Software
Houzz Logo Print
heruga

Anyone buy from fast-growing trees?

8 years ago

I see very good citrus selections from fast-growingtrees.com and they are cheaper than fourwindsgrowers. Does anyone buy citrus trees or any trees in general from this site? Whats your experience?

Comments (28)

  • 8 years ago

    Actually, their trees are more expensive....! And they only have a few selection, the kind I can get at my local greenhouse..

  • 8 years ago

    I thought they were more expensive but a good place to check is the garden watchdog site. This is what they had as reveiws http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/c/3298/

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Yea because Fourwinds don't have any trees that bear fruit yet and fast growing have trees that are already bearing fruit. Of course that'll be more expensive. Also the air shipping fee for fourwinds is a wooping 75$!! At least to my area. Thats more than 2x the price of the tree itself which is pretty ridiculous... I just want to know if the quality of the trees from fastgrowingtrees is good or not.

  • 8 years ago

    So this satsuma mandarin tree I'm looking at in fastgrowingtrees is 99.95$ as a 3-4 feet tall which means its probably old enough to be bearing fruits. The great thing is shipping is free at this price! Now the biggest satsuma mandarin tree they have in fourwindsgrowers is about 2-3 ft tall at 40$ Plus shipping 75$ which makes it 115$. The stock itself maybe more expensive in fastgrowingtrees but I'm factoring in the shipping fee as well. So I guess it all comes down to the quality of the plants now.

  • 8 years ago

    I've ordered from them before and their trees are fine. If you spend a certain amount, the shipping is free. They don't have many varieties. My Meyer lemons - including my oldest - Alexander- is from them.

  • 8 years ago

    Their plants are not as nice as FW - two of my Meyer lemons were a bit lanky, but they are growing well and have filled out nicely. I've ordered from them several times. My tangelo is from them and it's a beautiful tree.

  • 8 years ago


    reviews on fast growing trees.com


    the scoop

    I would be inclined to stay away and their prices are high. Here are a few


    Harris citrus


    Brite leaf


    Mckenie citrus


    Just fruits and exotics

    6b Steve

  • 8 years ago

    I want to add that any fruit on your 3-4 foot tree should be removed and the tree should be potted up and then wait a year before considering to allow your tree to fruit. Here is my tree 7 months after my graft grew.


    New Zealand lemonade on US897 was grafted 8 months ago with the graft growing 6.5 months ago

    6b Steve

  • 8 years ago

    I totally agree that the best bang for your buck is Harris, and they have a huge selection.

  • 8 years ago

    I wouldn't buy from FGT. I bought their largest size of Meyer lemon this summer and while it is the advertised size, it arrived spindly and with 75% of the leaves heavily damaged by citrus leaf miners. Customer service is going to send a new tree when the size is available again, but that hasn't happened yet, and to be honest, I don't think the tree should have been sent to begin with.

  • 8 years ago

    I think we do better when we buy trees from professional grafters and break any fruit off that is on the tree when it arrives. My 6.5 month old tree is 31 inches tall. That fits in the 2-3 ft. That is in their 59.99 range. The same tree would be $20 + $15 shipping.

    6b Steve

  • 8 years ago

    How do you get it to be that big as 6.5 month year old? Does it have to do with grafting location? Because my sudachi tree is at least 6-7 years old and still about 2.5 feet in a pot.

  • 8 years ago

    I put my tree on my roof where it got sun 12 hours a day and I feed it a 5-1-2 NPK feed. every week and I foliage feed my tree with the same feed 2 times a day. It grew really nice. The US897 rootstock is very fast growing. I kept insects off with organic remedies. Can you post a picture of your sudachi.

    6b Steve

  • 8 years ago

    Luciole, by FGT, do you mean Four Winds?

  • 8 years ago

    Steve is right. Although my trees from FGT are doing well, the two Meyers I ordered about a year ago were definitely tall and gangly...not a good shape at all even though they met their height specifications. One is the one I ended up chopping.

  • 8 years ago

    Vladimir, I meant Fast Growing Trees by FGT. Sorry for the confusion. :)

  • 8 years ago

    Vladimir, he means fast growing trees. Heruga, some varieties grow faster than others and some are naturally bigger trees. I have a tangelo (from FGT) that is the same height as my oldest Meyer lemon - the lemon tree is about 7 and the tangelo probably 3 (years). I don't know how big sudachi trees get, but that may explain the size difference.

  • 8 years ago

    My sudachi picture is in the 2016 november picture time thread and my previous thread asking about my sudachi so you can take a look at it there. And well I guess my sudachi is still small because I've never fertilized it until 2 weeks ago and never really took care of it properly. Wonder how big it'll get now that I started taking care of it...

