The speed of growth depends on the species of tree, growing conditions and soils. In good conditions, 3-5 years for most trees to get to 2".
The skill and knowledge of your grower determine the percentage of culls. Many poorly shaped starter trees can be shaped and pruned as they grow from whips (small liners or starter trees) to good form if the grower knows what he or she is doing.
You will probably get arguments about in ground or container growing, but I would vote for in ground if the soils are good. But, you have to have knowledgeable diggers with good digging equipment.
Good luck!
hortster

Why is a 3" caliper size recommended? As far as I've seen in articles on urban planting, the recommendation is the smaller, the better, as a smaller percentage of the root mass is lost upon being dug up.
In any event, there are a couple of towns around here that have had their own nurseries, and AFAIK, they're all closed - you have a reduced cost of trees and increased cost of Public Works employees, water, equipment, fertilizer/pesticides, etc., etc.Since Public Works-type stuff is the first to get cut when times are tight,the nurseries ended up abandoned, for all practical purposes.

About how wide does the space between sidewalk & street tend to be? I've read criticism before of planting trees with a very large mature size in plots where the surface area for the root zone won't support the mature tree.

And I agree - it's far more practical to plant a small tree where you're going to want it, then to grow it somewhere else & then move it. When you move it you cause a great deal of root mass loss, delaying growth considerably. A container grown plant will be prone to be root bound, and a bag & burlap plant will lose a LOT of root mass when you transplant.

If anybody argues with you, point out that by the time they get money & clearance for 2" trees years down the road, smaller trees planted this Fall will have reached that size anyway, far more cheaply.

If the issue is a city ordinance, change it.

Richard.

In my area (Portland, OR) we have Friends of Trees. It's a volunteer organization that has large tree planting events where homeowners buy discounted trees and then, with their neighbors, plant the neighborhood trees. They buy 1 to 2 inch caliper trees to plant from wholesales. There are a lot of wholesalers in the area. Because they're a charity, they get donations. That may be a better way to go than having the city take on another responsibility.

Let's see....quality nursery stock, soil testing /prep, irrigation system, fertilizers, pest management, pruning and training of young trees, containers (different sizes for moving up), quality nursery mix, utilities and labor. If you cut the caliper requirements down to something based on actual 'best results ', you could save the city a bundle. The large dimensions listed in recent specifications are driven by the nursery industry not by actual scientific and experiencial results.

Younger tree perform much better, adapt more quickly, and are able to outgrow their larger counterparts in a very short time. Bigger ain't better when it comes to tree plantings.

as i recall.. there are a number of abandoned sites like this in metro detroit ...

the labor costs went thru the roof in the 50's or 60's... surprise.. surprise ...

the size requirement sounds like a bunch of bureaucratic nonsense ... instant gratification.. for the 'hood' rather than what is easy and good for the tree.. size-wise .. and then sit around and wonder why they mostly fail due to lack of proper followup care ...

ken

In case you haven't found it yet,here's a link to a Kentucky Department of Forestry program dealing with Urban Forests. Kentucky also has a state tree nursery and a program for replanting that may bear a closer look.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kentucky Dept of Forestry