just planted 3 apple and 3 peach trees and curious what i did or didnt do right?

Apple: Jonathan, dorsett golden, and Anna

Peach: FloridaKing, Sam houston, Rio Grande.

Im in brazoria county. read differing info on growing zones and pollination so was just curious if any of you have planted these varieties and what type of success you have had?


my soil has quite a bit of a clay so i dug a big ass hole out for each one and replaced with about 8 sqft of compost

forgot to mention, i have a guard dog, so coons and squirrels wont be a problem.

i guess disease is the main concern? is there a fungicide i should think about spraying?

I have an uncle that has about 20 peach trees and during the day he shoots grasshoppers with his BB gun and camps out most night to keep the racoons away........hes a little obsessed but damn they are tasty. Sorry I could not be of any assistance.

Our biggest problems are raccoons and foxes. I've had a six year old peach tree completely cleaned out in one night. This year I may sit out there with a shotgun.

We use this spray for fungus. Bonide (BND203) - Fruit Tree Spray Concentrate (32 oz.) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000RUE81U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_NDB6DKEDXZX2PKKS3QKS

Learn how to prune your trees. One of the ways I've seen that make a big difference is apple trees and fungus. The ones I pruned more aggressively got a lot more air circulation and were much less likely to have fungal issues.

We fertilize twice a year with the spikes. But that's getting kinda expensive with 12 big trees so I'll probably look for an auger to get fertilizer down deep.

We've struggled with borers on our Apple trees as well. The damage from sun scald on the west side made it easy for them I guess. Still fighting that.

AggieEE2002 said:

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Our biggest problems are raccoons and foxes. I've had a six year old peach tree completely cleaned out in one night. This year I may sit out there with a shotgun.

We use this spray for fungus. Bonide (BND203) - Fruit Tree Spray Concentrate (32 oz.) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000RUE81U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_NDB6DKEDXZX2PKKS3QKS

Learn how to prune your trees. One of the ways I've seen that make a big difference is apple trees and fungus. The ones I pruned more aggressively got a lot more air circulation and were much less likely to have fungal issues.

We fertilize twice a year with the spikes. But that's getting kinda expensive with 12 big trees so I'll probably look for an auger to get fertilizer down deep.

We've struggled with borers on our Apple trees as well. The damage from sun scald on the west side made it easy for them I guess. Still fighting that.

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Put out Duke's traps for the coons around the base of the tree?

Walt Luddiger said:

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just planted 3 apple and 3 peach trees and curious what i did or didnt do right?

Apple: Jonathan, dorsett golden, and Anna

Peach: FloridaKing, Sam houston, Rio Grande.

Im in brazoria county. read differing info on growing zones and pollination so was just curious if any of you have planted these varieties and what type of success you have had?


my soil has quite a bit of a clay so i dug a big ass hole out for each one and replaced with about 8 sqft of compost

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I've been told not to plant apple trees if you have cedar trees in the area. They will give the apple trees some sort of rust disease.

Digging clay out and replacing with compost- unfortunately you created a bathtub. Odds are with Brazoria County rainfall the roots will stay too wet and the trees will die.
It is better to plant on raised bed such as a berm.

You can test the soil's internal percolation rate. Dig a small hole 18-24 inches deep and fill with water. If it takes 12-24 hours to see a measurable drop, then plant in a raised bed or berm.


Brazoria County has low chilling around 250 to 300 hours. Two excellent quality, high production peaches are MayPride and Tropic Snow. Sam Houston may be too high of a chill requirement for most of the years. The others should be okay.
When the trees are 2-3 years old you can let them set fruit, thin the peaches 6 inches apart.
No weeds or grass under the tree, keep clean and lightly mulched.
Don't get any roundup on the trunk and don't use weed and feed.

Prune the tree in an open center like an open umbrella upside down. I start my scaffold limbs at 18-24 inches.
Learn how to correctly prune the trees.

Apples in Brazoria County are a novelty and a challenge due to the humidity . Anna and Ein Sheimer have occasionally fruited. Have fun with them

Every coon and opossum in the area will show up the week before you decide to pick your peaches. They will strip the tree and break branches.
One dog is usually not enough to deter varmints from ripe peaches.
Start trapping in late April. Live traps baited with marshmallows work. I have three of the Dukes leg traps.

Squirrels with ruin full sized green peaches. Take one bite and go to the next. Eradicate them ASAP.

Watch for yellow jackets when picking tree ripe fruit. It's memorable grabbing a peach with a wasp on it.

I was thinking the same thing about replacing the clay. He likely made a reservoir for the roots to sit in. I have heavy clay on my property and I'm trying to figure out the best way to plant some fruit trees without creating that problem.

DargelSkout said:

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I was thinking the same thing about replacing the clay. He likely made a reservoir for the roots to sit in. I have heavy clay on my property and I'm trying to figure out the best way to plant some fruit trees without creating that problem.

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Disk or till the soil and ridge it into berms.
OR build raised beds at least 8' x 8' , 6" high. You don't have to have edging.

Make sure the surface drainage rapidly drains the water off after big rains, no ponding.

barnag said:

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Walt Luddiger said:

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just planted 3 apple and 3 peach trees and curious what i did or didnt do right?

Apple: Jonathan, dorsett golden, and Anna

Peach: FloridaKing, Sam houston, Rio Grande.

