I’m here in the Pac NW too. I began buying/ pot planting fruit trees about 7 years ago, using the pot up method. I usually buy 2 new fruit trees each year. Switched over to Smart-pots / Air Pots 3 seasons ago for my new purchases. The air pots/smart pots have worked out 150% better than regular/old school potting. The rooting/root ball issue doesn’t occur in air pots. Also, it self prunes and keeps my tree sizes in check. I can’t be trying to bring in certain trees in the winter if they have grow to 8‘ , 10’ , plus. If you are ok with full size maturity than fine. But in my situation, I want to be able to harvest fruit easily (low hanging) and basic maintenance is easier done with a smaller dwarf tree that has been kept in check. Btw, my dwarf fuji & dwarf honeycrisp apple trees were switched over to air pots and they fit under the roof overhang. By keeping them in the air pots and by pruning the main stem during dormancy period, I keep them under 8’ and they can get protected from too much rain and frost through the winter. My dwarf meyer lemon tree is only in a 3 gallon smart pot. I can easily move it into my house in late fall. If I had gone the pot up method, I would’ve eventually had to move a pretty heavy pot into the house. I bought a Leprechaun Dwarf Nectarine tree 3 years ago that is frost tolerant so that sits outside all year, here in the Pac NW. It sits in a 20 liter air pot which I think is slightly larger than a Home Depot orange bucket. Since it self prunes/roots, I‘ve never had to do anything. I do basic branch pruning after harvest and I get boatloads of nectarines that I usually give away half of what I harvest away. When it comes to Dwarf Fruit trees, IMHO, air pots/smart pots are the only way to go. Now with my vegetables garden, other than my kratky portion of my plants, the rest I do use the root pouches too and they work great. IMHO, since veggies are seasonal and I grow a lot, the root pouches are a perfect way to go, but for fruit trees since most people aren’t buying a ton of trees, spend a few bucks for a few air pots / smart pots, i think is the better route to go. Best of luck

Thanks for reminding me about Rolling River in particular, it has some interesting stuff and the best ratings of any nursery. Trees of Antiquity is not quite in the same category as these others, selling more standard types of fruits (persimmon, pomegranate, and jujube seem to be the furthest they go into the "unusual"). I've looked at the Garden Watchdog before, but I've never done a larger comparison... Here it is (in order of best reviews): -- Rolling River, 24 positives, 0 negatives, 100% satisfaction -- Trees of Antiquity, 48 positives, 1 negative, 98% -- Burnt Ridge, 90 positives, 15 negatives, 83% -- Raintree, 168 positives, 33 negatives, 81% -- One Green World, 64 positives, 19 negatives, 70% I will definitely try Rolling River, and Raintree as well for the broader range of items.

Bought 16 trees six years ago; bareroot apples mostly but also pears peaches plum and peaches and received bareroot starters about the size of a number two pencil. I have nurtured them into beautiful trees and they started fruiting last year and two the year before. All crabapples and ornamental pears; I was heartbroken for all the work. I think that some sold as apples are an ornamental cherry. I went on line to complain and read your posting. Thanks for doing this great service. My plan is to graft this spring and I have been studying how on the net.

13 of my 14 apple trees came from Burnt Ridge Nursery. They have a good selection and probably have the best prices when compared to other online nurseries. However, in order to avoid the tiny potted trees that they sometimes send, you must ask for bare root only. The five trees they sent last year were the best I've ever received. I have a small order pending with Cummins. A White Gold cherry and Grimes Golden apple tree. This is the first year I've ordered from them. The whole process has been a bit cumbersome as they don't have online ordering. Also, their prices seem reasonable at first, but once you add up all the fees, it really adds up - "premium" fees, broken bundle charges, royalties, ect. Hoping the trees are as good as everyone says.