I live in Pennsylvania and want to plant s few fruit trees in clearings in the woods to bow hunt over. If I plant now, by the time my kids are old enough, the trees should be producing.

I'm thinking apple trees, but I'm looking for suggestions. I want something that will produce fruit that deer will eat, that is ripe in October and/or November.

The clearings I have are 30 to 100 feet in diameter. Trees should get direct sun midday, but will get shade when the sun is lower.

One spot is in some poor soil, so I would have to dig a big hole for lots of compost.

I'll have to fence the small trees to keep the deer from eating them young. What about those tree tubes?

Has anyone done this, or found a fruit tree in the woods that draws the deer in? What am I not considering that will make this fail?

You list several constraints to plant growth. Why not use a couple of feeders? You could also have a feeder containing apples.

quote:

Originally posted by Ole Miss Guy:
You list several constraints to plant growth. Why not use a couple of feeders? You could also have a feeder containing apples.

I'm pretty sure feeders are illegal in PA.

I know where there is a place in VA with some old apple trees by an old abandoned homestead. It's worth taking a look at but to tell the truth, the coons and possums seem to get most thr fruit before the deer do. But at times there is a lot of bear sign there so if you wouldn't mind having some bruins in the area it might be worthwhile.

I have a few apple treeson my property fro the frist 10 years or so you most likely well have to fence them to keep the deer from eating them off.

Plant them fence them when they start procuceing they well bring in all kinds of game.

The best way to keep deer from eating the young trees is to hang a bag or two with bar soap in it from the lower branches. I live in Michigan and I do that to keep deer from eating the shrubs around my house in the winter. It’s also the standard practice of the commercial orchard guys here when they plant new trees.

The commercial guys use the old small draw string tobacco bags. If you can’t get those you can make your own out of old nylons or any cotton cloth. I make mine out of old t-shirts and use Irish Spring soap. It seems to have the strongest odor.

It really works…

Deer love apples ! They know where every apple tree is and they know that very heavy rain and wind will knock down apples .I've seen this on my property where after a storm a deer will come onto the property , go directly to the apple tree, eat fallen apples then leave.
Find an apple type that matures during hunting season [apple mature anywhere from july to december] Get full size or maybe semidwarf , not dwarf.

bears in idaho came to wild plum trees in the fall. with the size and number of bear in pa, i'd set out a few of these too. deer will also eat pears-- might set a few of them too. apple trees are a given.

You might look at golden delicious for a type of tree.
The one I have here at the house has had fruit all but the first two years.

live in West Virginia, from an apple growing region in Washington State. Consider some of the older varieties, more suited to the high humidity here in the east. Stick with types that will produce, without needing pruning and spraying. Think about crab apples. For bow hunting, they, and most apples are optimal. No matter what, deer will find the apples in September and October, but in years with low mast production in the Oak woods, every deer in the local area will be traveling to eat apples. Lots of traffic in and out of the old orchards on our place in WV. Some years more than others.

I have seen the soap trick work, but, the deer will eat some if not all of your young trees, depending on how hungry, and how many deer are around. It is a hassle to get the trees established in the middle of the woods.

Persimmon and crap apple also work good

In my experience, deer don't really like to eat apple tree leaves (at least in my place in Ohio) that much but the bucks will rub them and ruin them so the trunks must be protected. Once they're produceing fruit, apple treese are a good deer attractant but you'll have to water them during hot weather during the first few years. I'd suggest some of those slow drip bags that you can fill every week or two during hot weather.

I build a 6'X6'X6' fence around small Apple trees.Figure you will need it for ever if you have Bears around.They will try and climb it and break lots of branches.

It doesn't sound like you'll get enough sun light for the trees to ever amount to much. FWIW however, if you start with a 2 yo semi-drawf tree, it should be producing in it's second year of being set out.
Where I lived in WV, I fenced my fruit trees in with electric. Any fruit tree not protected in some manner was soon rubbed, eaten, distroyed.
I have heard that Irish Spring soap in the toe of a sock is a powerful deterent but I never tried it.

plant crabapple trees there are several varities that will bear in 3 years from the date you plant them as transplants (24"-30") and different varities ripen at dates from late August thru January in plant zone 5 which includes Michigan.
Crabapples are HEAVY producers and do not need a cross pollinator...as a matter of fact most orchards have crabapples planted to pollinate other apple varities.
Try Charlie Morse nursries for trees that's where I got mine and they are drought tolerant also.

As long as you are hoping for fruit during archery season you should be good with apples. Many of the dwarf apple trees are outstanding producers and you can plant several in a small area. You will still have to worry about bears and small critters eating the apples, and the pesky porcupines from killing the trees themselves.

If you had 60 or 70 years then I'd recommend clearing out the spots and planting oaks. I used to hunt a ridge near Ceres, PA that had one oak that seemed to draw the deer in for miles.

quote:

Originally posted by erict:
If you had 60 or 70 years then I'd recommend clearing out the spots and planting oaks. I used to hunt a ridge near Ceres, PA that had one oak that seemed to draw the deer in for miles.

I don't have that long, but my grandkids will. My kids are 9, 4, 2, and 1, so I have some time before the little ones are hunting. We have lots of red and some white oak. I would like to see if I can get some chestnut to survive, too.

Interesting about the bears and porcupines. We don't see many of either, since this is farm land. But I have seen more bears in the last year than the previous 30. I also saw my first porcupine last year.

Pawpaw, persimon, apple, crab apple, pear, and wild grapes will draw deer. It wouldn't hurt to drop a couple of existing trees to open up the area to light, and increase the security cover in the area.

Add water and minerals to your property along with the fruit and security cover, and you're set. Keep in mind the typical wind dirrection and your entry/travel options before commiting and placing them in a difficult to approach location.

Don't be afraid of using fertilizer in specific areas and for specific trees either.

I have more open land and keep several small areas within a couple fields mowed low for the tender new growth, and other areas in the same field left tall for security. I knock some trees down for cover and browse growth, leave others for mast and wind breaks. Basically, I enhance edge cover throughout and work as much as I can with the natural/native feed and browse that is already. The deer were born to live in and eat that stuff anyway, just use what is there to your advantage. A deer on my place is never more than a few bounds away from something different than what is under its feet right now. I've made it into lots of varying edges mashed together.