Mine still hanging

How old are your NWC trees, and did any drop during hunting season ? in November- mid Dec

They were planted in 2017. There is a NWC 10 Point planted in between these two that has completely dropped except for a handful of mummies. Since I didn't take any pictures of these trees earlier in the season and I do not visit them often, it's tough to say how much of the Droptine and 30-06 have fallen that wasn't shook off. I'd venture to guess at this point they've dropped less than 20%. This has been a very mild fall for us however with first frost coming about a month later than normal.

When a walked up to these trees the other day, there was 1 Droptine on the ground...the first I've ever seen on the ground that fell naturally. So, they are dropping a little on their own.

Last year the 30-06 was completely bare by this time of year, the year before some fruit held into January. Droptine always has quite a bit persisting when it leafs out in the spring.
 
They were planted in 2017. There is a NWC 10 Point planted in between these two that has completely dropped except for a handful of mummies. Since I didn't take any pictures of these trees earlier in the season and I do not visit them often, it's tough to say how much of the Droptine and 30-06 have fallen that wasn't shook off. I'd venture to guess at this point they've dropped less than 20%. This has been a very mild fall for us however with first frost coming about a month later than normal.

When a walked up to these trees the other day, there was 1 Droptine on the ground...the first I've ever seen on the ground that fell naturally. So, they are dropping a little on their own.

Last year the 30-06 was completely bare by this time of year, the year before some fruit held into January. Droptine always has quite a bit persisting when it leafs out in the spring.
Right on...My first planting of NWC were only planted in 2020 so I have a while before I see how they pan out here in zone 7. Although I had one 30-06 and one droptine from that planting , that had between a dozen or two crabs, but it appeared they were just mummies and not dropping.
 
I made a trip to camp yesterday on some woods business. I got a look at some of the apple trees. Goldrush is holding plenty of apples - I picked one and ate it - FINE eating despite some blemishes!! A surprise was Whitney crab with about a dozen still on the tree. I tasted one - DRY and very pethy this late in the season - but the deer have cleaned up whatever fell. A few Enterprise still hanging, Franklin cider still has a good number of apples on them, a couple SLN wild apple seedlings are still holding a few apples. Winter Wildlife crabs have a good number of apples. Our one un-named, late-hanging apple tree is loaded yet. They drop slowly all winter - and the grass is beaten down to dirt under it. It bears heavily every other year - with light crops in the off years. Our smaller, dark red "bird crabs" are still loaded. Tweeties & grouse will snap those up over the winter. I didn't go look at every apple & crab tree though. Too tied up with the woods business.

Still a few "Morse hybrid" pears hanging.

Several Franklin cider trees still hanging in zone 4b. A few of them have dropped but call it 2/3 still there and holding their shape but soft if you pinch them.

Out of four ranetka seedlings with each a bit different fruit, one has about 1/3 to 1/2 still hanging.

My EMS crab still loaded above where the deer browse the lower branches. This tree is later winter turkey food but not much for deer as do not fall off tree.

The wild apple tree that holds longest on my land lost remaining 5 or 6 doz in big wind storm earlier in the week. Not one left on the ground.

Various red splendor bird size crabs also still loaded. The pea size are more mummies but the nickel size are still ok.

Honey gold now bare.
 
Several Franklin cider trees still hanging in zone 4b. A few of them have dropped but call it 2/3 still there and holding their shape but soft if you pinch them.

Out of four ranetka seedlings with each a bit different fruit, one has about 1/3 to 1/2 still hanging.

My EMS crab still loaded above where the deer browse the lower branches. This tree is later winter turkey food but not much for deer as do not fall off tree.

The wild apple tree that holds longest on my land lost remaining 5 or 6 doz in big wind storm earlier in the week. Not one left on the ground.

Various red splendor bird size crabs also still loaded. The pea size are more mummies but the nickel size are still ok.

Honey gold now bare.

Either Bohemian or cedar waxwings are hitting the red splendors and the other flowering crabs which might be profusion.

