In my experience it makes little difference because you have to trim the larger trees back so much to match the roots capacity to supply energy. A common mistake is to buy the bigger tree and try to get away with not trimming some of the thicker branches, however what will end up happening is the tree will either be reluctant to leaf out or have stunted growth because all the energy is going to those thick branches. Also, the older trees tend to incur injuries during shipping which will leave it at risk of diseases such as bacterial canker.

I ordered the 3 to 4 foot trees. They were small but did grow well. The smallest trees could get injured by rabbits or rodents and also break easily. I would try some of 3-4 and a couple of the 4-5' and see which you like best and grows best for you. Tex Royal, Ranger, Loring, and Dixieland peaches should all do well for you. You should look up the ripening dates and try to get varieties that extend the harvest.

It is usually recommended to trim the trees back to 36 inches and let the trees grow without further pruning for the first year. In the early spring of the second year choose 3 or 4 branches to make the scaffolding branches. I have let the bigger trees stay taller and try to get a small crop ( 3 or 4 peaches) the second year. In the long term it is probably best to not do this, but the first fruits can be the best tasting. I hate waiting 3 or 4 years and not getting any fruit.

Thanks for the responses. I thought I had read that it didn't benefit to buy the biggest since you have to cut them back so much. And yes, I agree, I don't want to wait so many years either to get fruit. I wondered how many to wait and was hopeful that starting with larger trees would cut that time down.

For peaches I am ordering Harvester, June Gold & Dixieland. Loring was something I considered but Legg didn't have it (or I didn't see if they did). I think they have enough chill hours (but not too many) so that they won't bloom too soon and the harvest is spread out.

Also, ordering Early King Nectarine, Warren Pear, Bruce & Methley plums, Tifblue & Climax blueberry, Ouachita, Navaho & Natchez blackberry and Black Spanish grapevine.

Ordering one of each plant.

I am trying to order all from Legg since free shipping and so I am trying to select from varieties they offer. (Although I am waiting to hear back to make sure they have the rootstock that I need). If these don't seem like good choices please say.

Legg Creek has Loring. Go to the bottom of the page and hit next, kind of hard to see. They have 3 pages of peaches. June Gold sometimes has split pits and is a cling peach. Tex Royal ripens about the same time and is clingfree. Unless you are wanting a lower chill hour tree, I think Loring will do better in your area. All are available at Legg Creek.

Bruce plum has good disease resistance but is not a good tasting plum. Rubrum has the disease resistance and good flavor. Many people plant methly and santa rosa together but I think Rubrum will have better taste and disease resistance.

Black spanish grape is a good wine/juice/jelly grape but is usually not recommended for fresh eating. Pense nursery also has free shipping over $30. You could order your bushes and vines from them and your trees from Legg Creek. Get free shipping and greater selection. That way your orders would not come all at once and your could split your planting into two separate occasions. Just a thought.

I sure appreciate the suggestions. I'll check into them and probably make the changes on peaches/plums as you mentioned.

I've been struggling on the grape because I want to eat them fresh and be as resistant to disease as possible. I thought about muscadines but was afraid we wouldn't like them.

I will check Pense but if my order doesn't come to $100 I won't get free shipping with Legg. I'll have to see how it comes out.

Not all trees are created equal! Hard fact to keep in mind at times. You need to consider the varieties you are contemplating on any purchase. Not all varieties are vigorous growers, where some are well known for producing a lot of wood quickly. I would not buy a small sized trees of a variety that is known for being a strong grower. More times than not that tree is doomed to be a poor performer all its life. Personally I would not buy from a nursery that offers substandard sized trees in vigorous growing varities, from an inside the business perspective I find it a shady practice. We grow 100s of trees a year and the ones that show poor growth the 1st year rarely become strong growers later. Now if it is a low vigor variety it may take more than 1 growing season to get over that 3' mark. So know the variety you are buying in terms of growth habits.

Ok...here's what I've come up with so far:

Peaches: Harvester, Loring, Dixeland

Nectarine: Early King Nectrarine

Plums: Rubrum, Methley

Pears: Warren, Moonglow (thinking about waiting on pears altogether)

Blackberries: Ouchita, Natchez, Navaho

Blueberries: Climax and Tiflblue - but not sure if I need rabbiteyes, SHB or one of each.

Grapevine: If I split the order I had considered Venus and Pense has that. Is that better than black spanish for me?

When I order peach or cherry trees, they usually arrive as whips or very lite branched (bare-root). I suppose grown only 1 year from chip budding. That being said, I would go for the 3' size.

On apples and pears, I would go bigger since peaches are normally vase pruned anyway so easier to start with a not so tall tree or you end up pruning back much of it anyway. My apples and pears are pruned to a central leader system so a 4' tree is great, not that a 3' tree would not be ok as long they don't grade out and send me the runt of crop that has no vigor!

Many years ago a bare-root nursery I bought from sent me a free Cortland apple tree with my order (gift because I had ordered so much). The tree was the thinnest caliper for its height I had ever seen and I understood why they did not sell it. I hesitated to even plant it out but did so since it did not cost me anything but time. That little runt actually grew so fast it caught up with the larger apple trees I had purchased and bore some very nice crops. Sometimes you never know how things will turn out.

I just realized that Methley Plum has 150 chill hours. Will I have a problem with it blooming too early and then freezing?

I don't think you would but Ozark Premier has a chill of 700 hrs and is also partially self fruitful. It might be a better choice. I like Methley but some find it bland. Ozark Premier is suppose to be one of the better tasting plums.