Growing out Apple/Pear Rootstocks

[sandbur]

View attachment 22681

I gave a friend a couple of dolgo seedlings. He says one tree is 25 yards from his stand and one evening he watched a doe walk by other apple trees to get to that dolgo. Six times she raised up to grab an apple.

We will never know why that tree and not another tree.


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[PoorSand]

The attached photo is of a dolgo seedling rootstock tree yesterday. The fruits are about 3/4". The deer have the lower branches all cleaned off. They are stil coming in to check it. I filled a couple coat pockets with its fruits while I was there. The seeds look good. (I grabbed some scions from it as well.)

 

[PoorSand]

Here's a photo from yesterday of a seedling apple rootstock tree I meant to bud onto a few years ago, but forgot it was there. I think I'll just leave it be now.

 

[cavey]

I gave a friend a couple of dolgo seedlings. He says one tree is 25 yards from his stand and one evening he watched a doe walk by other apple trees to get to that dolgo. Six times she raised up to grab an apple.

We will never know why that tree and not another tree.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have a row of 7 mature apple trees up against a woods line, all are good eating apples and pretty much taste the same to me, of those seven trees there is one standout tree that never has an apple rotting on the ground and anything within standing height gets taken from the tree. There will be apples on the ground around the others and this one tree is picked clean. I lost my map for the back line of trees years ago so I can only guess the variety but honestly there is not much taste or sweetness difference between most of the trees yet year after year it gets priority for munching. Its not an end tree but one in the middle so they have to walk by the others.
Its kind of crazy but they know what they want and skip the others - I wonder if the tree has a different aroma? Something pulls them to it well before they get a taste and once they do they clean it up first.

 

[Barndog56]

I have a row of 7 mature apple trees up against a woods line, all are good eating apples and pretty much taste the same to me, of those seven trees there is one standout tree that never has an apple rotting on the ground and anything within standing height gets taken from the tree. There will be apples on the ground around the others and this one tree is picked clean. I lost my map for the back line of trees years ago so I can only guess the variety but honestly there is not much taste or sweetness difference between most of the trees yet year after year it gets priority for munching. Its not an end tree but one in the middle so they have to walk by the others.
Its kind of crazy but they know what they want and skip the others - I wonder if the tree has a different aroma? Something pulls them to it well before they get a taste and once they do they clean it up first.

Different apples have different amino acid profiles. Deer may be eating those apples because they provide something that is lacking in their diet?