Fedco and Henry Leuthardt are the first two that come to mind for me .. both very good nurseries and both in zone 4 I think.

Scott

Grandpa's Orchard in Michigan should have what you are looking for. My only issue with the trees are got were that some were a bit too large and branched higher up on the tree than I like. One of the apricots was about 2" diameter on the trunk.

Oh there is also Maple Valley Orchards, they are also in zone 4 I think. Gramps is in zone 6 and isn't as focused on northern plants, but does sell many hardy items if you check them out. The three other places you can't go wrong with since they are in zone 4 themselves and since they are propagating outside can't grow anything not hardy there. I bought some trees from Maple Valley and the trees were very good but they came far too late since my season starts much earlier and they had to start out in the heat.

Scott

Henry Leuthardt isn't in zone 4. They are on Long Island, just south of me. However, I recently bought a more mature Honeycrisp from them and I had a good experience. They were pleasant and knowledgable and the tree was in good shape. Of course, I won't really know how it is until it leafs out in the spring, but so far so good.

oldryder:

Pruning will not help trees that aren't growing enough. It will just further delay fruiting. It sounds to me that your trees need fertilizer. Either a good dose of high nitrogen mulch or a high nitrogen fertilizer. Nitrogen leaches out of sandy soil with every rain. If you aren't getting about 3 ft of growth the first couple years, your trees need fertilizer. In later years 8-12 inches growth is about right.

I except my apples to bear by year three. Of course I have a longer growing season. Yours should start blooming by year four if properly grown.

Maple Valley is closest to you but they don't have their 2011 info up yet.

St. Lawrence Nurseries in northern New York also specializes in cold hardy fruit. I've had good luck with them in the past but haven't purchased anything recently.

Here is a link that might be useful: St. Lawrence Nurseries

oldryder I'm with fruitnut on your trees. Try putting down a 2-3" layer of well composted manure two weeks before last threat of frost. I bet that will wake them up.

As far as the location of the nursery is concerned it many or may not matter as most get their trees from wholesalers. Its more important that you are buying varieties that are well suited to your zone with a proper rootstock for your soil and buying from reputable nurseries. St. Lawrence Nurseries is one of the few nurseries that grows all of its own trees in your zone but they are done taking orders for the season.

Here is a list of reputable nurseries you may want to take a look at.

Adams County Nursery
http://www.acnursery.com

Cummins Nursery
http://www.cumminsnursery.com/catalog.htm

Van Well Nursery
http://www.vanwell.net

Johnson Nursery
http://www.johnsonnursery.com/Default.htm

Trees of Antiquity
http://www.treesofantiquity.com

Oops, I got St. Lawrence and Henry Leuthardt mixed up.. right state at least :-)

Scott

Even if a nursery grows their own trees being further north will have no affect on their cold hardiness that I know of. Miller used to try to sell this myth but it would only hold true of seedling trees that have grown in colder climates for many generations. A clone is a clone- if it starts off cold hardy a piece of it grafted onto a clonal rootstock will be just as hardy even if it's grown in CA.

The myth in the opposite direction is common as well: locals here in Maryland have told me not to order from northern nurseries. The reason to order from a zone 4 nursery if in zone 4 is you know that everything will be hardy and they will also be focusing on hardy varieties. This is particularly important for plums for example -- St. Lawrence and Fedco have much, much better collections of zone 4 hardy plums compared to any other nurseries in the US.

Scott

adams county nursery. I have pooled with friends to get the 100 priceing. I order 1/2 inch up and feathered. The trees I get come with the smallest tree at least 5/8 and many well over 3/4. Some with 3/8 topping cut to fit in the 5 foot box. not one tree has failed. I am in maine zone 3-4 and need semi d to get them out of reach of deer soon. Its a good thing I like deer meat.

I have read conflicting reports about the cold hardiness of semi dwarf trees. One argument was to plant standards and prune them to the size you want.

We have plenty of room, we just want easier care. I've heard the B-9 and M-111 rootstock are hardy, but I would like to know if anyone has any advise. Thanks

I use mm-111 because it anchors well and I get wind. I'm not going to get as much cold as you get. For serious cold, if you have room for full size trees, Antonovka is very possibly the best choice of root stocks