What to plant?
 

I have some areas where I would like to plant something the deer can eat...(along my driveway, etc). I previously planted some other similar areas with orchard grass, but I was wondering if there was something better (perennial) to plant in these areas. They will be no maintenance areas. Just broadcast and go. Would there be a better grass than orchard for this situation? Thanks :)

RE: What to plant?
 

White clover? We plant it in food plots, I guess it would do for a drive edge. But you may have to put up a barrier to keep it from invading your lawn. I have spots of a white clover all over my yard and I have dug up shovels full and planted the sod pieces on my lake levee to reduce erosion. I know t hat the deer will feed on the levee edges, especiallly where I have burmuda seeded for erosion on the slopes. But that' s another invasive plant. (Drives the wife wild whebn it gets in her Strawberries.)

RE: What to plant?
 

A row of apple, persimmon or Mulberry trees.

Dan O.

RE: What to plant?
 

Dan O. A question about Persimmon trees. How do you get the %$&*## seeds to germinate? I have 4 maature Persimmon trees in my yard. Already aware that the deer love them, but have not been able to get the seeds to germinate. Is there a secret process to get them to aprout? (Note: If and when I get them to sprout, I guess it will be the grandchildren that will hunt around them. I am 69 yrs. old and don' t think I can last that long to see them marure.
Russ

RE: What to plant?
 

Another question, Dan. Do Persimmons occur naturely in your area? I lived in Northern Illinois for 40+ years, and never seen a persimmon until I moved to Miss.
Also, I forgot to add; there are male trees also in my yard. One 50 ft. from the one female, the other about 150ft. from the other females. Also we had a Mulberry tree in our yard for 20+ years (that I knew of), that never had Mulberries. Are they also male and female? (pardon my spelling on these posts, I sometimes think I' m a speedwriter on the keyboard, but the results prove otherwise.)

RE: What to plant?
 

Maybe I was a little vague in my original post.
I did a bunch of repair work on my 1/2 mile long driveway(thanks to the winter [:@] ), and now I have areas about 30' to 50' wide along portions of it that are bare dirt. I was wanting to plant a perennial grass of some sort in these areas. Something that the wildlife can eat. I won' t do anything to these areas, just broadcast the seed and go. I What would be the most preferred and beneficial grass(es) to plant? Like I said, I have orchard grass planted in some areas like this....I just didn' t know if there was something better. I doubt clover would grow, low ph I' m sure. Thanks

RE: What to plant?
 

Russ otten; I put my Persimmon seed through a cold period during the winter (stored in moist peat moss) in a refridgerator. Then you can scarify the seed on sandpaper or with acid (muriatic) before you plant them. The acid works the same as the seed going through an animals digestive tract. Then I plant them in pop bottles with the top and bottom cut off. They sprout late (June-July) and I transplant them in the fall, keeping the soil intact from the bottle. I germinate them in a greenhouse at pretty warm temperatures (80 F). About half or more of the seeds germinate, so I still need to work on my technique.

The Persimmons have been brought up here from areas with similar climate zones (southern Ohio). We do have native Kentucky Coffee trees, Pawpaws, and Sasafrass. I' ve also managed to do pretty well with Pecan' s up here. My Persimmon trees are cropping after about 10 years so don' t count out seeing fruit on them.

I' ve got a male mulberry tree too. It puts out pollen but has never had fruit in 20 years. The same as the male Persimmon.

Dan O.

RE: What to plant?
 

Dan.
I just happen to have some muriactic acid on hand so I might try your system. I' m going to guess about a 10% solution would work (soaking overnite). Probably the most important thing would be to not let the seeds dry out after starting the germination. The pop containers must be the 1 liter types, no problem there. Our temps here are in the 80' s already, so I just need to get them started.
We have 3 Pecan trees next to our garden and usually have 6 -12 volunteer seedlings each year. I' ve got all I need in our orchard and will start putting any new in our 80 acre timber. It' s a race each fall to see who gets the Pecans, us or the squirrels. Our big Persimmon is unique; about 1 in 6 fruits will not have a seed. But no problem, it produces by the bushel and the deer love them, even if it is 40 feet from our back door.
Will post my results if & when they germinate. thanks for the info.
Russ

RE: What to plant?
 

Russ;check on getting you some tame japanies persimmons,they will produce in two to three years.
they have some that are small about the size of a lemon,the deer love them also.I have two in my yard and the deer come in the yard 20' from my back door.
those little persimmons are real good,I also love them to eat and make jams.

I thank the name is fuyu or saysu. the spelling my be off.

RE: What to plant?
 

Russ; I use 500 ml bottles. The straighter the bottle, the easier they put out into the hole in the ground. You hardly disturb the roots. I' d try 5% and 10% for about 8 hrs. I put the bottles in plastic growers trays that you buy potted plants in. The trays have drainage holes but keep the soil in the bottles. Add more soil to the bottles as the soil settles. I forgot to mention that American Chestnuts are native here too. They get cleaned up as soon as they drop.

Tree climber; I' d be estatic if I could grow Persimmons as big as a lemon. Mine are about the size of a medium walnut. Just don' t bite into an unripe Persimmon.

Dan O.