Favorite Apple, favorite crab, favorite pear, favorite persimmon????

[Mattyq2402]

what are your absolute go to trees in these categories for deer draw? Specifically breeds that you have purchased from online dealers or have stumbled across and grafted your own? I’m getting close to maxing out my space and want to finish my orchards with strong draw trees!!

 

[sandbur]

I feel strong draw trees varies by climate, by disease pressure, and by the time of the season you are targeting. Early bow is different that firearm and is different for winter survival.

In addition those trees need to be planted in a specific location.

Choices for early bow need to be in areas best fit for early bow. Leaf fall might change that location.

Trees for winter survival need to be near winter cover.

Recommendations are probably best from people in locations and climates similar to yours.

Sorry I didn’t answer your question.

For me, Chestnut Crab, big Dog, and Buckman Crab.

 

[bigboreblr]

I have a home in zone 5/6 farmland I put a few trees in on 5 and a 600 acre lease on zone 3/4. Once you hit zone 3, offering for apples go way down. Camp is in the Adirondacks and get polar vortexes every few years. February 2023 was recorded as -37, and thats a few degrees warmer where the weather station is. Maybe 400ft lower in elevation too.

At camp 30-06 has survived and grown fairly well. I fhave few apples varieties up there, but have several kerr crabaples that are very edible. Some folks on here prefer it to other commercial apple varieties they have. I have a MN 1734 up there from last year.

I have a few on farmland, but not many. A few 30-06's doing, well as well as a big dog growing ok. THe farmalnd gets sprayed, none have been harmed yet. My brother in law takes excellent care of his john deere spray rigs. I put a Galarina up there 2 years ago and thats doing good. Got 3 galarinas at home too. That is an apple tree I have alot of promise for. Disease resistant version of Gala. Apples are on the small side so they hang on the tree going into winter. Skin is supposed to be on the thick side, which can help with bugs too

At home I have over 40 trees on 6 acres. I keep scion photocopies of everything at camp incase I want make more, or loggers destroyed a few trees. About a dozen crabapple trees and maybe 5 or 6 other crabapple varieties growing on a branch or two on apple trees. I also spray for bugs and a bit for diseases too. Crossbow has been growing like a weed with excellent branch angles are bugs seem to have been dodging it like whitetail crabs touts. Japanese beetles somehow really dislike this tree. MY wife loves macoun and empire and have those. Sundance on M7 is doing great. Might more be the m7 part. The roots are touching my foodplot, so it might be getting better soil too.

I have no permissons. I believe the edge of USDA zone is 4 and thats pushing them too. Heard way too many bad stories about chestnuts getting beat up to play with those too. I do plant a few oaks at camp, for someones kid to hunt under someday. I hide them well in mounds in the swamp area. Be real tough to get a logging truck there. I do have a few northrup mulberries. Deer love those and birds and squirrels go nuts for them. Tons of grouse at camp, but only sightings of grouse at my home has been on my mulberries. They're a july / august fruit. Some good rain years september. Great for summer trail camera pics, every animal in the woods is at those trees.

 

[gunfun13]

I'll preface this with I do not have enough soft mast dropping and my deer density is too high (even post EHD this year), for my deer to show a preference. If it drops or is within reach, it's readily consumed.

#1 Crabapple is Droptine. It is extremely vigorous, requires no maintenance, throws large crops annually and drops the time of year that I want to attract deer most. Of the 10 or so crab varieties I have producing well, it outshines the rest by a wide margin.

#1 Apple currently is Florina. My most productive variety and drops mostly during October and into November. It had shared this title with Liberty for the last few years, but a cold, wet pollination period this year really hurt my Liberty production while Florina didn't skip a beat. I suspect this will change over next few years as I have dozens of other varieties coming into production.

#1 Pear is a roadside ditch pear I grafted. I had 8 varieties of pear produce well this year, this is the only one still hanging after mid November, and hanging most it's crop. They are gritty and taste like crap to me, but deer lap them up. The parent tree is usually done dropping around New Years.



I do not have any persimmon producing. I struggle growing them in Southern Michigan.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

For crabs - I'd say Winter Wildlife and Chestnut crabs (to this point in time). We have several others from Blue Hill that are too young to produce - but maybe will next year.

For regular apples - Liberty and Enterprise have done well for us in the NC Pa. mountains.

Pears - Kieffer and Morse hybrid pear.

Dry years or late frosts that kill blossoms can alter what works in a given year.