Ferterlizing mast trees

[HUNTINGMAN]

It is almost time to start thinking about putting on the ferterlizer.I am planning on throwing it on some oak and persimmon trees this year and was wondering what would be the best way to do this would be.Would it be best to make a ring around the drip line or just spread evenly on the ground under the entire tree.Also what would be a good fertilizer for whiteoak and persimon trees.

[dogdoc]

Hard mast such as acorns, beechnuts, pecans and others are critical to a whitetail's diet. They are high in carbohydrates, which is quick energy and heat for those cold days and stressful days during the rut. Fertilizing these trees may help in not only the amount of mast produced but the quality of mast produced. In my opinion, a fertilized tree also produces a better tasting hard fruit---which may help draw the deer to a particular tree--closer to your deer stand. I fertilize my hard mast trees with 1 pound of 10-20-10 fertilizer per one inch of trunk diameter. I take my post hole diggers and dig small holes around the drip line and fill those holes with the fertilizer. This helps keep the fertilizer from washing away. In areas with lots of oak trees this can be quite expensive. Find the trees that were the best producers in previous years, or the trees that are close to your hunting stands.

There are lots of habitat managers that don't recommend fertilizing oaks. I don't think it's b/c it won't work but the fact that it takes so much fertilizer on big oaks and acorn production is so variable from year to year. The most important thing--even more so than anything a fertilizer will provide is sunlight and competition. Thinning out crowded trees will allow more sunlight to the desired trees and less competition for water and soil nutrients.

Another thing to think about is that persimmon trees are male or female. The male will not produce fruit so don't waste your fertilizer on trees that haven't produced fruit in previous years. If the trees are mature then I figure out ones that produce fruit and cut down most the male trees--leave a few for pollinating the females.

good luck

todd

[wtnhunt]

Todd gave some good advice above for sure. I just fertilized the fruit and nut trees in my yard Saturday. Plan to fertilize some persimmons on a fence row sometime in the next few weeks. Need to find somewhere that has a better price on fertilizer than lowes though. Used the tree spikes for the trees in the yard, they have always worked pretty well.

Have never fertilized any of the oaks on our property with the exception of a black oak that happens to be in one of our food plots and some white oaks on the edges of other plots, I am sure they get some benefits of my fertilizing of the plot.