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need help with dwarf fruit tre supplier

strawberryjohnjohn

12 years ago

I am having problems finding a good supplier of dwarf fruit trees for the farm. Summerstone has such good prices but I hear too many people are just getting dead sticks. I was going to run with Stark but after totaling my order I went into price shock. Thirty bucks is a lot for a dwarf fruit tree. Please HELP> JOHN

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Comments (12)

Dan.NY
12 years ago
Not sure where you are, but my local Walmart, Lowes, and Home Depot all have fruit trees in the spring. The issue I have seen with them is nobody knows the rootstock. You may have better luck than I. Early on, the trees look decent. I may be a bit leery of them as time goes on, due to lack of water and care. My $.02. (FYI - I have not purchased, just saw them after my trees were mostly planted)

I have ordered from Miller Nurseries (http://millernurseries.com/) , though the trees have not really taken off. This I am not sure is the tree, my soil or ? Of 6 trees planted in 2008, the two Asian pears grew well and bore some fruit in 2010. They came on OHxF333, which in reading I found is not the best rootstock for Asian pears. Meader persimmon has literally done nothing but take up space. Two apples on M7 have kind of grown, though slowly. I had a few blossoms in 2011, with about 3 apples actually setting. (Deer found them) The white peach was DOA and never did anything. Millers did issue a refund without question.

I also ordered one tree only from Boyers Nursery. I found them quite expensive. They charged a packaging fee as well as shipping fee (Didnt know when I placed the order and was not told. I specfiically asked what charges would be and total price...). The tree arrived dead and I was out about 45.00 for a scraggly looking dead tree. A replacement could be sent, with shipping and packaging charges again. Not worth it. Stark at least advertises free shipping.

What you may want to do is check the peach tree site
http://flaminfury.com/?a=PG:447 A reasonable list of places that sell not only his peaches but other fruit trees.

