Blue Hill Nursery

[rocksnstumps]

Sigh! Snooze you lose. No Big Dog, No Buckman, No Dolgo rootstocks left.

Did get a couple Turning Point and a few Chestnut crabs to feed the addiction for next spring. Had a Chestnut not wake up after winter was a 3rd or 4th leaf and the other one I had planted same time had the top ripped outta it last fall by some critter and lost half the tree.

 

[Diesel5610]

That is interesting Diesel. Are you transplanting from ground dug plants or pots/ rootmakers?

I start all my grafts in rootmakers and keep them in front of the garage on the driveway. They get watered with the flowers all summer and then I plant them in their final location when they go dormant around the end of October. It has worked out well so far.

 

[blueKYstream]

I planted pears last March/April and apples in the same general area last October/November. Most of the apples (1 year old) are currently bigger than pears (1.5) which surprised me a bit. I lost a couple trees with the Spring planting and none with the Fall planting for what it's worth. I'm zone 6. I'd have no hesitation about fall plantings.

 

[homerj]

General recommendation is fall planting zone 5 and warmer. Spring planting zone 4 or colder.

 

[Tree Spud]

General recommendation is fall planting zone 5 and warmer. Spring planting zone 4 or colder.

Exactly

 

[Diesel5610]

General recommendation is fall planting zone 5 and warmer. Spring planting zone 4 or colder.

I knew fall planting was a viable option, guess I didn’t think about the zones making a difference. Makes sense.


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[SmallChunk]

I did 4-5 trees a couple of years ago in East central MN and had good luck. I will be doing about 100 of them this fall due to all my spring grafts being at a location that was sold.

 

[Chainsaw]

I did 4-5 trees a couple of years ago in East central MN and had good luck. I will be doing about 100 of them this fall due to all my spring grafts being at a location that was sold.

That will be an interesting test SmallChunk, will you wait for full dormancy or start as soon as the leaves are done? Hope everything works out for you on it. I think I’ll try just a few; it sure would be nice if it worked. Sometimes conventional wisdom is off base, hopefully that is the case. If not it will just be another small swing and a miss. Could keep myself and hunting group busy after we shoot our bucks each year assuming of course.

edit, interesting link. https://www.purdue.edu/hla/sites/yardandgarden/fall-ideal-for-planting-trees/

 

[rocksnstumps]

Good luck SC. I have read for colder zones bare root fall planting is not recommended but ok for plugs, potted, and balled and burlap trees. I can say that plugs planted in the fall do fine, dont know about about other methods

 

[buckdeer1]

Not much left,oh well I was going to cut down some male persimmions

 

[Apple Junkie]

Good link chainsaw... thanks for the heads-up.

 

[woodduck]

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[Oaknut]

Chainsaw,

I have a couple of your Turning Point crabs on order and I wonder if you might elaborate a bit about the color and the flavor. In the photos of your tree on Ryan's website, the winter fruit looks a nice, brite red, but can you give me some idea when it colors up in the fall, and is it brite red then, as well? And is it tart or sweet, or somewhere in-between?

Have you ever tried making cider with it? If so, how was it?

Thanks

 

[Chainsaw]

Yes the Turning Point apples do look red against the snow but actually they are orange in the picture on the Blue Hill site. The orange comes later well after it has ripened. It is an over ripe color which goes throughout the apple inside and out. Here is a close up look at Turning Points color as of yesterday.


I have not eaten the Turning Point apple when it first ripens but have drank the juice from its winter picked apples. The juice had a kick to it but each sip made me want more. Not knowing if apples hanging on a vine five months after ripening are safe to eat I settled for just a small taste. I have not made cider so don’t know if that wonderful taste will come thru if used in making cider.

 

[Oaknut]

Chainsaw,

Thanks for the photo and information, looks like a good crop this year.

So Turning Point fruit is green when ripe, and then turns orange/brown after a couple of freeze-thaw cycles?

 

[Chainsaw]

Turning Point apples do redden up some, but I have no clue how red they get before the frosts as normally from this time of year on we do not go anywhere on the property unless it is setting a camera, hunting or checking for trespassers. Turning Point is visible from our sunroom but is well over a hundred yards away so while the deer are seen visiting the tree regularly during daytimes in November and until spring green up, the actual date of peak ripeness Is not something we pay attention to since the tree is not one we would pick apples from. Turning Point basically devoted to the deer. I’m going to post more about Turning Point on my thread Apples, Apples and More Apples in a day or two. I feel like I’m hijacking this thread and don’t mean to so we can continue on Turning Point over there if you‘d like.

 

[Oaknut]

Chainsaw,

Thanks for your help.

I have some of Sandbur's Buckman crab on order, and some Kerr. Just trying to figure out what to plant where. I like to be able to see a few red apples hanging in the snow, a bit of color in the white winter landscape. I'll watch your Apples and More Apples thread.

 

[Mortenson]

I picked the wrong week to go on vacation. The interesting ones were gone when I got back. My question is - is anyone else doing what Blue Hill is doing, with all the wild trees being grafted and geared toward deer? Seems he really goes after those wild pears and crabs. I know NWC and St. Lawrence do to maybe a lesser extent. What else is out there?

 

[woodduck]

I picked the wrong week to go on vacation. The interesting ones were gone when I got back. My question is - is anyone else doing what Blue Hill is doing, with all the wild trees being grafted and geared toward deer? Seems he really goes after those wild pears and crabs. I know NWC and St. Lawrence do to maybe a lesser extent. What else is out there?

Unfortunately for a lot of folks Blue Hill sold out of most of their stock in just a few hours.
To answer your question, I don't think there is a lot of wildlife nurseries out there. Like you mentioned, NWC, St. Lawrence & Wildlife Group come to mind.
Ryan spends a lot of time searching out and watching these crabs & Pears. He plans to increase his stock next for year. Hopefully at some point he can do this full time. It's hard for a guy to work a full time job, raise a family & start a nursery all at the same time. Hopefully next year you'll be able to get an order in. I was late to the party last year and didn't get all of what I wanted and had to wait until this year to order them. I feel for you, Waiting a whole year isnt much fun.

 

[Mortenson]

We need Turkey to dabble in a few more of these exotics! I think he sold a few of Bur's dog crabs a while back, but haven't seen any lately.