Frequently asked questions:
-How big are the fruit trees I am buying?
The average trees are around 4 to 8 feet tall. Last year the Whitney Crab apple trees were about 9 feet, and the Frostbite Apple trees were about 4 or 5 feet tall. Every group of trees vary a little bit. Keep in mind the taller tree is not always the best tree for transplanting do to the possibility of the wind taking a hold of a larger tree that has not been rooted in yet versus a smaller tree.
Do you ship trees?
Absolutely not! Have you seen what the delivery people can do to a small box, imagine what would happen to a tree!
-When will my tree bare fruit?
This is a loaded question with many of the variables being in the hands of the tree owner. If the tree is taken care of and cared for correctly, you could possibly see blossoms the first year it’s planted. If this occurs, we recommend picking the flowers or fruit off the tree, as fruiting on a transplanted tree will cause a hormonal imbalances that will hurt the tree.
-How do you plant a tree?
We recommend taking our “tree planting class” we have in the spring before you pick up your trees. You will learn more in an hour from our instructors than you could possibly learn in days of reading. If you can’t make it to your class or it is full for the season, www.youtube.com is a great video resource for watching hands on planting. Classes do fill up early so sign up soon!
-Can I re-plant my tree in the same hole where my tree died?
No! A common but less known problem is called “tree planting syndrome” and you can read about it .”> Either dig out 5 feet of soil (yea right!), move the new try 5 feet over, or wait 5 years for the soil to fix itself.
-Will my tree’s fit in my car, truck, or do I need to rent a trailer?
Please don’t bring your car to pick up your trees unless you either don’t care about your tree, or don’t care about your car. These do not fit in your trunk! We can usually squeeze about a dozen trees in a minivan, and many many more than that in a truck. Don’t bother bringing a trailer if you have a truck, as the trees can hang out over the tailgate just fine. Call me if you have any questions on loading/transporting.
-How will my bare root trees survive the drive home?
We have mulched wet straw on site for you to surround your tree roots on their voyage home. We recommend a large (32 to 55 gallon) garbage bag per 4 trees to keep the wind and sun off of them.
-How long do I have to get the trees in the ground once I pick them up?
Being that we are soaking the roots for you before you pick them up, you can plant them right when you get home, or keep the roots submerged for UP TO 24 hours maximum (a stock tank or pond works fine). Roots do need to breath, but if they dry out it is extremely detrimental to the health of the tree. Leaving them underwater for a “few days” or planting them a few days later is not recommended.
-When do I prune my fruit trees?
We recommend pruning your trees while they are dormant, sometime in February. There are many different approaches to pruning fruit trees. Once again, www.Youtube.com is a great resource for how to prune your trees.
-Do you sell Fuji, Mac, Red Delicious, etc? No we don’t. The reason we don’t sell a lot of varieties of fruit trees is because they don’t grow here. If ordering, make sure to take a look at the USDA zone map on our main page to see what zone you live in.
– Where are you located and what are your hours? We are located at 219 Kettner Drive in Carlton MN 55718. We are about half a mile south of town on the right hand side. Hours are by appointment only (unless it’s a tree pickup weekend) by calling us at 218-391-1113.
-Can you tell me what kind of tree I have now? Often we get calls asking to ID a variety and description. It is very hard to know exactly what a tree is unless it has been tested. There are over 7500 known cultivars of apples registered to date, and countless more that we don’t know about.
-Do trees like wet soil No they do not. Standing water will kill a tree. Also, do a simple percolation test to see if water drains away from the area you are planting the tree.
-How far abpart do you plant fruit trees? There is no exact answer because all of the trees grow to different sizes. For orchard planning we try to stay 20 feet apart with semidwarf root stock trees.
What rootstock are the apple trees? All of our apple trees are on Semi-dwarf (M7) rootstock besides the 4 types of Crabapples, Northern lights, and Prarie Magic (they are standard height trees)