We have learned on my farm that the deer really dont go for the nicer apple trees, but in late season they run to the crabapple trees we have planted. It also seems the crabapple trees have as much as 3 times as much fruit on them.

I have found that sawtooths work differently from one habitat to the next. We planted some on one property and they put out acorns faster than any of the native oaks. The deer also hammered them. But they drop and are gone before hunting season opens. But they got deer near our food plots sooner than they normally did. This was in farmland in the south delta in Mississippi. Not too far east of there on hilly ground that joined a river bottom, they didn't produce as quick and the deer don't particularly use them.

Brother Higgins, I hunt in Florida and live in Florida not far from Chestnut Hill Nursery and as you probably know Dunstan Chestnut trees were started from that nursery. I had heard about Dunstan Chesnuts from advertisements from Chesnut Hill Nursery on hunting shows,I watch. I only living 18 miles from the Chestnut Hill Nursery and I still had never knew about Chestnut Hill Nursery until I saw an advertisement from a KZread hunting show I watched. After hearing all the hipe, I bought pear trees from Chestnut Hill Nursery which are called Thanksgiving Pears. I have several pear trees at my home and there is a small population of deer there and deer will come to within 15 yards of my house in daylight to eat those pears. I have brought a few buckets of pears from my house to my hunting property and deer devourer the pears. I had already ordered bare root wildlife pears from TyTy Nursery. After hearing about Chestnut Hill Nursery having a different variety of pears than the one I bought from TyTy Nursery that also matured in hunting throughout hunting season. I bought 8 from them that were bare rooted. Long story shorted, I planted both groups on the same day and the wildlife pears that were 2-3 feet at the time of planting from TyTy Nursery Wildlife pears have out grown the Thanksgiving Pears by leaps and bounds. After this experience I believe that Chesnut Hill Nursery pushes their nursery with advertising, but they don't have a superior product. You can get a superior tree for half the price from a nursery that doesn't have their advertising budget. I loved seeing you Trump sign under you American flag on the last video I watched from you.

Love your videos don! Keep em coming !! Can't wait hope to see you a ton the iowa deer classic!!

As a tree enthusiast and land manager , I’d have to agree with almost everything you said. I do believe that all of these things are just a piece of the puzzle. I have planted sawtooth as well, and they do take some years to produce and are very early in the season. The Dunstans are the biggest letdown to me honesty. They cost a fortune, still take years to make a nice crop, and could easily be mistaken for a Chinese. For the person wanting chestnuts without the expense, go with Chinese. Even grafted varieties have a high failure rate in my experience. Apples have their place in the deer hunting, managing world but for your average “deer hunter” who wants instant results, bigger trees from big box stores are generally the route they take. Then they end up with disease infested apple trees because they were unaware of the proper Maintenance to keep them healthy. Also they learn deer will eat an apple tree to death. Yes I’ve been there, done that. Even native species only play a certain role in a small portion of the yearly cycle of a deer’s life. It takes all to make the plan work. Persimmon, white oak, red oak, they have a time frame to feed the deer with mast. Including chestnut, sawtooth and apples will make your property and hunting opportunities much better if you study and do your research before buying. This is a really great video on the truth about these certain varieties!

We have native trees that r very hearty here in MN. The Prairie Crabapple & Pincherry trees. The Pincherry is more of a bird attractant. In the winter I have watched the Northern Shrikes known as The Butcher Birds catch smaller birds & pin them to the thorns on their branches. They grow in thick areas. A better food producer for deer is the Prairie Crabapple. Like a good brassica the deer like to seek them out after other food sources have been exhausted. They produce a large amount of fruit per branch which leads to the low hanging fruit phrase. In September the branches r so heavy they can't support the weight & droop. They also grow very thick which means during hunting time they lead to a scenario to get deer on their hooves during daylight hours.

I agree with you on the apple tree for sure. While I will have a few on my place but can't count on them for deer. I have more luck with crabapples as far as apple go. Also like pears and persimmon for soft mast but I feel the good old swamp white oak and Burr oak are very hardy and seem like once established put a good crop of nuts at least every other year. I would also like your view on the Chinkapin oak. Not sure on spelling. Had a couple on the river where I used to hunt and it was always visited regularly by many deer. I enjoy all your podcast and value your opinion especially since I plan on planting more trees this spring. Thanks

Great info as always Don, can’t wait for the next video. Thanks

@chuckparson6712

3 жыл бұрын

This man is a wealth of information

Looking forward to the next video as I’m in the planning stages to plant some trees.

