first.. CALL THEM .... be nice.... ask if they are guaranteed ...

next.. where are you CA or concord MA???? or somewhere in between???

next.. what zone.. if you have received dormant trees .... which they might be... and you are in z5 or 6 ... you are probably right on track .... it is just about the right time to be planting such stock ...

if the leaves were crispy ...when the tree was dug .... then it is possible that this is all happening at the right time .... i often start running out of time in late fall .... and move trees with leaves.. if they have changed color.. or dried out .... sometimes you just have to do what you have to do .. ergo .. a polite conversation with the seller might get you a bit more info about the process.. and calm your nerves ...

i would have never expected the leaves to recover in November.. in the northern hemisphere ....

next.. i have often.. called the mailer... and discussed my concerns.. and asked that a note be put on my file under my order number.. and tell them.. that i am relying on their expertise for proper timing and delivery .. and if they should fail in spring... or early summer i will be calling back to exercise my guarantee ... which has almost always ended up with the tree living .... and not calling back ...

i know nothing of who you ordered from ... so i have no personal experience with them directly ...

but.. bottom line.. planting bare root.. late in the fall .. takes a lot of faith .... there is no instant gratification ... you read the instructions.. follow them religiously.. and spend the next 4 or 5 months wondering [no need to worry] .. if anything will come of it ... so ... chin up .. they are trees... and you have a high success rate potential if you are doing this at the proper time of year ....

good luck

ken

PS: BTW ... almost all potted stock was potted as a bare root .. and grown on for a year for sale... your price savings is due to the fact that you cut out the middleman.. potter ... if they can do it.. and you have just a little basic knowledge... you can do it and succeed ... root tips go in the ground.. lol ....

Thanks for your reply. I live in Concord, California. Zone 9. I called the Greenwood nursery and they said, the Yoshino cherry trees leaves look "dying" dried up because they're in dormant. Is that normal?

All plants go through a period of dormancy, some - like the cherries - more completely than others. Since evergreens hold their foliage all year, it is difficult to visually "see" this process, but they do experience a period of very slow or no growth as well. It is a rest period, somewhat akin to our sleeping or the hibernation period that some animals experience.

With deciduous trees like the cherries, the onset of dormancy typically coincides with the change of the seasons from summer to fall - shortened day length and colder temperatures, together with the plant's specific genetics, trigger the process. Leaves change color, sometimes whither and dry and then fall off. When this happens naturally, the lack of any foliage left on the tree generally indicates the plant has entered the dormant period but full dormancy, including the cessation of root growth, often takes longer.

Early November is a bit soon in most parts of the country for any deciduous tree to be in full dormancy and your trees, still being in leaf, are not quite there yet. The digging, bare rooting and shipping process is likely playing a role in their appearance as well. And while the top growth looks dead or dying, it is very likely the roots are still in growth mode. If you planted the trees correctly and promptly and have provided sufficient water (and continue to do so during any very dry periods this winter), they should be fine come spring.

I am a bit curious as to why you felt the need to do mail order from across the country to obtain these trees. Unless located in very remote areas, west coast gardeners are blessed with an enormous selection of retail nurseries and garden centers, virtually all of which operate a full 12 months of the year in our very mild climates. California is a major supplier of nursery stock to much of the country and you should be able to find pretty much anything you want year round. While late fall is not a prime time for the best tree selection (most receive their fresh stock in late winter and early spring and sell down throughout the growing season), these not uncommon trees should be readily available locally and without the costs and shock associated with shipping cross country.

If they dug the tree in its early dormancy stage, that is the very best time for it to be planted. The tree now has several months for root growth so that next spring when the tree draws on its reserves to grow and to leaf out, the roots will have already had the opportunity to establish in the soil well enough to support that high demand for spring growth and new leaves.

The only thing you need to be concerned over, is to make certain that the drainage, Ph, and organic content levels of the tree's planting bed is adequate for the tree's needs.

Thanks for all replys. Please see URL link for my "dying" Yoshino tree. Hope you could see it. Does it look tree is in dormant status? I still think it's dying, no? It came in as like this and I planted a week ago. Any feedback is appreciated.
BTW, none of nurseries in my area (concord, CA)carried any Yoshino cherry trees, so I had to order thru. the internet online.

Here is a link that might be useful: Yoshino

You wrote:
"BTW, none of nurseries in my area (concord, CA)carried any Yoshino cherry trees, so I had to order thru. the internet online."

Umm, how can I say this?

Your cherries will have a tough time in your climate. (That's the likely reason the local nurseries don't sell them.) Simply said, your winters are too mild.

Your cherries will have a tough time in your climate. (That's the likely reason the local nurseries don't sell them.) Simply said, your winters are too mild.

I think you'll find quite a few that will dispute that. Yoshinos are considered more tolerant of heat and reduced winter chill than most other flowering cherries and are recommended up to Sunset zone 20, which reaches down into parts of southern California - Concord is a mere zone 15 :-)

That they grow well in the Bay and east Bay area is attested by the fact that they are widely planted at the campuses of the University of San Francisco, Stanford and UC Berkeley. And they are recommended trees for the parks departments of both Stockton and Modesto, California, a bit further inland than Concord but with hotter summers and equally mild winters. And perhaps the most widely popular cultivar of the yoshino, Prunus x yedoensis 'Akebono', is a selection developed by the W.B. Clark Nursery in San Jose in 1920.

There is a large wholesaler of fruits and ornamental flowering trees (including a selection of various ornamental cherries) located just outside Modesto - I can see no reason why these trees shouldn't be able locally, but perhaps more seasonally in late winter or early spring. And I still do not believe your trees actually dead - just forced into an early and perhaps stressed dormancy by handling and transport.