You’re walking through the nursery looking for a new shade tree. You find a beautiful 10-gallon Autumn Blaze Maple that’s just the right size to take home and plant yourself.
And then comes a question we hear all the time:
How old is this tree, anyway?
The short answer? That tree is probably a lot older than you think.
In the first episode of The Dirt, Mary sat down with Johanna George from Bailey Nurseries to talk about where the trees you see at Natural Plus actually come from, how they’re grown and just how much happens before one ever makes its way to your yard.
How Old Is a Tree When You Buy It From a Nursery?
There isn't one age that applies to every nursery tree. The species, variety, propagation method and growing process all play a role.
But that 10-gallon Autumn Blaze Maple we mentioned? It may already be six to seven years old by the time you see it at the nursery.
Some fast-growing trees, including certain elms and willows, may reach a saleable size in four or five years. Other trees, such as slower-growing oaks, can take considerably longer.
In fact, when growers begin producing a tree, they may be looking five, seven or even ten years ahead to the day that tree will finally be ready for someone's yard.
So no, that tree didn't just show up in a pot this spring. It's been a whole thing.
How Does a Nursery Tree Grow?
One of the most interesting parts of our conversation with Johanna was learning that many of the trees you see sitting in containers at the nursery haven't spent their entire lives in those containers.
The process varies by tree, but let's use a maple as an example.
It may begin with a seed that develops into a seedling. From there, the young tree is grown in a field where growers carefully manage its development.
As it grows, they'll select the stem that will become the main trunk. They'll remove unwanted suckers and lower branches, encourage good structure and repeatedly tie and train the young tree so it grows straight.
After several years in the field, the tree is dug and moved into a container. A maple destined for a 10-gallon container may already stand around six feet tall and have begun developing its branching structure before it's ever potted.
Then it keeps growing.
A tree may spend another year to year and a half growing in that container before it's ready to ship to a retail nursery like Natural Plus.
And even then, its journey isn't over. We continue caring for it here until somebody decides it's the one and takes it home.
Why Are Some Trees Grafted?
Not every tree starts the same way.
Some trees grow on their own roots, while others are produced through budding or grafting. You'll see this especially often with fruit trees and certain ornamental trees.
Grafting essentially combines the root system, or rootstock, of one plant with the upper portion of another.
Why go through all that trouble?
Because the rootstock can influence how the finished tree performs.
With fruit trees, for example, the chosen rootstock can help determine whether a tree grows to dwarf, semi-dwarf or standard size. It can also affect characteristics such as how quickly the tree begins producing fruit.
Growers can also choose rootstocks based on hardiness, plant performance and other characteristics.
It's one more example of how much thought goes into producing the tree long before you start thinking about where to plant it.
Why Do Nursery Trees Cost So Much?
Knowing how a tree is grown also helps answer another question we occasionally hear:
Why does a tree cost that much?
When you buy a quality tree, you aren't paying for one growing season.
You're paying for years of growing, handling and care.
During those years, growers are selecting and training trunks, pruning branches, managing roots, monitoring plants for pests and disease, transplanting trees and caring for them through multiple growing seasons.
And quite a bit of that work still has to be done by hand. Budding trees? By hand. Tying young trees so they grow straight? Also by hand.
Add in the land, water, equipment, labor and expertise required to keep that tree healthy for six, seven or more years, and there's a lot behind the price tag hanging from the branch.
You're also buying something that could spend decades in your yard.
We'd call that a pretty good return on investment.
From the Growing Field to Your North Iowa Yard
By the time you see rows of trees sitting at Natural Plus Nursery, years of work have already gone into getting them there.
Our job is to take it from there.
Choosing a tree isn't just about finding one you like. You also have to consider where you're planting it, how large it will eventually grow, how much sun the location receives, soil and moisture conditions, and what you want the tree to do for your landscape.
That's where we can help.
Natural Plus Nursery carries a wide selection of shade, ornamental and fruit trees for North Iowa landscapes, and our inventory changes throughout the growing season. More importantly, we're here to help you figure out what to plant, where to plant it and how to care for it once you get it home.
If you're looking for a tree for your property in Clear Lake, Mason City or the surrounding North Iowa area, stop out and walk through the nursery. Tell us what you're looking for, and we'll help you narrow down your options.
Because after someone spent six or seven years growing that tree, we'd really like to help you put it in the right spot.
Want to Hear the Whole Conversation?
This post only scratches the surface of our conversation with Johanna George of Bailey Nurseries.
In Episode 1 of The Dirt, Mary and Johanna talk about the entire process a tree goes through before arriving at Natural Plus, including field growing, container production, grafting, rootstocks and some of the behind-the-scenes work most of us never think about when we're shopping for plants.
Listen to Episode 1: From Seed to Your Yard: The Real Age of Nursery Trees Explained
And if you have a question you've always wanted to ask about trees, shrubs, perennials or life behind the scenes at a nursery, send it our way. It might just become a future episode of The Dirt.