Comments regarding Bay Laurel Nursery

Great products. I have ordered from many times over the past 8 or so years. They also offer many hybrids that others do not.

Ordered two trees from them. Both came in on time. The trees themselves were of a good caliper. I was very pleased. The roots though-I had been warned to expect the roots to be backed off. This was in fact the case. I don't think there were any roots over 4 inches.

However, my trees have already started to push growth and are doing just fine.

I wish they wouldn't back off the roots like they do, but at least with my trees they apparently rebounded just fine.

Also, I had to change my order during the process and that was taken care of quickly, efficiently, and politely.

I live on the east coast, so they're not my first choice of nursery, but I wouldn't have a hesitation in ordering from them again if they had something I couldn't get from nurseries around here.

Posted on January 18, 2016, updated April 6, 2016
I placed my order with Bay Laurel Nursery on 9/29/15 for 8 bare root fruit trees. I initially placed my orders separately by accident and they quickly responded to me and combined the orders to reflect the correct shipping and quantity discount. They offer the convenience of being able to select your shipment month and I selected January.
They did email me again on 12/20/15 to inform me that they wouldn't have enough of one of the varieties I had selected and attached the revised invoice.
I received the 7 trees today 1/18/16 and one tree in particular was HUGE. I'm not sure how to measure the tree caliper but we now have over 40 fruit trees in our backyard (most that were mail ordered) and this is the largest one I've ever received bare root. All trees are a good size and a decent amount of the root ball is intact, having done most of the pruning to the top to fit in the shipping box which I prefer over having a big tree with no roots to support it.
There is one tree that has a portion of a bamboo stake that the tree has actually grown around so it can't be removed, I'm going to have to keep an eye on that one but other than that I'm very happy with Bay Laurel Nursery and so far feel it was worth the higher price for the good customer service and large trees that look to be very healthy. I will update in the spring with their progress on leafing out.

I placed an order on 02-14-13 as a gift for my wife for 4 in 1 plout + 2 other trees. I was very disappointed when I received a call 2 weeks prior to the shipping of my trees that they were out ot the 4 in 1. They offered me the 3 in 1 plout which I initially rejected. After a couple of back and forth emails, they offered a further explanation about why they were out of the 4 in 1 plout. Then, I decided to accept their offer of the 3 in 1 plout, which was given to me as a discounted price. Knowing they survival tree rate I suggest to undersell their trees instead of oversold them. But, I still had to order the Dapple Dandy from another nursery, an added expense. However, I was very impress with the size and calipher of the trees. They arrived in excellent conditions, roots very moist. I planted them in potts because the temperatures around here are still in the 20's. I'll update my post later this year about the progress of the trees after I plant them in the ground and they leaf out. They deserve a positive experience because their customer service department came up with an reasonable option for me and I'm satisfy with the appearance of the trees so far.

Posted on January 25, 2011, updated August 30, 2011
My experience with Bay Laurel has been excellent. I ordered two fruit trees in Oct. of 2010, but had to cancel that order. No problem...customer service was great.

I re-ordered in December and received my trees (DWN Arctic Star and Pixie-Cot) quickly in Jan., as promised. The trees arrived well-packaged with moist roots. Trunk width was larger than I expected. I am very pleased with Bay Laurel and have already placed another order for this season, a Pluot.

The bare-root Pluot I wanted was not available at the only local nursery that stocks DWN trees. Instead, they display last season's root-bound Dave Wilson trees at WAY-too-high prices. Thank goodness for Bay Laurel!

Posted on January 10, 2011, updated March 11, 2011
I had ordered my 4-N-1 Zee Sweet Nuggets (S-ED-GP-FG) on Citation back in September of last year. As promised, it was shipped early January. Though the package was sent on monday and was delivered on Friday I was not home until Sunday evening to plant.

The tree was in good condition. Only one of the smaller branches were broken, but in consideration to what UPS has done to my packages this was above my expectations. The roots were still moist.

