They usually arrive with leaves and/or buds on.

Bare root trees that arrive reasonably dormant and in the proper planting window survive better than potted. Potted have one advantage only, they can be planted during the growing season.

Something is going on with the bare roots. There are many possibilities but probably the most common issue is soil that stays too wet. Can you post a picture or more information about your soil, planting practices, watering, and fertilization.

I saw a guy once kill dozens of trees by putting manure in the planting hole, lots of it.

If they arrive with leaves and buds then they are no longer dormant and should not be sold as bare root. Bare root trees should be bare sticks - no leaves or signs of buds other than fully dormant buds.

When truly dormant bare root trees always do better for me than potted. Here in zone 4 I like to receive my bare root trees in the spring as they do better than when planted in the fall in my wet clay soil.

That said I receive my trees in mid to late April when they are still dormant and before that he starts so your mileage may vary.

The question is which nurseries you ordered your trees from? Maybe, you should order from a reliable nursery that will send you dormant trees.

I've planted plenty of bare root trees that weren't fully dormant. Even in April here they usually do fine if well cared for. We're dry and very sunny with 80F temps in April. Fully dormant is better but swelling buds isn't a death sentence. Plant them right and keep moist and they'll do fine. I have probably shaded a few of these for a few weeks to get them started. A couple layers of Agribon 19 helps lots of things get established.

A reliable nursery is one thing. I bought bare root trees from Willis nursery in Georgia and I like to call what I got "no root trees." They had a guarantee, so I followed their requirement and sent them the bottoms of the trees and they replaced them with more no root trees the next spring. None of them lived and 2 years of my life were spent messing with them. I try to buy potted trees and vines. I am in zone 7, so my experience may be different from those farther north. I have had good luck with bare root blackberries elderberries and muscadine vines, though.

Yes, no root would suck. Here is a photo of what good bare root looks like. Received from Whiffletree this spring.

Don,

The one reliable nursery I could think of that ships potted plants is Edible Landscaping. Potted plants are usually smaller and more expensive than bare root trees.

Gary, Willis may be in your hometown but it has a questionable reputaion. You would be better off ordering those vines and berries on line from nurseries like Nourse Farm in MA, Burntridge or Raintree in WA, etc.

What is wrong with receiving a bareroot tree in spring that has awaken from it's dormancy? Can't you just plant it or pot it up and let it do its thing?

tlbean, nothing is wrong with it, unless the tree is in full leaf, then it may need more care. I live so far away from most mail order nurseries that I almost never receive a tree that hasn't woken up in transit. I usually only plant bare root and they do fine, if it is still freezing here, I pot up and plant later, if not, it goes straight in the ground.

Thanks guys, I still would think a potted dormant tree is better if at right age and not root bound? Mine have arrived in various stages of waking up and usually never completely dormant. I have had some make it - but the almond and cherry trees seem to be a lot pickier and never make it.

Don you are not going to solve the issue if you fail to realize that the trees probably aren't the problem. If your almond and cherry never make it, then it's not a tree issue.

Cherries hate wet soil. Here in CA where it's clay they are recommend to be planted on mounds/raised beds.

Don gota go with fruitnut. We have planted lots and lots of bare root trees from Idaho, California and now Arizona. None- from a rep. dealer, mostly HD, Lowes, Wally world and 5 N dime. We have even planted them with lots of leaves still in their bags at the end of the season(April)because they where cheap. All soils in each place have been different acid in ID, great in Cali, crap in AZ. It really comes down to how they are planted and taken care of. It could be a water issue or soil issue. If your soil is really rotten like ours try a little root stimulater it may help.