The Brushpile

Nurseries are an important topic. Buyer beware! I ordered over $500 in what amounted to sprouted seeds from Morse Nursery, and 90% of my order died because the seedlings were too small to be outside of a nursery. For example, this is a 10 dollar apple tree from Morse Nursery which cost $2.50 per leaf, and it died.

 
In contrast, this was a $15 tree from Adams County Nursery, and it's now 8 years old. This also is what The Brushpile looked like when I started planting, Everything was burned sprayed with glyphosate and sprayed again.

 
Last edited:
I hope my good buddy SMSmith will join in with his list of nurseries. SMSmith was my go to guy when I started planting. I'd just returned from the Middle East and had no clue where to buy seedlings.
 
My first lesson was to Google the name of the tree/plant and then type USDA. I just Googled "Swamp White Oak USDA" and got this information.
http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=QUBI
If I then click on "Characteristics", I'll find everything I need to know about a tree/plant to make a decision to order or not order.

NRCS is under the USDA. If a state appears Green on the map, it does not mean that a tree or plant grows throughout the state, just that it occurs somewhere in the state. In Missouri the Boot Heel is generally low lying and swampy along the Mississippi River, so lots of plants that will grow in the Boot Heel make Missouri green on the map, but they only grow in the Boot Heel. In states like Minnesota, plants that grow in the Southern part of the state don't grow further North, but the entire state appears green on the map.

I have ordered trees from Florida, and I've ordered trees from the State of Washington, that are alive and productive on the Brushpile.
 
Bush .... are you sure that is a SWO; it's leaves look more like that of a straight white oak or English oak (also a member of the white oak family).
 
Most of my chinkapins are full sun, the swo get some shade late in the day.
If you bought them from the MDC, you have Chinkapin Oaks, not to be confused with Chinkapins, which are small chestnuts. If your trees are in full Sun they should do well. I talked to a nursey owner in AL who had potted Chinkapin Oaks that were bearing acorns, but that's not always the case, and some trees take much longer.
 
I hope my good buddy SMSmith will join in with his list of nurseries. SMSmith was my go to guy when I started planting. I'd just returned from the Middle East and had no clue where to buy seedlings.
Thanks Brush. You're the go to guy now ;)

Nurseries I have personally bought from and would buy from again without a second thought (in no particular order)
Lawyer Nursery
Oikos Tree Crops
Adams County Nursery
Cummins Nursery
Burnt Ridge Nursery
Reeseville Ridge Nursery
Walden Heights Nursery
North Central Reforestation
One Green World

Nurseries I have personally bought from and would never buy from again
Morse Nursery

Nurseries with fantastic reputations from a number of habitat guys but whom I have not personally done business with
Itasca Nursery
Chief River Nursery
Lincoln Oakes Nursery
University of Idaho - Forest Research Nursery


Nurseries I have bought from and would use again if I lived/planted in a warmer zone
MDC

There are a few others I've done business with and will not rate publicly for a variety of reasons.

Glad to see you here kicking a$$ Brad
 
Thanks Brush. You're the go to guy now ;)

Nurseries I have personally bought from and would buy from again without a second thought (in no particular order)
Lawyer Nursery
Oikos Tree Crops
Adams County Nursery
Cummins Nursery
Burnt Ridge Nursery
Reeseville Ridge Nursery
Walden Heights Nursery
North Central Reforestation
One Green World

Nurseries I have personally bought from and would never buy from again
Morse Nursery

Nurseries with fantastic reputations from a number of habitat guys but whom I have not personally done business with
Itasca Nursery
Chief River Nursery
Lincoln Oakes Nursery
University of Idaho - Forest Research Nursery


Nurseries I have bought from and would use again if I lived/planted in a warmer zone
MDC

There are a few others I've done business with and will not rate publicly for a variety of reasons.

Glad to see you here kicking a$$ Brad

Superior trees in Florida is a good source for Stawberry Bush, Dwarf Chinkapin Oak, and Allegheny Chinkapin.
Century Farm Orchard has trees comparable to Adams County, but there's no minimum order and they ship both Spring and Fall.
Lincoln Oakes Nursery is a state run Nursery in North Dakota that I've ordered from a half dozen times.
The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is the source for most of my seedlings. Quality and price can't be beat!
Virginia Department of Forestry has really nice Chinese Chestnut.
The Wildlife Group is the source for Sequin/Chinese Chinkapin, and has the AU Chestnut.
Mossy Oak Native Nursery sells air root pruned wildlife trees.
Burnt Ridge Nursery in Washington sells a variety of wildlife trees that include apples and chestnuts. **** European and Japanese Chestnuts will get blight ****
Coldstream Farm. The four varieties of crabapples they sold me produced tiny crabapples that deer didn't eat, but the nursey has a good reputation.
Adams County Nursery... Apples


I encourage others to join in to create a source for buying trees,
 
Like you I have some Sawtooth oaks that I planted at 6+ ft tall about 7 yrs ago that still aren't producing a viable acorn...they grow really fast though!
 
I didn't plant English Oak or White Oak, I planted Swamp White Oak, but it's possible a stray seedling got in the bundle. However, compare the acorns on my pic with the acorns in this pic.
https://www.bing.com/images/search?...a35b8b02dd1612b1c8eeb6a57c195277o0&ajaxhist=0
Bush ... your reference picture is certainly consistent with your photo; it must be a SWO. I was looking more at the leaf structure; however, I dont believe I could see a complete leaf ... so I must have been mistaken. Thanks for the great reference section on SWOs

After looking again at the leaves on your picture of your tree, I googled swamp chestnut oak (quercus michauxii) acorn ... it may very well be you have a swamp chestnut oak tree ... while a member of the white oak family ir is a different tree than a SWO .. they do share similar characteristics. Here is a picture of a swamp chestnut oak with acorns.
White%20Oak2.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Bush ... your reference picture is certainly consistent with your photo; it must be a SWO. I was looking more at the leaf structure; however, I dont believe I could see a complete leaf ... so I must have been mistaken. Thanks for the great reference section on SWOs
I could see your point on the leaves, which take on different form with age.
 
Bush ... your reference picture is certainly consistent with your photo; it must be a SWO. I was looking more at the leaf structure; however, I dont believe I could see a complete leaf ... so I must have been mistaken. Thanks for the great reference section on SWOs

After looking again at the leaves on your picture of your tree, I googled swamp chestnut oak (quercus michauxii) acorn ... it may very well be you have a swamp chestnut oak tree ... while a member of the white oak family ir is a different tree than a SWO .. they do share similar characteristics. Here is a picture of a swamp chestnut oak with acorns.
White%20Oak2.jpeg
Now that's a possibility! I've noticed that once in awhile the MDC gets one wrong seedling in a bundle, and the MDC does sell Swamp Chestnut Oak.
 
Back
Top