Prof.Kent
5 year old buck +
I bought fruit trees from Cummins Nursery, Stark Bros. Nursery, and Grandpa's Nursery. I have used them all in the past.
I have no complaints with any of the trees. (I have noticed that trees from Cummins are typically smaller, but that is to be expected since they sell out every year so you're rarely going to get older trees. If you think I'm wrong in this assesment, please respond.)
My problem is with how the trees from Stark's were wrapped. 4' tall boxes were used since the trees were fairly tall. All bare rooted trees. Seems the roots were pruned back rather severely. The trees were then placed in a plastic bag 4' long, some wet chopped newspaper added on the roots (supposedly) and then the plastic bag was loosely tucked into the box. The bag was not tied around the root balls or trees. In shipping, the wet paper gets scattered all over inside the bag. All roots were drying out. I received my Stark's order in two separate boxes and they were both packaged the same way.
Cummings Nursery stapled a black plastic bag very securely around the root balls and tight to the trunks, wet medium was added inside the bag, and also a bamboo stick. The trees were tied to the bamboo to keep from shifting around in the box and to keep the trees from being bent in case of bad handling by FedEX. No dehydration possible. Wrapped like this these trees, stored in a cool, dark place could last weeks.
Grandpa's Nursery trees were shipped in a large box like Stark's did, with root balls on either end of the box. Sphagnum moss was used as a wetting medium (great for filling the hole the tree goes into also, as both mulch and moister retentive material for the tree's first year. The bag was tied securely about 5 times to keep the moss around the roots and preventing it from shifting about the box. All wet medium was still in contact with the roots even after all shipping & handling. Good job.
My advice: If you buy from Stark's make sure you open the box immediately upon receiving it and put the roots in a bucket of water for a few hours before planting or re-wrapping or healing-in for planting a bit later. The roots will have been stressed due to drying. Last year my Stark's order was shipped the same way and I did not open the box on receipt and it took me a week to plant them. They were stored in a cool, dark shed. About 2 of 12 trees died and several were stressed due to, I believe, dried roots.
I have no complaints with any of the trees. (I have noticed that trees from Cummins are typically smaller, but that is to be expected since they sell out every year so you're rarely going to get older trees. If you think I'm wrong in this assesment, please respond.)
My problem is with how the trees from Stark's were wrapped. 4' tall boxes were used since the trees were fairly tall. All bare rooted trees. Seems the roots were pruned back rather severely. The trees were then placed in a plastic bag 4' long, some wet chopped newspaper added on the roots (supposedly) and then the plastic bag was loosely tucked into the box. The bag was not tied around the root balls or trees. In shipping, the wet paper gets scattered all over inside the bag. All roots were drying out. I received my Stark's order in two separate boxes and they were both packaged the same way.
Cummings Nursery stapled a black plastic bag very securely around the root balls and tight to the trunks, wet medium was added inside the bag, and also a bamboo stick. The trees were tied to the bamboo to keep from shifting around in the box and to keep the trees from being bent in case of bad handling by FedEX. No dehydration possible. Wrapped like this these trees, stored in a cool, dark place could last weeks.
Grandpa's Nursery trees were shipped in a large box like Stark's did, with root balls on either end of the box. Sphagnum moss was used as a wetting medium (great for filling the hole the tree goes into also, as both mulch and moister retentive material for the tree's first year. The bag was tied securely about 5 times to keep the moss around the roots and preventing it from shifting about the box. All wet medium was still in contact with the roots even after all shipping & handling. Good job.
My advice: If you buy from Stark's make sure you open the box immediately upon receiving it and put the roots in a bucket of water for a few hours before planting or re-wrapping or healing-in for planting a bit later. The roots will have been stressed due to drying. Last year my Stark's order was shipped the same way and I did not open the box on receipt and it took me a week to plant them. They were stored in a cool, dark shed. About 2 of 12 trees died and several were stressed due to, I believe, dried roots.