kellory wrote:I already tried apples from seeds, and they never sprouted, I will try again with saplings. Top of the hill was where I planted them, in the largest clearing with the best light. I didn't test the soil, I don't know much about planting, other than the basics. Should I add something to the trees when they are planted or later? I am a novice on growing things.I have tried corn at the same spot, with no luck either.
In the woods soil tends to be LOW pH, especially if you have oaks and hickories. Very low, like in the 4.5 range which means, lime, lime, and more lime. So you might want to get it tested. When planting sapplings, do just like you would at home, dig a hole twice as big as the rootball and back fill with good well amended soil once placed and water well. You might also try a root stimulator to help things along. In the woods you can try tree tubes to help protect the trunk but deer will stand on their hind legs and eat the tips of branches as they emerge from the tops of the tubes, so I would also recommend guarding the sapling with a wire cage that puts the tree in the middle of about a 3-4 foot diameter circle. Anything you can do to keep deer from eating the branches and rubbing the trunk. Then pray for rain and keep the weeds and grass down to give the tree the best possible start.
If you used store bought apples, those apples may have been irradiated and those seeds will not sprout.
There is a reason you see those big anhydrous tanks out in the fields during corn planting season, corn needs nitrogen and lots of it to put on big ears. We have tried the corn route on our place and while we can grow stalks, the ears are always small and tend to get stripped off by every critter in the woods well before hunting season.
I can do tree tubes form pvc and I have lots of chicken wire. When should apple trees be planted?