Why are trees so expensive...

hoping4septimus

and how the fark am I going to dig the holes the go into.... We need to buy about 5 trees and they were all $199-299 at the nursery yesterday.

~NB~

1. Plant smaller trees. They're cheaper, easier to handle, and have a much higher survival rate.

2. If you remove the soil from the roots before you plant, the hole doesn't have to be deep at all!

http://www.newenglandisa.org/PlantingTreesTheRootWashingWayJimFlott.pdf

http://chesapeakegreen.org/year/2010/handouts/BareRootofthematter.pdf

What kind of trees will you be planting?

 

dirtyred

They're expensive because it takes a YEARS for them to get to the size you see at the nursery.

pugznploons

we paid about $100 for our redbud tree and have been watering it daily since we planted it in May.  I am babying the hell out of it and it is paying off so far.

another KT

Nurseries generally reduce their prices in the fall to get rid of stock so they don't have to overwinter it.

alliapistor

Also - look at the tags (if any) to see where the trees are coming from and research that nursery to see if there are any other distributors in your area that may carry the tree more cheaply.  A major garden center in our area wanted $120 for a dwarf golden delicious, I found a tree from the same nursery at Southern States for $29 and after a coupon from their website got it for $19. 

Ombligo1

Wait until fall, you may get a better deal.  I have a three year old, $7 magnolia that was two sticks when I bought it from Lowes, and is absolutely beautiful now.  Covered in big, giant leaves, and blooms beautifully.  Start checking around!

TarHeels&Rebels

A Tale of Four Trees

My neighbor and I both bought the same specialized maple cultivar this spring.  She spent $180 at a nursery on her two that were about 5' tall.   I spent $30 total on my 10' tall ones on clearance at Lowe's.  Hers have dropped all their leaves and gone dormant from the heat & drought, even with her babying them; one of mine is going strong, the other's looking a little wimpy, but still not terrible.  It's been 100 degrees here for two months and I only water mine every 3rd day or so.

Moral of the story: try HD or Lowe's.  I've shopped nurseries and believe it or not, my plants from HD/Lowe's usually fare better than the nursery plants.  Maybe it's because HD/Lowe's plants aren't as used to being babied, but I'll gladly take a better performing plant that's cheaper to boot.

ilovehouses

~NB~:

1. Plant smaller trees. They're cheaper, easier to handle, and have a much higher survival rate.

2. If you remove the soil from the roots before you plant, the hole doesn't have to be deep at all!

http://www.newenglandisa.org/PlantingTreesTheRootWashingWayJimFlott.pdf

http://chesapeakegreen.org/year/2010/handouts/BareRootofthematter.pdf

What kind of trees will you be planting?

 

That's a real easy way to kill the tree if you aren't quick about it.