Planting apple trees

Jstpssng · Nov 25, 2018

If you can find bare root trees for that little money, I want the name of the company. 25-30$ is the going price for bare root from all of the nurseries that I am aware of.

Diggin It · Nov 25, 2018

I put in a dozen of a mix of varieties, MacIntosh, Yellow Delicious, Blush and a couple of Pear trees (no partdridge). Tried to make sure they would all cross with each other. Found them on year end closeout for about 10 bucks each. I have no idea if they'll leaf out next year or not, but I don't expect fruit for at least 3 years.

Deere Dude · Nov 25, 2018

Bare roots for me are a way to waste a couple years. I never have any luck with them. II must be doing something wrong, for sure. Give me a couple gallon pot any day.

gimmodog · Nov 25, 2018

The Rural King here always has a nice assortment of fruit trees 5 to 6 feet tall each spring

Deerherd · Nov 25, 2018

I planted 30 fruit trees using the excavator. Large holes to promote good root growth the first year. Also bought larger grown in the same zone fruit trees. Need lots of water the first year and I also large cages to keep the deer out!

RNeumann · Nov 25, 2018

Jstpssng said:
If you can find bare root trees for that little money, I want the name of the company. 25-30$ is the going price for bare root from all of the nurseries that I am aware of.

Sorry I lied. The 2’ 3/8” are $1.55 each. That’s the most expensive in that variety. I’ve purchased from this guy for years. He is retiring (after like 30-40 years or something) but I’m sure their are others in your region.

http://www.lawyernursery.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/LawyerNurseryFruitTreesRootstocks.pdf

You can see by the link those are 2017 prices

fishheadbob · Nov 25, 2018

Jstpssng said:
If you can find bare root trees for that little money, I want the name of the company. 25-30$ is the going price for bare root from all of the nurseries that I am aware of.

That price seems high, I grow a different tree commercially. I googled wholesale apple seedlings then went to the first site that wasn't something at the top of the listings and had paid for the top spot. Anyways, I found bare root seedlings in technical language (stuff like M62 rootstock) I don't speak in apple, selling for maybe $10 or $11 bucks in lots of 25.

BoylermanCT · Nov 25, 2018

A trick to watering new trees is to use 5 gallon buckets with a 1/16" hole on one edge of the bottom of the bucket. Place the hole closest to the tree trunk and let it drain out. In CT they recommend 15 gallons a week, so I would do 3 buckets in a row so I knew exactly how much water each tree received. When you setup a sprinkler, you really have no idea how much water is being absorbed by the tree as you are watering the grass, weeds etc.

plowhog · Nov 25, 2018

This is all incredibly good information-- thank you. I have burrowing creatures everywhere-- mounds and holes but I have no idea what they are. So I will do the gopher cages. And ditto with fencing to protect them from deer, at least until they get much larger.

A family member planted some apple trees about 6 years ago. They all survived and I am surprised the gophers did not get them. I had no idea about the cross-pollination. I've never done this before and obviously have much to learn!

Jstpssng · Nov 25, 2018

RNeumann said:
Sorry I lied. The 2’ 3/8” are $1.55 each. That’s the most expensive in that variety. I’ve purchased from this guy for years. He is retiring (after like 30-40 years or something) but I’m sure their are others in your region.

http://www.lawyernursery.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/LawyerNurseryFruitTreesRootstocks.pdf

You can see by the link those are 2017 prices

That's the root stock; if you want a specific apple you need to graft onto it which sets you back another year or two... assuming the graft takes.
Apples can only be propogated by grafting (cloning) if you are trying to get a certain species; I forgot the term but like any hybrid, they don't reproduce true to form from seed.

fishheadbob said:
That price seems high, I grow a different tree commercially. I googled wholesale apple seedlings then went to the first site that wasn't something at the top of the listings and had paid for the top spot. Anyways, I found bare root seedlings in technical language (stuff like M62 rootstock) I don't speak in apple, selling for maybe $10 or $11 bucks in lots of 25.

If you are buying commercially you're getting a better price. See my comment above if you are planting rootstock, hoping to have a commercial orchard. Standard, M111, Bud118, G11,... all refer to the size the tree should get when full grown. The first of course is a full sized tree, the next two are "semi dwarf", while the last is a dwarf or "ladderless" tree.