# Inexpensive source of quality fruit trees?



## sleuth (Aug 31, 2013)

I planted 14 bare root trees this year, 10 of which I received from the Arbor Day Foundation for my $10 donation and the other 4 which I bought from eBurgess.com.

Only 4 of the 10 and 1 of the 4 seem to have survived.

I don't think bare root trees are for me. Anybody have an online source of *potted* fruit/nut trees or bushes that will ship for fairly reasonable prices? I want to plant a large number of these things but I have a shoestring budget which is basically about $50 or so to start.

Also looking for recommendations on plants that will begin yielding the quickest. Doesn't really matter what kind of fruit as I'm interested in the whole gamut. We are in Zone 6 I think (southeast Ohio).

Edible Berries of all kinds, Cherries, Apples, Pears, Plum, Persimmons, Pawpaws, Cold-hardy Banana, Peach, Almond, Walnut, Pecan, Hazelnut, Rhubarb, Kiwi, Currant, Apricot, Chestnut, Hickory, Fig Trees, Grape Vines or anything else I missed. Also, dwarf or full-size, doesn't matter.


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## IowaLez (Mar 6, 2006)

There is no such thing as inexpensive quality fruit trees, and no mail order company ships potted fruit trees, because the pot would have to be so large and heavy it couldn't be shipped. You can only get potted trees at some local nurseries and garden centers, but usually they are not pruned and trained so well, and you have fewer choices of varieties.

You get what you pay for and so you spent, what, $25? And look what you got for that cheap price, crappy stuff that died! You wasted that money. Don't throw more good money after bad.

Fruit trees are not sold as little tiny things in 3" pots, they are sold usually in their second year as 3-4 foot size, or more if you get premium trees. If you start out with an undersized, crappy little seedling, it will actually take _more_ years for it to get to bearing size, than if you got a larger tree, and you did say you want them to bear sooner rather than later.

When you plant a bareroot tree, you have to keep it watered well and regularly in order for it to thrive and grow, and you have to give it a good hole and loosen the soil so the roots can do their thing. You need to spray them, either with organic or inorganic fungicide, so they don't get killed by powdery mildew as they begin to leaf out in early Spring, especially with apples.

A full size fruit tree will take more years to bear fruit than a dwarf or semi-dwarf. A dwarf or semi-dwarf can begin bearing in 3-5 years, as long as you don't get a frost while it's blooming. A full size apple tree will take 10 years to begin bearing apples. Dwarf trees cost more than full size because they have to use a rootstock, and graft them, and grow them a year afterwards. More labor and time in them.

You are best off investing in good trees, and less of them. Quite frankly, $50 is unrealistic and is not nearly enough to do what you say you want to do. I think you should save up your money more, put aside a $20 bill each month, and in late Winter you can then get more trees. And if you buy more trees at once, you will pay less in shipping than if you order them piecemeal.

My cheapest trees are Manchurian bush apricots, from Gurney's and wild plums from Henry Fields, they have prolly the cheapest decent trees you will find that aren't junk. The wild plums were tiny bareroot things of iffy quality and I had to have 2 replaced for free, but they have finally taken off this year, their fourth Summer, but are nowhere near bearing size yet. But I expected that when I bought them. The Manchurian apricots have grown like weeds in the preceding 5 years; they are 10-15 feet tall now, and columnar in growth, and their fruit is real nice and good. Easy to care for, no pruning or diseases for me. My good quality fruit trees are pretty darn big now, some 13 feet tall, and their trunks are 5 to 8 inches in diameter. 

But I took care of ALL my trees for the first year; even tho we get good Summer rain here, it isn't always timely and I would soak them each once a week with a hose. We also used the big post hole auger on our tractor PTO to make really good holes for them. I have 27 fruit trees, and I'd still like to get a hardy peach, which I will do next Spring. When we moved to our current home here in Iowa, the first thing we did that Winter was order all our fruit trees. We had set money aside for that, knowing they take years to bear. And yes, it was costly, but worth every penny.

Cherries are a big pain in the tookus as far as powdery mildew and black spot killing them and messing them up, except my 5 yo Evan's, Nanking, and Hanson bush cherries are pretty easy keepers and this year, their 5th year, I got great crops off them. Last year we had an early Spring and late frost that killed the fruit crop I would have gotten. You can get these bush cherries from Fields and Gurney's too, at a decent price.