I can not comment on how well this tree will do or if I recieved the right plout scions, as it is dormant at this time. This is the second time I had ordered from this company. My other trees wonderful pomegranite, Mahan Pecan, and Black Walnut are doing great. I expect the same from this new edition.

I had ordered my Fan-Stil Pear on Pear,Wonderful Pomegranate, and Bababerry Raspberry x3 a month ago. As promised, it was shipped January a week before they said it would. Though the package was sent on monday and was delivered on Friday night. I didn't plant the trees until Sat morning. The trees and the berries were in good condition. A few of the smaller branches were broken, but i think i break them. The roots were a little dry..

I can not comment on how well this tree will do as it is dormant at this time.

This year I purchased one Emerald Beaut Plum from Bay Laurel.

I placed my order on the 6th of Feb 2010. The order conformation was prompt followed with an estimated shipping delay of two weeks. I was not provided a tracking number and the tree arrived on the 19th of Feb one day before what I was told would be the ship date. No big problem as I was home and ready to plant but I could easily see how this could be an issue if I had been out of town.

The box was adequate for the size of the tree. The tree was roughly 5/8th caliper which is average. The roots were on the small side but there were enough to insure survival. Not a bad tree; not as nice as many others I have purchased but better than some.

Things I would have liked to have been different.

$ 17.00 is a lot to ship one tree that costs $ 24.95 when your competition sells the same Dave Wilson grown tree for $ 16.95. Given the higher price and higher shipping I was hoping for a ¾" caliper tree.

I guess they either did not have any ¾" caliper Emerald Beauts left or they felt $ 41.95 was a good price for a 5/8" caliper tree delivered. Over all I am happy with this transaction but not overjoyed. I would buy from them again without hesitation if they have something I want and can’t find cheaper elsewhere.

It was my first time ordering from this nursery. Because of their highly regarded reputation, I went ahead and ordered many plants. They do a great packing job and I'm glad to say everything I ordered is thriving.

I ordered late in the season (Jan 13) in order to get plants I couldn't get locally. The ship date on the invoice was Jan 25th. When they still hadn't shipped on Feb 5th I called the company to cancel the order since I was going out of town.

Customer service couldn't have been nicer or more helpful. She tracked down my package and determined that it was supposed to ship that day and would arrive before my trip. Needless to say, I was very pleased. The package arrived today three days before my trip.

I ordered four trees and all were in good shape, of good size, and well packed.

I will definitely order from this company next year.

I purchased 2 miniature Garden Gold peach trees and 2 miniature El Dorado peach trees for container growing last spring. The trees had good healthy roots and have grown beautifully. They are a deep healthy green and look like the pictures I always see in magazines of lush container grown peach trees. Sure beats Home Depot or Lowes!

Lisa
Reno, NV

In the fall of 2007 I ordered 11 fruit trees and 3 blueberry plants bare root from Bay Laurel. I modified my order a couple times and they were quite flexible. All the fruit trees except one did fine. In fact, we even got 2 quince fruits off of one of the trees this summer! The blueberries have not done very well, but that may be the soil or location. One of the trees never did anything. I followed their instructions and informed them of its demise this summer (2008). I ended up wanting to replace it with something different and again they were flexible about not just replacing what I'd originally ordered.

A couple other reviews have commented about the terseness of their service. I've had a little experience of that, but recently they were very friendly and knowledgeable. In particular I had a long discussion with Ellen there, who was quite helpful. Maybe they are responding to the feedback! Also maybe it's time of year dependent, depending on how busy they are. The web site and catalog are full of information about their offerings, including information about root stocks' strengths and weaknesses - very helpful.

Being relatively new to the world of home fruit growing, I appreciate a catalog/Web site that "holds my hand" a little by guiding me along to the varieties that give me greatest chance for success. It's a good thing that the first tree I ordered and planted was from Bay Laurel, because it turns out that my local Home Depot isn't always a good source of bareroot stock that is appropriate to my climate (300-400 chill hours). From the first page, however, Bay laurel's easy-to use catalog was forthcoming with helpful info and lists for low-chill growers like me. I had no trouble using their listings to quickly identify peaches and nectarines that had the correct rootstock for my situation and low enough chill requirements, and I narrowed it down to those that bore fruit at the time of year that was best for me.

