The back yard...dun dun dun

I’m a long time Arbor Day member. Be advised that it’s a great program, but the trees they send you are tiny little twigs, are bare-root, and won’t be sent to you until probably March or April. Indeed, there are only two times they send these trees; right before growing season in the spring, or very very late in the fall.

Out of all the 30 or so trees they sent me, I’ve had two survive; a hawthorn and a crab apple. To be fair, I lost most of these due to poor care—they sent them at the Fall rotation, and my ground had already frozen. I’ve tried growing them in pots indoors during the winter, but I just don’t have a good indoor growing space, and most were lost. Others were lost in my failed bonsai experiments.

Anyway, the cleanup phase for your blackberry thickets is going to be quite a challenge, and I don’t envy you! Still, if you’re feeling charitable, go for the Arbor Day membership. If you’d like bigger trees, like 2-3’ tall starter trees, you might be better off buying the trees from Arbor Day or someplace else.

FWIW, buying regular trees from their tree catalog works MUCH better; we’ve got a semi-dwarf apple from AD that was about 2’ tall when it arrived, and is now about 8’ tall…

-- Living on the square...Metro Detroit

thanks for the tip, I wondered…deal or dud. but i thought for ten bucks, its worth a shot and a good cause at that. when we first took over poe prairie I was hell bent on a privacy fence…being a city girl, I’d prefer one ten foot tall with laser beams on it. now that I’ve acclamated (sp?) I am leaning towards a split rail with thuja trees, I hear they grow fast, I just wonder how fast.

IMHO, the thuja trees are a major PITA. Yes, they grow relatively quickly, but also can be a lot of upkeep. We’ve got four of these monstrosities in our back yard, and I am saving pennies to cut them down and put up a nice privacy fence.

-- Living on the square...Metro Detroit

WOW … that is quite a clean up project for the spring!!! I’m impressed with you have gotten done thus far; it may look like an unsightly pile to you … but anyone who is paying attention can see how much work was involved in “getting that pile”!!!

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

yah.. lots of work but the feeling of accomplishment is priceless!! :)

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

observations

I think 10 bucks for ten seedlings is a great deal.

I plant a lot of trees, some from seed like acorns and walnuts and maples, some dug out from forests, both private and public.

Year one I planted the new trees in the spring around the property line that ajoins a subdivision. Some took, some didnt. I live next to a small village but my property is zoned agricultural. There are some trees that border the subdivison so I planted one in between each tree so that some day the subdiviision disappears.

Next year I plnted trees in the late fall…..........they all lived.

First year I put seedlings in the garden where it gets watered and fertilized…......and they didnt grow an inch, small leaves, some died.

Second year I put the seedlings in buckets/pots etc, built a pergola with a bamboo roof to let in some sun and they all lived, had big leaves and grew inches

You can also fool mother nature by putting seedlings outside, let them grow, then cool them off, put them in the freezer and then repeat albeit my wife isnt very cool with that idea but it works.

Walnuts, one of favorite is easy to grow from seed albeit every single one of them that is now in its fifth year was mowed over by the kids despite having a flourescent orage stick placed beside it…......kids dont always think.

Your mess looked like my place three years ago and I am happy to say that now, people stop by just to see the gardens.

-- Central northish Ontario

Greenthumb you have been very encouraging…all of you have.

texas is a long way away from me

cheers

-- Central northish Ontario

Quite a challenge rubus can be. This may be a stupid question, but did you cut the canes down in the fall or something else? the only reason I ask is because all of the rubus family has extensive roots underground, and if you haven’t killed them off completely you’ll end up with a nightmare of new growth in the spring.
Good luck
Sib

we cut them down this winter, and plan on spraying a blackberry vine killer in the spring. Andy would like to keep them, but I’m down with them. We can always plant thornless blackberries somewhere else.