Wouldn't it be great if deer simply understand that if they left your seedling trees alone for a few years, those trees would grow up to produce more fruit, acorns and nuts than they could possibly eat? I was going to say, wouldn't be great if deer were smarter, but then I realized that I'm not much smarter than a deer (if at all). When my mom baked a cake I was always trying to steal a bite and then hide it with the icing, but she's catch me and not give me a piece for dessert - just like how the deer who eats the seedling doesn't get a mature pear or plum or apple or Chinese chestnut tree producing fruit for "dessert."
What would you call a tree that a) produces fruit that ripen over an extended period of time in the fall, b) holds it fruit even into the early winter, and c) grows across a wide geographic range? Hunters would call it the perfect tree. Deer would call it ambrosia, food of the gods. Foresters simply call it: persimmon. There is a reason that so many deer attractants and baits are persimmon flavored or scented!
As much as deer love persimmons, they love newly planted persimmon seedlings just as much. Since they - like me and that cake - don't understand (or as in my case choose to ignore) the consequences of eating the seedlings, you as a tree planter need to protect them with Tree Tubes. The good news is that persimmons, both American (Diospyrus virginiana) and Japanese (Diospyrus kaki) persimmons grow extremely well in Wilson Tree Tubes.
Speaking of the two different species of persimmons - and there a many different varieties within each species - a couple of notes:
1) I would highly recommend planting some of both species. American persimmons tend to ripen earlier in the fall. They are more astringent, and aren't at all edible - even for deer - until they are fully ripe. Japanese persimmons, on average, ripen later in the fall, and are much less astringent. They often hold their fruit well into the early winter.
2) Two great sources for persimmon trees are:
> The Wildlife Group Nursery in Tuskegee, AL
> Mossy Oak's Nativ Nurseries in West Point, MS
In both cases you can order your tree tubes directly from the nursery to ship with your trees, or if you're picking up trees at the nurseries you can pick your tree tubes up than and same the shipping costs!
No matter if you're planting American or Japanese, buying your trees from Wildlife Group of Nativ Nurseries, or getting your tree tubes from the nursery or from Wilson Forestry Supply, you can't go wrong... as long as you're planting persimmons and protecting them with the best tree tube on the market!
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