As we enter the month of February, the days seem to be just a little bit longer and with more sunshine, a little bit brighter. Spirits rise as another Spring approaches. With Spring comes the urge to get outside, work the soil and plant. Fruit trees are usually on that list. We have numerous telephone calls asking if we would sell one or two apple trees. Sorry to say, we do not sell nursery stock. In fact we purchase most of the trees we plant in our orchards from reputable nurseries.
Selecting a tree for planting can be mind boggling but it doesn’t really have to be. Like all projects, planting trees in an orchard or in your back yard takes planning. First, pick a site where the tree is to be planted giving it ample room to grow. Check the soil for fertility, water availability and then choose the variety of tree. One issue to be aware of is that your favorite variety of apple in the grocery store is not always available for purchase. New varieties such as Cosmic Crisp, Sweet Tango and Snapdragon, etc. are registered varieties and some have patents held by the Universities that developed them. Thus, certain varieties are not going to be available for sale without signed agreements and huge royalties.
So where to go to purchase apple trees? Nursery catalogs appear in mail boxes every year around mid January. Seed companies also have fruit trees available for order. One drawback when ordering from a catalog is the purchaser can not evaluate the quality of the tree(s) before it arrives. That’s why it’s important to place orders with reputable nurseries. When possible order at least one year old trees with trunks between 1/2 inch and 3/4 inch in diameter. Try to avoid really large trees as larger trees have difficulty adjusting to transplanting them. Nurseries usually send trees “bare roots.” Nurseries “pull” trees from their inventories and trees are packed for shipping without soil growing around the roots. Reputable nurseries pack trees in damp sphagnum moss or plastic to keep the tree roots from drying out. Quality trees should arrive dormant (not showing growth) with healthy and moist roots. Most nurseries will not sell an individual tree or small amount of tree stock.
Going to a local garden center is your best bet to buy an individual tree or a small number of trees. Look for trees that have straight trunks, are about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch in diameter and four to five feet in height. Read the labels on any tree to make sure it is self pollinating. Self pollinating means that it doesn’t need another tree to pollinate it so it can produce fruit. Trees at garden centers are usually potted. Make sure the tree is not root bound in the pot or has many roots growing out of the bottom of the pot. This may be an indication that the tree has been potted for an extra season. It is advisable to plant your trees as soon as conditions are favorable.
The growth and size of the tree is dependent on another factor and that is the type of root stock that the tree was grafted. In a prior post on this website there is a detailed description on the various root stocks and how those types of root stock affect the trees’ growth and development. It would be a good reference point for those individuals who wish good success in their plantings.