Bare root pear tree question

[ToddG]

I just received 3 bare root pear trees from The Wildlife Group and they were leafing out when I unboxed them. I planted them yesterday but was wondering if the cold weather will kill them?
Thanks

 

[Prof.Kent]

What do you call cold weather?

 

[ToddG]

What do you call cold weather?

Mid to upper 20s for night time lows.

 

[chickenlittle]

They might survive but will certainly be stressed. I would have held off planting until after last frost. Put in garage or basement with some moist potting soil on roots.

Native Nurseries sent me pear and strawberry bush seedlings in January one year (who ships to PA in January!). They leafed out before the ground thawed. I put out the strawberry bush in april and lost all of them. I waited into May to plant the pear and those survived.

 

[Prof.Kent]

Agree with chickenlittle. If small enough you could box or bag them for some added protection for a few weeks.

 

[ToddG]

Thanks for the info. The weather forecast show lows around 31 worst case for the next 2 weeks with highs in the 50s and 60s.
I emailed the Wildlife Group and they said it may stunt them but they should survive. I have already planted, screened and fenced them so pulling them back up would take some time. I think I might just let it ride and hope for the best. I will post pictures in spring with the results.

 

[Someday isle]

Great question. Mine came today and I’m planting on Saturday. We don’t have too much danger of extreme cold anymore so I’m not too concerned. I just left them in the box in my garage and will unpack them on Saturday. I’m treating them like it took three days to ship instead of two.

 

[cavey]

Another option, You could also just pot them depending on the root size... bring them back into your garage for a bit or a shed; you'll likely cut them back a bit anyways so they should'nt be all that tall. Im going to assume your weather will be breaking faster than ours up here. We have another month plus till the ground is good to go. You might have to wait till the fall to get them out of pots but you could heel the pots in through the summer. My guess is you would have been fine with wet sawdust or as stated potting soil in a cold corner of the garage for a bit.

 

[chickenlittle]

I like to open the box ASAP. Sometimes the roots aren't as moist as they should be. Better to open and make sure.

 

[Prof.Kent]

Great question. Mine came today and I’m planting on Saturday. We don’t have too much danger of extreme cold anymore so I’m not too concerned. I just left them in the box in my garage and will unpack them on Saturday. I’m treating them like it took three days to ship instead of two.

A lesson I have learned. Always open the box of bare root trees immediately. Some nurseries do a poor job of wrapping trees. If the hair roots dry out they die. The roots that is. But it still effects the tree's health and vigor. If enough damage is done to the hair-roots the tree will die.

 

[Turkey Creek]

Personally I wouldnt put them in a regular pot. Get the lower grade bags that will break down in the soil so that you can just slit the bag and plant the whole thing. Pears dont respond well to repeated plantings.

 

[Someday isle]

Ha - exciting news. I got an email today from my credit card company. They were asking if I ordered $3,365 worth of fruit trees. Apparently that’s what The wildlife group attempted to charge me for 10 barefoot fruit trees. I of course called them immediately and they’re supposed to take care of it tomorrow. For that price they better bear lots of fruit.

 

[Charles Clear]

Ha ha I don't know if that's the normal for them or not, but my order was placed for 5 late bearing pears with the click n ship online ordering system. 3 weeks passed and my card was never charged. I called them and they never hear of me or my order number I was given at checkout. I decided not to order again from them even though I really like the trees they offer.

 

[Prof.Kent]

Ha - exciting news. I got an email today from my credit card company. They were asking if I ordered $3,365 worth of fruit trees. Apparently that’s what The wildlife group attempted to charge me for 10 barefoot fruit trees. I of course called them immediately and they’re supposed to take care of it tomorrow. For that price they better bear lots of fruit.

Ahhh, those must be the Magic Golden Apple variety. Very rare and expensive.

 

[g squared 23]

If they say plant them, then plant them and document where they're at. Nurseries worth their salt will replace dead trees.

I've got late dropping pears ordered from TWG and I can't wait to get them in the ground and see what they will do.


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[H20fwler]

I think they will be OK, if you loose any leaves from hard frost I think they will push new ones.

I have had nothing but good experiences with Wildlife Group, trees have done great and Allen is very easy to talk with and will help you out with any questions.

 

[Someday isle]

I planted my ten pear trees today. They too were leafed out but I just pinched off most of the leaves anyway since I just wanted a straight leader and I want all of the energy to go into top growth anyway. It was very muddy. My biggest concern was really that I might have been putting too much water in the hole. We’ve had drought like conditions all winter but then the last few weeks it’s just rained and rained. It’s just plain muddy now. I had taken out a five gallon bucket for each tree at planting. I put in half the bucket after the hole was half filled with dirt and then the rest of the bucket on top of the filled hole. While I’m certainly concerned about over water8ng I just didn’t feel like I could over water them at planting. Here’s a pic of the leafed out trees before I caged and tubes them. If you go to the someday island property tour I’m trying to document the process more completely.