Zone 3 trees
- Thread starter archer100
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H20fwler
5 year old buck +
Cummins Nursery out of NY is a good source too.
http://www.cumminsnursery.com/north.htm
Some of the northern members on here can help you out with what DR variety's will work best in your area.
http://www.cumminsnursery.com/north.htm
Some of the northern members on here can help you out with what DR variety's will work best in your area.
Last edited:
Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
I'll second the recommendation for St. Lawrence Nursery ( SLN ). They're in Potsdam N.Y. right up against the Canadian border. They specialize in zone 3 cold-hardy apples and crabs. They say if they can't grow it at their nursery - they won't sell it.
I've purchased quite a few apples and crabs from SLN and every one survived and is growing well. Their 2 or 3 top selling crabs are All-Winter-Hangover, Winter Wildlife crab <( this one they'll have for spring 2019 again ), and Trailman. They also carry Violi's Hanging crab, which is a good one too. Just type in stlawrencenurseries.com and take a look. They also have other fruit trees beside apples and crabs. They list plums, pears, apricots, Juneberries / Serviceberries, several nut trees and seedling fruit trees (not grafted).
I've purchased quite a few apples and crabs from SLN and every one survived and is growing well. Their 2 or 3 top selling crabs are All-Winter-Hangover, Winter Wildlife crab <( this one they'll have for spring 2019 again ), and Trailman. They also carry Violi's Hanging crab, which is a good one too. Just type in stlawrencenurseries.com and take a look. They also have other fruit trees beside apples and crabs. They list plums, pears, apricots, Juneberries / Serviceberries, several nut trees and seedling fruit trees (not grafted).
buckvelvet
5 year old buck +
In addition to starting with hardy trees, you really need to remember to paint the SW side of the trunks with 50:50 white latex paint to water mixture in the fall. This prevents damage to the bark in late winter when the sun warms the SW side of the tree in day and freezes at night. I planted trees for several years that I thought were simply not hardy enough for NW WI since the bark would crack and several trees would die every year. Since I've been painting the SW side of the trees my survival rate is around 95%, which is good enough for me.
My land is right on the imaginary pear boundary line because even some of the hardy pear trees from SLN seem to struggle. I have a couple that are doing good, but more died outright. I'm done experimenting with pears there, so I stick with hardy crabapples and standard apples which are much tougher. I've planted the crabapples listed by Bowsnbucks and they are great. If you stick with the standard trees with the coldest hardiness rankings they will likely do fine too. SLN still has a lot of apples available now, so you can still order some in time to get them in the ground this spring. I just wouldn't wait too long. Good luck-
My land is right on the imaginary pear boundary line because even some of the hardy pear trees from SLN seem to struggle. I have a couple that are doing good, but more died outright. I'm done experimenting with pears there, so I stick with hardy crabapples and standard apples which are much tougher. I've planted the crabapples listed by Bowsnbucks and they are great. If you stick with the standard trees with the coldest hardiness rankings they will likely do fine too. SLN still has a lot of apples available now, so you can still order some in time to get them in the ground this spring. I just wouldn't wait too long. Good luck-
cavey
5 year old buck +
Their giving you some good sources .... Since your north and west of most everyone here, there are also nurseries and great sources for root stock out in Oregon like Willamette nursery ; most of us don't think of that area as sources for trees due to shipping costs... Lawyer nursery is one that will ship retail also. Washington and Oregon are apple tree central so there has to be a ton of local nurseries out there. Alpha nursery out of mich has an awesome number of varieties of wildlife friendly shrubs and trees. Your pretty cold up there from what I remember, winter starts 2nd week of October and last till the beginning of May, plus that funky cracking clay soil up there... burr oaks and popular trees - a solid zone 3 if not a 2 up by metigoshe... so be looking for the hardiest of trees... you might even want to look into shrubs as source food for the deer up there.
rocksnstumps
5 year old buck +
I have worked out in the Pacific NW in the winter and way milder then even where I live in WI much less zone 3. I would be concerned about winter hardiness from anything out there being planted in ND.
And persimmon, forget it. My 0.02 cents
And persimmon, forget it. My 0.02 cents
cavey
5 year old buck +
I have bought root stock and trees from the nw for close to 2 decades with little issues as long as the trees are usda rated for this area... yes it’s always better to have trees raised from local stock but realistically that isn’t always practical... chosing a quality supplier is more important. Focus on cold hardiness I know the area your in and it can be a tough place to grow (impossible for some plants)the variety of trees you may want
nwmn
5 year old buck +
Or rather grafted.
rocksnstumps
5 year old buck +
Willamette Nursery being in yes the Willamette Valley is a rather mild climate. Just looked it up, zone 8b. And the OP is in zone 3. And for example white oaks grow from Texas all the way to WI but I'm not gonna buy "quality" trees from Texas, just say'n. Each his own but why take the risk.
sandbur
5 year old buck +
I will give a longer post in a bit. At work for now. Look at the Canadian Prairie apples. Check Bergeron nursery and Huls nursery for suggestions.
