Wild Turkey Winter Fruit (9 Plants) | Spring 2027

Fruit for wild turkeys from late summer on, with hawthorn that holds past frost. Dolgo crabapples with a Rescue applecrab to pollenize them, plus hawthorn and golden currant.

How to Plant for Turkeys

Plant on woodland edges, where turkeys feed most, and on south or west slopes that melt off first. Turkeys roost in big trees, so put this near mature ponderosa pine or cottonwood if you have them. Black Hills hens roosted almost entirely in big ponderosas.

Protect Them

Deer, elk and moose browse young plants hard, and bucks rub trunks in fall. Cage each tree until it's out of reach: a welded-wire cage about 5 ft. tall and 3 ft. across works for deer. Where elk come through, MSU recommends an 8 ft. fence with a top rail. Trunk tubes alone won't stop rubs. Water with drip the first couple of summers.

Bear country: fruit draws black bears and grizzlies. Plant well away from houses and outbuildings, and use electric fence where bears are around.

Is Planting This Baiting?

Growing plants is habitat work. Rules on fruit or nuts you pick, move or pile up vary by state, so check your state's hunting regs before you hunt over it.

For the full how-to (why these plants work, spacing, protection and timing), read our wild turkey planting guide.

See our other wildlife bundles on the wildlife orchard bundles page.

Photos: wild turkeys by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.