Planting apple trees

ellwoodjake

Twelve Pointer
Finally got started clearing out an old field to convert to a food plot. On the part I can't get a tractor on, I plan on planting apples. Maybe one of these days, my grandkids kids will have a deer hotspot. I'd like to plant 35-40 trees. Pricing cultivars on Stark bros. and such is really an eye opener😲. Anyone have any better (cheaper) ways to go. I'm not going to be harvesting them so the "brand name" is not important. Also "dwarf or semi-dwarf " is also a non issue. If a bear wants one he can climb for it. This property is all north side, rich soil, and well drained at about 4300 ft elevation. I would like a variety, that would drop at different times. Idea's folk?
 

SRH

Button Buck
Check out Century Farm Orchards for a local NC source. David Vernon is a great guy to deal with and he grows some great quality trees. His inventory is usually pretty slim this time of year but he has over 400 varieties in his nursery orchard, so he can graft just about any variety that you may want. His website is: centuryfarmorchards.com.

As for planting, apples like a pH around 6.5 so you may need to add some lime, and phosphorus helps with root growth for establishment. When I plant, I typically add quite a bit of lime and 3-4 good handfuls of 0-45-0 to the planting hole. If you have quite a few deer, you will probably need to put a fence around them for 3-4+ years till they get established enough to tolerate some browsing. Deer can easily kill young trees by browsing.
 

jug

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
35 apple trees is gonna be alot of work. I bought 90 trees from David Vernon and grew them another year in larger pots to get a little more size. Planted them that following December and come May we got rain almost every day for 3 weeks. Root rot set in and lost all of them. I had 1200 bucks invested and lots of time. I doubt David has any for sale now. David will know which varieties are your best bet.
 

Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Fire blight in apple trees is a major problem. My dad fought it for years in his trees.
Our problem is cedar apple rust...lots of cedars and junipers in my area. If I sprayed at a determined schedule it wouldn't get so bad, but for anyone not able to spray it would eventually weaken the trees to the point that they didn't bear much.
 

Loganwayne

Ten Pointer
barbers orchards always sells off their extra trees once they replant what they want. we ended up getting a dozen last year. most even produced an apple lol. i dont remember what we payed but i know it was alot less than at a farmers market or the like
 
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CRC

Old Mossy Horns
Walmart and Lowe’s will sometimes clearance their apple trees and you can get them cheap. Pears too

I’ve seen fruit trees for sale atFood Lion stores as well

Also county conservation soil districts will sometimes have tree sales
 
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ellwoodjake

Twelve Pointer
barbers orchards always sells off their extra trees once they replant what they want. we ended up getting a dozen last year. most even produced an apple lol. i dont remember what we payed but i know it was alot less than at a farmers market or the like
Cool, and when do they get done planting?
 

DuckyDave

Eight Pointer
Contributor
Finally got started clearing out an old field to convert to a food plot. On the part I can't get a tractor on, I plan on planting apples. Maybe one of these days, my grandkids kids will have a deer hotspot. I'd like to plant 35-40 trees. Pricing cultivars on Stark bros. and such is really an eye opener😲. Anyone have any better (cheaper) ways to go. I'm not going to be harvesting them so the "brand name" is not important. Also "dwarf or semi-dwarf " is also a non issue. If a bear wants one he can climb for it. This property is all north side, rich soil, and well drained at about 4300 ft elevation. I would like a variety, that would drop at different times. Idea's folk?
Hedge your bet by planting 10 or 15 trees per year for 3 years. In the event you have terrible rain or drought you are less likely to lose them all. Also year to year you will learn/improve. In 10 years it wont matter if some of the trees are a year or two younger.
 

41magnum

Twelve Pointer
Check out Century Farm Orchards for a local NC source. David Vernon is a great guy to deal with and he grows some great quality trees.

^^THIS!
David can tell you what is best for your climate/altitude.

I'd do like Ducky and spread the plantings out over 5 yrs.
 

billyf

Six Pointer
I bought 50 from Turner Nursery. Get bare root and have them sent in the mail. Stay away from Dwarf. This is reasonable price wise. Need to order soon as they run out the later you wait...They are in TN...