I ordered my first tree, a Mid Pride peach from them, five years ago and was astonished right off the bat that it was so vigorous and healthy; it even produced two perfect peaches that very first season! Since then I have added two or more fruit trees every year to my landscape from Bay Laurel nursery, and occasionally from local garden centers like Armstrong and Home Depot. Those others have disappointed me in a few cases but never Bay Laurel.

A list of semidwarf fruit trees I have grown from BL: Mid Pride peach, Red Baron peach (nemaguard), Tropic Snow peach (nemaguard), August Pride peach, Sprite cherry-plum, Delight cherry-plum, Burgundy plum, Dapply Dandy pluot, Flavor Queen pluot, Flavor King pluot, Flavor Grenade pluot, Chocolate persimmon.

I have followed BL's planting and growing instructions faithfully. Everything listed above performed exactly as promised, arrived in excellent condition when promised and even tasted as good as promised (except the Delight cherry plums, which I do not recommend for fresh eating; but then the catalog didn't, either). I have yet to have a problem that required further attention from their customer service dept, but as everything else about my experience with BL has told me that they do care about their customers (even "little guys" like me), I have confidence that it would be resolved completely.

One hint -- although the catalog is charming, it doesn't have photos, which I enjoy to some degree even though it is a little superficial (after all, what matters most is flavor). BL's Web site has good pics for each variety.

At the end of the day the tree arrived in good condition, well packaged and health. Was nice finding a 4-in-one combo white peach/white nectarine tree.

Suggestions:
The email that I received acknowledging my order didn't have any ship date or means to get a hold of anyone. Understood that you specify a period in which you can ship for bare root. Would be nice to receive an email saying your order has shipped.

Thanks for the good tree!

I ordered 3 trees from Bay Laurel, (2 apricots and 1 apple). The shipping was reasonably priced and on time considering it was West coast to East coast. The trees were healthy two year grafts at 5/8 inch caliper and at 4 ft I was pleased. They were all well-packed with moist healthy roots. The roots were trimmed a little close but I have never lost a tree due to this technique so I'm not overly concerned.

I also have found the phone assistance a bit terse and a little snapish, (almost felt like I was an irritation just for calling), however, the quality of the product is quite good and I will do business with them again.

Thanks,

Mike, NC

I ordered four blueberry bushes (two each of two varieties) and two apple trees ( one is a 4/1 grafted tree and the other is a single-graft self-pollinator). Both trees arrived with healthy roots and nice branches. The blueberry bushes are all very nice plants with healthy root systems.

All plants have put on new growth in less than two weeks and are looking very good.

I requested a specific shipping time, and it was followed nicely. I would definitely buy from this nursery again.

I ordered 3 bare root trees ( Pear 3-in-1, Apple 3-in-1 and a "fruit salad" 4-in-1) and one thompson seedless grape.

The pear and apple trees were listed as having "low chill" varieties, which is something I have not seen before in the usual apple and apple combos from other nurseries. Plus with restrictions to what other companies can ship into CA I was happy to find a nursery already in the state. The prices seemed reasonable as well, only $30-47 for their 3-in-1 /4-in-1 trees- I was quoted $170 at a local reputable nursery for a 3 in 1 apple tree, and they werent even sure what cultivars it had for sure.

I found their website easy to navigate and had great info and descriptions, plus they were fast to respond to emails with questions I had on their "low chill" varieties and what would thrive in the hot inland valleys of southern California.

I placed my order on Tues and was delighted to receive my order today (Fri). The box was large and packed well. None of the trees were broken or bent to fit in the box. They were also secured in the box to keep from being thrashed about inside the box during transit. The roots were well packed in damp moss and plastic and were still moist and cool- not a small feat when the temperatures have been pushing into the 80 degree range and UPS trucks arent always cooled.

