Whitetail Crabs Droptine

[White Oak]

Just an update , not sure if this has been mentioned before. I have 3 Whitetail Crabs "Droptines" that were planted in 2020 and 2021 and they all have a lot of CAR on the leaves. My 30 06 and Crossbow's leaves are clean. I do have 2 Cedars maybe 30-40 yards from the plot...I hope to cut them down in the winter to see if it reduces the CAR on those crabs. Granted there are a lot more cedars on the property...but these are the closest, so I'll try cutting them down.

 

[bigboreblr]

My droptines have CAR on them too. Not horrible though. IF there is a good reason to keep the nearby cedars around, then don't cut them. I have a bunch of cedars that block the pool from the road. Thts stuff can carry for a long time. I have mature trees that have horrible CAR, but they still produce fruit.

I have to wait until they're mature, but I think Terry's gem of the bunch is going to be crossbow. No disease issues and the bug leave the tree alone too. Nice branch angles too.

Far as CAR goes, I got to give turkey creek a good shout out for his Golden Delicious. Forgot if it was on M111 or B118, not a drop of CAR on it. Was worried about this variety, but it's a decent apple and a good polinator of other trees. Often planted here n there in apple orchards here in NY.

 

[gunfun13]

Mine is very clean and have cedars within 50 yards. I had CAR on a NWC 10 point very bad one year since 2017. Every other year it and my 30-06 and Droptine have been clean.

 

[White Oak]

My droptines have CAR on them too. Not horrible though. IF there is a good reason to keep the nearby cedars around, then don't cut them. I have a bunch of cedars that block the pool from the road. Thts stuff can carry for a long time. I have mature trees that have horrible CAR, but they still produce fruit.

I have to wait until they're mature, but I think Terry's gem of the bunch is going to be crossbow. No disease issues and the bug leave the tree alone too. Nice branch angles too.

Far as CAR goes, I got to give turkey creek a good shout out for his Golden Delicious. Forgot if it was on M111 or B118, not a drop of CAR on it. Was worried about this variety, but it's a decent apple and a good polinator of other trees. Often planted here n there in apple orchards here in NY.

The 2 Cedars in question are also blocking afternoon sun from my plot, so even if cutting them down doesn't resolve the CAR I think it will help with growth in the long run. I have one Crossbow planted in 2020 and another this spring....

 

[White Oak]

View attachment 55753

Mine is very clean and have cedars within 50 yards. I had CAR on a NWC 10 point very bad one year since 2017. Every other year it and my 30-06 and Droptine have been clean.

Interesting...you must have pruned that Droptine , all my Droptine branches are sagging from fruit that I should have removed the first year they formed ,. WOW your Droptine is CLEAN ! I'll take a few pics over the weekend of my branches drooping and the CAR.

 

[gunfun13]

Interesting...you must have pruned that Droptine , all my Droptine branches are sagging from fruit that I should have removed the first year they formed ,. WOW your Droptine is CLEAN ! I'll take a few pics over the weekend of my branches drooping and the CAR.

Yes, I've done some pruning and scion harvesting. I have about a dozen droptines now that all originated with the pictured tree.

 

[H20fwler]

I have had trouble with DropTine growing fast and having heavy fruit loads in the past, getting branches that sagged bad or got weepy looking that would crack but not break. And a healthy coon population just made it worse.
My solution has been to trim them back hard so the branches can grow stronger. I've got at least a dozen or more of them planted also with the largest being around 15'+ with a trunk bigger than a softball bat.
Very good crab with long fruit drop time almost into spring...mine show some CAR too but it hasn't bothered the fruit production that I have seen.

 

[bigboreblr]

You got any pics of the crossbow?

 

[Bszweda]

are paying for those expensive trees worth it?

 

[H20fwler]

are paying for those expensive trees worth it?

That is a good question, I've asked myself that many times........200 fruit trees later. . . .












YES!
It's an addiction, but a good one.

 

[White Oak]

are paying for those expensive trees worth it?

The price per Tree at Whitetail crabs is currently $23.95 . I really don't call that expensive, considering they are usually at least 5 foot tall or bigger. The shipping could be expensive, depending on how far away you are, but it is what it is....Everything's expensive in 2023

 

[White Oak]

You got any pics of the crossbow?

bigboreblr , Not the best picture (taken on 8/12/23) but this is a 2020 planted Crossbow​

 

[White Oak]

2020 planted Droptine pics taken 8/12/23 showing CAR and bent branches.....Might prune them back in the winter. I know I need to remove the cages and cut the weeds.....just haven't had time with all the rain

 

[Kooch]

I planted one each, Droptine, Crossbow and .30-06 this year. I was very impressed with the size of the trees and the extensive roots as delivered. I also planted two each, chestnut and dolgo from Blue Hill. They weren't as large as the Whitetail Crabs trees, but also very healthy and growing well despite the drought. I've watered them all repeatedly this Summer. I'm impressed with the growth of every tree I planted this year.

