More Trees and Bushes for Bowhunters and What to
Prune
What About Persimmons?
Many
bowhunters, especially in the South, name persimmons
as one of the best soft-mast crops to hunt over to bag
deer. In much of the South, persimmons begin to fall
in mid-October, making them a readily-available food
for deer. But Allen Deese, a nursery manager for the
Wildlife Group of Tuskegee, explains that wild persimmon
trees have a problem. “Wild persimmon trees are
either male or female. Only the female persimmon trees
produce fruit, but there’s no way to tell the
difference between male and female trees. So if you
want five persimmon trees that produce fruit, plant
between 10 and 15 wild persimmon trees, and hope that
at least five of them are female.”
For a better option, Deese recommends that you plant
the Japanese persimmon, which comes in several different
varieties and produces a baseball-sized fruit. These
trees yield fruit within three years, and all of these
trees produce fruit, unlike the male and female
trees of the wild variety. Both deer and humans can
eat Japanese persimmon. “The variety of Japanese
persimmon we grow is called the Fuyu,” explains
Deese. “This persimmon starts producing in October,
and I’ve seen it yield persimmons until Christmas
in north Alabama. So rather than planting or hunting
strictly over wild persimmons, create a Japanese persimmon
bow-hunting hot spot that continues producing fruit
after the native wild persimmon are gone.”
For more information on permanent supplemental feeding
programs, visit www.WildlifeGroup.com,
email wildlifegroup@mindspring.com,
call 1-800-221-9703 or write the Wildlife Group at 2858
County Road 53, Tuskegee, Alabama 36083.
Check out this important information:
http://www.nighthawkpublications.com/freetips/charts/deerfeed.htm
http://www.nighthawkpublications.com/freetips/charts/zonemap.htm
Tomorrow: Pruning Fruit Trees
for Wildlife
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