The trees are about 5 feet tall, well grafted with nice strong 3/4 -1 inch branches and "balanced" on the trunk. Each variety was clearly labeled on the respective branch along with a bit of info on that cultivar ( Dave Wilson labels). One tree was already whitewashed for sun protection. The roots look plump and healthy, no sign of rot, fungus or being "tangled". Beautiful trees, much better then the bare root trees I've seen in local nurseries. The grape plant also looks healthy and already semi pruned to a nice fan shape. Some of the tree branches already have swelling buds so I'll need to get them in the ground this weekend but I dont forsee there being a problem with these trees being viable.

I look forward to ordering some grape and berry plants from them next season.

This company has one of the best online shopping experiences! It has a lot of useful information with nice explanations/illustrations/photos provided. They have many hard-to-find trees/plants. Great resource for CA residents wanting to purchase trees/plants that can't be shipped to CA from other states. The staff, if you need to contact them via phone, is outstanding! Very helpful! They keep you up-to-date on substitutions and out-of-stock item, both by phone and email. They offer options. I rec'd all of my trees in tip-top shape, excellent packing. I'm looking forward to spring to see the results! I would definitely order from them again!

This is by far the best online nursery I've dealt with. They have their act put toghether very well, Their staff is very well versed on their job, The packaging is supperb and the selection is huge.

I recently placed a midium sized order (around 30 trees). One was out of stook and one wasn't really adept to live where I live (I have very low chill hours). Customer service was nice enough to write me and give me suggestions as why I wanted the tree and if I would rather have something else.

The trees arrived in supperb condition and 4 days latter, all are leafing and growing really well. I just had to go online, place a second order and leave a positive statement for the company on this site, Since I am really pleased with them.

I've dealt in the past with edible landscaping, raintree nursery, dierect gardening and jene's tropical.

By far baylaurel has the greatest selection on low chill varieties and they actually list the chill hours for each of their varieties wich is just great when you need to weight your choices.

I had good customer service while ordering by phone. A few weeks later I was informed that one of the two pomegranate varieties (Pink Satin) I ordered were out of stock. That wasn't a problem since I knew of another source. The Eversweet pomegranate that I ordered came as a fair sized potted plant instead of bareroot which I was delighted to see. It appears to be in good health and I expect it to do well.

I have bought bare root fruit trees and bushes from Bay Laurel for several years. Always, the plants come in good shape, and do very well. They do seem to sell out early of some popular varieties, so my only advice would be to buy your bare root plants as soon as possible after Oct 1 (when their catalog comes out). And their phone sales person usually has very good advice if you are not sure about the variety you want.

I picked up my order on site once and mail-ordered once this year. The best method is to pick up on site since all the bareroots don't need to be bent/folded/trimmed to fit into a shipping box. As such all the trees seem doing fine. I later mail-ordered one more blueberry plant. It arrived in a little shakier form. After planting, I trimmed off half of the branches. It is limping on the ground and seems ok with some new buds breaking out.

Overall, I had very satisfied experience.

I ordered two pear trees from Bay Laurel. They were the only place I could find Hood and Floridahome on OHxF333 rootstock. Both trees came in with no hair roots at all. I called and they assured me there would be no problem. I contacted Dave Wilson Nursery, the wholesale grower for these two trees, and they also told me this was common for the OHxF333 rootstock, but that there was not a problem and they should do just fine. Here we are, several months later and both trees are leafing out and growing like gangbusters. I am still amazed (and very pleased) that they are growing. I would definitely order from Bay Laurel again, they seem quite knowledgeable and have a very nice selection.

I have ordered twice from this company, this year and two years ago. The fruit trees that I have planted are doing great and bore fruit last year and are setting fruit well this year. I ordered apricot, pluot and peach trees. Some of them have multiple grafts on their rootstock which gives us fruit over a longer season. Bay Laurel has a great selection and what has impressed me most is that they carry many varieties that require low chill which is what I need in Southern Calif. They were very helpful this year when I called for help in ordering fruit trees for my dad that can grow in really large pots.

