We get our conifer shipments the 1st week in April here in Kansas City Z.5. I go ahead and plant at that time. Deciduous trees from west coast go in the ground 1st week in May as most have leafed out at that time. Stanley won't ship Acer palms to Midwest any earlier.

1st week in March seems real early to me coming from the west coast for you to be planting. Even though your zone is compatible Oregon's climate conditions are not similar. I would acclimate them for a couple of weeks and then plant them. If anything has broken bud and you get a hard freeze you will loose this years growth. If that the case I would protect them and then plant after April 15.

Dave

call your county extension office.. or the county soil conservation office.. and ask for precise times ...

the soil cons district offers cheap plants for sale.. and delivers them at the right time for planting ... so if you can find out that date you should be all set ...

i will invert daves logic.. and start with buds ... that is what is important to me. ...

fully dormant plants ... can PROBABLY be planted immediately .. dormant is dormant... and the difference between z7/8 and z7 .. should be negligible ...

the whole point of the temp controlled truck .. should be ... to deliver them fully dormant ... that is why big brown trucks can hurt delivery as they can get warm and trigger budding ...

dormant buds are tight and small ... once they start enlarging.. softening.. and extending.. is when late frost or freeze can cause harm ...

they would probably do just fine in your garage for 2 to 4 weeks .... i would NOT leave them in the sun .. and i would leave the door open all day.. so as to not allow heat to build up and warm the soil balls too fast ..

NEVER leave a black pot in the sun ... we do not want the soil to heat ... and thaw the roots ... while the rest of the plant remains dormant ...

whether or not you plant ...on your days off ... is not the issue.. you can still dig all the holes ... and prep the site.. so that when the proper time rolls around the job will be much easier and faster ... you would be amazed how much of the process is involved in simply hole digging .... on a 20 gal pot .... it might take you an hour to properly dig the hole ... the planting might only involve a few more minutes ... so you can accomplish a lot, whether or not you actually plant ...

you might also try calling the best high end nursery in your area.. and get their opinion as to when the best planting time is ... ask when they expect delivery of their conifer stock ... because.. admit it.. you will be looking for more... lol ... they will get their stock.. when it is time to plant ....

dont overthink it ... and dont kill them with too much love ...

in very early spring.. potted stock does NOT need all that much water.. dont drown them ... and water at planting.. and then walk away .. until they NEED water... none of this.. i watered them everyday stuff.. unless they need it ... ask if you dont know how to determine WHEN they need water ...

if you soil is clay ... start a new post about proper planting.. if you need direction ...

or for any other reason ..

i sum it up this way .... you would prefer to get 6 to 8 weeks of in situ root growth.. BEFORE the heat of summer hits .... for me in z5 .. consisitent with dave.. that is about 6/1 ... so we prefer to get the plantings done between 4/1 and 4/15 .... see if you can work that out for your locale ... i would GUESS a week or two ... for each zone higher than 5 ....

and dont forget root pruning.. if any of the stock is pot bound.. another post if you need info on that .... since you are working on the perfect time to plant.. i would have no qualms about severely pruning offensive roots ....

good luck

ken

ps: i am envious ... 3 degrees this morn ...

pps: if any of your stock is zone pushing.. err towards planting AFTER all chance of frost/freeze is gone ...

I agree with Ken. Last year I got some plants that were budding out and went ahead and planted them in Feb. We had frosts all the way til April, and I was constantly wrapping the plants in blankets and bubble-wrap to keep them protected. Better to store and plant when the danger of frost is past.

If the plants are fully dormant, that's another matter entirely. They can be planted any time the ground is workable.

K4

Haldo...May I ask for a list of plants you are getting?
Plus we would love to see pictures of your current conifer garden.

Thanks,

Barbara

i have a feeling.. since its his first shipment.. that a majority of his garden.. is in the truck ... lol ...

you do have a month to learn how to post pix .. lol ...

ken

I'm with Barbara, do tell, we're dying to hear what's coming. It's also very interesting to read about different planting methods and times. I am glad I didn't post first, I live in zone 7/8 and I would have suggested any time the ground wasn't frozen would be a fine time to plant.

Is there such a disparity between 7a and our zone, which I presume is more 8 then 7? I've been planting all winter, we've only had a couple of hard freezes where the ground was frozen. For the most part, we hang between 32 and 45.

Thanks for the wonderful information everyone!

As for my current garden, I don't have much. I only have about 30 conifers, which is nothing to brag about. I have some other plants too, but I'm considering replacing them with conifers. I live in a subdivision so space is limited. I built lots of new beds last spring/summer and planned on planting conifers this year. I tried to get a lot of mini or dwarf cultivars but will strategically plant some larger cultivars. I'll take pictures throughout the process to share.
The plants being delivered the first week of March include:
Please forgive me for misspellings!

