Apple Trees for Deer

I favor applecrabs for deer. Norland is the earliest to ripen and usually drops in mid August or even earlier. It is extremely hardy and just a bit larger than the applecrab (2 inch) definition.
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Norland is right on schedule as the first apple to ripen and drop.


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This is likely my worst year ever for apples, hardly anything :-(
 
This is likely my worst year ever for apples, hardly anything :-(

I am on a down year as well. A few hundred apples total from 30 trees. With over half of the trees 7-14 years old.
 
Lots of apples are dropping from the drought.

Some seedlings on own root are doing the best.


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Grandmas seedling crab. I can’t remember tasting or monitoring this tree for drop time. It is probably 30 years old and right down by the tag alders.


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what I do have on are small......

I got more off of one, two year transplant, than the other half of "all" my apple trees .... that little guy had three apples on it.
 
One of the best for me. Great week for pollination and lots of rain and cool temps since. Also light fire blight this year. Just put my cameras out and I have 4-5 older bucks moved in already. Usually I don’t see older bucks until October. High hopes for this year, especially if my brassica grow.
 
My young trees, as well, are getting pounded by jap beetles right now
 
My young trees, as well, are getting pounded by jap beetles right now

It was the same for me. I put out traps and have been also collecting the beetles when it’s cooler in the day. I’m not hardly seeing any beetles now. I filled up a 5-gallon bucket so far with what I’ve caught.

I’ll see how they do for fertilizer.


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My young trees, as well, are getting pounded by jap beetles right now
Someone here recommended liquid sevin to me for the japs and it has worked well. I had all kind of different trees ate up with them back in June, I sprayed every tree and havent seen a sign of one since.
 
Someone here recommended liquid sevin to me for the japs and it has worked well. I had all kind of different trees ate up with them back in June, I sprayed every tree and havent seen a sign of one since.
I sprayed with "8" its basically liquid sevin plus something else... lol next year I expect to see "9" in the stores. I used the 8 on my vines but fell behind on getting out and spraying my trees....

One thing about them is you dont see them (or just a few) then Bam! the next time you go out you have munched up trees.
 
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These are the trees I would recommend for feeding deer from August and well into February. This location is where USDA zone 3 and 4 meet.

We can get into the specific discussions a bit later if needed. The trees are hardy and relatively disease free. I have lots of CAR here.

Chestnut crab would be a great choice for the Wisconsin and Minnesota bow openers.


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I have Trailman and Centennial crabs in parentheses on this list. That meant they were still being evaluated.

I no longer recommend centennial for deer as the tree tends to be too short to escape much browsing pressure. A fellow deer/ apple friend pointed this out.

Trailman deserves a place in the list. It is hardy and is just starting to drop now at this Zone 3-4 location.

Taste is excellent and my tree is on antanovka. If you want to attract deer to a location for as long a period as possible, it should be in the above list. This group of apple trees feeds deer from late July/ early August into March and even April at my location.

Dolgo will be next in the timeline for deer attraction and has also started to drop. Both are very hardy.

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About a half dozen Rescue crabs are still on the tree. They have turned to mush, but have not fallen. I might have had a dozen apples total on the tree.

My electronic Alberta friends say they are about equally hardy but that Rescue rapidly gets soft.

Trailman stays on the deer list for this time of the year. Rescue Crab does not.

I might top work Rescue to something else in the spring.


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About a half dozen Rescue crabs are still on the tree. They have turned to mush, but have not fallen. I might have had a dozen apples total on the tree.

My electronic Alberta friends say they are about equally hardy but that Rescue rapidly gets soft.

Trailman stays on the deer list for this time of the year. Rescue Crab does not.

I might top work Rescue to something else in the spring.


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Most Trailman are yellow with a pink blush. This red is not typical for my tree, at least for this year.


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The Trailman crabs we've had look like the ones in your post #52 pic - mostly yellow with a pink / red blush. Tasted good too.
 
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