All around great experience! Very friendly! My 2 peach trees look great

I made an order from Bay Laurel Nursery (at the end of Feb) consisting of 1 each of Lapins, Stella, and Ranier cherries, and Saturn and Babcock peaches. The Lapins and Ranier cherries were out of stock already, so they called me and asked about substitution. I substituted with Winter Pearmain apple and a second Stella cherry.

The trees arrived packed in plastic, with moist moss around their roots, which is the best packing method I have seen yet for retaining plant moisture. The Saturn peach did not leaf out, so I asked for a replacement and they took down my name and address and said they would give me one in the fall.

The other trees are doing very well, and are vigorous. Except for one of the Stella cherries, which didn't leaf out until now and now it looks like the few leaves it did get are just dying off, even though it has had the same care as the vigorous Stella cherry.

Anyway, size and caliper and packing are all very good, and customer service has been so far. I will have to report the cherry, and will provide an update this fall about the returns side of their customer service.

A bit over a year ago i ordered some fruit trees. I had to order before nov 15, so the plants would be delivered in jan or feb, my choice. I was able to select the rootstock and the fruit type. guess thats why i had to order by nov 15.
My plants arrived as bareroot trees as ordered, they were packaged very well. I planted them as instructed and all are doing great.i just hope my pluots do fruit since everyone tells me that pluots do not fruit in houston. i love them so much that i will give them a try.

The peach trees and the flordahome pear are also doing great. i have bought fruit trees from many places, ie, local nurseries, local county extension office sales, etc.

BL is a very professional and good company to deal with. the plants were a bit on the high $$$ side ( hey i am a cheapskate) but shipping from California to houston texas is not short distance.

Overall i am very happy with them, i would buy again if i was in need of more fruit trees. i have planted 55 fruit trees in my small back yard. ouch.
rayrrod@hotmail.com

I would definitely reccommend Bay Laurel. Good selection, quality, and service. My trees arrived in great condition.

After looking around on the web for nurseries selling Peachcot trees, I ran across the reviews for this place. I called them up and they mentioned that we would have to wait for the Peachcots until early in '04 when the bare roots come in from their supplier(s). Either way, we drove up from Torrance (LA area) and ended up buying two peach trees, one plum and a meyer lemon. All trees were in great shape and well cared for. Their prices were reasonable for the 5 gallon pots we purchased (~$20/per tree).. They were very knowledgeable and worked with us to pick species of trees that would be happy in our home area, where it doesn't get very cold for much time of the year (certainly not 800hours worth!).. Hopefully we will get a peachcot early next year (they are hot sellers apparently!).

I visited them to pick up a big order this spring. Figs, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries. All are doing well. The people were friendly and accomodating. After 2 weeks, I figured I needed a pear...and they were the only ones that had Moonglow variety. I mail ordered the tree..it came in great condition, and is thriving. They seem to get the biggest variety of trees each year. I would definitely buy from them again.

Ordered 3 Pluots (plum-apricot), an Aprium, a Peachcot and a Venus grape. All trees came in good condition. The Venus grape had a large thick root system that was the best I have seen from any nursery.

Ordered 3 fruit trees, and they came as expected in good condition. No problems encountered so far. I'll post back if there are problems emerge later this summer.

I ordered a bare-root Santa Rosa plum from this nursery. I like the fact that you can order a particular rootstock to keep the tree the size and culture you desire.

I've ordered numerous fruit trees from Bay Laurel Nursery and have been immensely pleased with their productivity. I had fruits within the first year of planting the nectarines and 4-n-1 Asian pear tree. The pluots were superb!

They have the most extensive list of fruit trees I have seen anywhere especially when it comes to mini-fruit trees. The plants I received were in excellent shape with a nice top growth to root ratio.