Stick with reputable sellers and get better quality trees, it will be better for you in the long run.


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## geo in mi (Nov 14, 2008)

http://millernurseries.com/

http://www.starkbros.com/?gclid=CKWtnNzoyLkCFbE7MgodjXUAlQ

See these sites to do some browsing this winter. I think you may need to revise your budget for a planting cost of $50/tree, when you consider soil ammendments, watering equipment, etc--AND keep in mind that, in many cases you will need companion trees for pollination.....

Most mail order trees are shipped bare root, dormant. After you plant them corrrectly, they will fire up and do pretty well, as long as you care for them. For balled and burlapped trees, your prices may be even higher at a local nursery, and they will have to deliver and plant them for you if you don't have the means to do it yourself. Expect a hundred pounds per tree and upwards......

You _can_ get potted plants in three gallon sizes at the BB stores like Lowe's, etc, but your choices may be limited to what they want to sell you. And their prices will be probably $30/tree.

Hope this will help,

geo


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## 1shotwade (Jul 9, 2013)

Indiana has a state nursery and tree used to be $25-100 but went up to $50-50 so i kind of stopped getting them.I'm sure ohio has a simular plan for trees/shrubs for wildlife habitat.Contact them. 
My brother got persimmon,hazelnut, pecan,elderberry,lespadezza and others through the state for a good price.After you see what's available there first start looking for "affordable" trees the state doen't have.


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## WildernesFamily (Mar 11, 2006)

+1 on the Stark's Brothers recommendation. 

We bought trees (yes, bare root) from them and they have all done fantastically except for one peach tree, but that was our fault because we planted it in a place that was too wet for its liking... the apple trees planted in the same location have done fantastically, so you have to know what type of area to plant your trees in, and it is very important to keep them happy that first year.

Research what types of fruit trees and soft fruits do well in your area, this will help you select a good variety for your area, so they will be less prone to disease and thrive in your area. You can use this link and your zipcode to work out what Stark varieties are good in your area, and when to plant them:
http://www.starkbros.com/products/fruit-trees

Also..

Apples: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1401.html
Peaches/Nectarines: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1406.html
Plums: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1404.html
Pollination of fruits and nuts: http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/HO-174.pdf

And more fact sheets here:
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/

You don't have to pay a small fortune all at once, add trees each year as you go. You have to wait such a long time for them to produce though (link has expected wait times from planting to fruiting), so be sure what you do buy is the best quality you can afford and then give them the best care you can, adequate water is so essential when they are getting started and all through the first year. Stark Bros have very good info for how to care for your new trees, from receiving them in the mail through the first year, follow it carefully.

*Early* Spring and Fall are the best times to plant fruit trees.. while they are still dormant and the root system can become established before the tree breaks dormancy.

HTH and hope one day you too will experience the joy we experienced this year... going out into the orchard and picking a ripe sweet peach off the tree and eating it while the juice dripped down our arms, yum!


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## K.B. (Sep 7, 2012)

learning to graft will bring your costs down into the range the OP is looking for... Rootstock for apples/pears/etc... can be purchased for ~1-2$ per tree plus shipping when buying in bundles. Individual rootstocks can be purchased at other nursery sites such as Raintree Nursery for a few dollars apiece more.

Use the rootstock to start a stooling bed and you will have all the rootstock you need within a few years.

Scions for grafting can be had inexpensively in large quantity from swap meets or trading by mail.

Another approach is to plant seeds from fruit trees that produce quality fruit from seed, such as peaches and asian pears.

Still other trees, such as figs and mulberries, will root easily from dormant or green growth and can be planted without grafting.

It all just takes longer if you don't have much of a budget to work with.


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## sleuth (Aug 31, 2013)

K.B. said:


> learning to graft will bring your costs down into the range the OP is looking for... Rootstock for apples/pears/etc... can be purchased for ~1-2$ per tree plus shipping when buying in bundles. Individual rootstocks can be purchased at other nursery sites such as Raintree Nursery for a few dollars apiece more.
> 
> Use the rootstock to start a stooling bed and you will have all the rootstock you need within a few years.
> 
> ...


