I bought some Mayhaw trees from them several years ago. If I'm remembering correctly, they were about 18" (theyre about 8ft tall now). The tubes are actually paper "plant bands", and they contain decent amount of roots that have been air pruned.

never from them.. but i have dealt with such ...

depending on size.. and root mass ... i would contemplate ... on smaller things... potting for the season.. and growing the root mass.. and then planting in the proper fall planting season ...

NEVER FORGET.. just because you buy it.. doenst mean its ready to be planted ... [its akin to tree shopping in july/august ... which is NOT prime tree planting time] ...

i dont recall.. do you have any experience in growing trees in pots.. especially in regard to the media used for such...???

the biggest problem.. with an 18 inch tree [especially if they are counting 5 of the inches as the pot itself] ... is protecting it.. usually from yourself.. lol.. like stepping on it.. not seeing it.. with its magnificent 3 leaves.. lol ... this is where a 4 foot orange stake.. really helps.. and it has nothing to do with tying the tree to it ...

and i would really wonder about a 3 foot plant in a tree tube ... especially when you contemplate a root system supposing to be twice as big as that above .. i dont care how much air pruning there was.. that band pot has to be choked with roots .... so root surgery would most likely be necessary .. and that has precise timing issues ... so again.. potting it up.. and holding it until the next prime planting time.. might be best ...

new post on potting trees and the media to use .. should you wish to discuss it...

this is simply the next step in your education.. looking for the rare.. at a reasonable price.. usually means having to go very young ... and its that babe-hood .. which requires extra thought ....

ken

I'm considering buying some tube-size trees, and growing them for a year in a Rootmaker 1 gallon pot or thereabouts and THEN planting out, similar to Ken's suggestion.

My experience was similar to Bama's. I had a dawn redwood tube thrown in an order sometime in the winter of 2011-2012. It had a decent root system and I remember having no trouble spreading them out at planting. The tree did OK last year. I planted an 'Ogon' dawn redwood around the same time and niether it nor the one from ForestFarm grew much. I think about 5-6" but they looked healthy enough. I know they like water but water certainly did not like falling at my house last year. That probably slowed the down quite a bit even with the provided supplemental watering.

John

Edit: Oh and it was around 1-1.5' tall excluding the roots when it arrived.

This post was edited by j0nd03 on Tue, Jan 8, 13 at 9:32

I bought a Pinus pungens (table mountain pine) from them as a tube tree, and it has done exceedingly well.

I've purchased lots of plants (mostly shrubs, some trees) from them as tubes and they've all done great. Most of the time I have planted them in pots first and grown them up a bit before I put them in the ground. That's mostly because I have a big garden (and large rabbits) and stuff that is too small tends to get lost or eaten!

Well, I've got 6 'Oregon Blue' Chamaecyparis coming in the spring, so I'll let you know!

+oM

I have bought many tube shrubs from them, a scented Honeysuckle vine etc. They average a foot tall, the roots are 4-6 inches long. The tubes are only about 2 inches wide approx, they look like paper tubes from what I remember. All the plants have since grown quite well. Some of their pot shipped plants aren't much bigger, and are lots more expensive, not all but alot of them.

Thanks everyone. As it turns out, the shrub I chose is one they don't offer in the tube size. I'm pretty disappointed; it would've been nice saving on shipping. I'll definitely consider tube size plants in the future.

I wonder how they decide which plants to offer in tubes.

they grow things in tubes.. for as many years as they need.. before up-potting to one gallon ...

obviously.. you can put 100 tubes in a small area.. as compared to one gal's ...

besides space .... it also saves media usage ...

selling them cheaper avoids the manpower costs of up-potting .. and media use .. plus pot .. of having to up-pot them ... in other words.. selling a cheaper tube.. may actually end up being more profitable than the much more expensive larger size ...

oh.. and dont forget packing and shipping ...

ken

Thanks, Ken. I've learned a lot from you, especially lately.

Funny you mentioned this. I ordered some specimens from Forest Farms. I will receive my shipment of four tubes, two size 1 plants this week. I bought 4 maples, 1 beech and 1 chinese fir.

I just got carried away and ordered too many. Nevertheless, I would like to know whether to plant them in pots or plant them on the ground and let them mature. I have space under some pines so the sun won't be a factor. Thanks

ilovemytrees - I have ordered tube size trees from forestfarm before. The ones I ordered arrived with decent root systems. I kept mine potted up for a couple growing seasons before planting them out. I have a gorgeous Cupressus bakeri in my back yard that is now 6 feet tall that started out as a forestfarm tube-sized plant.

Where in WNY are you? I have most of my things growing between two properties in Clarence and Lancaster.

Thanks everyone for responding.

Carino2010,

How did your shipment turn out? Were you happy with what you received?

Treeguy,

I've had great experiences with Forest Farm, and their root systems seem to be so robust and healthy. I don't know what they do to sprout such huge healthy roots in their plants, but it's amazing.

This post was edited by ilovemytrees on Tue, Jan 22, 13 at 15:55

Carino, I hate transplanting so I have planted tube plants in their permanent place in the yard with a wire fence around em for protection from the weedeater and animals.

Just an FYI, and this is not directed at FF. Just be aware that a great many plants bought in "tubes" are not grown by the company you are buying from. IN stead there are many growers the specialize in wholesale level production of of plants in "tubes" that are then sold to be grown out in smaller quantities by others, or sold on to the end consumer. I have bought several plants in tube size from people on Ebay that did exactly the later. FF, I also have no doubt does much of the same for these size plants (the prices for these sized plants certainly indicate that this is the case), and even many of their larger plants are of a size typically sold as grow out liners. All this is to just to make many of you aware, that many plants on the retail end are not at all grown by the people you are buying from. There are plenty of exceptions, especially if their selection is often small, or specialized. Just wanted to make some of you aware as many of you seem not to be.

Arktrees