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| I just received some new bare root apple trees. The shipper did not use hard box, but a soft shipping bag. Somehow during shipping, the tree barks get damaged. Here are a couple of pictures:
The seller has agreed to replace them. So for the damaged trees, should I keep the trees with the damaged barks, or cut off the damaged section from the whip? The whips are about 4' tall, even though the trees were sold as 2'-3' tall. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by northwoodswis4 4a (My Page) on Wed, Nov 12, 14 at 16:23
| I would try planting them. Whether you cut off the damaged portion would depend on how high up the trunk they are. They will probably heal over. Northwoodswis |
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| Yes, I'll be planting the trees since the trees are still viable and may still come up above the damaged bark section. But I'm not sure if there is any long-term effects from the damaged barks, like diseases etc. I can certainly just cut off the damaged section and make the trees truly 2' tall trees. This will delay the growth for several months. |
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| Cut off damaged part if bark was pulled loose. If bark is still firmly attached to wood then perhaps cover with tape, parafilm, etc. Or cut the tree back. I'd do the later. |
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- Posted by Appleseed70 6 MD (My Page) on Thu, Nov 13, 14 at 22:59
Those injuries did not occur in shipping. The second or middle photo is definitely not shipping damage. From what I can see the tree should be fine and appear to be decent quality depending on the price. I'm not so sure that asking them to replace both is very fair to the nursery, especially if they were sold as 2-3' whips. They should be cut back when planted anyway regardless of whether there was injury or not. If both those trees grow out healthily in the spring you should accept no more than the cost of one of the trees if that. If the price was lower than normal you shouldn't ask for anything based on what I see. |
This post was edited by Appleseed70 on Thu, Nov 13, 14 at 23:09
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| Not shipping damage? what are you talking about? Even the seller agreed those trees were damaged during shipping. The trees were sent in a brown paper bag with a bamboo stick in the middle. Clearly the shipper handled the package by grabbing in the middle. The trees were bruised by rubbing against each other. They sent out 5 apple trees, 4 of them have damaged barks. The two pictures I posted are the better ones. The other two have more than 1/2 of the bark coming off. And that happens lower than 2' near the graft. I'm disappointed by the way they sent out the trees. I sent them the pictures and they saw the damages. No one wants to grow an apple tree with severely damaged barks. I plan to cut all 4 trees to rid off the damaged barks. They offered to replace all 4 damaged trees and I only accepted two. I think this is very fair. Also I do not even need 4 more trees since I have no more room. |
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| I do not understand why some people make some strong statements about something they do not even know... Interesting.... |
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- Posted by Appleseed70 6 MD (My Page) on Fri, Nov 14, 14 at 14:30
| Not shipping damage? what are you talking about? Even the seller agreed those trees were damaged during shipping. What I am talking about is the fact that the second photo shows mending tissue in the split. It didn't begin to heal in transit. I do not understand why some people make some strong statements about something they do not even know... Interesting.... What I find "interesting" is the fact that you say you took pictures to show the damage in your post and chose to upload photos of the "two best trees" for example. What do you expect...viewers to infer that other trees must have been damaged more badly? If they agreed to replace them. then good for you. I agree the shipping method sounds a bit iffy and there "IS" an issue with damage regardless of how it happened. |
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| Appleseed70, this is some kind of joke, or you are a joke? I received the shipment two days ago. I took the photos on the same day. So where is the mending or mending tissue you were talking about? Again, the seller looked at the photos I sent and they agreed that these were shipping damages. So you know more than the nurserymen do? If you have a big mouth, then go somewhere else. I have no issue with the seller. The trees were great. They were damaged during shipping and we agreed on the replacement. Issue resolved. I just do not know what makes you unhappy about..... If you do not get a clue, go somewhere else. You do not have to mind my business. |
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| The growers/distributors of bare root trees stack the plants on top of each other in huge piles. They sort them, bundle, and then stack them. Even before that they must be harvested from the field then transported to the warehouse for the sort/bundle/stacking. The guys who do this aren't gentle. I'm surprised we get plants in as good condition as we do. |
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- Posted by ken_adrian MI z5 (My Page) on Fri, Nov 14, 14 at 15:31
| Even the seller agreed those trees were damaged during shipping. ==>> of course he does ... or else he would have to reship undamaged stock to you ... you would have to figure out where the grafts are.. before you go shortening them ... i would also plant them .. and i would not use said seller again ... apparently your investment isnt worth QUALITY PACKAGING ... so invest in someone who knows how to ship plants ... i just dont see what the post office or UPS/fed ex... could have done to a heavy paper shipping gizmo.. to cause that type of damage .... i am thinking i agree with rob.. that it was digging damage ... ken |
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| I only asked as to what to do with the trees with the damaged barks. Since the issue is resolved, I care less about exactly what caused the damage. I just do not trust what the UPS/Fedex man does with a 6' long brown bag, just like a long bread. They do not handle it like a long stem rose, but like a bread stick. Anyhow I may cut them now, or wait until spring time. I figure there is not much difference... |
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| Here are two more pictures. I would certainly prefer to receive all trees in good shape. Also, one tree was missing and it will be replaced.
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- Posted by Fascist_Nation USDA 9b, Sunset 13, (My Page) on Sat, Nov 15, 14 at 20:30
| Cut them off below the cut if you get at least 18" left above the graft point. Otherwise, I'd live with it since they are vertical cuts they don't effect the cambium as far as flow goes too much once compartmentalized. This is a good time of year as pests who might take advantage should be dead or overwintering in most places. |
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| On some of the trees, there is less than 18" below the damage. So if I cut off the top, then I'll need to keep just one whip and cut it off again at about 30" to get scaffolds. Is this how the tree should be trained? I think this is better than keeping the tree with a hole in the bark? |
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| Many parcels are sent through huge, highly automated parcel sorting machines at some time during transit. I know, since I repair them for a living. The machines are highly efficient but jams do happen. If the trees are only packed in a bag, any type of damage is possible. |
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