John, I’m not actually posting my opinion to influence you so much as to help inform others of my opinion on the subject to maybe avoid them some of the pain caused by my own negative experiences.
You clearly know what you are doing and don’t need any advice from me on this.
I guess the end of season’s bargain is relatively individual’s perspective. For commercial growers like Alan, it’s not a bargain if the tree turns out not what its label was for after so many years of attentive labors and expenses. But for a weekend gardener/orchardist like myself, if it didn’t turn out as its label after 3, 4, 5 years, I’m still gladly nurture it or slowly graft it over for something more desirable.
I’ve bought 3 “bargained” trees, a cherry, a peach and an apple from Walmart and HD. I chopped down the cherry due to bad location and it’s too big to dig out for relocation. The rest has not spectacularly fruited yet but I think I can handle the “remorse” later on once it produces something!
No hard feeling, just my personal observation…
Tom
Nothing wrong with a bargain. With many sale items you can see what you are about to purchase and determine if defects exist. This allows you to judge the risk of the transaction compared with the savings. Its harder with fruit trees.
Lowes and some other big box retailers warranty their trees which reduces the risk of buying a bargain tree at the end of the year.
Its a matter of risk compared with reward. Its hard to predict the outcome, which is part of the fun. You could get a great deal on wonderful trees, or you could spend a lot of time and money and get crap…