Trees For Sale Near Me: A Tennessee Buyer's Guide to Finding the Right Tree Locally
I know you're Googling trees for sale near me‚ and you want more than a random tree supplier‚ and more trees than may or may not do well in your area․ TN Nursery‚ just outside McMinnville in Warren County‚ ships trees for Hardiness Zones 6 and 7․ Those zones cover most of Tennessee and a good part of the Southeast‚ so you're not ordering from a national catalog site and getting stock that has been in the ground through a Tennessee summer and winter․
Why Where a Tree Was Grown Is More Important Than You Think
Sure‚ a red maple grown on a nursery in Oregon and another grown here in Middle Tennessee have red maple genes‚ but they've been raised in very different conditions․ Offspring grown from seed in our clay soil‚ humidity and freeze-thaw pattern‚ with our rainfall and temperature patterns‚ do best in your yard․ That's the difference between a tree that limps along for a few years and one that stays healthy for 20․
We've grown trees on our 100 acres for over 30 years‚ and we know what we call soil-transition shock is a fact․ Take a tree out of a field in sandy loam dirt and move it to the heavy clay of Tennessee‚ and I've seen trees take a year or two to adjust their roots to the new soil condition․ Our trees don't have that adjustment period‚ because they've never been anywhere else․
What's Actually Available Right Now
You'll find more of a range than you'd find at most big box garden centers‚ and a lot of what we grow isn't found at retail nurseries․
- Flowering ornamentals such as dogwood‚ redbud‚ flowering cherry‚ saucer magnolia‚ and crape myrtle will bloom reliably in Zones 6 and 7․ - Shade trees - red maple‚ sugar maple‚ several species of oak‚ and elms that will eventually throw 40+ feet of canopy - Fruit trees (peach‚ pear‚ and apples are chosen for their chill-hour requirements; peaches specifically need 600-900 hours below 45 degrees F (7 degrees C) to bear reliably‚ something our winters typically provide) - Evergreens‚ firs‚ cedars‚ or spruces‚ for windbreaks‚ privacy screening‚ or year-round greenery - Specialty and hard-to-find varieties like corkscrew willow and other specimens that most regional nurseries simply don't stock
For fall color‚ you can't beat red maple and sweetgum in this area․ For a hedge‚ a spruce or cedar hedge should be planted 8 to 10 feet apart if you want it to fill in in 5 to 7 years․ Redbud and dogwood are both under 25 feet (7․6 m)‚ and can provide flowering near a patio or front entry with limited space․
When to Actually Plant in Tennessee
This is where a lot of general advice falls short: National sites will tell you plant in spring or fall‚ but when you're doing this in Tennessee‚ you want the fall․ From October to early December‚ soil temperatures are still warm enough for roots to grow even after the rest of the tree has gone dormant․ This allows the tree to root three or four months before summer stress arrives․ A spring planting is thought to be effective for the same reason‚ but with the pressure of 90-degree days by June․
In fact‚ with a mid-summer planting‚ July or August‚ you will want to water two or three times a week in the first month rather than once or twice․
Planting and Establishment: What to Actually Do
The whole should be digged twice as wide as the root ball‚ and no deeper․ A common mistake is to plant too deep․ The trunk flare should remain at or above grade․ Backfill with native soil; if you amend the soil with a great deal of compost‚ the roots will stop at the good soil‚ and not extend into the native clay․
Water well at planting time․ Then apply 10-15 gallons a week during the first growing season‚ adjusting for rainfall․ Mulch 2-3 inches deep in a ring around the trunk‚ keeping a few inches back from the trunk of the tree․ Mulch piled against bark may retain moisture and lead to rotting or pest attraction․
Most trees need a year to become established for every inch of trunk diameter (i․e․ a 2-inch caliper tree needs about 2 years from being dug and shipped to settle enough to use moisture and nutrients as if it were a fully established tree)․ During this period‚ regular watering is more important than fertilizing․
Ethical Growing Practices
We manage pests by using integrated pest management (IPM): we monitor and only treat when necessary․ We also prune trees according to the requirements of each species‚ rather than adhering to the same timeline for all trees․ Ideally‚ a young oak and a young crape myrtle would have completely different structures to meet in their first five years․ Prune either one like the other‚ and one or both of them will have problems․ Yes‚ this is more labor-intensive than just spraying on a schedule‚ but it means that our trees will have more vigorous roots and less chemical dependence when they arrive at your yard․
Buying Local vs․ Ordering From a National Site
And big‚ national tree retailers will ship bare-root stock in from wherever they grow best․ The price is attractive‚ but you have to gamble whether they will grow well in your region․ When you're buying a tree grown in Tennessee‚ that tree has made it․ And you can call somebody and talk to someone who's walked the same soil your tree is going into․
Get in Touch
We ship everywhere‚ and for larger orders or multiple trees‚ we can probably deliver by truck anywhere in our Middle Tennessee area․ Call us and we will help you choose plants that will really thrive in your yard on your specific site‚ as opposed to what's in stock this week․
