I think you will find that most bare root fruit trees are at least 2 years old - they are grown on a full year after grafting to assure the graft "takes" properly. Info on Stark's website confirms they sell 2 yo trees and other sources may stretch it out another year/growing season. Generally once you get past 3 years, the trees are too large to handle easily by bare root. I'm also not sure I'd agree about determining a tree's age just by planting date. A great many trees are grown on in containers for various lengths of time and they obviously have an age to them before someone purchases them and plants them in the ground.

Thanks guys! I ended up potting everything up today because I am still not sure where I want them to end up, plus the ground refroze due to a crazy arctic blast this weekend. Hopefully they will be okay - I had them in my root cellar for the past couple of nights, thinking that would protect them from a hard freeze while still being cool and dark, and when I went to get them this morning the wet newspaper around their roots had frozen. Yikes! They're safely potted up now, though, so fingers crossed there's no problem.

Are they even available bare root in May? In most areas, bare root fruit trees come into stock at nurseries or other plant outlets in late winter - January or February - and that is when they should be planted. While still fully dormant. Once they emerge from dormancy - start producing flower buds or leaves - they become very difficult to maintain as bare root and start deteriorating unless potted up. If you can maintain proper watering over summer, I wouldn't hesitate to plant a potted fruit tree in May but I wouldn't waste my money on one that was still bare root at that time.

Ivandale Farms Meadow Farms Nurseries (4 or 5 locations) Blue Mount Nursery Burke Nursery and Garden Center All of these have websites but there are many more that turn up with a simple Google search that do not. It can't be all that hard to find something!! Even the box stores will have a pretty decent selection in late winter or early spring, although they may not be the ideal varieties for your area. btw, nothing will be bare root now. Bare root stock has a narrow window of opportunity in that is must be sold and planted while still dormant. Bare root stock that is sold out of dormancy will struggle mightily if it even survives.