A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 WooHoo! my fruit order is in.

I just ordered 25 Sparkle and 25 Earlyglow strawberries and 5 Bristol black raspberries from Nourse Farms. They'll be arriving the last week of March.

WTG Obywan,

Sounds like your going to have a very ambious spring getting those all planted.

Planting some Tristars Strawberrys this season in a coco strawberry pot. Raintree nursery had a promotion if you ordered by Dec 31 2005 for, they were part of free bonus plants (bundle of 25) Got those and Poorman Gooseberries, and tree guards, for free, and bought 4 pear trees (Rescue, Stuttgarter Ghieshertle, Harrows Delight, and a 4x1 pear combo tree! Will post a report on the tristars once they get going

I like Raintree, they've got good stuff! I'm considering buying some pear trees from Southmeadow Fruit Gardens, they have such an awesome selection!

Check out trees of Antiquity too. They carry alot of Heirloom trees. There paper catalog gives you origins of the fruit they sell. I havent ordered from them before, but like some of the stuff in there catalog. There web page is:

www.treesofantiquity.com

anybody ever order from directgardening.com ? i think im going to buy some fruit from them this year. not sure yet though, still deciding if they have the best deal or not

Vernon Barnes and Son have the cheapest fruit trees I've found. That's important to me because I'm gradually planting a good sized orchard. Their peach trees and some others run $3.98, less in lots of ten (mix and match varieties!) They then give you 10% off for orders over $45. Shipping is free for orders over $50. I got 15 peach trees last year, 2-3 foot bareroot, and they're healthy and growing. I just ordered 12 more, plus 2 apples and a pear, all for less than $60!

Do they send you small whips or are they decent sized trees? I try to buy at nurseries when I can, to pick out better trees. Ordered from Stark Bros last fall some of the stuff was smaller than I anticipated. Also check walmarts garden center in spring, they have some nice fruit trees (dwarfs mostly) for about 14.99. Bought 2 big Bartletts last spring, both a fruit bearing size, in fact one of them set a couple pears!

Wizzard I think direct gardening is a bunch of nurseries who send out mailers (like Farmer seed Co,Kelly Nurseries etc-Both are affiliated) Ive noticed that they never show any actual pictures of there Multigrafted trees(just drawings or sketches), like the fruit cocktail one. Makes me wonder if they really work? I like Raintree nursery because they sell alot of hard to find or uncommon cultivars from around the world. A similar company is One Green World (I think www.onegreeenworld.com ) For more common stuff Id be more opt to check local nurseries, or hardware stores (Lowes sells really nice fruit trees in Fall & spring for about 15 bucks) They are usally alot larger, and not barerooted (potted), which means theyll fruit sooner, and you can buy a healthier tree that you pick out. Lowes even sell some Espaliers too, seen apple and pear espaliers, which are difficult to ship. For uncommons, you may have no choice but to mail order depending on where you live and whats around you. Also check for guarantees. Reputable companys like Stark Bros will back up what they sell, they'll replace a tree at no charge (you have to pay shipping though)..same with Raintree

The Vernon Barnes trees are small, but should begin to bear in 2 years and thrive after 3. I buy one or two trees a year from Wal-Mart and Lowes as well, but I can get 5 saplings for what 1 costs there. Be VERY careful when buying from thses chains, their employees do a poor job of taking care of plants. Try to watch and buy them as soon after they arrive as possible. Bareroot stock is much more forgiving.