Is there any decent "grafting for dummies" type resources out there? And you're right. It's the 3-sided management triangle of time, money, and scope. And I have not enough time, not enough money, and too big of a scope (huge dreams and big ideas), I fear.


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## Steve in PA (Nov 25, 2011)

BigBox stores will be clearancing everything out soon. My wife has laid down the law, "No more trees"

That being said, inexpensive and quality don't normally go together. I have ordered from Miller and had good results.


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## Steve in PA (Nov 25, 2011)

BigBox stores will be clearancing everything out soon. My wife has laid down the law, "No more trees"

That being said, inexpensive and quality don't normally go together. I have ordered from Miller and had good results.


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## sleuth (Aug 31, 2013)

Steve in PA said:


> That being said, inexpensive and quality don't normally go together. I have ordered from Miller and had good results.


Yeah, I should have phrased it "best value" or "best bang for the buck", but there's more emphasis on "buck" due to the shoestring budget.

I'm having a bad day, as you might have garnered from my other rant post.


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## K.B. (Sep 7, 2012)

sleuth said:


> Is there any decent "grafting for dummies" type resources out there? And you're right. It's the 3-sided management triangle of time, money, and scope. And I have not enough time, not enough money, and too big of a scope (huge dreams and big ideas), I fear.


there are some excellent videos on youtube that will walk you through different grafting techniques. I recently posted a link to a Dave Wilson nursery video that was for bark grafting, but there are plenty of others for whip grafting or other techniques.


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## FarmChix (Mar 3, 2013)

I have had great luck with Henry Fields' fruit trees.


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## kudzuvine (Aug 11, 2011)

my local monthly flea market has two vendors with trees/plants that are very healthy. First of Oct. will be going to buy pear trees $8.00 each and they are about 5-6' tall. Price seems unbelievable but it's worth a try....Janet in Mississippi


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

A friend of mine purchased inexpensive trees 5 years ago and is now finally getting fruit. I purchased more expensive trees, got fruit the following year, and I don't regret spending more than she did. 100% of my trees survived, too. I do understand a budget and think you would be better off getting less, but more mature trees. Every year, we usually get another fruit tree and currently have 23.


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## kellyst (Mar 17, 2011)

I see you list your location as Ohio.

I have two recommendations. In fall local nurseries discount their fruit trees - usually up to 50%. I don't know who's local to you. My local nursery is Kah nursery - in Jackson Center, Ohio. Their website usually announces their sales.

In the spring, your local soil and water conservation district will have a tree sale. The sale is usually in March. Each county's district has different varieties and different prices, so shop around.


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## Laura Zone 5 (Jan 13, 2010)

Another vote on Stark Bros. My trees are AMAZING.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

Get your trees close by, they are acclimated to your area plus they are varieties that do well in your area. Local nurseries are good, many will give you pointers on planting. Mine here will stand behind their plants for 1 year, replace if needed....James


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

sleuth said:


> I planted 14 bare root trees this year, 10 of which I received from the Arbor Day Foundation for my $10 donation and the other 4 which I bought from eBurgess.com.
> 
> Only 4 of the 10 and 1 of the 4 seem to have survived.
> 
> I.


Its not you.
Buying from the Arbor day foundation, is a hit and miss at best.
Last time I bought from them, what they sent me, wasn't seedlings but poorly done branch rootings. None of them lived.
I told them and got my money back.

If you get fruit trees from places like, Raintree and One Green World, you shouldn't have any problems growing them.


Some times, if you live in an area of the country the nurseries know what they are doing, you can get good deals on fruit trees, if you are interested in what they have. 
NW was great for that. Here, not so much.


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## caroline13 (Sep 15, 2013)

sleuth said:


> I planted 14 bare root trees this year, 10 of which I received from the Arbor Day Foundation for my $10 donation and the other 4 which I bought from eBurgess.com.
> 
> Only 4 of the 10 and 1 of the 4 seem to have survived.
> 
> ...


try isons nursery. their muscadine grape vines are great. I ordered the big black/purple ones and the golden. this is their 4th yr and really producing. also rooting alot of them this fall.


