Latest SLN news

[Bowsnbucks]

I just went on SLN's site and they posted the message " We are no longer accepting plant orders for 2015. We are out of stock. Non - plant orders will still be filled. " They also post thanks to all past customers, etc. Check it out. This message came on-line since yesterday. I hope some of their staff take it over & continue to offer great stock !!! Here's hoping:).........

 

[Bowsnbucks]

SLN latest ......... I got an e-mail from Mrs. MacKentley of SLN and she said a younger staff member was going to take over the nursery. She said probably he'll have fewer varieties and will be ready in 2017 or 2018. She also said the current staff has already done some grafting for him for when he takes the reins. So we might still have a good nursery to order from at SLN - but it may take 2 years to get back up to speed. Just a FYI for any interested gents.

 

[bueller]

I was always happy with how SLN was run and the product they produced. Hopefully it will return to form in coming years.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Stu - I agree on the Northrup Mulberry and a few other items like the serviceberry cultivars and the black chokeberries. I'd like to get a couple Wentworth American highbush Cranberry bushes too. They sold out of stock pretty quick ( retirement news, I guess ). Let's hope they carry more than just apples.

 

[chummer]

I ordered from there for the first time this year. Their apples were ok but not as good as cummins. I was really impressed with the hazel nuts. 5-6' tall with huge root systems. I hope they stay open so I can try some more of their varieties other than apples. Although I will also add more of their crab apples.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

SLN's stock wasn't as big and beefy or feathered like Cummins, but it hasn't failed me AT ALL. Their stock has done really well for me at my camp and I have no complaints whatsoever. SLN's Dolgo and All-Winter-Hangover crabs are probably my best looking trees. The Antonovka rootstock SLN uses establishes a tough, hardy root system that'll anchor deeper than most, if not all, other rootstocks. I'd order from them ANYTIME. I wouldn't worry, Chummer. Year 2 is when they took off for me. Year 3 - looking great !!:)

 

[sandbur]

SLN's stock wasn't as big and beefy or feathered like Cummins, but it hasn't failed me AT ALL. Their stock has done really well for me at my camp and I have no complaints whatsoever. SLN's Dolgo and All-Winter-Hangover crabs are probably my best looking trees. The Antonovka rootstock SLN uses establishes a tough, hardy root system that'll anchor deeper than most, if not all, other rootstocks. I'd order from them ANYTIME. I wouldn't worry, Chummer. Year 2 is when they took off for me. Year 3 - looking great !!:)

I was a bit disappointed with my SLN order last year, but some of the slow growers from last year are showing lots of green. Probably as much as all of last summer.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Bur - I remember reading somewhere that Antonovka rootstocks ( like SLN uses ) spend the first year building a root system. Not so much on top growth. The ones I have at camp didn't do much the first year either, but year 2 & 3 have been really good for growth. Hang in there - my 3rd year trees from SLN are beauties !!

 

[sandbur]

Bur - I remember reading somewhere that Antonovka rootstocks ( like SLN uses ) spend the first year building a root system. Not so much on top growth. The ones I have at camp didn't do much the first year either, but year 2 & 3 have been really good for growth. Hang in there - my 3rd year trees from SLN are beauties !!

I have to say that the roots did not impress me at all.

I have some almost 30 year old trees on antanovka and they are doing fine. It seems like the person I purchased from had some connections with sln. The old catalog has similar descriptions of varieties.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

The roots on my SLN trees didn't have all the fine, hairy roots of the B-118 and MM-111 rootstocks, but I think the Antonovka roots are more " carrot - like " and thick. I read someone else describing them like that on another thread and in an article written by a Cornell professor I believe. But all of mine have sure grown well despite not being as big and " hairy " as the B-118 and the MM-111's were. I don't know what difference your soil vs. mine might make in root establishment.

 

[chummer]

5 out of 6 of my SLN crabs are showing life. One looks like a goner. They were planted two weeks ago. My cummins trees planted last week are leafed out and looking great. Hopefully a week of rain and they will catch up. Put the cages on all of them yesterday. Despite being unprotected fro 1-2 weeks not a single branch was nipped.:(

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Chummer - That's good & bad news at the same time. I'll bet the more food sources you get established, the more deer you'll have around. My camp - and several other camps near ours - have all taken to planting plots and fruit trees for the deer & turkeys. At first we didn't see a stark change in numbers, but once the deer / turkeys find the food, the population starts to grow. I don't think it was all from new births, but some " grapevine communication " of some sort. We would be seeing 3 or 4 deer and all of a sudden, there were 12 to 15 within a day or 2. Keep the faith - good food, good cover = critters !!

My SLN trees typically lag the Cummins & ACN trees a bit, but have not failed at all. I think it's the nature of Antonovka rootstock to build deep roots first as opposed to fast top growth. After 3 years, the SLN trees are doing REAL WELL !!

 

[chummer]

Chummer - That's good & bad news at the same time. I'll bet the more food sources you get established, the more deer you'll have around. My camp - and several other camps near ours - have all taken to planting plots and fruit trees for the deer & turkeys. At first we didn't see a stark change in numbers, but once the deer / turkeys find the food, the population starts to grow. I don't think it was all from new births, but some " grapevine communication " of some sort. We would be seeing 3 or 4 deer and all of a sudden, there were 12 to 15 within a day or 2. Keep the faith - good food, good cover = critters !!

My SLN trees typically lag the Cummins & ACN trees a bit, but have not failed at all. I think it's the nature of Antonovka rootstock to build deep roots first as opposed to fast top growth. After 3 years, the SLN trees are doing REAL WELL !!

I am okay with it for now. I have a couple hundred unprotected shrubs, at least they should get established. All of my native apples are loaded with blossoms this year. If all goes well they should draw some deer in. It is easily the largest number of apples trees I know of within in a few miles.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

2 years ago I planted about a 8 apple trees from SLN behind my house in SE MN and last weekend half of them had flowers already. When I planted these trees 2 years ago I had to chip the frozen soil with a pick axe, so maybe that cold start helped them out. I don't want to stunt the trees by allowing all the fruit to develop, but I might leave one apple on each tree. I'm surprised how quickly these trees have grown compared to the trees I planted on my hunting land in NW WI (both properties have sandy loams with OM's around 2%). Since these trees are closer to my house, I've been able to spread leaves and grass clippings around them more frequently than my trees in WI, so that might be the reason they're doing so much better.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

Ben, depending on where in SE MN and NW WI....I'd also say the extra 2-3 weeks (or more) of growing season is a large factor. I've been surprised how much more growing season there is from the Kenyon/Dodge Center/West Concord area than there is here. Down there, it seems they get nearly the same amount of growing season as I used to get in southcentral WI.

That true - having a couple extra weeks of growth every year definitely helps. My trees in SE MN are a little more protected from winter winds as well, so that also might give them an advantage over my Rusk County trees. I have an 8 year old pine/spruce planting on the north side of my Rusk County orchard and I'm hoping that will help the trees up there in the future. My 10' tall windbreak doesn't help much yet, but eventually it should block some wind.

I'm really happy to see how well my fruit trees are doing in SE MN, but I'd be even happier if I could figure out how to figure out how I could get the same success in Rusk County. I'm guessing there's a reason why there are a lot of commercial apple orchards in SE MN and very few (if any) in Rusk County.