buying bare-root trees & shrubs on-line

I'm having a difficult time in my on-line purchasing search for bare root trees, arborvitae, and a few shrubs I'm interested in namely, Arrowood Viburnum and Black Chokeberry. I find wholesalers but not retailers. Any suggestions?

what size are you looking for?

Mostly size is determined by cost. So its the smallest size. How small is a tree or shrub that comes in a tube? I think I want the next size up from that. Its been suggested that bare root have a better survival rate. Some sites mention 1 or 2 quart size pot. If I can't find bare root I'll probably go with those. My primary need is to start a hedge with the 'Techny' to run 60'. The next will be to plant 2 rows of Black Chokeberry to run 70', the Arrowwood maybe an option for the 'Techny'. I have used DG's Plantscout, but I want to do more pricing.

I've never had any trouble with things that I bought which were in containers rather than bare root. Shipping ends up being a bit more expensive, but I think you'll find more places that carry the things you want if you're open to containers rather than bare root. Forest Farm is a good source for many trees & shrubs, I would be surprised if they don't have at least a few of the things you're looking for.

Thanks ecrane3. I did check them out. Another newbie question, does it matter if the tree or shrub is grown in a warmer zone than my zone 5? Some nurseries I noticed were in the southeast.

If it's a tree that's hardy a zone or two colder than you then it shouldn't matter too much where you get it. A tree that's hardy to zone 3 or 4 isn't going to die in zone 5 regardless of where it was came from. But if it's something that's only hardy to zone 5, or it's only hardy to zone 6 and you're trying to push things, then it may help to look for something that was grown from local stock.

If you do buy from somewhere warmer and they ship before it's spring in your area, you may want to keep the trees somewhere protected until your weather warms up. Things will start to put out buds/leaves earlier in warmer zones, so if the tree's already started to leaf out and then you bring it to NH and get some freezing weather, the new growth will freeze. (Once you plant them and they spend next winter in your climate, they'll leaf out at the appopriate time the following year, so this year is the only year you'll have to worry about this)

Have you looked at the Arbor Day site? Don't know if they have what you're looking for but I've gotten lots of trees from them and they are all thriving very nicely. They do send smaller size trees and mine grew faster than the larger size trees I bought from places like HD and Lowe's.

Try search for hedging plants rather than trees/shrubs, here in UK, we buy most of our hedging plants bare rooted, as Ecrane said, the cost is way down, not only for carriage charges, but because the grower dont have to pot them up then have to care for them, the other good thing about bare root, you are getting the plants before the buds break so transport is not so harsh on the plants, they are field grown plants, therefore more hardy, but most important, if you buy whip or smaller plants, they transplant much better as they dont have a large root system to get damaged, the best advice for bare root plants though, have the planting area well prepared before they arrive, remember the plants dont have soil around the roots so can dry out fast if you have to leave them sitting for days/weeks till you prepare the soil, add plenty animal manure to the planting soil to help retain moisture around the roots where you plant, you may have to snip off a couple odd dried young branches if damaged in transit, but that happens even with pot grown plants, your bare root plants will suffer less and recover better from transplant shock also. order an extra couple too as there is always the chance you will loos a couple after a few years, pot the extra ones up so if required, they will be the same size as the rest of the hedge. good luck. WeeNel,

Thanks everyone. All your first hand knowledge won't go to waste.

I don't know about anyone else but I've had absolutely no luck with bare root trees ordered on line. Have you checked with your local garden centers?

I haven't checked locally because no one is open yet, but as soon as they do I will. Hopefully this will be the last snow storm!

here is a link for arbor day tree catalog....

http://www.arborday.org/shopping/trees/trees.cfm

thanks shakeyj11!

your welcome, I think if I was in the market to buy trees or shrubs this is possibly be the only place I would trust personally....I'm not a very trusting person when it comes to buying stuff off the internet!

Hope you find what you are looking for!

pjc98 (10070Feedback is 10,000 to 24,999) Member is a Power Seller
Go to member's eBay StorePJC98's unique trees and shrubs

go to ebay and look up this seller under trees and shrubs and see if he has what you are looking for. if he does you cant go wrong by ordering from him. i have bought bare root trees from him in the past on ebay and will continue to buy my trees and shrubs from him whenever i am in the market for them. they were shipped when i wanted them shipped (although i did wait a day or 2 longer because he wanted to wait for the weather to warm up a bit before shipping them, which i approve of) or i had the option of having them shipped in time to plant in my zone. they were shipped in such a way as to arrive quickly and safely and came with instructions for planting. he takes utmost care when shipping and i will vouch that you are not going to get jipped.
i am including a picture that is my 2 Katsura trees and my 2 sugar maple trees. the Katsura are early budders and the maples are only just now beginning to bud. as you can see they are very healthy happy trees.

To answer your question about buying trees grown in warmer zones. I buy shrubs and trees started in my zone or colder. Going to a colder zone supposedly makes it harder for them to get going. I can't say from experience because I have never done that. I am in zone 4 and will buy shrubs for zone 3 just to make sure. I live in a windy spot and they can take some abuse in the winter.

