Kansasfruiter:

A little excitement is good when planting fruit trees, but it needs to be tempered with prior study of what will work in your zone, and the level of care required to produce real fruit. Fruit trees are much higher maintenance than landscape trees like oaks, and you will need to have a plan to deal with the insects and diseases you will inevitably see on these trees. You wouldn't know this by looking over the Willis Orchard website, which makes it all seem automatic.

First, I would suggest that you carefully retain all the invoices and other correspondence you have with Willis orchards. I have a feeling you will be returning a few of the large trees you ordered from them, although shipment of the failed trees to Willis will apparently be on your nickel. That won't be cheap.

Here are a few of the reasons I would not be quite so excited:
1. Sweet cherry trees are extremely difficult to grow in the east and midwest, and the large, crisp western varieties like Bing and Rainier are non-starters. They need a dry summer climate, and summer humidity will cause diseases on the trees, as well as rot and cracking of the fruit. You may never see a single ripe cherry from any of the four trees you will soon plant.

2. Spring, not fall, is the time to plant stone fruit trees in a climate like yours, which must be zone 5 or marginal zone 6. This applies to cherries, peaches, nectarines and apricots. I don't think all of the stonefruit trees you are planting now will make it through the winter. The apples should be ok.

3. Nectarines are nearly as challenging to grow as sweet cherries. They are subject to several nasty insects, principal among which are the plum curculio and the oriental fruit moth. If the right hand doesn't get you then the left one will. To grow nectarines in Kansas, you will have to have a regular and very effective spray program. It doesn't sound as if you have the kind of experience or disposition to do this, since there doesn't seem to be time even to properly plant the trees without machinery.

4. Peaches are not as tough to grow as sweet cherries or nectarines, but they are still not easy. Like all stone fruit trees, they are subject to a variety of fungal and bacterial diseases. (See the thread with photo nearby about sick peach trees). The fruits are targets for the same insects as nectarines, requiring timely spraying or bagging to produce edible fruit.

5. Planting a single pear tree will not work, since pears require a companion variety for cross pollination. If you plant another compatible pear variety, these could produce for you.

6. Water in well when you plant your trees. After that, whether or not you will have to water will depend on the amount of rain your snow you receive. Mulch around the base of newly planted trees helps to retain moisture and reduce the need to water. Yes, you can overwater cherry trees, and this can kill them, but the others can tolerate much soggier soil.

7. I believe you have jumped into your planting with inadequate study and knowledge, and it will turn out to be a mistake to buy very expensive large trees from a dubious source. It would have been much better to defer your tree purchase to next spring, and use that time to really acquaint yourself with fruitgrowing on sites like this and others. It also would have been better to start with a half-dozen trees, not 14. I wish you well, but I am afraid you are in for a reality check.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Kansasfruiter,

That's all good advice above. You're at least learning it earlier than I did (I've affirmed much of the above through my own trial and error, although I was fortunate enough to accidently start with a respected nursery). Speaking of error, make sure you keep that Willis receipt/invoice. I shipped a few trees back to them a month ago (during their 1 year guarantee period) and haven't received any word back from them, yet. I'll certainly post here and on garden watchdog, if they don't replace the trees.

Another recommendation I have from experience my first year when I lost a fall planted cherry tree: wrapping the trunks in white spiral tree guards will increase your odds of some trees making it through the winter (search: "winter injury").

I'd recommend that you buy a book or two and read them to give you context. Then read as many posts on this site as you can. There's a wealth of knowledge here. If you get overwhelmed with the work required to grow fruit trees, try growing berries, which are far easier to grow and quicker to bear.

Hi,
Thanks for all of the advice. I have found this site invaluable. Information such as grafting and bagging have been quite interesting to read up on. I have gotten books, luckily, I teach at a local college and the library in the town is a great resource. Over the last few months, I have had lots of books over fruits and berries. Nice to know thath berries are easier. I tell people that the rasberries, blackberries and boysenberries would have shoved by husband over the edge! I have also spoken with the local horticulturist at the nursery and he recommended the same sprays as Don. I do realize that I have bitten off quite a load, but look forward to trying. Gardening has always been my favorite, now with having a bit more time, I look forward to giving it a try. Good idea with the receipts. I did do an extensive review of mail order sites prior to buying, and all in all, Willis, especially on this fig site, has pretty good reviews. Will post pictures later this week.

Good counsel, above. I, too am a bit skeptical about initial winter survival of fruit trees coming from south GA to Kansas(?, I'm presuming from your moniker that that is where you're located)- I'm a bit surprised that these trees are dormant there at this time of year.
I've looked at Willis' reviews on DavesGarden, and there are just way too many negatives for me to have felt comfortable ordering from them, and too many of the positives just have the 'feel' of fake positives posted by Willis employees. Looking at their website, it is somewhat disturbing to me to see them showing photos of buckeye/horsechestnut fruits and leaves on the chestnut page, and their allegation that 'Colossal' chestnut can serve as a pollenizer for 'Nevada', when it is an established fact that 'Colossal' is pollen-sterile.
I wish you luck, but like Don, I fear you may be in for some disappointment.

I agree with everything above, except I have doubt about one thing. I'm not convinced that Willis Orchard Company is a bad supplier. I've read some people's opinion that TyTy (and we all know about them) placed some of the negative reviews on Willis's Garden Watchdog record. Since Willis is owned by a former TyTy employee, I could certainly understand the motives. Also, they do have two and a half times as many good reviews as bad. I don't know that Willis will turn out to be the best choice to buy from, but, at least for now, I think they may deserve a chance.

Kansasfruiter, please let us know about your experience when you get your trees. Maybe do a review on Garden Watchdog as well.

lucky,

I also participate on the fig forum and they do seem to havea better impression of Willis Nursery than what I'd expect.

Shortly after the I heard of the new nursery, I made an inquiry about Feijoa (pineapple guava) wanting to know whether the one they carried was a cultivar or a seedling.

The response I got was a list of the various "guavas" they carried verbatim from the website, only one of which was a feijoa with still no answer as to whether it was a seedling or cultivar.

It went downhill from there. I wouldn't consider ordering from them.

I've placed two orders with Willis and wouldn't call them disreputable (unless they don't honor their 1 year return policy with me--we'll see). However, as those above have said, there are a wide number of far better options out there. From my own experience, in no particular order Vintage VA apples, Edible Landscaping, Burnt Ridge, Adams County, Nourse (berries only), Hartmann's (mostly berries), and Peaceful Valley (Dave Wilson stock). Based on other's comments: Cummins, Trees of Antiquity, etc. Willis' prices aren't that much cheaper than many of the above and you can't choose rootstocks (or from that many varieties) and you're giving up a lot peace of mind. I say spend a few bucks more a tree, so you don't have to dig it back up and ship it back to them on your dime (places like Gurney's--admittedly overpriced--just require a phone call or email).

I think a lot of the positive fig feedback reveals that they are likely reputable, but may not necessarily carry over to trees because figs take a lot less skill and care to propagate and store.