If I shake the profusions( if that were legal) the deer feed under them nightly. Partridge (grouse) have not moved to the flowering crabs yet. Deer were feeding at midnight under the full moon just a few nights back.

Fifty or so turkeys have been a half mile north which is a good thing.


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Either Bohemian or cedar waxwings are hitting the red splendors and the other flowering crabs which might be profusion.
Cedar waxwings always hit the Profusion crab in our yard. This year they'll have a "Sugar Tyme" crab to hit as well - 2nd leaf, loaded with 3/8" dark red fruit.

Good to hear the deer are feasting in the moonlight under your trees!!!
 
I have a couple other bird crabs that are like Profusion but think are Prairie fire. They seem to be a smaller tree or maybe grafted on some other rootstock as not as vigorous as Red splendor. But again persistent and taken out by birds eventually.
 
Checked my trees today. The Wickson dropped the last of what was hanging in the last 2 weeks. The Franklin are still holding 2/3 and my best Goldrush is easily holding 2/3 of the heavy crop it has this year. My other Goldrush the bears climbed and stripped clean in the last week. Broke several scaffold limbs and the top of the central leader. :emoji_rage: I have a trail camera under both the Goldrush and the deer check them daily and clean up everything that falls.
 
My other Goldrush the bears climbed and stripped clean in the last week. Broke several scaffold limbs and the top of the central leader
Sorry to hear about the bear damage. Tanks with fur coats.
 
Those bears really have it in for you Diesel! I'm still tempted to figure out a way to run some electricity around late holding apple trees to keep the bears from wrecking them. Good information though.
 
I was hoping the sow and 3 cubs were denned up by now and my tree damage for the year was over but evidently not, weather has been unseasonably warm. The trees they ripped up are all older trees that will bounce back but it makes me think the smaller trees that are only 3-5 years old have no chance of really making it to be mature trees.
 
I checked those of my Dolgo seeding trees today that normally drop all winter long. They had plenty of crabapples hanging on them at Thanksgiving, but dropped them all since. I blamed the drought we had this summer.
 
I visited a wild tree that caught my eye few years ago because it seemed to have exceptional disease resistance (plenty of leaves and fruit in a year when most unsprayed trees were defoliated). Happy to see it also seems to hang onto the apples late in the season.
 

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but it makes me think the smaller trees that are only 3-5 years old have no chance of really making it to be mature trees.
We're fighting the same battle as you Diesel. Hoping to get them big and woody enough to survive bears.
 
I had almost forgotten about this tree. It has late hanging crabs this year that are pretty nice. This is Eliza's Choice. It is a lot like the grafted Dolgos I got from WG. In fact, my guess is that it is a seedling from a Dolgo. The story goes that it was discovered as a wild seedling in TN, and a nursery started selling it under the name Eliza's Choice. The crop isn't big this year, because of the late freeze, but last year it did have a big crop. It's probably going to be a cultivar that I recommend. So far it has been super clean growing.

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I was hoping the sow and 3 cubs were denned up by now and my tree damage for the year was over but evidently not, weather has been unseasonably warm. The trees they ripped up are all older trees that will bounce back but it makes me think the smaller trees that are only 3-5 years old have no chance of really making it to be mature trees.
I'm thinking I might try yanking all the fruit off younger and smaller trees until they get big enough.
 
Removing the apples is about the only defense I have found. The trees have to get pretty big to withstand the bears though. Waiting 10-15 years before you can get apples from your trees is a bit depressing but I have seen the bears destroy trees younger than that. When your trees are big enough for you to safely climb is when they are big enough to withstand bears. About all those of us in bear country can do until one of us comes up with a better idea.
 
Droptine still hanging on 1/4/22. This time with a decent shake probably half fell off. No luck coyote calling today.

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Here's one I sure wish was mine. Neighbor's persimmon still with quite a few hanging on Feb 1 and deer tracks all around it in the snow. Grafted it last spring and collected seeds last fall.
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That's awesome!
 
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