Good luck.
queensinfo
12 years ago
i was looking at jungs, raintree, miller, and fowler specifically for semi-dwarf/dwarf trees (Cherry). they are all around 30 bucks plus 10 to 30 shipping.
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Brandon, I'm going to disagree with you :-) First, box stores are NOT nurseries - they sell plants only as a sideline and suitability, selection or even current condition are of minimal concern to them. They buy in bulk regionally and they buy cheap. Operations that specialize in growing and/or selling plants only are where the OP should be looking. And these places DO focus on varieties that are best suited for local growing conditions. Retail nurseries that want to stay in business for any length of time rely on customer satisfaction to do so - offering plants that are not well-suited to local growing conditions are not the way to encourage any kind of repeat business. Sure, they may offer some things that are of questionable value or hardiness but it is not going to be something as basic as fruit trees. And with fruit trees, heating and chilling requirements that match the local climate are of paramount importance.....if it is not going to produce fruit or ripen the fruit successfully in that area, what's the point of growing it? As to supply or varieties, the one source I mentioned offered 7 different apples, 7 different pears, 4 plums and 2 pomegranates.....not a bad selection to choose from in my book. And they include many of the varieties especially called out as recommended good performers for that area by the Texas Agricultural extension service. And FWIW, fruit trees sold by retail nurseries in my area, while sold as potted plants, were initially received in late winter as bare root stock.......much the same as one would purchase online (although admittedly on the larger end). They are potted as soon as received to maintain the root systems in as optimal a condition as possible. Failure of bare root stock of any kind is typically much higher than if one purchased the same stock potted -- there is just too much chance for damage to that exposed and vulnerable root system. IF local nurseries offer the plants in sufficient selection, then I would encourage anyone to purchase these plants before ordering online. Here is a link that might be useful: Recommended fruit varieties
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help with finding dwarf fruit trees
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Comments (6)
all trees have an annual growth rate ... lets just say.. since i do not call myself a fruit expert.. that an apple tree grows 18 inches per year.. in 10 years.. its will be 18 feet tall .. and in 20.. has the potential to be 36 feet ... a dwarf of her.. will grow .. less than 18 .. its a dwarf annual growth rate.. lets say 8 inches.. 10 years 80 inches .. or 6 feet tall ... easy to spray and prune for most of us it has NOTHING to do with fruit size ... a generic apple.. can easily be a 20 to 30 foot tree.. given the decades .. being a tree.. they never really stop growing ... if you drive by an orchard ... or even stop in.. you will note.. that they horribly disfigure their trees .. for production purposes ... most are pruned ridiculously to less than 15 feet.. mostly to aid in hand picking.. and also.. to allow sunlight into the interior of the trees.. to maximize production ... [they also destroy their trees after a very short.. highly productive period .. say 10 years????] ... learning how to prune your trees will be one of the most important things for you to learn to do ... so by starting with a tree with a dwarf growth rate.. you will inherently have a smaller tree for the various said purposes ... check out the link.. for one of 'fruit peeps' who really knows what he is doing ... listen carefully to his spraying regimen [i think i recall he covers it] ... that is what stopped me from getting carried away with such ... brandon .. thanks for the gratuitous poke.. lol ... anyway.. OP ... there are lots of orchards in MI ... i would in the appropriate down season [and i doubt that is fall .. one has to think in winter.. the guy would be happy to spend hours talking about it all] .. make an appointment at a local orchard .. and simply go talk to the manager about what flourishes in your target area ... he may even be able to order appropriate stock for spring planting .... [and you will have to learn all about the different regional root stocks .. ] and do spend some time in the fruit forum ... though we like to talk to you here ... as brandon suggested.. if you want to do it right ... i suggest you are not going to do it all from the computer ... unless you will be happy with a red one and a yellow one ... as the video will discuss ... good luck ken ps: the few fruit trees i mail ordered to adrian MI ... take around 3 years.. in the ground.. before they have a good enough root mass.. to actually produce a few fruit ... growing trees.. especially for fruit.. is NOT an instant gratification thing.. in any sense of the word ... Here is a link that might be useful: link
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URES, Not sure how experienced you are in growing fruit trees. In most places including Indiana, fruit trees will require spraying. Different fruit trees have different issues and may need different treatments. You may want to learn about diseases and insects that could damage your fruit trees of your choice before planting them. It's always good to choose disease resistant varieties if you do not want to spray a lot. However, disease resistant does not always equal taste. Also, if you want to grow organically, it can be done but often requires more work and less effectiveness. You are also right about a sunny area. Almost all fruit trees require full sun. It helps reduce fungal disease, ripening and quality of fruit. Lot of fruit trees do not produce well in partial shade.
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nancy: I am totally unable to provide any insight on successfully growing fruits in Kansas. I can give you some advise on apples. With apples you can find a lot of different rootstocks. I hate the terms dwarf and semi-dwarf because the range of size control offered by many different rootstocks varies greatly. You will find that all "dwarf" rootstocks for apples are very poor and shallow rooting. They will require irrigation as needed and they will require to be staked for support for the life of the tree. Many "semi-dwarf" apple rootstocks will be ok free-standing and can get by without irrigation. M27.....called the patio dwarf. Apples get 5' maximum. Can runt out at 3' if you do not remove all fruit formed until tree gets taller. M26....Trees can grow 8'-12' tall depending on variety. Can be prone to fireblight. Bud-9...Trees get 8'-10' tall unless kept shorter by pruning. M9337 (Nick 29)....Similar in size to Bud 9 eventually but faster growing. Apple trees can be purchased on all these rootstocks if you do some searching on mail order sites. Avoid the sites that sell "dwarf" or "semi-dwarf" apple trees yet do not tell you what the rootstock is. Many will offer a variety on a multiple selection of rootstocks. In my home orchard I have apples on various rootstocks based on what was available when I bought them. Some of my trees are 5' tall x 7' wide and others are 15' tall. Lots of different choices of height controlling rootstocks are available for apple trees. Commercial orchards in my area are now all growing apples on wire (tall spindle) and planting them 3'-4' apart on M9337 or Bud 9 rootstock. I would think if you choose a variety that grows well under your climatic conditions you should be able to find a rootstock that will work well for your situation. Just be sure to stake the tree and provide irrigation as needed.
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iammarcus
12 years ago
I just bought from peaceful valley, they sell bare root trees with free shipping if you buy 10. Some trees do not qualify: multigraft, balled trees including citrus. They made an error on one of my trees rootstock so they refunded half the cost of the tree.
Dan
carolkcmo_5
12 years ago
Look at USAseedstore.com. Prices cheapest I found. About $10/tree and free shipping. Scary. I am going to try them for 1-3 trees this year. Root stock not specified, only state dwarf, semi dwarf, etc. No minimum order for most states.
Kevin Reilly
12 years ago
I would google "the scoop usaseedstore" before I bought from them. Buyer beware.
hoosierquilt USDA 10A Sunset 23 Vista CA
12 years ago
strawberryjohnjohn, Raintree & Peaceful Valley are both very reputable companies. If you're looking for true dwarfing rootstock, try contacting Dave Wilson Nursery to see if they can accommodate your quantity requirements, or possibly work through a retailer and provide you with a quantity discount. They were trialing a new dwarfing rootstock with cherries (New Root 1) that they say is showing very good results. Don't know much about it. Not sure where you're located in the country, your signature line doesn't say, but Dave Wilson is a great grower here in California for us.
Patty S.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dave Wilson Nursery - Commercial Growers
carolkcmo_5
12 years ago
Just looked at Watchdog. People hate this company. Thanks for the alert. I will NOT buy from them now.
SoTX
12 years ago
I buy some great trees from Vernon & Sons in McMinnville, TN with free shipping on orders over $50. No choice of rootstock, but they will tell you what they use & trees are under $10. I bought 8 SD apple trees recently for $56 since there is also a 10% discount at the magic $50. I've done business with them for years & highly recommend.
Sally "Cricket" Benfer
12 years ago
Do you have a web address for Vernon and Sons?
midlin
12 years ago
Does anyone prefer whips when they order? They can be a lot cheaper. Do the whips really overtake feathered like some say?

Cummins Nursery has a wide selection of dwarf. Price for 10 trees shipped is about ~25 each feathered down to ~15 each whips. They recommend vigor for rootstock on Asian pear- especially betulifolia. They also have them on OHxF97.
iammarcus
12 years ago
If that is Vernon Barnes and Son they hav a good rating with Garden Watchdog but no website. I did find a phone
# 615 668-8576 but no idea what they stock/sell.
Dan
spartan-apple
12 years ago
Strawberry:

I feel your pain. I don't mind buying from Raintree as the
stock I received last year was really nice. Their shipping is a bit expensive but at least I got nice quality trees AND they state what the rootstock is for their tree fruits.

IF you want to save some money and still get nice stock, try ordering from Schlabach's Nursery in Medina NY. David
has GREAT selection and pricing. My only issue is that at least on the apples, no rootstock is listed in the retail catalog-just dwarf or semi-dwarf. I usually just call David and ask what rootstocks a particular variety is available on. When ordering, I then request the rootstock
I want. David will honor the request assuming it is available.

His pricing is extremely reasonable. Since they are Amish,
they will not take orders over the phone and do not accept
credit cards. Order by mail only. But he will gladly answer your questions by phone. Morning calls best at
585-798-6198.

David has apples on M7,Bud-9, Bud 118 ect. Check it out.

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