Planting Trees for Deer

[arrowdem]

I'll be heading to Park River to pick up some sort of fruit trees, not quite sure everything that they have for sale there, apple trees plum trees and others im sure, now my question is now what do i do? i have 6-7 foot high posts that ill bury in the ground and probably drive some metal rods into the top to get them even higher, i bought 7 ft tall deer netting stuff that is supposed to keep them out, these trees will be 6-7 feet tall already, now my question is.. do i use fertilizer? what kinda and how much? im thinking ill plant 3 trees in a group.. how far apart to i plant them? how deep down do i plant them? do i need supports on them to keep them growing straight? are there certain varieties i should be looking for that both deer like and work well with the north climate? i will be spraying some round up on my food plot do i need to be careful of the drift onto the base of these trees?
sorry lots of questions but my green thumb is more of a peachish color, any and all info on trees would be awesome, im picking up the trees today but wont be able to plant til probably sunday, can i just put them in a big pail with water for the weekend?

thank you in advance!

 

[huffranger]

I planted a maple and Apple tree two years ago and the deer are tough to keep out of them. I used wire fence and two T posts about 5' tall.

Cashmans nursery in Bismarck had me buy some peat to layer the bottom of the hole with before I set the root ball in the hole. The trees are doing well on thier second year. I'm going to buy two European Beachnut and one more Apple tree this summer and plant. I live out in the country so the deer are hard on new trees.

i planted the super fast growing Austrees the same summer but up on the hill behind the house... Deer raped them bad. I think an electric fence that's battery powered would have helped but that's expensive.

 

[KDM]

4' Hog fence is your friend when planting any tree in a hunting area. We even have trouble with deer in our yard trashing the trees. When you plant your trees, put a square of weed barrier down and cover it with about an inch of dirt. That way it won't blow away. Then put a ring of Hog fence with at least 2-3 feet from the edge of the wire to the branches of the tree. Use 2 "T" posts to keep it upright and use at least 3 pins on the bottom. After that, you will need to check every spring to make sure the snow or some other event didn't smash the wire down. Good Luck!!!

 

[Norske]

Ask about chestnut trees. Wildlife love the fruits and the nuts inside. They grew in Hazen, ND so may grow for you. If you have some mature trees, honeysuckle (vines will grow up trees) is favored by deer.

 

[arrowdem]

im looking at making one big fenced in area with my 3 apple trees inside of that. my question is what kinda spacing should i plant these 3 apple trees apart? also i have 4 plum bushes im planting with the same concept, one area fenced off and spacing on planting for those also? i will be planting as soon as i can get a break in the rain, Thanks!