Is this a good time to plant fruit trees
Wisconsin
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I noticed some low prices on apple and other fruit trees.. Is this a good time to pick up a few and but them in the ground? I've always wanted to, but i dont want to waste time and money if they don't stand a decent chance of make it. Thanks.
Depends on how well they were kept. If they have been in pots sitting on a blacktop parking lot they are probably seriously stressed. If the pots were planted in dirt at a nursery then probably good. Still a little early tho.
If they are potted roots are probably circling inside the pot those circles of roots MUST be cut when planted or the roots will choke themselves out in a few years.
Chances are you could pre order bare root for spring deliver at nearly as good of a price. Woodstock nursery is a good source. They run specials in mid winter. Just google it.
I think the best way to plant fruit trees is to grow them from seed... it seems any purchased tree that is from a nursery seems to adapt poorly to new growing conditions.
I will let you know in 5 years lol.. I am trying it as nothing I have done over the last 30 years has gotten decent results with countless methods and gathered tips for care and planting..
So I am growing a pile of seedlings from seed.. just to try it.
Stick with custom nurseries like Woodstock or Wolfrath's in Hortonville. They know the exact rootstock which is vital in your zone.4A? B118, M7 are the best. I plant mine in the spring, bareroot. 5yo, 6foot high tree, $28, dropping friut that year. I also only buy late bloom(no frost issues), late drop(Oct-Nov) trees. Wolfraths have about 50 varieties. Your big box stores (wally,fleet)sell junk trees with no clue what rootstock they are. Cage them and make sure you do a window screen wrap around the trunk 3 feet up as the voles will girdle the bark in the winter and kill your tree. Good luck
Ok I'm still not totally sure if i want to plant this this weekend or hold off. I have the motivation now so i may just go for it. This nurseries i'm going to use is about 3 miles from where i want to plant. Thank for the tips guys!
Antler Whore, Planting apple seeds is not likely to work. But if all you are after is wildlife food from the trees you might get lucky and get some to grow and not freeze out.
100% agree with November. I had absolutely ZERO luck with trees bought from Menards, Steins, etc. Go with a custom nursery that understands every aspect of what you're trying to do and soil conditions in the area you live.
And be patient....it takes a couple years, but it's worth it
Novemberforever's Link
Click on the price list at the bottom of his page. Bob Wolfrath is also a good deer hunter. He knows soft mass deer trees.
http://www.wolfraths.com/garden-center/item/10-fruit-trees-seedlings-transplants
Bow Crazy's Link
Here is a link for North Forty Wild Apples, Florence, WI. The price is right at $5.95 per tree for 2-year old transplants or $3.75 per tree for seedlings. These are wild apples so you don't know what you get until they start to produce. I planted 10 in 2013, 5 in 2014 - all are still living. I tubed all and planted right away when I received them. You get an email before they are shipped with shipping info, they ship on a Friday, you get the next day by Fed Ex, ready for planting. For those of you that order trees and have them shipped to you, you understand how important it is to get them ASAP from the nursery and then into the ground as fast as you can.
They sell out each spring. If you are interested in ordering them in 2015, order now, or get on their email notification list.
I've never planted in the fall so can't offer any advice on the topic. It would fun to experiment this fall, maybe I will add it to my to-do list! BC
I purchased 3 fruit trees 15 bucks each and put them into the ground today. Seemed like a small investment that hopefully works out. I Planted two fuji apples and one macintosh.