Apples, If you were to pick just 3

Here are some suggestions ...
Kerr
Wicksen
Enterprise
Redfield
Turning Point
Drop Tine
Franklin Cider - fruit 2nd years and some still hanging

You'll want to look at any combination for pollination compatibility bloom time wise.

Here is my 4th year Drop Tine fro Whitetail Crabs with it's 1st fruiting. Still hanging as of today after multiple hard frosts.

View attachment 46975
Tree Spud Keep an eye on that droptine and let us know when it drops !... Nice looking tree !
 
Tree Spud Keep an eye on that droptine and let us know when it drops !... Nice looking tree !

I bet mine has 50% dropped which is at least a month earlier than in previous years. Planted in 2017, S. Michigan 6a/5b boarder.
 
Galarina has been a tough one for me to find and understanding the right rootstock.
 
whitetail crabs is right next to you in PA.

they say plant alot of 30-06 and droptine crabapples. Seems one is earlier in the season and another a bit later.

for tree #3, plant a tree you can harvest yourself. Empire and liberty I believe are good for both eating and cooking as well as cider. Theyre late droppers too. Redfield and russet work good too. Fedco tree in maine has trees left too.
 
For me here in North Central PA, my best growers (no apples yet, as oldest tree is only 1.5 years in the ground) were Droptine, Winter Gold, Wickson and Hewes Crab.
I have a few apples planted and Liberty has gained alot of vegetation and limbs but not alot of height.
Ask again in 5 years and I will probably have alot of PA-specific info for you (planting another 10ish trees next spring).
 
Galarina has been a tough one for me to find and understanding the right rootstock.
The ones I planted in 2011 are B118 rootstock, I bought them from MAYA he use to post a lot about apple trees on here.
 
Everybody should start by planting a Liberty and an Enterprise. That way at least you have probably the best, disease resistant edible apples growing for the great reset. Then to round out the package for overall best deer apples figure out when you want them dropping and narrow it down from the list that includes chestnut, droptine, kerr, winter wildlife, etc. That's how my plan has been evolving anyhow. Glad I got the good edibles in the ground first and am now enjoying them. Time goes fast. Now it's fun watching the crabs fruit.
 
I would love to get some apple trees going but I really don’t think the bears would allow it. I had what I think were 7 different bears on camera in a single day in September. They seem to love the red clover in my plots. Following along with this anyway and might try a few of the different crabs mentioned here next spring.

I did see a post or pictures one time of a guy that bear proofed his apple trees with the metal cage off an IBC tote I believe. Not sure if that was on this site or not.

If you have lots of bears apples can certainly be challenging. I started planting apples 20 years ago on my bear heavy property (also my home) and I have all but given up on planting apples. Unless you heavily cage them, or put up some kind of perimeter electric fence around a small orchard, bears will destroy young apples once they begin fruiting. Even mature apples they will climb and topple and delimb. Apples are a lot of work anyway...apples in bear country can be frustrating.
 
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If I could only plant tree varieties;

Yates
Arkansas Black
Redfield
 
On my Iowa farm, I’ve had recommendations to plant Arkansas Black .
 
For me here in North Central PA, my best growers (no apples yet, as oldest tree is only 1.5 years in the ground) were Droptine, Winter Gold, Wickson and Hewes Crab.
I have a few apples planted and Liberty has gained alot of vegetation and limbs but not alot of height.
Ask again in 5 years and I will probably have alot of PA-specific info for you (planting another 10ish trees next spring).
I see you've bought from whitetail crabs by use of some of their names. I am wondering if some are rather basic non-grafted trees. Like the winter gold, sure looks like toringo crabapple to me. Their gray ghost I am wondering if the're just antonovka rootstock grown up a few years. Nothing horrible if they are. They seem to be a few bucks cheaper than other vendors. Almost had what I wanted in mind to place an order, than this thread comes along.......... Knocked down about a dozen just about dead red delicious apple trees. Oddly enough opening weekend of bow I did that instead. This is supposed to be for better hunting, I think...... 80% of the herd is dead from EHD last Sept here in the hudson valley area of NY, so I am taking 2 years off hunting from home.
 
