Received my orders from Fedco and Adams County yesterday. I haven’t unpacked my trees and taken pics of my AC order yet (will do that this morning) but I did unpack the Fedco order…sigh.
It all started pretty good as the the box was undamaged and the trees were packed well…then I read the invoice. Got an apology for not filling the entire order and said that a partial refund had been processed. Some perennial flowers that had a “crop failure” and they only sent 2 of the 5 Dawn Redwoods that I had ordered. Nice of them to let me know as I am receiving the order.
I did receive the 2 Honeycrisp Apple trees on M111…one was smallish but OK…the other was a tiny twig. These trees are $32.75 each! It wouldn’t be a big deal if they were $15 trees from Tractor Supply. Also the shredded paper they were packed in was barely wet.
I’m giving an overall grade of C- to Fedco on this order…with poor communication & bad value for the money spent being the biggest dings against them. P.S. - my CC still hasn’t been refunded yet.
You’re not the only one disappointing with Fedco trees this year. My Lavina plum and Dana Hovey pear bare root trees were the size of a chopstick, about one third or one fourth in size of cheaper plum and pear trees from Cummins and Mehrabyan nurseries. They’re leafing out now, but for $32.75/tree plus tax (I’m in VA) I would expect something better from Fedco.
That does look like a lot of roots. Get a few pics and a new appraisal after you get it all out. I’ve never ordered from them and no one has done any reviews.
One last order for the year. I bit the bullet and ordered my very own juglone factory: Sparks 127 black walnut from Perfect Circle Farm in Vermont. I’d been on the fence since I have a small-ish yard (big for in town, but small compared to all you country folk) and my apples probably won’t like it. But black walnuts are so important to me that I just have to have my own tree, even though I can forage some wild ones in the neighborhood. That completes the climate-resilient native trifecta for me: paw paws, persimmons, and walnuts! Yes, I know hickories and pecans are also climate resilient, but black walnuts have a special place in my heart.
No, your apple trees aren’t going to appreciate a walnut nearby. But it may take a dozen years or more to kill them if the roots intertwine. (leaves not biggie)
Yeah, I’m expecting that the apple trees will have peaked or at least had a good run by the time it becomes an issue. I like apples, but I can get great quality apples for cheap locally, so I’d rather have the walnut if I had to choose.
Besides acquiring some additional figs and my first pomegranates
I have some ‘antique’ apples coming from Century Farm in late October.
Should bring my apple variety count back somewhere between 140 and 150.
+1 on black walnuts. The Juglone effect is vastly overrated. I grow apples, persimmons plum, grapes, kiwis right under a massive 100 yo tree and there is really no problem.
Blueberries and tomatoes are noticeably sensitive though.
Perhaps you’ve not planted service berries, magnolia, azalea, dogwoods and even monkey grass in the root zone of a large black walnut and watched them die in 6 months to 6 or 8 years like I have.
Even took an old heirloom apple about 40 feet beyond the drip line for a friend. I did get scions and graft both him and me a tree of it before it died.
But, sandy soil isn’t going to cause as much problem as clay soils.
I’m experimenting with currants…planted one this summer under a big walnut. (Also planted pawpaws–I know they are juglone tolerant).
Tulips, daffodils, gladiolas, Asian lilies, daylilies, plumbago, helleborus, common privet bushes, red cedar (juniperus Virginiana), golden rain tree—are some of the things that don’t mind the juglone…along with black raspberries.
I did have a large magnolia about 20 years ago maybe slightly outside the root zone of the black walnut. That was taken out many years ago because I didn’t like that it was shading so much of the yard. Pretty sure the magnolia was not affected by the black walnut
I also took out a massive deodar cedar which had no problems growing next to the black walnut.
There is an asian plum also growing very close now – definitely in the root zone. No issues for about 17 years now. Also roses appear to be unaffected.
I have old 30+ year old Rhododendrons growing in the shade of the black walnut. Unaffected.
On balance, very few have had any issues with the black walnut. I did have to take out the blueberries as they were quite stunted and unhappy.
Western red cedars and cypress trees seem much more difficult to grow around. You can see that they actually create a dead zone around them.
A variance of experiences isn’t unheard of, different climates, different soils, differing precipitation and so forth. I’l love to grow rhododendron under a walnut…but half the time you can’t grow them successful here even if there isn’t a walnut tree…root rot gets them in clay soil, or the pH does. (I used to belong to the Rhododendron Society).
No, black walnut does nothing to turf. The only thing it does is drop a bunch of leaves and nuts in fall and litter all through the year. It is a VERY messy tree.
But there is no impact on nearly anything I’ve seen grow around it.
Ha Ha ha, no generally speaking my plums take at least 5 years to bear fruit in my climate. My only exception was 8 plums on a Ptitsin #5 in year 2. It had no fruit in year 3. I purchased my Green Elf here www.prairiehardynursery.ca/collections/plum-trees, the only place I have ever seen it offered. Their trees come pretty small(they say that up front) at a lower price than a larger tree. So no complaints, but it will take 5 or more years for fruit.
I emailed Prairie Hardy nursery asking if they could offer Thean Pheh’s hybrid of apricot and besseyi/plum; sapalta 07-01 since no one else is. They actually have it for release next year,it is being named ‘Bei Tang’ by Thean Pheh.
