At long last, here are the baby trees:
cherry, asian pear and plum....
New "babies" have arrived!
Here is the baby apple tree- bareroot.
a strawberry tower....
and last, a baby "Neptune" seedless grape vine (green grapes). Now I have to find a place for all of them.
:)
Deb
I guess I'm lucky. Miller's is right here in town and I can go buy them at their store :-) They have sales at the end of the season when I can get them at half price!
MollyD
Very nice! I love that Strawberry Tower!!
I can't wait to get these in the ground but I still need to finish prepping their spot.
The strawberry tower was actually pretty reasonable, but smaller than I expected. Still, I crammed 25 bareroot strawberry plants into it - creating a few more holes in the cocoa fiber than were originally there. I was worried about watering - whether or not the water would get all the way to the bottom, but it seems to be working ok.
I got all of them from www.starkbros.com. They are very nice to work with.
Now I have to figure out where the next batch of roses and highbush blueberries will go.
I've given up on veggies..... on to fruit!
Deb
Have fun, Deb!
i like the tower too! Can you put other stuff than strawberries in it?
(nice lavender next to it, BTW.)
I suppose you could plant anything you wanted in the tower. I made an herb "wreath" a few years ago along the same lines....the framework clamped together in the back and you stuffed the herbs through the liner. It grew very nicely, but was hard to water and was really heavy to lift.
Thank you for the compliment regarding the lavender. Would you believe I bought it at Home Depot? I was desperate for some green. It's been growing on the windowsill inside for a few months. I thought it was time to get used to the outside a bit since it was getting warmer so into the garage it went with the rest to get hardened off.
Molly - do you like Millers? I bought the trees I did because they have 2 varieties grafted onto the dwarf stock so I don't have to buy another variety for pollination and they won't get too big. Do they have 2-in-1 type trees? I still need a pear.... :)
Deb
Deb I don't buy the 2 in 1 trees so I can't tell you what they have in those. I think they have some but not sure what kinds.
Millers is nice. I've bought things from them long before I ever came to live here. All the root stock is kept in a large refrigerated room to keep them from breaking dormancy too fast. Some things of course do. I've bought golden and green forms of the thornless honey locust (all did beautifully). I've bought apple trees. Most recent ones died but not Millers fault. My Paul insisted on using fresh horse manure because "it didn't matter". He's no gardener. Ones I planted in my former home did beautifully and where fruiting in about 3 years. I did the brick on the stem tips trick and it got them fruiting faster than they normally would have.
We've also bought highbush cranberries and black currents. They did very well too. A knockout rose did not do well but I think my soil was the problem.
Overall I was pleased with Millers.
MollyD
Molly -
Good to know. But what is the "brick on the stems" trick? I've never heard of that one.
Deb
I learned this one from Organic Gardening back in the late 1970's. You tied a weight to the tips of the branches on a young tree. You leave that weight on them for the next few years. It causes the sap to run into the branches and gets them fruiting faster for you. Done correctly the branches arch downward without breaking. The tips pointing towards the ground. I used bricks (the kind with openings) when I did it because it was the easiest way to attach a string to the weight. At first some of the weights would hang in the air. Be prepared to have people give you funny looks LOL. I took them off after the branch had fruited. Remember not to break off the spurs when you pick your apples or that spot won't set fruit for you the next year!
MollyD
What kind of lavender is it? i have vera and munstead, but they've always been outside - this will be year 3. But yours looks more feathery in the leaves...
love the strawberry tower!
Unfortunatey there is no label on the lavender. It looks like Spanish lavender...
Deb, what kind of cherry, and what kind of plum did you get? They sure look like nice trees.
Molly, how do you find out when Millers 1/2 price sale is? I would love to pick up a few more trees, and have had good luck with the ones from Millers. We always go down to Naples to get grapes in the fall, and go right by there.
pollyk they put an ad in the Pennysaver that we get here. If I see it in time I'll try to remember and post the dates.
MollyD
Thanks so much, Molly!
Molly and Polly!
By golly.
Like holly?
GROAN LOL
MollyD
Deb, Thanks so much (I guess) for that Stark bros. link - gosh, they have every tree I've every wanted. If only I had a sunny fertile orchard! Has anyone in New England ever grown peaches or nectarines? I mean I'm sure someone has, sometime, but has anyone reading this? xx, Carrie
Hi Carrie,
My neighbor gave me 6 baby peach trees last summer. I gave 3 away and planted 3. The deer have nibbled 2, but the 1 I managed to fence is starting to get leaf buds. The other 2 look like they will make it. The neighbor who gave me the trees has 3 in his front yard - not always in full sun, and has tons of peaches each August/September. As far as I know, he does nothing to fertilize or insect protect his trees either.
I'm actually planting my mini orchard in my old veggie patch. It's not very big and I plan on pruning the trees so they don't get to big. Hopefully this plan will work! Only time will tell!
I believe Starks does have a mini peach that can be grown in a container and moved into a protected spot or garage in the winter......
Hi Polly -
I have to fight kids for the computer over the weekend so I'm sorry I did not get right back to you on the cherry and plum varieties:
The 2 in 1 plum is Shiro plums (golden, ripen in July) and Redheart plum (red/purple ripen in August)
The 2-in-1 cherry is Van Sweet cherry (deep red, ripen in June) and Stark Gold (yellow, ripen in June)
also have
2-in 1 asian pear, New Century and Hardy Giant - if you have ever tried an asian pear, also sold as "apple pears" in the supermarket where they can go for $2 apiece, they are delicious!
2-in 1 apple, Red Delicious and Golden delicous.
I missed out on the Apple pie tree and pear tree. Maybe next year - if my DH doesn't do me in first!
Deb
well, I've got 6 baby highbush blueberry bushes and about 8 more roses to come...
:)
Deb