 

ellwoodjake

Twelve Pointer
I bought 50 from Turner Nursery. Get bare root and have them sent in the mail. Stay away from Dwarf. This is reasonable price wise. Need to order soon as they run out the later you wait...They are in TN...

Looks like they have a $250 minimum. Don't know that I want to plant that many right away. I'll give em a call
 

darkthirty

Old Mossy Horns
Laugh if you want but I bought three 7’-8’ apple trees from Kroger for $6 apiece to fill in gap that my tree planters left between my wildlife shrubs and my pines. I’ve pinched blossoms off for two years and they have grown very well. May let’em go this year and see what they do
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Take it from someone that had over 200 at one time apple trees are a PITA. If you don't want to keep up a spray program on them they will not produce well and not have good vigor and will not fare well. Not to mention pruning. As was mentioned earlier, if you don't have guards on them small animals will give them fits and later on bucks will walk miles to rub them.
 

Mallard Cutter

Six Pointer
Best advice that I can give you on apple trees is FENCE THEM IN WHERE THE DEER CANNOT GET TO THEM. After they are a few years old it should be ok to take down the fence. I lost four of the five that I planted a few years ago due to deer eating the tops out of them .
 

Ldsoldier

Old Mossy Horns
If you’re not planning to harvest at all and just want soft mast I’d go with a mixture of crabapple, black gum, persimmon, and black Cherry. That said, I have no idea how any of those perform at 4300 ft. You might be able to get some advice from your district biologist or your forester.
 

ellwoodjake

Twelve Pointer
If you’re not planning to harvest at all and just want soft mast I’d go with a mixture of crabapple, black gum, persimmon, and black Cherry. That said, I have no idea how any of those perform at 4300 ft. You might be able to get some advice from your district biologist or your forester.
I have some crabapples on large rootstock ordered as a pollinator. The mountain is full of cherry. I've never seen a blackgum around these parts. I live at about 3000 feet, and have never had any luck with persimmons.
 

Ldsoldier

Old Mossy Horns
I would try crabapples and black Cherry then. Remember with persimmons that they’re dioecious, which basically means there are male and female trees. A male tree won’t bear fruit, and a female tree won’t without a male tree nearby to pollinate it. So you need to make sure you have several of them so you know you have at least one of each. If you can’t get them to survive up there that’s a different thing altogether.

If you’re not limited to trees deer also like blueberry and blackberry. The blackberry thickets provide great cover as well.
 

Ldsoldier

Old Mossy Horns
They also love strawberry bush, though it’s basically candy to them (no real nutritional value) that they would be eating in the spring, so it wouldn’t really be helpful during hunting season.
 

thelivecanary

Eight Pointer
Walmart and Lowe’s will sometimes clearance their apple trees and you can get them cheap. Pears too

I’ve seen fruit trees for sale atFood Lion stores as well

Also county conservation soil districts will sometimes have tree sales

I would suggest stretching i tout over time. Plant a 10 or 12 each year and get them on clearance at Lowes and Home Depot. This stretches out your risk and you can do it on the cheap. Also, cage your trees so the deer don't eat them down to bare sticks. What grinds my gears is that the deer are so short sited. If they let them grow out they could enjoy a bounty of delicious pears and apples. They are reckless and simple if you ask me hahaha.
 

CRC

Old Mossy Horns
And bucks will rub any uncaged trees and kill them

BB Barns in south Asheville sometimes clearances/mark down their left over trees as well.

I guess most nurserys might do this.
 

Homebrewale

Old Mossy Horns
They also love strawberry bush, though it’s basically candy to them (no real nutritional value) that they would be eating in the spring, so it wouldn’t really be helpful during hunting season.

Are you talking about this native shrub?
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/euonymus-americanus/

I have three of them in my back yard. If anyone wants seeds to try to propagate in the fall, I usually have plenty of them every year.
 

PPosey

Twelve Pointer
My food plot / Orchard is right at 3000 feet in Swain County and on a west facing slope I've had no trouble getting apple trees to grow and do well and bear fruit but the Flathead Apple borers have been killing them when they get big enough to produce well. Even keeping the trunk painted white with borer spray mixed into the paint I'm still having some damage from the boers that's the only real problem I've had with them though. At one time I had seven different varieties now I'm down to two
 
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