Keep the videos coming Don. We appreciate them

Oh Man, we planted apples and dunstons along woods/food plot edge . . Looking for my next tree ! Can’t wait for follow up video 👍🏼

When I heard chestnut I was gonna "Hol' up, buddy" until you went into the differences, or lack there of, of the dunstan and chinese. I've found chestnut trees to be whitetail magnets.

Great video! Very informative! Just wish I wasn't a broke college kid so I could fund more of my plans like this for whitetail hunting.

Interesting perspective on the Sawtooth. I didn’t realize they are so intolerant of colder climates. We’ve been planting them since around 1982 on our farms in Alabama and Mississippi and have had tremendous success. They do drop a little early but provide us with great early season bowhunting. Survival rate is also in the 90-95% range on our farms over the years and acorn production is very high every year. Very rewarding to be hunting now in trees that we planted when we were kids! Keep up the great videos and ck out our channel when you’re really bored!

I like apple trees as a fill species in a shrub thicket planting. There’s several good varieties that fruit quick, and I like the pollinator connection

I have wild persimmon trees on my property and they have a good draw for deer. I bought the Thanksgiving Pear from Chestnut Hill Nursery and pears from Ty Ty Nursery and I had way better growth from TyTy Nursery. I have pear trees on my property and deer love them, but they have all dropped prior to deer season.

I live in Eastern North Carolina where we have mild winters and hot, humid summers.We have lived on our 7&1/2 acres for over 30 years now. I planted persimmons,saw tooth oaks,eastern red cedars,& Leland cypress trees. My saw tooths starting producing acorns in 4 years & produce every year dropping acorns in late August & early September by the tons ! Deer, squirrel,

@sheltonheath9165

3 жыл бұрын

turkeys love em hear along with an occasional bear.

If I would have seen this video 18 years ago…you would have saved me tons of $$$ and time. Everything you stated is 💯 accurate because I experienced everything you said. Since I converted the orchards and other trees to foodplot, my area has changed dramatically and actually offers the deer herd more quality food. You have a great channel, 👍🙏🏹🦌

I planted sawtooth oaks 15 years ago and they do grow fast but they hold their leaves all winter and when you get an ice storm they are very brittle and their limbs will snap off easily. They are top heavy as well. Some did produce acorns pretty fast.

what's the trees you recommend if you were to pick 3 top trees to plant on a property?

Persimmon is the best

Can't wait for the next one.

What is your choice on arrowhead for deer, and would you use the same on hogs or bear ? Thank for a great podcast

@chasinggiantswithhigginsou6147

3 жыл бұрын

Slick Trick magnum 125 grain

The picture of Dunstan tree in blossom is not Dunstan it's horse Chestnut

Good content. Keep up the good work. 👍🏻🦌🇺🇸

Appreciate it Don!

What is the best screening trees in your opinion to plant in KY?

@chasinggiantswithhigginsou6147

3 жыл бұрын

red cedar, white pine

If you plant apples go Arkansas black, deer love those. The tree is dark colored and the apples are rock hard until ripe so when they fall they will take a long time to rot but the deer won't let them rot and they usually ripen in late Oct-Nov. Bugs seem to leave them alone as well. Another good one is the new Goldrush which is also late ripening.

no apples on my trees during gun season.The bears vacuum up what is left on the ground by the middle of Oct

In my opinion the 'White oak tree is the deer's favorite, they will forsake all other food sources and concentrate solely on acorns..

thanks mr higgins!

So what is your top 3 trees u would plant for whitetails?

@chasinggiantswithhigginsou6147

3 жыл бұрын

That is the next video!

@NCsurfer607

3 жыл бұрын

@@chasinggiantswithhigginsou6147 sounds gd

@eugenelaky1993

Жыл бұрын

It was number three Chinese number two was the pear, number one was the American Persimmon

Crab apples, kiefer an Olympic pears and Chinese chestnuts!

Mr. Don as always love videos. I will agree to disagree. Sawtooth Oaks here in Alabama do well and deer love them. They will typically produce in the 3rd year after planting. In their 4th year you can shovel bucket of the acorns and place them under a stand. Someone said also, not you that they would never get over 25ft tall, wrong. We planted a one acre plantation just as we would a pine plantation and in 23 years we cut them and took the to a timber yard where they were floored as to what they were and how they got to that size. Chinese Chestnuts they do well in Central Alabama and the deer are crazy about them. Apple trees forget them.....

@russelllangworthy8855

3 жыл бұрын

Alabama has much different weather than the Midwest. It's not surprising that Sawtooth Oaks would do well down there.

I've killed a lot of mature bucks under a sawtooth... 🤷‍♂️

White Oaks an American chestnut

Dunstan chestnuts are mostly marketing.

you are 2 out of 3