New tree growth time in nursery

[Home_Grower]

I am curious about the amount of time it takes for a nursery (not the retailer) to grow a tree from start to shipping. I’m thinking about say a 5’ tall ¾” stone fruit. Also with the different widths are they all grown about the same amount of time and they are what they are or do the thicker mains stay around for a while longer.

Thanks.

[Craig]

A stone fruit tree that is 3/4" caliper when shipped from Dave Wilson Nursery is most often a "yearling", which has a two-year root and one-year top. Most yearlings are dormant-budded in late summer of the first year, the bud not pushing til the following spring. Yearling sizes can range from 3/8" to 5/8" for slow-growing items, or 3/4" to 1 1/4" for the strongest growers.

A 3/4" stone fruit tree could also be a "spring bud" or "June bud", either of which would have a one-year root. Rootstocks grown from winter-planted cuttings (e.g. Marianna 26-24, Myro 29C and Citation) are spring-budded in May. Rootstocks grown from fall-planted seed (e.g. Lovell and Nemaguard) are June-budded in late May to early July. Only the stronger-growing stone fruit varieties budded early can make 3/4" as a one-year tree.

Regarding height, at Dave Wilson Nursery most fruit trees are topped in the nursery row to promote low branching. Final shipping height is usually five feet.

Yearlings generally have larger root systems than one-year trees. One-year trees often have better low branching or respond better to knee-height topping to force low branching.

[Home_Grower]

Thanks for the reply. I would have thought it took longer to get to that stage. It is good to know.

In this case it was two Royal Rainier trees on Colt from DWN I purchased yesterday.

[Craig]

The DWN Royal Rainiers on Colt are yearlings.

By the way, some yearlings - e.g. cherries on Colt, apples on Malling, pears on OHxF333 - are grown on rootstocks that have grown for a season in a liner or stool bed at DWN or elsewhere before being planted in the nursery row.