Deer ate my apple tree!

[cstronks]

Hello All,

This is my first posting on TheEasyGarden, and I wish it was a better topic, but a deer really went to town on my new apple tree. I had it in the ground about two weeks and didn't do my homework because I failed to surround the tree with fencing. Now, about 80 percent of the leaves are gone from the tree! It is a four way combo tree and some branches are better than others. My questions are as follows:

1. Does my tree have a chance? I'm concerned it lost too much green and might die!

2. Are apple trees hardy against this? There is no damage to the branches or trunk, as the deer concentrated on the leaves they could reach.

3. Will the leaves grow back this year?? The tree is about 6-1/2 feet tall, and it looked so beautiful with its rich foliage. I'm not so concerned with fruit here, but will the foliage return where it was eaten off, or will it look like this through the summer?

As of now, I have surrounded the tree with fencing to prevent any further damage, but the deer took just about everything they could reach. The top parts of the tree remain green and intact, and even appear to be healthy. I suspect this happened 2-3 days ago, so I'm guessing that if these leaves still look good then maybe the tree will survive. Anybody who has insight on these questions, please help!! I just want to know if my tree will come back healthy this year or if it is doomed.

 

[Carol Dee]

@cstronks I am not much help with your question but wanted to welcome you to TEG. I am sure someone will have answers for you. Glad you are here. Enjoy.

 

[journey11]

My neighbor's goats got loose a couple years ago and chewed up my 2 little pear trees and one little peach tree. As bad as it looked, it did grow back the next year. Just took a little more thought to prune it properly, that's all. Yours being a 4-in-one, you should still be alright if they didn't girdle the trunk or those grafted branches. Next year you'll have a lot of new branches come out in many directions. Just take care to prune it for the proper shape and not allow branches to develop that are pointing into the middle. It will make some growth this year, but probably not much. It will bounce back next year.

ETA: Oh yes, and welcome!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome! Glad you joined!

I agree with Journey, the best thing right now is patience. If all it took was leaves you should be OK.

I understand about deer. Some would walk by my apple and peach trees to eat cherry, pear, and pecan trees. That wasn't for the leaves, that was eating the branches back quite a bit during the winter. I put fencing around those trees. Even with many branches gone they came back OK though an ornamental Yew died from them eating branches. Then a buck killed two apple trees and damaged another apple tree, two peaches, and a red maple by rubbing the velvet off its antlers. I have those fences around a lot of my trees now and it looks like it will be a great year for fruit, even from some of those "damaged" trees.

 

[Nyboy]

EAT THE DEER !!!!!!!!!!!!!! welcome guess you can figure out how I feel about the giant rats.

 

[Ridgerunner]

No, Alex. Squirrels are bushy tailed rats. Deer are undomesticated goats. It's important to be precise here! The similarity is that both can be eaten and should when they become overpopulated.

 

[MoonShadows]

Welcome! We're glad to have you here.

Deer, groundhogs, rabbits and all other types of furry creatures keep you on your toes. Earlier this Spring, I had a groundhog get into where I had 6 miniature fruit trees. He ate the bark off of all six in a ring of about 3-4 inches high near the base of each tree. So far, they look like they are making it. This area has 3 layers of fencing. 1 high one to keep deer out, 1 low one about two feet high to keep rabbits out, and 1 buried one to keep the ground hogs from digging in. The local county jail doesn't have security layers of fencing like this!

 

[lesa]

I am going to say, the tree will be fine. Unfortunately, only time will tell. I have had my fruit trees suffer a pretty good pruning by deer and they always bounced back. Make sure you keep it watered- Good luck and Welcome!!!

 

[catjac1975]

If the trunk is fine it should come back. Of course it may come back for another meal. he leaves should bounce back quickly. Prune anything that is damaged.

 

[cstronks]

Wow, what a great response! Thank you everybody who posted. I initially thought the tree would be a goner, but its more resilient than I suspected. It looks so bare and unhappy with so few leaves, but the top is still growing healthy. The tips where the deer ate are orangey, and I'm not sure how to handle that, but it is now well fenced and hopefully on its way to healthy growth.