Mail Order Fruit Trees and Bushes

[DocHeb]

I ordered some apple trees from an on-line nursery last spring, and I wasn't too impressed with their growth last summer. It was a wet and cold spring, so that may have something to do with it, but I'd like to try a another source.

Does anybody have any experience with a nursery that sells fruit trees/berry bushes on-line? I am interested in nurseries from the northern part of the US that will have growing conditions similiar to ours here in Zone 5 Southeast Michigan.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Chris, I've tried several mail order sources for trees and have been disappointed every time. I finally went to a small garden center and asked them for specific varieties, the trees I got were larger and better branched and did better than anything I got from a mail order source. They did cost more too. One thing that didn't change is that the deer ate those larger more expensive trees just like they ate the mail order trees. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

I now still use the same nursary and place my reqests for trees early, but I've given up on the dreams of an orchard.

 

[thcri]

I have had some neighbors that bought mail order and was not impressed either. But I think if you hang in there this year they will take off. Get some of them tree spikes and break them up into small pieces and place around the tree and make sure you water good. Or even some of the liquid fertilizer mix will work good.


murph

 

[MadReferee]

Over the last 25 years I have bought exclusively from Gurneys. I have had very good luck with almost everything I have gotten from them and I have bought fruit trees, shrubs, flowers, veggies, and trees.

Gurney's Seed and Nursery

 

[Poppa]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Over the last 25 years I have bought exclusively from Gurneys. I have had very good luck with almost everything I have gotten from them and I have bought fruit trees, shrubs, flowers, veggies, and trees.

Gurney's Seed and Nursery )</font>

Whew.

I was sitting here with a Gurney's catalog in front of me when I saw this thread. I had been getting excited about getting a few trees from them. Now I am real curious if the others who haven't been happy also used Gurney's.

Need to know soon since the deer around here are getting hungry /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Also, they need time to get established before fall so the deer that didn't feed on them in the summer can use the trees to rub the velvet off their antlers and break off all the branches.

Deer make for easy harvesting and pruning.


Mike

 

[milkman]

I ordered from these people and had really good luck, after I moved I ordered fruit trees from someone else and haven't done well at all, if I order again, it will be from these people.

www.starkbros.com/

 

[homeinwestIL]

I have had good success with trees from Stark Brothers, too. I ordered all my 20 fruit trees and a few nut trees from them and they've all done well. I've only lost a few trees and that was to deer damage. I wouldn't have high expectations for growth on first year bareroot trees. I think they put most of their effort the first year into establishing a root system.

 

[trkbldr]

I have also had good luck with fruit trees from Starks. Fall is the best time of year to plant. The tree puts all it energy into establishing a good root system without the added stress of growing leaves and the heat of summer. If you order the "Stark Supreme" trees, they come already pruned. Mine easily doubled in size the first year.

 

[EddieWalker]

I have tried a few from magazines and online with poor results. The plants never seemed to come to life from their shipping condition.

I haven't tried the ones listed yet.

Ebay has had some good deals for me. I've bout some Asian Jasmine and Dwarf Holly bushes this year with excellent results. They are in my barn for another month or so, then I'll put them in the ground.

I only buy plants from the mega sellers with extremely high ratings. Any negatives and I move on to the next one.

I forget what I paid for the Jasmine, but I got 40 Holly bushes from two inch pots with excellent roots balls for under a buck each after shipping!

 

[Michigan_Mike]

Chris,
I'm also looking at planting some fruit trees this year.
A number of others have mentioned Stark Brothers, and I plan to l buy from them, if I can't find a local source.
According to the Better Business Bureau, they processed only 5 complaints in the last 36 months. All but one was resolved.

An interesting note is that Stark Brothers was a part of a larger company (Foster and Gallagher, Inc) which filed for Chapter 11 in 2001.
The other subsidiaries included Henry Field Seed and Nursery Company, Springhill Nurseries, New Holland Bulb Company, Breck's Dutch Bulb Company, and Gurney's Nursery and Seed Company.
A quote from the BBB.
"On October 26, 2001, Stark Brothers and Foster & Gallagher was acquired by Gardens Alive based out of Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Gardens Alive then sold Stark Brothers Nursery and Orchard Company to Cameron Brown and Tim Abair who have successfully brought the company out of bankruptcy".