We ship out plants twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall. It may shift slightly due to weather, but shipping usually occurs around the first week of April and the first week of November.
We mostly use UPS, as they have had the best rates and more reliable service for us. Some smaller boxes may ship through USPS. You will receive a tracking number when your order ships either way, and usually packages arrive within 2-4 days.
Check out our planting guide for more detailed instructions. The main things are: don’t let roots dry out. Pack backfilled soil down for good root to soil contact without air pockets. Dig hole large enough for roots to spread out without wrapping back around on themselves. Optional but suggested: Layer of compost then layer of wood chips as a mulch. Planting tube or wire fence for protection against browse.
Bare root plants are the best! Since they are dormant, they are much more tolerant of the rigors of shipping. They are also much less expensive to ship (no heavy bulky soil) and less expensive and more environmentally friendly to grow (fewer inputs, easier management). They also avoid any pest or disease issues that are sometimes transferred with containerized plants. They transplant successfully and very very high rate! The only downside is that the plants have to be dormant, which confines plating time to specific windows in the Spring and Fall.
Frosts will not kill your trees! Bare root plants are dormant—this means they have entered into a state designed to survive winter. They have created their own antifreeze within their cells and can survive low temps (down to whatever temperature they are hardy to). Their need for air and water is very low. They have no actively growing leaves and will not be affected by frosts. If you can dig in the ground, you can plant a dormant tree!
Open your box and check out your plants. Use a knife to cut open the plastic bag with the roots inside, being careful not to damage the plants. Get a bucket of water and soak all the roots in there for up to a day make sure everyone is nice and hydrated after their long journey. Then plant if you’re ready to plant. If you’re not ready to plant, heel the plants in (dig a hole and bury all the roots in the hole together) until you are ready.
Heel plants in until you’re ready. (See above)
The vast majority of the plants we grow will thrive in a sunny or partly sunny, fertile, moist, not-too-weedy, well-drained spot. There’s a reason you see these recommendations over and over again! Generally, when trying to get a fruit crop from a tree, more sun equals more fruit. Soil that is waterlogged for long periods of time will kill most fruit trees.
Unfortunately due to the living nature of our product, returns are not accepted.
Yes. Please email us if you need to cancel an order.
We guarantee that our plants will be alive upon arrival, break dormancy, and leaf out. If this does not happen, please see our guarantee page and submit a claim to get refunded. Please read our planting guide to ensure your plants have the best chances for survival. We’re working with living things here, and despite our best care in some cases they still end up dying, for unexplainable reasons, even for seasoned growers. It’s just part of the game. Keep on planting.
Plants will be fine in their packaging for a few days provided the temperature is not too hot or too cold. A cool root cellar or basement (or even refrigerator) would be ideal, so if a friend is able to move your package into a cool spot that would be a good idea. If you’re going to be traveling for more than a few days around the time plants ship, it would probably be wise to arrange for someone to heel your plants in (bury all the roots together in one big hole) until you come back.
We don’t keep regular hours as we’re not open to the general public. If you’d like to visit the nursery, please send an email to get in touch. I try to accommodate people as best I can, but sometimes I’m not able to if I’m going through a busy period. We usually have a tour once per year, so that’s really the best time to come. Get on the email list to hear about that when it happens.
A seedling is simply a plant that has been grown from seed. It’s genetically unique and different from its parents. This is in contrast to a grafted plant or a plant that’s been growing from cuttings, which is a clone of a specific variety. You might also see the terms mixed seedling or open pollinated seedling, and is simply means that it’s not of a specific parentage.
