There’s already a thread for nurseries that sell either only locally or exclusively to large-scale operations, or both, so I decided to start one that hobbyists can use too. I spent an embarrassingly large amount of time on this research but I’ll try to keep it short.
Most “retail” nurseries actually sell exclusively commercial varieties. There’s overlap between what large orchards and hobbyists want. However, we can buy these varieties locally and there’s no need to use international shipping for them, with all the additional problems that entails.
Kordia and Fuji are good. We also don’t need international sources for them. I am only listing nurseries that include high quality varieties that cannot be commonly obtained.
I was going to use some arbitrary criteria that ensure there are hobby-friendly varieties, such as a minim 50 varieties of apples or 30 varieties of cherries but decided against it. Even one variety is enough if people are interested in it and it is difficult to find.
There were two criteria: they have to be selling something hobbyists want and we have to be able to order from them.
For example, I found a nursery that sells hundreds of grape varieties, but I haven’t been able to find a source for Somerset Seedless or Concord, which are probably the two grape varieties any hobbyist would want to try to grow.
Before I list the retail nurseries, there are a couple of things I should clarify.
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Nurseries from outside the EU do not provide plant health certificates for retail purchases and therefore the plants they send to the EU have to be destroyed on entry. I know several EU forum members recommend specific non-EU nurseries or plants that “should” be ordered from outside the EU but I contacted several of them in multiple languages and they all confirmed this.
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Make sure the plant is on the right rootstock. It is very common for nurseries to prefer dwarf rootstocks because that extends their sell window and reduces shipping costs. Many such rootstocks are either not suitable for the EU environment or not suitable for hobbyists period.
I am sorting them by ease of use. Near the top are the ones with an online store you can just order from with no extra hassle.
Near the bottom are nurseries with which you may have to carry an email conversation in a foreign language to convince them to sell you something, if you manage to figure out their site in the first place.
https://www.aatreeshop.com/en/ has an abundance of different varieties and rootstocks. The only international EU nursery that ships scions to retail customers. On their shipping page they list only 16 countries but actually ship to more.
https://thomasfruittrees.eu has an excellent selection of apples and pears and other fruit. They are “bio,” which in our context just means the same as everywhere else, but more expensive. They also sell rootstocks.
https://www.hardypersimmons.eu has two forum-favorite mulberries: Morus Nigra and Illinois Everbearing. I find their selection of hardy persimmon somewhat unusual but you might find something you like.
Lombach Nursery have a smaller selection of fruit plants but they seem to have more options that retail customers would be interested in.
Jerzy Oreszczuk Is a better grower than he is a webmaster. Among other things, they sell berries, nuts, some persimmon, and probably the greatest selection of pawpaw in Europe. Ordering is by email probably after translating to Polish.
PLANTA DE HIGUERA- VIVEROS DALIA has 30+ fig varieties. They seem to ship to all of the EU. You can use Google Translate and use the form to request a quote. They don’t mention pricing or minimum order size.
Please write if you know more good nurseries we might be interested in. If I can figure out the nursery’s site I will try to edit the post to add your suggestions. Since this is an international EU thread, please make sure they follow the main two criteria
- They must have varieties hobbyists want and cannot typically obtain locally.
- They must ship to most of the EU. Let’s say more than two thirds of it: 19 of 27 countries.
If there is a non-obvious ordering process, make sure you list that too. For example, you can order from some nurseries via Google Translate and email but you cannot do it on the nursery site itself.
here is the link for some of the grafted trees.