Growing fruit trees

Has anyone had any luck growing any sort of fruit trees near young county? I am looking at persimmons, Mexican plum, or wild deer pear. I have done some online research now i'm looking for some real world experience. Has anyone been successful growing these or any other types of fruit trees near young county. Another thing to consider is the land i'm on is currently 90% mesquite trees, no oak trees, with some other junk trees mixed in. Any help would be appreciated, thanks

Wisco, buddy of mine has successfully grown pear and apple trees out in Newcastle on his small place. He does have some oaks and is right off a backwater arm of the Brazos, so the soil may be pretty fertile there. The key for him was to cage off the trunks from the squirrels and critters. Think he planted a small grove for the agriculture exemption actually.

You absolutely must cage them or the deer will wipe them out.

They smell fragrant and it doesn't matter if there are 10,000 oak seedlings around them, they'll find the peach/pear/etc and go crazy.

We're having pretty good luck in Eastland County with some apples and pears. They didn't have any persimmon trees when we went to buy, we'll get some this year.

We dug holes that were far oversized for the root ball, used the dirt from the holes and mixed it about 50/50 with potting soil to get the roots acclimated to the present soil, and mulched heavily. Then we put cattle panels around each. We watered by hand (trucked in) every chance we got during the summer, and only lost about 10% of them. Considering the drought, we did pretty good I think.

I just bought bareroot fruit trees from leg creek farm. Good prices for bareroot and lot of low chill hr trees good for tx.

I've tried several times in Montague County. Drought has gotten them every time.

you should not mix the soil going back in the hole,only the top 10% or so,dig the hole three times the size of the root ball, DO NOT PLANT DO DEEP, make sure the crown is above soil surface, in heavy rainy yrs with to much soil amendment the mix will be holding to much water. check out how much chill time is required for each type and make sure that is what you are getting in your county.

Mexican Plums grow all over, TXDOT plants them alongside bridges, etc. They are hardy and drought resistant. Look around your highways, there might be some there already.

The plums though are great for making jelly/jam too. I harvest some from a nearby office park and we put up lots of jars and give them away for christmas gifts.

You picked the right time of year to plant. This time of year many of the counties across texas have an fruit tree sale. Montgomery county has theirs on the 24th of this month. They say that the trees that they sale will grow and produce in that part of Texas.
Couple of tips that might help. Chill hours requirement, pollination, fertilization schedule and water, water water. Do intense research on the ones you want. Big box stores like HD sell fruit trees but not necessarily for that region. So research is a must. I have plums, peaches, nectarines and apples growing on our small farm. Out of the 8 years we had the farm, the fruit trees have been replaced 3 times because of lack of knowledge.
Good luck. The trees that you mentioned are native and should do well.

heres a link to the fruit tree sale in montgomery county. Call your county extension office. They should have info or will look it up.
http://www.mcmga.com/event/fruit-and-nut-tree-sale-january-24-2015/?instance_id=304

I ordered trees from mossy oak nativ nursery, I did some research and the interweb said they work great with hunters. I did three soil samples from different areas that "looked good" (7 bucks a pop) with the location of the ranch and Dudley at nativ sent us what fruit and oak trees would grow for the area. He was also very nice on the phone when my buddy called him to give him a better description of the land. We ordered 30 trees, a variety of oaks and fruits that were recommended, and 30 tube protectors (cost about 250 bucks). We also got 3 275 gallon totes to set up watering systems. We also plan on caging them in, does anyone know how many years it takes for the trees to become self sufficient (3,5,7 years)??? I'm having them shipped for the 3rd week in Feb so I can plant them that weekend. This will be a long process so I hope it pans out, thanks to everyone for the planting tips.

They will definitely need the water monitored for the 1st year, then a close looking out for, for the next 2 years. Shoot for 1" a week. My fruit trees have survived with close to 1" average, Apples seem to be the pickiest.

good place to order from. I bought some chestnut trees from them last year. tubes too. I've noticed 3 positive things about the tubes. Protects from critters and you can spray weed/grass killer around them with out damaging the trees.
When I first plant a tree its around jan, feb. Its usually wet, so I water them after initial planting, then if theres is no rain for about 2-3 weeks. Keeps the roots damp. If you have standing water, most transplants cannot not tolerate it.
Here are steps I take to plant trees:
location
dig holes twice or three times the size of root ball
put tree in hole, leave the base exposed. (tapered part)
Fill in hole with same dirt you took out.
remove air pockets with water or by tamping (lightly)
build 3-4" retaining wall around trees 5-6" in height. (takes time) Last year was the first time I did this. Its excessively big, but I had 100% success.
2-3" of mulch around tree, with no mulch touching the tree.
tubes or stake it.
stake it only if tree does not stand on own.
Depending on the size of tree your planting, tubes helps with the visibility while you are mowing or riding. Dont use the wooden sticks they give you for the tubes. Ive had to replace most of mine within the first year they were rotten. Bamboo and the longer the better.
warmer months I water 1 a week. They say 1" of water per week. I try to do that or somebody does. (first year)
I continue on the amount of water for the next year but maybe 1 every other week. Then thats it. If it does not survive, it does not belong.
What kind d trees are you planting?
good luck.

I plant some each year in east TX. If they have a good and wet first couple of years, they survive. If not, they don't. I don't have the time to tend to them so it's just a numbers game. I have learned the larger ones (6-8') have a much better chance. I plant mostly pears, plums, and persimmons.

NP, hows your persimmons done? I know they are more indigenous to E Texas, but considering a few here further West. Agree with you on Pears, deer will go after them almost anywhere.

They do as well as the rest of them it seems. I have some native persimmons as well.

Thanks, I may try a couple and see if they will produce this far West.

Native persimmons are male or female. Be sure of what you are buying.

A good source of information is the Texas Conservation Partnership. www.texasconservation.org They will come to your land and help you figure out items like trees and much more for free.

Western, what kind of apple trees did you plant, I really wanted to get some apples mixed in but I could not seem to find any that were recommended for the area?

I planted Fuji and Gala, both need a pollinator and that combo was what was recommended by the Ag list from A&M for the low chill hrs here.

I'll try Fuji and gala. I love persimmons. Womack nursery in Deleon has whatever you need.

Persimmons grow like weeds around here so they must be pretty hardy.

They have a wide selection too and their plants are already acclimated for here. I will make a run down sometime this Spring more than likely.

Nice, thanks, I will be adding these into the mix!!!

Any suggestions for nursery's around the Olney area? Or in-between Olney and DFW? Thanks!

Don't know about up there, but Lowes will have 2-3 year old trees usually for around $29 each, but I would bet there is one between there and DFW? maybe in Jacksboro?

Or make a day trip to Womacks, I have never heard bad about any of their plants/trees and they have a bunch! Might even call them, they may have a load coming your way, or at least may give you a # of one closer.

http://www.womacknursery.com/

I can vouch for Womack's. Have ordered from them and the plants come in great condition.

Yep. Womacks is a good place. Placed an order there via phone three months ago and picked up at nursery last week. All Trees looked great. Worth it to me to drive two hours to get a quality product compared to going to a box store like lowes where it's a crapshoot

I will do this, it's probably worth it to spend the extra time for quality trees instead of rolling the dice on a chain store, thanks

You got that right! A healthy tree to start with, sure makes life allot better. Womack folks are Pros too, unlike the garden center at big box stores.

BTW, I bought all Semi Dwarf, you may want to research whats best for you. IMO, they are easier to maintain since they don't grow full size (only 15'20') and unlike the dwarfs, they only need staked for a few years until they are self supportive. I like the full size cultivar, but the SD should produce sooner and I have limited full-sun space.