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## BigHenTinyBrain (Apr 4, 2013)

Since you are on a budget maybe focus more on fruit bushes for the moment- raspberries, blackberries, black raspberries, elderberries... I have been given all of these and more just by neighbors, often for just a few dollars. They grow from small beginnings, spread, produce young... and then you still have most of your $50 left. 

Now, there was thread a couple weeks ago- someone had been sold plum trees instead of the apples they wanted. Put the word out in your area- you may be surprised with a bunch of unwanted quince bushes or a young tree planted in the wrong place that can be yours for a song (and a lot of sweat equity).


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## theroots (Jul 29, 2013)

Some good free grafting ebooks can be found at free-fruit-tree-books and for another good company that you can purchase quality bare root trees from go see http://www.treesofantiquity.com - they offer lots of older heirloom varieties.


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## bluebird2o2 (Feb 14, 2007)

Lowes has Nice potted fruit trees for 20 to 25 dollars each,Millers is excellent.save the receipts because lowes will replace trees that die.I actually got beautiful plum trees on sale at Walmart for 10 dollars on sale.they had fruit the next year.Home depot usually has decent trees.shop around.


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

Or you can take a hybrid approach.

Buy some really good trees of the varieties you want and then take cuttings from them to clone a whole new set of trees. The good ones that you planted will be bearing fruit before your cuttings will but you might be surprised how quickly a well cared for graft will turn into a tree. 

It will take time or it will take money. Short on time, spend more money. Short on money, spend more time. Or split your time and money and have sections of both.

A friend of mine was showing me some of the apple trees he's been working on and a few freshly grafted bits of "twig". And then he showed me some year old and two year old trees. It really was amazing. 

I guess I should mention that some trees are "patented" or protected by something similar if I have the term wrong. I sort of remember something about 20 years in the back of my mind but that may not be accurate. If you're worried about that, be sure to pick varieties that are "open source" type varieites and you can do all the cloning you want to without worry that you're ripping off someone's breeding concoction that they've patented and protected so that no one can steal their work. It's probably more of an "ethics" thing and you may or may not care. But just mentioning it.


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## mskrieger (May 1, 2012)

Just received Fedco's Tree catalog in the mail today. Very high-quality orchard stock and an incredible variety of apples and pears, all optimal for the northern tier of the US and southern Canada (zones 3 through 6, occasionally zone 7). I think their stock would do well for you in SW Ohio.

Their prices for apple and pear appear to $25/tree, but they will work with you if you want to buy large numbers of trees. They also offer elderberries, blueberries, plums and cherries. 

Even if you're pretty skint now, their catalog is worth a look, if only to know what is out there. $25 isn't a lot for a high-quality fruit tree that will still be bearing for your great-grandkids.


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## bluebird2o2 (Feb 14, 2007)

I just bought AN apple tree from tractor supply its got nice roots and was a potted tree.I bought a few every year as I had some extra money.


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## bluebird2o2 (Feb 14, 2007)

Raspberries and Rhubarb will produce fruit quickly.


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## InHisName (Jan 26, 2006)

we have had great success with the trees from Burnt Ridge Nursery. Not so great with the St. Lawrence nursery...


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## bluebird2o2 (Feb 14, 2007)

I advise people too find out what apple, pear, peach trees look like soo they can be sure they are buying the correct fruit.


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## bruce2288 (Jul 10, 2009)

For good quality cheap trees, I suggest you check out Vaughn nursery. The trees will be bare root, good quality and great priceing. $7 large selection of peaches, some apple and pear. 3-5 ft trees. Very helpful and although a commercial supplier and quite good to deal with as a back yard orchardist.


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## Metalman (Dec 8, 2012)

Wife and I recently attend the 2013 Texas A&M AgriLife Fruit Growers Conference. Speakers identified Vaughn Nursery as a quality operation for peaches suitable for Texas. In fact, Vaughn is one of a few nurseries that was selected to propagate a number of new peach varieties released by TAMU.

I do not want to be overly critical, but I am amazed at how little time so many people invest in learning how to select varieties suitable for their location and then how to plant and care for them. Almost every state has an extension service with lots of great information about growing nut and fruit trees. Start with a Google search for Aggie Horticulture if you don't know how to find the extension service in your state. 

Before you spend any more money on a fruit tree, ask you self a few questions:

Do you understand required chilling hours for fruit trees, and what is the average chilling hours in your area? Anyone who plants fruit tree from anywhere without understanding these concepts is wasting their time and money.

