Native Hunter Apples 2023

[blueKYstream]

Have you had problems with squirrels or raccoons eating apples before their ripe or before they fall from the tree? I cant get any fruit past July. I assume up to this point it was squirrels but this year many pears had broken branches out of reach. Im sure thats coons. Maybe with the volume of fruit you have, its not an issue.

 

[Native Hunter]

Have you had problems with squirrels or raccoons eating apples before their ripe or before they fall from the tree? I cant get any fruit past July. I assume up to this point it was squirrels but this year many pears had broken branches out of reach. Im sure thats coons. Maybe with the volume of fruit you have, its not an issue.

I haven't had that problem. I put a trail cam on a persimmon tree for about a week and had several pictures of a possum climbing the tree, but it didn't even come every day. I saw a scrape underneath a pear tree and put a cam on it for a few days. I had a pair of grey foxes coming frequently and an occasional coon and possum, but none climbed the tree. I've had a cam on the Kenner Seedling now for several days, and I seldom get anything but deer coming under that tree.

I keep repeating this, but where I live, the majority of fruit (mainly apples) either falls too early or hangs on all winter (mainly crabapples) and turns into useless dried up mummies. Folks up North don't seem to have that problem. Late persimmons like Deer Magnet come closer to working for me than any other fruit. However, I'm really excited to see this Kenner Seedling crop slowly dropping and hanging so long. Every buck on my place is visiting that tree regularly. My pears have been great, but they are just about to play out now.

When my pears started dropping this year the deer couldn't come close to keeping them cleaned up. However, after a couple of weeks they gradually caught up with them. There came a point when every one got eaten quickly. I'm not sure what the difference is, but coons and squirrels just aren't that much of a threat to me.

 

[blueKYstream]

Hmm, that's interesting. I'll be happy to see if my Keener Seedling (and Yates), pears, and persimmons a couple hours north match up with you. I'm guessing I'm a few days or a week later.

 

[Teeder]

Late persimmons like Deer Magnet come closer to working for me than any other fruit.

I know I'm quite a bit north from you, but when did the deer magnets start producing for you?
I have 3 planted that are about 3-4 years old, maybe 8ft tall.

 

[Native Hunter]

I know I'm quite a bit north from you, but when did the deer magnets start producing for you?
I have 3 planted that are about 3-4 years old, maybe 8ft tall.

The ones I have are on native trees that I topworked, so I would get fruit more quickly than planting a grafted bareroot tree. It usually takes native seedlings about 8 years to start producing, but a healthy grafted tree should be sooner than that.