    So is it a bad idea to grow satsuma mandarins in a container then? It says it will become 14 feet tall and no way in heck can I bring a 14 ft tree indoors for the winter seasons.

  • 8 years ago

    Heruga, container trees are more limited in size. I know many in this board have satsuma trees in containers (that is one variety that I do not have ;-). The rootstock they are grafted onto can be a big help in keeping them small. I am no expert, but from my understanding, flying dragon is a dwarfing stock. I know FW uses some type of dwarf stock on their trees, but I don't know which. If you look on Briteleaf, they have a section for dwarf trees, but from what I've learned here, just growing them in containers limits their size.

  • 8 years ago

    Your tree is much more developed and show the growth structure that comes with age. I feed my trees well and I winter them under lights the first winter before they go in ground next spring. I get 2/3 of my growth in the winter for every tree I have grown. I don't know why. After 1 winter they are to big to come back in for a second winter. You tree in that picture says its hungry

    Winter light setups customized for the specific tree in need.

    When I foliar feed with full strength mixture I spray with enough to wash off left over residue from the last spraying. This prevents build up of feed from evaporation from the last spraying. I water with full strength feed 4 to 8 times a month depending on temperatures, sun, and wind. I feed with enough to wash out the last feeds extra What I collect then goes to other garden plants. You will have far better control over your tree in the winter than summer. That is when to provide light and feed. I count on the winter months for most of my trees growth.

    Don't like ugly buckets. use spot light on your trees. The lights reflector sends the light in one direction. I use daylight CFL's

  • 8 years ago

    I use a modified setup based on Steve's bulb recommendation...here is a pic...for your tree, one light would likely be enough.

  • 8 years ago

    Steve, did you ever answer my question.............?

    I know many of your trees are confined within those 5 gallon buckets..How do you prevent them from growing too much horizontally without them being confined in them? Do you cut the lateral branches off to keep them growing straight up and narrow? How long before they no longer fit in a bucket at that width?

    Thanks

  • 8 years ago

    I did Mike.

    These bucket lights are only good for one winter. the trees sent their shoots out and I bent them upwards to fit.

    2 branches tied to fit in a 5 gallon bucket.

    the 3rd tie on another limb.

    highest bud on same tree.
    The middle cluster of 3

    The lowest one.

    This would be the 3rd winter at 5 feet across. I just let the trees do what they do and acomidatet them.

    After 3 months in these bucket light my Sweetlee Tangerine trees got too big and were moved to.
    This is what my sweetlee's looked like after the second winter
    2.25 years old and 6.5 feet high. Notice the bucket to the left.

    The bucket took my Sweetlee's from 3 feet to 12 feet of linear growth to give me a large skeleton tree to set branches on. This put me ahead by 2 years.

    6b Steve

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Hi! I purchased a 1-year Meyer lemon tree from Fast Growing Trees. They had fast shipping time and my tree can't in excellent form, but it was a bit chewed up by bugs. I live in MI so nurseries near me don't have citrus, so I don't regret my purchase.

    Also, based on other past purchases from various sellers, I'd say fast growing trees gets a 7/10 on my book.

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    I have bought from Fast Growing Trees. They work with local growers (meaning they don't just ship all their own inventory) because they actually shipped me Four Winds Growers citrus trees in the past (Meyer lemon, navel orange, Mexican lime and clementine). I found bigger ones at a local nursery for some, so I gave a few of theirs away. Their trees have fruited the first year like they say, but they're expensive for what you get. In my area, you could go to an actual nursery and special order for the same price, while also getting a similar (or better) tree from local conditions that didn't go through huge shipping and that would also fruit the first year. That way you're also supporting local nursery staff.

    But, that said, I have bought citrus from them before, as well as apples (at a previous house), raspberries, and a few other plants/trees. They all did fine.

  • 8 months ago

    Dint buy from fast growing trees i bought 2 apple trees from them it said they would produce the next year. that was 6 years ago. nothing! they are a farse! i bought the largest ones so i wiuod get fruit sooner. a hundred dollars apiece. dont buy

  • 2 months ago

    My advice.

    Do not purchase from this disreputable business.

    I ordered close to a $1,000 worth of fruit trees and shrubs.

    The fruit trees were of poor quality, and of course just like all the other people, I was advised to keep the trees, and if they did not "come back" to call before the 1 year guarantee was up. I have recently contacted them with pictures, asking for my money back.

    They said, I could have replacement trees, but pay shipping and sales tax or a credit.

    I want my money back. My advice...

    If you receive poor product (which seems to be the NORM) REFUSE the product,

    Immediately call your bank and put in a chargeback for the amount. Let the FastGrowingTrees.com decide how to deal with getting their garbage product back.

    DO NOT BUY from this company.