Im in brazoria county. read differing info on growing zones and pollination so was just curious if any of you have planted these varieties and what type of success you have had?


my soil has quite a bit of a clay so i dug a big ass hole out for each one and replaced with about 8 sqft of compost

---

I've been told not to plant apple trees if you have cedar trees in the area. They will give the apple trees some sort of rust disease.

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The disease is Cedar Apple Rust.
It exists in the OP area primarily on native hawthorns, not just cedar trees.
They are the native small brushy trees with white blooms in the Spring.
It can affect apples and especially is devastating on Mayhaws.

You can use fungicides but with coastal rainfall washing it off it is a challenge.

We grew Golden Dorsett and Anna for 10 years. They always made fruit and we had fewer pests than on the peach trees. However, due to the long growing season for apples and high humidity, it took repeated applications of fungicide (many more than peaches) to keep them looking presentable. The skin gets discolored and no one wants to eat them, despite the fact that the 'meat' is still tasy.
I cut them down last year. Too much trouble.

Go to Aggiehorticulture.com for some great information. Go there, then Fruit & Nut Resources, then Peaches.

Your geographical area is very different from mine. I live just west of San Antonio, and La Feliciana is the most favored peach in this area. And apples do not grow without a lot of help keeping the soil acidic. They are just too much trouble here IMO.

barnag said:

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AggieEE2002 said:

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Our biggest problems are raccoons and foxes. I've had a six year old peach tree completely cleaned out in one night. This year I may sit out there with a shotgun.

We use this spray for fungus. Bonide (BND203) - Fruit Tree Spray Concentrate (32 oz.) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000RUE81U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_NDB6DKEDXZX2PKKS3QKS

Learn how to prune your trees. One of the ways I've seen that make a big difference is apple trees and fungus. The ones I pruned more aggressively got a lot more air circulation and were much less likely to have fungal issues.

We fertilize twice a year with the spikes. But that's getting kinda expensive with 12 big trees so I'll probably look for an auger to get fertilizer down deep.

We've struggled with borers on our Apple trees as well. The damage from sun scald on the west side made it easy for them I guess. Still fighting that.

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Put out Duke's traps for the coons around the base of the tree?

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if you do that make sure the trap is far enough from the tree that a caught coon can't reach the tree and girdle it trying to escape.

barnag said:

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Walt Luddiger said:

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just planted 3 apple and 3 peach trees and curious what i did or didnt do right?

Apple: Jonathan, dorsett golden, and Anna

Peach: FloridaKing, Sam houston, Rio Grande.

Im in brazoria county. read differing info on growing zones and pollination so was just curious if any of you have planted these varieties and what type of success you have had?


my soil has quite a bit of a clay so i dug a big ass hole out for each one and replaced with about 8 sqft of compost

---

I've been told not to plant apple trees if you have cedar trees in the area. They will give the apple trees some sort of rust disease.

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This. My apple trees have rust something awful. I got some rust-resistant varieties this year, so we'll see if they do any better.

What kind of pear tree works well in Galveston county? Not stupid ornamental. One that produces good eating fruit. Not the tough woody pears. Soil is pretty wet. Elevation is probably 8' above sea level.

ought1ag said:

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I have an uncle that has about 20 peach trees and during the day he shoots grasshoppers with his BB gun and camps out most night to keep the racoons away........hes a little obsessed but damn they are tasty. Sorry I could not be of any assistance.

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I don't want to eat raccoon, but good for you.

We have plums, pears, and peaches. Here's a pest that surprised me.

Deer.

If you're planting 5-gallon sized trees and have deer in the area, put some kind of protective wrap on the trunks or net wire around them or something. It looks like I'm going to lose a couple of trees planted two years ago due to bucks rubbing their horns on the trunk last month.

They went all the way around.

goatchze said:

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We have plums, pears, and peaches. Here's a pest that surprised me.

Deer.

If you're planting 5-gallon sized trees and have deer in the area, put some kind of protective wrap on the trunks or net wire around them or something. It looks like I'm going to lose a couple of trees planted two years ago due to bucks rubbing their horns on the trunk last month.

They went all the way around.

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Same thing happened to my brother. He and his wife are both Aggies, brother has a degree in Horticulture and knows how to grow stuff....deer were nearly impossible to keep out unless you build a fence around the entire pasture.

Also, one dog is not gonna do it for coons and squirrels. Coons are smart enough to figure out a work-around and squirrels will just stay out of reach. It worked for Old Yeller, but that was well....Old Yeller.

thank you all for the replys. i planted them along the top of a ditch so even with the replaced soil im thinking theres enough runoff for them to stay dry.

yall are tempting me to post video of my dog protecting her 2 acres, but i dont want to get banned.

Rule of thumb is you need a big scary dog to keep the critters out and a little yip yip dog to wake up the big dog.

Nobody knows pears? I thought we knew stuff.

Pears just grow. Let them do their thing.

Or, you could grow a pair!

Milwaukees Best Light said:

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What kind of pear tree works well in Galveston county? Not stupid ornamental. One that produces good eating fruit. Not the tough woody pears. Soil is pretty wet. Elevation is probably 8' above sea level.

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Desert quality pears like you envision are grown in dry, higher chill areas.
A pear that would produce in your wet, low chill conditions
would be a pear that has more grit cells than you apparently want.

This link may have useful information for you.

https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/newsletters/hortupdate/2010/apr/pears.html

Dang. Ok. Thanks