Abies koreana 'Cis' #3
Abies nordmanniana 'Golden Spreader' #6
Acer palmatum 'Katsura' #3
Acer palmatum 'Koto-no-Ito' #6
Acer palmatum 'Ojishi' #6
Acer palmatum 'Sharp's Pygmy' #3
Cedrus atlantica 'Fastigiata' BB 8-9'
Cedrus deodara 'Prostrate Beauty' #6
Cedrus deodara 'Scott' #3
Cedrus libani ' Home Park' #3
Chamaecyparis nootkatensis 'Jubilee' #6
Chamaecyparis nootkatensis 'Strict Weeping' BB 7-8'
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Baldwin Variegated' #3
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Golden Sprite' #1
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana' #3
Chamaecyparis pisif 'Cream Ball' #3
Chamaecyparis pisif 'Golden Pin Cushion' #3
Chamaecyparis pisif 'Cumulus' #3
Chamaecyparis pisif 'Tsukumo' #3
Chamaecyparis pisif 'White Pygmy' #3
Chamaecyparis thyoid 'Heatherbun' #3
Chamaecyparis thyoid 'Top Point' #3
Cryptomeria jap 'Birodo' #3
Cryptomeria jap 'Tensan' #1
Juniperus communis 'Green Carpet' #3
Juniperus communis 'Compressa' #3
Juniperus horizontalis 'Gold Fever' #3
Juniperus horizontalis 'Motherlode' #1
Juniperus squamata 'Blue Carpet' #3
Juniperus squamata 'Holger' #1
Picea abies 'Formanek' #6
Picea abies 'Lanham's Beehive' #6
Picea glauca 'Cecilia' #3
Picea glauca 'Echiniformis' #1
Picea glauca 'Elf' #3
Picea glauca 'Jean's Dilly' #3
Picea glauca 'Pendula' #20
Picea glauca 'Rainbow's End' #3
Picea omorika 'Minima' #3
Picea omorika 'Pendula Bruns' #20
Picea orientalis 'Skylands' #6
Picea pungens 'Fat Albert' BB 4-5'
Picea pungens 'Globosa' #6
Picea pungens 'Hoopsii' BB 4-5'
Picea pungens 'Lundeby's Dwarf' #10
Picea pungens 'Iseli Fastigiate' BB 4-5'
Picea pungens 'Montgomery' #10
Picea pungens 'Pendula' BB 5-6'
Picea pungens 'Procumbens' #6 and #10
Picea pungens 'Shilo-Weeping' BB 4-5'
Picea pungens 'St. Mary's Broom' #3
Pinus contorta 'Chief Joseph' #20
Pinus contorta 'Taylor's Sunburst' #15
Pinus densiflora 'Pendula' #6
Pinus leucodermis 'Schmidtii' #6
Pinus mugo 'Donna's Mini' #6
Pinus mugo 'Jakobsen' #10
Pinus mugo 'Mitsch Mini' #3
Pinus mugo 'Sherwood Compact' #3
Pinus mugo 'Short Needle' #1
Pinus mugo 'Slowmound' #6
Pinus mugo 'Teeny' #1
Pinus parviflora 'Goldilocks' #6
Pinus sylvestris 'Gold Coin' #6
Pinus thunbergii 'Thunderhead' #15
Thuja occidentalis 'Degroot's Spire' BB 5-6'
Thuja occidentalis 'Golden Tuffet' #6
Thuja occidentalis 'Rheingold' #3
Thuja occidentalis 'Smaragd' #10

I have so much work to do and can't wait to get started!

get the BB planted asap .... at the appropriate time, per above ...

if you had to .. you can hold the potted stock up to a year ... IF YOU HAD TO ...

if you dont have one.. a dolly might be a good investment ....

the BB .. nootka.. picea pungens and thuja... are all super hardy in my 5 .... your idea of spring .. they should scoff at.. if dormant ...

i dont grow cedrus... not for my zone.. so you might have frost/freeze issues with that one .... if not fully dormant ... do keep in mind... frost/freeze temps are a long way from min temps a plant can take ....

if you cant get a BB planted .. and need to hold it.. put it into one of the bigger empty pots.. burlap and all .... it makes moving them around a lot easier .... and holds the soil intact on the roots ...

time to start a database ... so you can copy/paste names.. rather than typing and misspelling ....

man .. if you were within 100 miles.. i would drive down to watch them unload the truck .. and watch you spew all over the place .... i was beside myself one time.. when i got 10 in the mail ....

ken

That is 69 plants! One week off, counting an extra weekend would be 9 days or 7 2/3 plantings per day!

I would suggest renting a bobcat with an auger and bucket attachment to help and have a chiropractor's number handy.

That is one ambitious project you have going.

Didn't say that I have to finish planting them all in one week. Just happened to be off the following week after delivery and I was eager to get started. Also, I didn't list the quantities of each purchased. I bought multiples of some smaller or ground covering plants. Thanks for being so technical though!

Thanks everyone for your help!

Sorry, I did come across nervy. Whenever I see astounding information I reach for a calculator and start crunching numbers.

Your landscape will be spectacular, can't wait for pictures. Good luck.