When to cut my losses?

First time fruit tree grower…

Last spring I got 4 bare root trees (2 apricot 2 cherry) and naively thought they were big enough that the deer would let them be. I also got two potted native plums that May, but I think I let them sit too long before planting (I thought waiting til fall was best but the roots probably got bound).

The deer ripped all the bare roots clean in half that fall from tugging on the leaves. Holding out hope, I managed to get some fencing in this spring before they could do anything else. Some of the trees are leafing out just now, but none are leafing at the tips of the canopy branches - the plums are leafing all around the base and the apricots are around the trunk but above the graft point. The cherries show no signs of life 😭

My question is: if the trees do manage to seemingly recover from all this over the course of summer, will there be permanent issues with the health/production? Is it worth it to get new bare roots this fall/next spring and replace them or should I just let it ride? (and May is probably too late to grab any trees this year right? It’s already pushing 80F some days...)

Zone 6 Pennsylvania by the way,

- Ollie

If the roots are established and the damage is above the graft, then if the trees make it, they will be stronger for it.  The more fruit trees are abused, the better the harvest seems to be starting about 3 years after the damage.  I often heavily prune my fruit trees taking off 50% or more of the bulk (measured by trunk/branch) every 5 years or so if the harvest starts to wain.

The biggest problem is they will have a more 'natural' shape unless you take steps to reshape the trees.  But this is something to worry about later.

If the damage is below the graft, then give it a year or so to regrow and regraft the next (it's easier than most people think, but often you can find a gardener with the skills to do so if you don't want to try it yourself.

Hey Ollie, welcome to Permies! I’d do both — let it ride and put more in somewhere else. But I have the space for that approach. if I could only take one tack, I would let it ride. I have a lot of faith in trees, and their ability to heal from that sort of insult.

also, one can never have enough fruit trees.
If you want permission to buy more, you have it!  

Ahh this is great news! Then this spring I am going to get in some of the trees I didn’t get to last year and hopefully in 3 years this will all be a great success story 🙂

Thanks for the quick replies everyone!

Ollie Walter wrote:My question is: if the trees do manage to seemingly recover from all this over the course of summer, will there be permanent issues with the health/production?

I have heard that trees that get a certain amount of abuse, react by being cautious and tough-minded. So if the trees survive, they may cope with everything that nature throws at them in the future.

Factors:
1. The tree suckering from the base may not be of the variety you bought. However, choose the best shoots, trim the rest, and look around for friends/enemies that would be willing to give/sell you grafting material in a couple of years when the shoots are big enough to graft.
2. Space - the advantage of starting with a tree, (other than you're getting a specific variety), is that it has a head start over simply sticking a seed in the ground. Depending on ones ecosystem, seeds have a huge advantage, particularly if you're planting a large area. You get strong deep roots, which is hard to achieve with transplants. However, you have no idea of which will survive and which won't, and in my ecosystem that's a huge problem. So if you have limited space and need things to be where you planned on them being, trees are the way to go.
3. Time - I already am feeling like I'm planting for my grand-children (assuming I'm blessed with a few). Do you have time to wait if these damaged trees don't make the grade? I totally agree that fall planting is best, but unfortunately, nurseries don't agree and at least in my neighbourhood, it's almost impossible to get fruit trees in the fall. One way to hedge your bets is to buy or eat fruit to get the seeds to start in pots now, and start your own nursery for fall planting. Give away or sell the extras.

Deer are a major problem. I advise that you not under-estimate their desire to eat your fruit trees. I would use a multi-faceted approach. Good fencing, male dog fur pinned to that fencing at deer nose height, alliums planted around the fence inside and out for several feet, and any other deterrents you can manage.

Good luck with whatever you end up doing. There is no one right answer here, particularly when we aren't in your  back-yard seeing what you're seeing. There's lots of info here on permies, so hopefully, you can find some ideas that will help you get through this.  Welcome to our site - you will find many people here who have had this sort of disappointing start and ended up with awesome results.