The .30-06 is the tallest with the thickest trunk. It's growing vertically from a strong central leader with very little horizontal growth so far. It shows very little disease. It looks almost columnar.
The droptine has very nice branch structure so far.
The crossbow is also growing nicely with fair branch structure. It wanted to bear fruit already in the first year. I pinched them all off.
Both dolgos exhibit CAR, more than any of the other trees. But one of them already had fruit on it as well. I pinched all but one off.
Both chestnut crabs are lush and dark green with zero signs of any disease or insect damage.

I'm in zone 4b with plenty of ERC in the vicinity.

 

[bigboreblr]

He gives you large trees, but you pay for the shipping. Best to buy a good number to offset the extra shipping.

Very happy with the liberty and enterprise trees I got from him as well. He is starting to produce trees on antonovka and has several trees good for zone 3. Another huge plus is he ships in the fall if you want it. Got my trees in late november.

 

[White Oak]

He gives you large trees, but you pay for the shipping. Best to buy a good number to offset the extra shipping.

Very happy with the liberty and enterprise trees I got from him as well. He is starting to produce trees on antonovka and has several trees good for zone 3. Another huge plus is he ships in the fall if you want it. Got my trees in late november.

I planted a Liberty & Enterprise in the spring along with a couple Rut Rage pears...all are doing well. It's just an observation that the Droptine got CAR , still produces fruit though. I will say some Online Tree sellers charge $10 to $15 more for a much smaller tree so I guess it all works out in the end. The Folks that have it made are the ones that live local and can pick up their trees with NO shipping charge !

 

[Derek Reese 29]

I planted a Liberty & Enterprise in the spring along with a couple Rut Rage pears...all are doing well. It's just an observation that the Droptine got CAR , still produces fruit though. I will say some Online Tree sellers charge $10 to $15 more for a much smaller tree so I guess it all works out in the end. The Folks that have it made are the ones that live local and can pick up their trees with NO shipping charge !

I live within an hour of both Blue Hill and Whitetail crabs..it’s bad for my bank account and good for the deer ;)

 

[White Oak]

I live within an hour of both Blue Hill and Whitetail crabs..it’s bad for my bank account and good for the deer ;)

Yes, I know of you and one other guy on here that live close to those tree growers. You guys have it made !, No Shipping !. Arguably Whitetail Crabs & Blue Hill are two of the best places in The North East to buy wildlife trees from that I'm aware of. With that said I'm in zone 7 , and think I'll try a few trees from The Wildlife Group for spring of 2024 . I realize they are in a more southern location than I'm in, so not sure how they will grow here...but I'll take a chance with 5 or 6 trees.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

The price per Tree at Whitetail crabs is currently $23.95 . I really don't call that expensive, considering they are usually at least 5 foot tall or bigger. The shipping could be expensive, depending on how far away you are, but it is what it is....Everything's expensive in 2023

When I started planting at camp in 2013, tree prices for 4 to 5 ft. whips were about $12 to $15 per tree. Feathered (branched) trees were about $18 to $20 per tree. I think the boom in habitat planting created a surge in demand for fruit & nut trees. I talked to Cummins and SLN back then, and they said they had to ramp up grafting / production to meet the increased demand.

 

[White Oak]

When I started planting at camp in 2013, tree prices for 4 to 5 ft. whips were about $12 to $15 per tree. Feathered (branched) trees were about $18 to $20 per tree. I think the boom in habitat planting created a surge in demand for fruit & nut trees. I talked to Cummins and SLN back then, and they said they had to ramp up grafting / production to meet the increased demand.

I believe The Boom is because of the internet , and Forums like this showing trees and where they were purchased , plus people just googling "Apple trees for deer, Pear trees for Deer, Crabapples for deer" . Before the internet , folks just bought whatever trees they could find local and hoped for the best or possibly saw an advertisement for trees in a hunting magazine . The first Crabs and apple trees I bought came from Lowes back around 2005... I'd say it wasn't till around 2018 I discovered Mossy Oak's Nativ Nurseries online and ordered some "Wild Deer Pears". Then in 2020 I stumbled across this forum and heard rave reviews about Blue Hill and Whitetail Crabs..so Of course placed orders. So right now is probably the best time ever to buy wildlife trees, with the click of the mouse you can probably find well over a dozen tree sellers, and find reviews online.