Postage Stamp Orchard?

[NEfarmgirl]

I was reading through some seed catalogs and noticed postage stamp orchards. They are a mix of self pollinating fruit trees. It comes with two apples, a peach, pear, cherry,and nectarine or plum dwarf trees. We have one apple (had two but friends goats ate one), a pear and a peach already. We want to add more trees and the dwarf size would be easy to take care of. We have a small family so we don't need a lot of fruit. Has anyone planted one of these orchards before or are we better off buying everything individually?

[caitlinsmom]

We bought one of these 2 years ago and it was horrible!! We paid something like $50 dollars and within the year 4 of the trees had died. Actually 2 were shipped dead. We have 3 left, the two apples and the pear. They have done very well and have shot right up.
The company we used I later found out is not reputable to do business with. In fact they do business under a bunch of names. There is a special web page out there stating all the bad business practices.
Anyway good luck if you decide to buy the orchard. I think the most important thing is make sure the company has good stock before purchasing. It will make all the difference.

[Pat]

Always check Dave's The Garden Watchdog (http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/) before buying from any catalog / on line nursery.

If you see something that looks good in a rip off catalog... note the varities (and sizes i.e. dwarf / simi dwarf / Single Stem Apple Trees or rocket peaches, and go to a good nursery to buy them. It will cost more, but you won't be like caitlinsmom and lose so much.

I'd suggest Millers Nursery http://millernurseries.com/, RainTree Nursery http://www.raintreenursery.com/ and or Stark Brothers Nursery http://www.raintreenursery.com/. What I'd also suggest is you ask for a catalog from them, and wait until this fall to actually order. It's almost too late to plant bare root trees... and this fall you'll get a discount and it's better to plant in the fall anyway. (and less work for you as they will be putting out roots all winter making the need of watering less next summer).

Regards

Pat

[NickieL]

I'd suggest picking out your own separate varieties. That way you can get the ones best suited to your own tastes and climate rather then an assortment picked out for you. That is what I've been doing. I add to it every year. So far I have two apricots, a 4-in-1 apple, two pears, a peach, a pie cherry, blueberries, elderberries, raspberries, cranberries, strawberries, and hawthorn.

[NEfarmgirl]

Thanks for the info. We will go to the nursery when they go on sale this fall.

[Sandhills]

NEfarmgirl,
If you are in Nebraska, I highly recommend the Intrepid peach from Stark Brothers. I planted a dwarf one 3 years ago. It's produced peaches the last 2 years. I've tried several other peach trees before this and they have never done as well as the Intrepid.