Many people plant food plots to provide nutrition to deer and other wildlife. But if you want to help animals on a longer term basis, consider planting fruit trees. Fruit trees will provide nutrition and attract deer, turkeys and small game animals for many years.
I’ve watched mature bucks stand on their hind legs to snatch high-growing pears from trees and ignore nearby food plots. Persimmons and apples also are great for attracting wildlife. Plant these trees in groves of 5-10 between deer bedding areas and crop fields, on the edge of food plots, or just upwind of your tree stand.
They are also great for those who just want to photograph or watch the animals. Good locations for planting fruit trees include natural woods clearings, food plot edges, fallow fields, log landings — anywhere they’ll get six hours of sunlight. Soil pH should range from 6-7, but only moderate fertility is required.
You can buy seedlings for just $4-$7. If you want mature trees sooner, nurseries offer 5-8-foot trees, sometimes already bearing fruit, for $20-$60. Pears .
Mature bucks seem especially fond of pears. I’ve seen them walk right past ripe apples to get to them. Pear trees can produce for 50-75 years.
These fruits aren’t native to our country but were imported from Europe and Asia centuries ago. If you planted a full acre, it could potentially produce over 10 tons of fruit! Pears can grow over 50 feet tall and thrive in wetter areas than apples. Fruits can emerge by the third year.
Good varieties include Anjou, Kieffer, Bartlett, Gio Van, Doc’s Special, Flemish Beauty, Potomac, Magnes, Shenandoah, Burford and Stacey. Most of these varieties of trees drop their fruits in early fall. Trophy, Big Mamma, and Gallaway hold their fruit much later, making them good bets for hunting near during firearms seasons.
Plant several varieties to ensure the trees get pollinated. Apples . These fruits are rich in sugars, starch and fats.
They increase a deer’s digestion speed, and that allows them to eat more often and obtain more nutrition to prepare for winter. When these high energy foods aren’t available, the animals burn protein and body fat instead, increasing stress and making them more vulnerable to winter kill. Amazingly, a single apple tree can produce 250 pounds of fruit.
For the best results, plant a variety of species as with pears. Plant some that ripen early for bow hunting, others later during gun seasons. Early types include Centennial, Liberty, Enterprise, Rome, Horse and Magnum Bonum.
Honeycrisp, Arkansas Black, Goldrush, Blacktwig and York varieties ripen later in late October and November. Persimmons . You may have some persimmons already.
They are fairly common in the Shenandoah Valley. They are often found near forest edges and in fallow fields. Only female trees of native American persimmons bear fruit, producing a strong crop every other year.
The 20–40-foot-tall trees are extremely hardy, surviving -20 F. temperatures and thriving in low quality soils. Bearing fruit at 5-8 years, they can produce for half-a-century.
Persimmon fruits contain 25-45 percent sugar and are rich in phosphorus, potassium, vitamins and carbohydrates. Wildlife managers like both native trees and grafted ones. Blue, Craggs, Dollywood, Evelyn, Janet, Killen, Miller and Yates are good varieties of persimmons for whitetails.
They’ll ripen as early as August but may hold fruit into December or even later. I’ve watched deer from my office window pawing through snow in January to get the last few fruits that have fallen to the ground. Planting.
The best place to locate trees is on gentle slopes. Avoid low-lying areas or bottoms where cold air currents can collect, damaging blossoms in spring. Space trees 15-25 feet apart.
Keep roots moist until planted. Dig a hole as deep as the root, twice as wide. Mix in a few cups of lime, cover with soil and tamp firm.
To reduce weed and grass competition, place tree mats or straw around the base. Wrap lower trunks with tree-shelters and if possible, stake a chicken wire cylinder cage 5 feet high around the tree while it’s young. If you already have fruit trees on your property, here are a few steps to improve them: • Prune 1/4-1/3 of new growth back in winter and remove offshoots.
• Spray with pesticide. • Add 10-10-10 fertilizer in a 4–6-foot area around the base. • Remove nearby low-value trees that compete for sunlight, nutrients and water, or trim back overhanging branches.
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