I see you've bought from whitetail crabs by use of some of their names. I am wondering if some are rather basic non-grafted trees. Like the winter gold, sure looks like toringo crabapple to me. Their gray ghost I am wondering if the're just antonovka rootstock grown up a few years. Nothing horrible if they are. They seem to be a few bucks cheaper than other vendors. Almost had what I wanted in mind to place an order, than this thread comes along.......... Knocked down about a dozen just about dead red delicious apple trees. Oddly enough opening weekend of bow I did that instead. This is supposed to be for better hunting, I think...... 80% of the herd is dead from EHD last Sept here in the hudson valley area of NY, so I am taking 2 years off hunting from home.
I am not super familiar with Tornigo crabs (the Winter gold may be that), but will say I have planted 2 dozen plus trees from Terry (of 8+ varities) and have lost only 1 due to planting it too close to a black walnut (even that tree lived 1.5 years)...for 24$, in my mind, you can't beat the quality and the roots on his trees are by far the largest and most developed of any I have ordered (Ryan's trees from Blue Hill are a close second)...I think these trees are definitely aimed at producing for deer...as in later drop times, hardy disease resistanct trees and prolific crops...if i had not pruned the flowers off the winter golds this year I would have had 100+ crabs about 6 months after planting (planted 11/2021)..
 
I’m expecting great things from my Blue Hill trees, but for now they are still young.

For the time being these are my 3:

Dolgo
Yates
Eliza’s Choice

Yates will cover October well and go into mid November most years. Dolgo covers most of November well and the last one looks like it’s going to be late November into December. All 3 seem to be bullet proof on DR.

PS - keep in mind there is a lot of variation in what is marketed as Dolgo from place to place.
 
Here I am sitting in a tree during rut thinking about my new 30 fruit trees I have ordered and won't get to plant until spring
I do the same damn thing! What did you order?
 
Everybody should start by planting a Liberty and an Enterprise. That way at least you have probably the best, disease resistant edible apples growing for the great reset. Then to round out the package for overall best deer apples figure out when you want them dropping and narrow it down from the list that includes chestnut, droptine, kerr, winter wildlife, etc. That's how my plan has been evolving anyhow. Glad I got the good edibles in the ground first and am now enjoying them. Time goes fast. Now it's fun watching the crabs fruit.
Do your Liberty and Enterprise pollinate each other ? ( I have some on order for the spring) . I have a couple mature Granny smiths in the front yard at least 16-18 years old . I believe the Granny Smith is a pollinator for the Liberty , so I'll plant that 30 feet from the Granny Smiths ...and plant the Enterprise next to the Liberty.
 
Chestnut crab, Liberty and Enterprise. That way you have early, mid and late dropping apples. They are easy to acquire, disease resistant and fast growing. Also they all taste pretty good for human consumption.
 
Just order from whitetail crabs this year. 30-06, liberty, enterprise. Wannted droptine, but they were out. Got 1 crossbow to offset it.
 
I have some young trees planted of these but no first hand drop time experience but from my reading these are prolific producers and favorites amount those that have them for wildlife.

Kerr
Yates

I have Enterprise among quite a few others and would recommend it also to round out the top three wildlife trees with a October/November drop time.

For a eating/no spray orchard that definitely has wildlife value these are very good that I have at this house.

Enterprise
Liberty
Freedom

I started my home orchards three different ones at different locations that are still owned by family members more with human consumption in mind and didn’t start planting crabs until fairly recently. I wish I had planted more crabs earlier but my desires in an orchard have shifted more towards wildlife in latter years than when I was a young man. Also the internet and the hive of knowledge easily available to us certainly hasn’t hurt anything when researching verities. I would also look at these as possibilities depending on availability of trees when you try to order, sometimes you order what you can get not what you want.

Elisa’s Choice
Big Dog
Sundance
 
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