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| I was feeling a little antsy at work today and decided to take a long lunch to visit a nursery I haven't been to in a while. I was looking for oaks in good shape but found what seemed like oaks that had been run over a few times then put up for sale.
I got to talking with a part time sales guy about my oak quest and he said the typical stuff. The best time to buy/plant is the spring, all the best ones have been sold, ect. I knew that this nursery had a lot of land and asked about stock that was out back. He told me that they had 100 acres and a lot of trees out there but said they were mostly larger trees and that they were a lot more expensive. I had explained I was looking for smaller (4-6') trees previously but wasn't quite ready to go back to work and asked if I could meander around and look at what they had. He found a laborer and asked where the oaks where and pointed me in the general direction. I walked around for the next 45 minutes in the dirt loving every minute of it. The best part is that I found exactly what I was hoping to find. There was about 50 or so Bur Oaks in a couple neat rows. They were all straight, had good branch spacing, and were full of leaves. They didn't have price tags on them but I took pictures of the ID tags to ask the salesman how much they were when I got back up front. There was a lot of Bur, Crimson Spire, Sky Rocket, but I only found a few Northern Reds. I am debating right now between the bur and red and had hoped to see more reds to help make up my mind. Don't fret. I am not going to go out and buy them this weekend to plant in the mid 90 degree heat we have had. I need to do some work in the area that these area going to go as they are replacing two London Planetrees that I planted while root bound that died, before I knew better. I am just excited that I found trees that look good and are the size and price that I want. Oh, that's one of the best things. The Bur's of this size are only $30! At that price I want to buy ten of them, just because. I would just need to figure out where to put them all. Realistically I am looking at buying probably three. The Burs are in #5 tubs and I pulled one out and found that while there were a few circling roots overall they seemed to be in good shape. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Oak Tree Pics
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Fri, Jul 20, 12 at 1:16
| They look real good, Sanc! I'd not object to somebody buying and planting those trees! Burs are a great oak too as you know. +oM |
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| You can generally transplant potted trees anytime (unless your ground is frozen)if you are willing to water them and you don't mess up their root system too badly. If you are deep watering it regularly, it will be more likely survive in the ground than in a pot. |
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| You can generally transplant potted trees anytime (unless your ground is frozen)if you are willing to water them and you don't mess up their root system too badly. If you are deep watering it regularly, it will be more likely survive in the ground than in a pot. |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Fri, Jul 20, 12 at 11:34
| At that price I want to buy ten of them ==>>> with a nursery of that size and scope.. it is beyond me.. why you would go monoculture ... even if 3 .... otherwise.. those are prefect size.. and look healthy ... i see no reason.. with that many in stock.. and nearby.. why anyone would NOT wait until PROPER PLANTING TIME .... there is a wide gulf between what CAN be done.. and what SHOULD be done .. IMHO ... talk with the manager.. and ask him/her.. if you can TAG plants for fall pickup ... i have never been turned down for such a request ... there is really no reason.. not to have them hold the trees ... i too used to NEED a zen lunch.. to get away from all the BS at work.. lol ken |
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- Posted by sanctified Zone 5 (My Page) on Fri, Jul 20, 12 at 13:07
| One reason I am going to wait is from something I had talked to the salesman about doing. 2/3 of the sycamores died from being root bound. I'm sure the third is doing only marginally better. It's green but hasn't grown at all. I think that I want to dig it up and play with the roots before replanting it to give it the best chance at long term survival. Also, I had them in a row and the one that lived was on the end. Since I'm going to be planting oaks I think I'd like to put the sycamore in the middle of the three. Is that a good idea to wait until dormancy, dig up the survivor, and work on the roots before moving it? Also, ken. There were tons of trees in the back that had "sold" tags on them. I know I could buy them now and pick them up in a few months. As far as going monoculture? Are you saying that I ought to get a variety of new trees rather than going with all burs? What would you suggest for my clay ish soil that will grow super big? Fall color would be a bonus. (slc/ut zone 5) |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Fri, Jul 20, 12 at 18:50
| hard to suggest things.. when i have no clue where the sanctuary is???? oh.. somewhere in UT??? well ... anything in that nursery???? and anything the manager might recommend??? the multicultural comment was more for your wish for 10 of them.. but i am a collector .. i really see no use.. for more of one of anything .... so if i had space for 3 ... it would be 3 different trees ... i dont know my tree ranges well enough to be specific ... for UT ... and.. you say clayISH soil ... that is ONLY an issue as to how you plant it .. i doubt you will find any tree that cant cope with it ... check out the link related to PROPER PLANTING and dealing with clay ... and something tells me.. you might discover why your other trees did not survive ... something about the divergence of potting media to native soil.. and not bare rooting.. and not planting high in clay ... etc ... if you want thoughts on the sycamore.. how about a pic.. in a NEW POST.. titled as such.. and i am sure.. we can brainstorm it for you ... at the nursery pix.. why was the irrigation hose outside the pot.. how did that work??? also.. google : oaks native to ut there are 44 million suggestions.. lol .. and the third is about 3 oaks native to the UT desert ... whats that all about.. you guys have a desert ??? .. lol .. man.. UT must be like mars .. lol .. good luck ken |
Here is a link that might be useful: link
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- Posted by jimbobfeeny 5a IN (My Page) on Sat, Jul 21, 12 at 7:56
| I actually prefer Northern red oak and White oak - Bur oaks don't really have that spectacular of autumn color. Sort of a muddy brown color. Bur oaks thrive where other trees fail, though! I live in the beech-maple-elm region, so I prefer eastern forest trees. Sugar maple is probably my favorite tree - They require decent moisture to thrive, though. |
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