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If you don’t find an answer to your question here, please contact us either through our website, email or Facebook. We would be happy to talk to you.
Buying Trees
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When can I start purchasing?Our start date for sales is in late summer. We have a limited quantity of trees, so please place your order early! You can select your spring ship date as you checkout on the website
Due to the shipping cost, there will be a minimum of 4 products that have to be purchased for checkout to occur.
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What trees do you recommend for me?Everyone has different goals and expectations when it comes to fruit trees. A lot of what you should buy depends on where you are located, and how you’re trying to use the trees to feed deer. We have introduced new website capabilities that allow you to filter products based on tree varieties, your growing zone, when you want fruit to fall and the type of disease resistance you may be looking for. We encourage folks to use these filters to narrow down the best trees for them. It will be the fastest way to personalize your selection. When you reach out to us, this is generally how we approach making recommendations.
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Could you go into a little more depth/detail on the rootstock that you use versus other nurseries? I’m kinda new to this, and I’m looking for a nursery to buy fromThe best way I can describe it is by looking at people living in a rural ranch house or people living in a skyscraper in the city. We can compound much more fruit on a given tree when we build up using less real estate to produce much more fruit on a given tree depending on the roots we graft onto the tree. Many clonal roots will not allow us to see the tree’s full potential, and many will fall over in a thunderstorm if you graft a productive tree onto a root like this and do not support it. Many clonal roots stay toward the soil’s upper layer and do not anchor well. Having a well-anchored tree that can sustain a fruit load is another benefit to growing a tree on the roots that we offer here. Having a well-anchored tree also means drought resistance, as the roots are down and do not lay in the upper layer of soil. My short answer would be. I use the roots I do because they anchor well, providing drought resistance and more vigor, providing much more fruit on a given tree.
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When do my trees ship?You are required to select a ship date or a pick-up date from the calendar when checking out on the website. We ship trees in early December, March, and April; some of these days are pickup days also. If the weather gets too cold to ship, we may need to change your ship date. You can always write us at ryan@bluehillwildlifenursery.com if you want to change your shipping or pickup date. We will notify you when your trees are shipped.
Ship dates for trees are the approximate days that we mail your trees from our location. Sometimes, we are ahead and may mail them a few days early, and they arrive on or close to this date, but we generally mail them on the date you selected when you checked out.
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Can I pick up my order?Yes, we offer local pickup. Your trees can be picked up from March into April. We are here 8-4 Monday through Friday. Please give us a notification if you are coming so we have them packed up and ready for you.
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Shipping boxesOur shipping is very unique in terms of shipping trees. Our largest box is 66”x14” and holds around 17 2-year-old trees.
If your shipping requires multiple boxes, please know that your shipping costs will increase. All shipping rates are shown during checkout.
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Product Stock AlertsPlease do not use the contact form to sign up for product stock alerts. This can be done directly under that product after choosing your product option(s).
When signing up for an email notification, click on the tree that interests you and select a size. This will give you the option to place your email in the box provided for the notifications. Not every size of every tree will be available; signing up for multiple sizes would be a benefit to you.
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Adding / Purchasing ItemsWe updated the site so that when you add a product to your cart, you will have 30 minutes to complete the checkout. This prevents you from losing items from other users who would have completed their purchase before you did.
If you add another item to your cart, the 30-minute timer will reset so that you have ample time to complete your purchase.
If you are wondering if there is more room in your box to add more trees, you can write us at ryan@bluehillwildlifenursery.com
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Shipping PolicyDue to phytosanitary regulations, we do not ship to California. We also do not ship chestnut trees to Washington, Florida or Oregon. Trees will be packaged correctly to meet the shipping requirements for Idaho and all other states.
Growing Trees
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How do you recommend I plant my trees?We have content on our YouTube page that walks through the recommended ways to plant our trees. Please remember that there is more than digging a hole to ensure the most success for your trees. Lots of critters want to eat your newly planted tree, so don’t delay when it comes to protecting those newly planted trees.
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How deep should I plant my new trees? Do I bury the graft?Ryan walks through how deep to plant your new trees. He recommends if you should bury the graft.
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Should I fertilize my trees? Which fertilizer should I use?Many customers will ask us if they should apply lime and fertilizer to their trees. This is a complex question. Generally, the answer is yes, but it’s hard to give the exact answer for you. Soil fertility is a complex question. If you want the best answer, we recommend doing a soil test for where you live, where you want to plant your trees. Lots of university extensions and labs offer economical soil testing.
Below is a Penn State’s general guidance on fruit tree soil fertility. Commercial growers use these guidelines along with their soil test results.
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When is the right time to fertilize fruit trees?For fruit trees in Pennsylvania, the optimal fertilization window is late winter to early spring, just before or shortly after bud swell, and again in early summer if needed.
Key timing guidelines:
- Late winter to early spring (before bud break): Apply fertilizer when trees are waking from dormancy. This supports new shoots, blossoms, and root development. Wait until about a week before the last frost date to avoid new growth being damaged by spring frosts.
- Shortly after blooming: A second application can help with fruit set and early growth.
- Early summer (after fruit set): Lightly side-dress with nitrogen if growth is weak, but avoid nitrogen after mid-summer to prevent frost-sensitive new growth.
- Avoid late summer/fall fertilization: This can stimulate tender growth that may not have time to winter harden and be killed by cold.
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When will my newly planted trees push their first leaves?This is a very common question we get from customers. We understand everyone is very excited for their new trees to start growing. Trees will push first leaves when they’re ready. There is no exact answer to this question, as it depends on a lot of factors. Weather conditions, soil conditions, sunlight, and many others dictate when a tree is ready to start growing. We ask that folks please be patient as these times will vary.
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How should I prune my fruit trees for wildlife?We show how we recommend pruning our fruit trees on our YouTube page.