep all the branches inside and high enough so the deer can't reach over to bite off the buds.

IMPORTANT: Mulch the tree after you plant it to maintain moisture and keep competing weeds and grasses down. Your tree will grow faster with less rainfall. You also have to put a protector around the base to keep out mice, or they'll chew off the bark at the ground and kill the tree.