Buying trees online: What to know before you order (and why it often beats the garden center)
Buying trees by mail order gives you a wider selection of trees‚ healthier root systems‚ and better information than most big-box garden centers․ If you know what to look for‚ that is․ More importantly‚ your roots will have been dug or potted within days of shipment‚ not left languishing in a parking lot display under sprinkler spray and fluorescent lights for weeks․ That‚ more than anything else‚ is why buying nursery stock online is becoming the order of the day for serious landscape shoppers․
Why Freshness Beats Convenience
Meanwhile‚ a tree at a big box store might have shipped from the wholesale grower‚ sat on the lot for two to eight weeks‚ watered by a worker on the assigned shift‚ become pot-bound‚ and have sunscald and wind damage to its leaves․ Nobody there can tell you whether that Red Maple was grown in Tennessee clay or Oregon volcanic soil - and that actually matters for how it'll perform once it's in your yard․
If you buy from an online nursery that grows their own plants‚ like TN Nursery‚ they will send you trees that were still in the ground or in active production days before they were shipped․ You're getting trees‚ not whatever survived the retail floor․ You're getting stock pulled specifically for you‚ which means better root mass‚ is less transplant shock‚ and a much higher survival rate - the difference between a tree that limps along for two years and one that's putting on 2-3 feet of new growth by its second season․
Know Your Zone Before You Click Buy
The USDA planting zone map of Tennessee shows zones from 6b‚ on the higher elevations near the Smokies‚ to 8a‚ on the milder river valleys near Memphis․ It covers a wider range than many people are aware of‚ which affects tree selection․ The Yoshino Cherry or Dogwood would do fine across almost the entire state‚ although a Crepe Myrtle might not survive frigid conditions that could settle into upper East Tennessee during a hard winter․ Additionally‚ the chill hours allotted for the Sugar Maple this far south may not be enough for reliable fall foliage color․
A reputable online nursery will tell you the hardiness zones in which that particular plant will thrive․ If you can't find that information on a given website‚ that's not a small thing․ Check where your county sits‚ and if you're near the border of a zone‚ lean toward the more hardy end․
Bare-Root vs․ Container: What It Really Means to You
This is where a lot of first-time online buyers get confused․ Bare-root trees are dug while dormant‚ shaken free of soil‚ and shipped with moist packing material around their roots․ They are cheaper to transport and lighter to handle‚ and if planted properly (in late fall through early spring)‚ they are as good as or better than pot-grown stock because their roots are not circling in a pot․
Container-grown trees have soil around the roots‚ and these can be planted at any time of year as long as the ground is not frozen․ They are better for summer planting and where there is uncertainty about the best way to handle bare-root trees‚ but are heavier and more expensive to transport․
For the climate of Tennessee‚ if either type is used‚ the best time to plant is from late October through early April․ Planting when dormant means that roots are better established by the time a full canopy of leaves is needed for summer heat‚ and considerably reduces transplanting shock․
Realistic Timelines: What to Actually Expect
Nobody tells you this part‚ and it's where a lot of buyer frustration comes from․ A 3-4 foot flowering tree‚ like a Dogwood or a Redbud‚ probably will not flower heavily right away in the spring when you plant it; the plant is still working on roots‚ roots‚ roots․ In its first year of blossoming‚ the plant does not flower much‚ but it flowers more in its second year․
Growth rates differ for each shade tree‚ but once established‚ a Red Maple or River Birch tree can add 2-3 ft (61-91 cm) of height per year․ The average Oak only grows a foot or so for its first few years‚ then grows faster as the roots begin to stabilize and spread․ If you hear someone promising fast‚ dramatic one-year growth from an Oak tree‚ they probably have more of a marketing background than a horticulture background․
What Good Product Pages Should Actually Tell You
Photos are useful but numbers matter more․ A good plant page should include plant size at the point of maturity‚ not at the stage the plant is shipped․ It may also give sun and soil requirements‚ hardiness zone range‚ whether the tree is deciduous or evergreen‚ and in an ideal situation‚ a rough guide to when in the year the tree produces flowers or seed (if it does)․ For example‚ TN Nursery's Crape Myrtles‚ Dogwoods and Red Maples and evergreen plants such as the Leyland Cypress all have growth expectations and zone information on them‚ not just a price and a pretty picture․
Shipping and Handling ‚ What Actually Happens to Your Tree
The roots are packaged in a moisture-retaining root ball‚ typically in a box large enough that the branches are not damaged․ For most of the Southeast and the Mid-South‚ the time from the grower in Tennessee to final destination is 2-5 days and there is rarely much desiccation of roots if packed properly․ When your tree arrives‚ immediately unpack the roots and plant it‚ or heel it in a temporary trench of moist soil‚ as no bare-root tree should stay in the shipping box for more than a day or two․
The Real Advantage
That's not just saving you the drive from store to store‚ but if you can have a grower ship directly to you‚ that person can tell you exactly what kind of soil that tree's grown in‚ exactly how old the root system is‚ and exactly when you should be putting it in the ground for the specific part of Tennessee you're in․ That's the information a seasonal employee at a garden center almost never has․ When you're investing in something that's supposed to be in your yard for decades‚ that kind of specificity is worth far more than saving a trip to town․"
