thistletoes wrote:
Sheldon wrote:
thistletoes wrote:

I don't have enough time left in my life to mess around with foot tall trees.

Then you shouldn't even consider mail order trees. If you're a
middle aged person you need to go to a local nursery and purchase
substantially sized trees; balled and burlaped and a minimum of 3"
caliper... and even then it's unlikely you'll live long enough to sit
in the shade of any type of sapling tree, even those that are fast
growing will need nearly 20 years before they look much like a shade
tree... the first 3-4 years they won't exhibit any growth. The truth
is that when you plant a tree it's for future generations, not for
you... your enjoyment can only be in knowing that future generations
will enjoy the fruits of you labor. Maybe you would do better
planting a perennial garden.

I planted many mail order trees and quite a few larger trees from a
local nursery (in fact they were much too large for me to plant, the
nursery sent a crew with heavy equipment to plant them). I realize
that my main enjoyment is in that they lived and will one day be a
tree, but long after I'm gone. Even the fastest grower, a sycamore,
will need many more years before it begins to look representive of
it's mature state. The sycamore was a bareroot from Nature Hills, was
a three foot tall twig in a carboard box when it arrived, now it's
nine feet tall, but has many years to go. I ordered a second one the
next year, it's trying to catch up.

Second summer:http://i18.tinypic.com/54knpli.jpg

Third summer (last year):http://i19.tinypic.com/4xx0aad.jpg

Fourth summer (this year):http://i12.tinypic.com/4p13cpx.jpg

Yes, I am a middle-aged person, normally sensible & cautious.
However, I am currently living in a remote enough area that it is
inconvenient to make my way to a nursery. It is likely I will live
here till I die.

Ditto. Except I'm past middle aged.

I find myself in a somewhat frustrating position. We do have a tiny
nursery in the nearest village but several trees purchased there have
been infected or otherwise defective and have died. It isn't my lack
of care - they have an increasingly bad reputation. Worse, their
guarantee is worth nothing. Only the Autumn Flame Maples have done
well from that source, but they cost a blessed fortune and were
brought up and planted by a landscaping company. They are now 12 feet
tall even after 8-9 years, which I think is a bit slow since they were
6' when planted, not including the pot.

The next best nursery is decent but is 60 miles away. The issue is
that if I purchase a tree of any size, meaning over 5 feet tall,
transport is difficult and costly. We have a pickup truck with normal
size bed, but we would have to lay the trees down to transport,
otherwise the wind generated by going down a highway would batter them
senseless. Even then, they would sustain some damage if the tree is
of decent size.

I live in a fairly rural area as well. The nearest respectable plant
nursery is a good 45 minute run, others are further. But I typically
meld multiple stops into my forays, so making a small detour to a
nursery is not any significant hardship in time or transportation
cost. All of the nurserys around here are aware that people travel a
distance so they package purchases with plastic wind protective
sheeting. I've not had a problem with wind damage... and I also lay
trees down in an open truck. I also keep a number of old blankets in
the truck at all times, I never know when I will need to protect
something in transport as I frequent local estate auctions; I have an
old lamp fetish.

With larger trees the reputable nurserys will deliver and plant for a
nominal fee. I've found it pays to get on good terms with the
nurserys, I return their pots and flats, often containing some plants
when I have extras and I usually do. In turn they give me nice
discounts. I also trade with my neighbors, that's a good way to
expand on variety. I have a large variety of trees growing on my
property and there are huge numbers of saplings growing at the edges
of my woods... I'd rather dig them up and give them away than mow them
down.

On top of that, gas here is $3 a gallon and pickup
trucks are not known for economy. I guess if we purchased a large
enough number of trees, the trip would be worth while, if we could
protect the trees. That's why I was considering mail order and
thought someone might suggest a reputable one.

Gas is more than $3/gal most everywhere (my vehical gets only 12 miles/
gal), but I use it judiciously, my days of joyriding are long past.
Since I've retired I have no need to commute so the miles I now drive
average about 50 miles/month over a year. Last year I logged just
over 500 miles. I wish I didn't need to drive but alas there are some
necessary trips.

I still purchase some plants by mail order, because they are just not
available locally. I searched every nursery within a 100 miles for
almost a year but none carried sycamores, so I finally ordered the
bareroot seedlings from Nature Hills... I think they are doing very
well, I'm pleased.