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Post by Bwoods11 on Dec 28, 2021 14:46:59 GMT -6
I am adding a 5 row screen that shields a 9 acre tucked away field. This is off the road a long ways, so no need to worry about if it drops fruit.
Crabapple is in the plan...which would be a good option? Something that gets a little bigger or fills out might be an advantage. Deer & turkey will use it once they drop fruit.
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Post by smsmith on Dec 28, 2021 15:00:07 GMT -6
Sargent crabs would make for a decent hedge/screen while they have leaves. They are a naturally small crab that gets about as wide as tall. A property about a mile away from here has a bunch that must have been planted many years ago. Very pretty in spring, and they are later blooming than many other crabs/apples. Don't know much about fruit use, but would doubt deer would get much from them. They are small fruited.
I see many hedges locally where guys must've planted crabs from the SWCD. Most are small fruited, but a few get some decent sized crabs. Planted close to each other they make a decent hedge. Not ideal for fruit production, but that doesn't seem to be your main goal.
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Post by wklman on Dec 28, 2021 15:21:43 GMT -6
Crabapple needed to be protected at my old place. Otherwise, they'd get eaten or rubbed. It took forever to get them above 3ft. I mean, like 10 years.
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Post by chummer16 on Dec 28, 2021 15:45:31 GMT -6
Cold Stream sells a Midwest Crab, they are sold as a screening shrub. I have a bunch of them that are turning into a great screen and another row started that are still in tubes. They grow pretty fast and get pea size fruit. I will take a pic if I make it up on Friday
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Post by Bwoods11 on Dec 28, 2021 15:46:34 GMT -6
Oh yeah these will all be caged. Heavy deer pressure. Oaks will get a tube. Pointless to plant anything without some kind of protection… except they don’t touch red cedar.
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Post by Bwoods11 on Dec 28, 2021 15:50:03 GMT -6
Stu.. I like Sargent Crabs. Kind of forgot about them .
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Post by chummer16 on Dec 28, 2021 15:56:09 GMT -6
Not the best pic, before leaf out. They were 1-2' seedlings probably in the ground 5 years in this pic.  |
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Post by chummer16 on Dec 28, 2021 15:59:17 GMT -6
Stu.. I like Sargent Crabs. Kind of forgot about them . I am 90% sure I planted a bunch of Sargent crabs along with the Midwest crabs. They took off as well and were loaded with blossoms last year but got FB pretty bad. I am planning to graft them over next spring. No FB on the Midwest correction I am 49% sure. I think I might have picked the Siberian crab. |
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Post by Bwoods11 on Dec 30, 2021 10:03:28 GMT -6
I will throw in a few Common Wild Apples from Univ of Idaho Nursery too. They grow fast and branch our pretty nice. Almost every one I have planted is alive.
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Post by benmnwi on Dec 30, 2021 12:38:10 GMT -6
I've had good luck with Red Splendor crabapple seedlings from our annual county tree sales. They are only about $50 for a package of 20 trees, so they are a great low cost option. The typical red splendor fruit is maybe 3/8" diameter, but since they are seedling trees and not grafted there is a lot of variation in fruit size and drop times. About 1/2 are the small fruits that are good for grouse and pheasant, but the other half are a mix of fruit sizes and colors that get up to 1" diameter that are better for deer and turkeys. All seem to be generally tough trees that have done very well for me in Rusk County Wisconsin with minimal care.
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Post by Sandbur on Dec 30, 2021 12:47:45 GMT -6
I've had good luck with Red Splendor crabapple seedlings from our annual county tree sales. They are only about $50 for a package of 20 trees, so they are a great low cost option. The typical red splendor fruit is maybe 3/8" diameter, but since they are seedling trees and not grafted there is a lot of variation in fruit size and drop times. About 1/2 are the small fruits that are good for grouse and pheasant, but the other half are a mix of fruit sizes and colors that get up to 1" diameter that are better for deer and turkeys. All seem to be generally tough trees that have done very well for me in Rusk County Wisconsin with minimal care. . Freeborn has a few of those bigger red splendor crabs, also. |
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