This is a company I have had fantastic luck with everything I have purchased. I can see that they are out of stock on many bare root plants, but if you give them a call they can tell you if they will be getting more and will notify you when they do. They are very helpful on the phone. If you would rather email them they are prompt in answering your questions.

http://www.prairiemoon.com/store/template/product_display.php?Page_next_page=All&NID=66&sorter=&arranged=&SID=b2f94f46774d2b61ff1ab72eca5bcab2

you can always get curly willow from a florist (they use it to fill out flower arrangements.....)
I called my local florist, and asked if they had any fresh branches, and they did. Gave 1 branch for free!!!, and it has 3 branches from 1 main one.
They grow quickly, but I always put them in a large container. They overwintered very well in Winnipeg (think it's zone 2b?!) in the container (as long as it's large enuff - one you get in garden centers with shrubs in it would be fine).
So, I've got one started (rooting in plain water, just like any cutting.......)
If you want it to look like it's growing straight out of the ground, plant the container & all. It can be a very invasive plant, so if you don't want a grove in a few years, I strongly suggest container planting :-)

It's quite a pretty tree - long thin pale green leaves, and curly branches

Susan

And here's the root system of the curly willow - would you believe it's only 1 1/2 wks old? By next spring it will have many more branches than the original 3 from the main branch........

My husband and I joined arbor foundation and have enjoyed the trees. We got ten free oaks for joining and there are other trees packages to choose from. Got a free red maple too . I put in the ground about a month ago and it is budding out everywhere. Great place to order from plus it helps keep the trees in other places going.

Sarahn: I just looked up your viburnum and found it from forest farms in oregon
www.forestfarm.com. A #1 is available at 2' - 3' I am not sure about the choke berry but iwould bet they have it. Good luck
Dave

I'm glad I started this thread! So much helpful info. I did go ahead and plant arborvitae I purchased from a great local nursery. a couple of 4' Dark American, three 2' Tchny, and a few Emeral Green. They are doing well. I'm in a little bit of a time crunch to save neighborly relations along my southern edge, but as for the rest, I'm eager to try other shrubs and can buy smaller.

I have purchased from pjc98 on Ebay. Bare root. Several Carolina Silverbell and Seven Sons shrub. Well packed, very healthy, all survived and have grown well and the cost was very tolerable. It was a good experience and I would have no problem ordering again.

Sarah,

This year I got smart. I went to Dave's Top 30, ordered 10-15 trees and bushes from them. I have been very pleased with everything I got! Best of luck Pam

Thanks. I'm seeing if my budget holds and hopefully in the fall plant more!

Sarah, I suppose it goes without saying but did you search DGs for the shrubs/trees you want? It will tell you which vendors offer the ones you are interested in and you can read vendor reviews from DG members. I've ordered from a couple of different vendors listed on DG with 100% satisfaction so far. Also, I've ordered bareroot shrubs from whiteflowerfarm.com and they are all looking great thus far.

Nona

Moonshine Designs, Arbor Day Foundation and Audobon are all good sources.

thanks puananiloa, yes, I checked the DG site and found it helpful, but as a newby I ended up buying locally from quality nurseries. Its great to hear you have had success with DG. I love, love, love, Daves Garden. I have found it so incredibly usefull So I'm sure I'll be buying from those vendors at a later time.

I haven't purchased here myself but a guy I work with swears by it. http://www.jfnew.com/ShoppingCart.asp?type=2&CategoryID=2

Moonshine designs and Pjc98 are both good places on ebay. (I never thought that I would be buying trees on ebay) The best way to find a specific plant/ tree is to go to the Plantscout, look it us, and it will give you several (usually) mail order places where you can buy it that have been reviewed by users. However, it won't list everyone though. You can go to the Garden Watchdog, find mail order nurseries, click to their web[age, and browse what they have.
What you are looking for though should be rather easy.
Arbor day will have several of the items you are looking for.
One site that I am aware of (but have not used yet, my neighbor recommended them, and I trust him) is coldstreamfarm.net
They have a huge selection and VERY good pricing. They also have a very good rating on the watchdog list.

If you use them let me know what you think of them. I plan to try them out this fall for a few things.

I am on the board of directors for my condo association, and we are looking into landscaping ideas. I think bare root trees are the way to go. I have looked around at different nurseries and think the prices at TN nursery (http://tnnursery.net) look the best to me. I can't wait to get started on our project. Our property will look so much nicer after the trees are planted.

Do you mean this nursery? http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/c/2281/

My condo association has done some bare root planting, and it has been great. We had luck here: http://tnnursery.net

bethums, is this the nursery? http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/c/2281/

Wow, talk about deja-vous....grin

And fast work. From "we are looking into landscape ideas" (and nurseries) to they've "done some bare root planting and it looks great" in two weeks. Pretty amazing progress!

I am surprised any association can make a decision that quickly, much less implement, receive and complete said project in under two weeks. They should share their secret.....grin