I like dolgo or some of the crab rootstocks.
More later.
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cavey
5 year old buck +
"Quality" trees from Texas"
There is a big difference between planting a southern oak up north where mother nature didn't intend it to grow and buying fruit trees already genetically predisposed to grow up north. He's pushed up against the Canadian border - there are not many US nurseries north of him, its in a pretty cold and wind swept area, with heavy clay that shrinks to point it cracks open. Ive stuck sticks down into them 6 feet and never hit bottom. He's most likely going to have to buy from nurseries in higher usda zones. Many of which buy their root stocks and parental stock from wholesalers out of the NW. Once he is schooled up on what can grow up there, which from his question I think may be the most important first step - there are plenty of good economically sound places to buy trees from and planting supplies to his west. Shipping from the east coast is more expensive, added time in transit equates to dead and stressed trees (save money, buy more, same quality). A lot of our local WI. nurseries get their stock from wholesalers as close as baileys to all the way out east and the west coast... As a general rule you should never buy stock from south of your postal zone, pretty tough when your a couple miles from the border. Getting him some zone 2 and supper hardy zone 3 tree sources without spending a fortune might be key... He's going to lose trees initially just because of how harsh it is out there to get plants started... and as an after thought of having hunted out there in an area loaded with oaks and popular but not much else .. some added wildlife shrubs for brows would go far.... Im just saying sometimes $$$ you can over look where the trees are coming from when the growers have a known reputation for good trees that grow well in the areas that God originally intended them to grow in despite being propagated in a warmer local.
There is a big difference between planting a southern oak up north where mother nature didn't intend it to grow and buying fruit trees already genetically predisposed to grow up north. He's pushed up against the Canadian border - there are not many US nurseries north of him, its in a pretty cold and wind swept area, with heavy clay that shrinks to point it cracks open. Ive stuck sticks down into them 6 feet and never hit bottom. He's most likely going to have to buy from nurseries in higher usda zones. Many of which buy their root stocks and parental stock from wholesalers out of the NW. Once he is schooled up on what can grow up there, which from his question I think may be the most important first step - there are plenty of good economically sound places to buy trees from and planting supplies to his west. Shipping from the east coast is more expensive, added time in transit equates to dead and stressed trees (save money, buy more, same quality). A lot of our local WI. nurseries get their stock from wholesalers as close as baileys to all the way out east and the west coast... As a general rule you should never buy stock from south of your postal zone, pretty tough when your a couple miles from the border. Getting him some zone 2 and supper hardy zone 3 tree sources without spending a fortune might be key... He's going to lose trees initially just because of how harsh it is out there to get plants started... and as an after thought of having hunted out there in an area loaded with oaks and popular but not much else .. some added wildlife shrubs for brows would go far.... Im just saying sometimes $$$ you can over look where the trees are coming from when the growers have a known reputation for good trees that grow well in the areas that God originally intended them to grow in despite being propagated in a warmer local.
rocksnstumps
5 year old buck +
With a challenging environment to grow stuff I would stack the deck both ways and look at cold hardy varieties and sourcing close such as MN and ND nurseries with a little google help instead of buying from a source FIVE zones different out NW. And please, winters the last 25 yrs in WI are a joke. People get excited when there is 20"+ of ice instead of talking about adding extensions to your ice auger to get beyond 36".
sandbur
5 year old buck +
The old gentleman at Bergerson Nursery once told me that he has an old Trail crab that has proven very hardy. He may have passed on.
Bergeron nursery also has an old post of Facebook about 10 hardy apple varieties for northern Mn. Maybe someone can find the link.
Chestnut crab was on the list.
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Bergeron nursery also has an old post of Facebook about 10 hardy apple varieties for northern Mn. Maybe someone can find the link.
Chestnut crab was on the list.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
chummer
5 year old buck +
I would recommend SLN over Cummins. I am a few years into planting now and their trees have out performed Cummins and are now leaving them in their dust. Don't push your zone rating. I have many dead trees that I knew were border line when I planted them and even some that should have been fine. If you get a harsh winter the first couple years those border line trees will be toast. If I was at your location I wouldn't consider anything but zone 3 trees. After you have success and figure out the process, experiment with questionable varieties. Failure rate is high with border line trees but some surprise you. My best pear is a $3 clearance zone 5 pear. It is growing great next to my dead, zone 4 pears Cummins specifically picked for my area. My picks would be Kerr, Dolgo, frostbite, and any of the SNL crabs.