Do you understand the concept of selecting the most suitable root stock for the soils in your area? Far too many sources (especially the big box stores) have no clue what root stock has been used for grafting the trees they want to sell you. They are perfectly happy with the purchaser being as ignorant as they are.

Do you understand how to care from bare root tree between receipt and planting? You can kill a perfectly healthy tree with a few minutes of mishandling.

Do you understand how to identify a container tree that is root bound in the pot and what to do about this problem?

My personal preference is for smaller trees for a variety of reasons. 

Above is not just talk, we are planning on planting 100-150 bare root trees this winter on our 10 acres in Central Texas: 650 average chilling hours, slightly acid soils so peaches and other stone fruits must be on nematode-resistant root stock (Nemagruard/ Nemared). We will be using semi-dwarf MM 111 root stock for apples.

The AgriLife conference cost wife and I $80 each, but we take time to know how we are investing our time and money.


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## K.B. (Sep 7, 2012)

Metalman said:


> Do you understand required chilling hours for fruit trees, and what is the average chilling hours in your area? Anyone who plants fruit tree from anywhere without understanding these concepts is wasting their time and money.


Some great comments and issues in your post, Metalman. I agree with just about every point. I think it is great that you were able to attend the Growers conference and are taking your selections seriously.

The only point I wanted to address is the one about the chilling hours. In my experience there are a number of sources that strongly emphasize selection based on chilling hours for fruit such as apples and others. 

In my experience and others, based on discussion with other growers around the country, this issue is not as critical for the home grower as some may have you believe. If you are looking to go professional and plant an orchard in just a few commercial varieties for market, I agree that it is more of a concern.

Fruit variety profiles (bloom time, hardiness, disease resistance, ripening time, flavor, texture, etc...) are established around the geographical regions that the variety was developed and tested. Many of these characteristics will differ when the variety is grown in a different climate/region.

Some home growers have tested a wide variety of apples and other fruit that would be classified as completely unsuitable based on chilling hours in southern/warmer climates. Often times the tree produces just fine, just at different times of year than would be expected, and may have a different texture and flavor than what would be traditionally described. This isn't necessarily a bad thing for a backyard tree. It just all depends on what you like to eat and are willing to try. Once a person develops some basic grafting skills, trying many different types of fruit trees is very inexpensive and easy to do.


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## semimoonman (Oct 31, 2012)

I second the Fedco recommendation. They are excellent--although you maybe too far south to take advantage of their full range of trees.

If you're handy and on a shoestring, grafting is the way to go. They sell scion wood and rootstock: http://www.fedcoseeds.com/forms/ft36scionOS.pdf


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## sleuth (Aug 31, 2013)

Anyone ever used Summerstone out of TN?
http://www.summerstonenursery.com/


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## Mike in Ohio (Oct 29, 2002)

Sleuth, google Summerstone. I just received their catalog and was thinking about buying some fruit trees from them. F rating from BBB and they were sued by TN attorney general.

Mike


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## Steve in PA (Nov 25, 2011)

sleuth said:


> Anyone ever used Summerstone out of TN?
> http://www.summerstonenursery.com/


Stay away...far, far away. I made he mistake of getting involved with them. Took 2 years for them to "make it right" and it never was. I cut my losses and moved on.

I have no idea how the heck they remain in business.


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## RomeGrower (Feb 27, 2013)

I bought a couple mail order bare root trees from Johnson Nursery in Ellijay, GA our first year. Last year we drove up there and bought the 2 yr old trees we liked. They have done great. We went to a grower that supplies trees and bushes for Georgia growers so I know it should grow in my yard. I've been very happy with them. All are growing and most are blossoming this year now. I was happy to spend $26 a tree. I want good trees. On the other hand, my son and I were at Lowe's late last Fall and they were down to a small huddle of trees left. We got a Georgia Belle peach tree for $5. I couldn't walk away from that deal even though I don't buy trees from a box store. 

One suggestion I can think of is to make friends with a nursery staff/owner and offer your services when it's time to prune (February I think). If you volunteer for a day or two you will learn a lot of the business of growing trees AND perhaps get a few FREE trees or a good discount for doing it.


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