Apple trees bloom in the spring. Their flowers are pollinated by another variety of apple tree blooming at the same time.
A few months later, you get apples.
In our area of North Carolina, the bloom periods and times are, roughly speaking:
- Early – March 21-25th
- Start Main Season – March 26-31th
- Midseason – Middle of the Main Season
- End Main Season – April 1-6th
- Late – April 7-11th
The fewer trees you plant, the more critical bloom periods are. Plant just two trees in the wrong bloom periods and you may never get apples!
Although the piedmont is pretty forgiving, with many apple trees blooming in close proximity, a little strategy here goes a long way. Planting good partners, will result in more bountiful harvests over the years.
Here’s how it works:
- 2 trees in same bloom period = greatest pollination.
- 2 trees in bloom period immediately following one another = good pollination.
- 2 trees separated in bloom period by 1 (for example, Early and Midseason) = weak pollination.
- 2 trees separated in bloom period by 2 (for example, Start Main Season and Late)= little or no pollination.
What apple trees do you recommend for Wadesboro NC for deer plot.
I would like to plant 2 spring bloomers and 2 fall bloomers.
Thanks Bill
Deer aren’t too particular, though they may prefer sweet as a flavor profile.
There are NO Fall bloomers, all apple trees bloom in the spring.
Chestnut crab for sure and Yates are good candidates.
You may want apples that ripen at a certain time in the fall, or hang longer in the fall for a longer buffet window.
On the one hand, you can plant “easy” trees with higher disease resistance for less attention on your part, BUT on the other hand, if it’s just for deer and off in the woods somewhere, you might not care how the trees look. So trees with a little more difficulty, susceptible to some of the diseases that make apples less pleasant to look at, which are not so good for people, but fine for deer may expand your choices. Honeycrisp is an example of a tree that gets beat up hard each season buy pushes through like a champ.