READ THIS!! Answers to many questions

We have compiled a list of the most frequently asked questions from our email.  Please check this page to see if we have answered your questions here first!

General Questions:

1. Are you open to the Public? Yes, by appointment only. Please call 1-800-669-2067, or 386-462-2820, or email us to set up an appointment.  During the busy winter shipping season, these are normally scheduled on Fridays.

2. What are your hours?  We are open Mon-Fri 8:30-4pm. 

3. Are you open on weekends? We are CLOSED on the weekends.  If your order is prepaid, you can pick it up on Saturdays - we will set the order inside our gate.

4. Can we select our own trees?  No.  We are not a garden center, but a 150 acre production nursery.  Our insurance does not allow people to walk around the nursery.  We pick you the nicest stock we have available.

5. Where are you located?  Click this link for a map.  From Exit 390 on I-75, the northern Gainesville, FL exit, go West on SR 222 for 3.0 miles to a stoplight deadend.  Turn right or North and go 3.5 miles on CR 241/NW 143 St.  Turn left or West and go 0.5 miles on NW 94 Ave to the top of the hill.  The sign and driveway are on the left at the top of the hill.

6. Do you offer farm tours? We are happy to schedule tours for garden clubs, master gardener groups, and other organizations. We also offer our trees to groups at wholesale prices to re-sell as fund raisers for the group.

7. Do you sell wholesale? We offer our wholesale prices to members of the commercial landscape and nursery trade.  You must provide us with a business license and State of Florida resale tax certificate.  We also offer wholesale pricing to commercial orchardists (minimum order of 100 trees).

8. When do you ship? We ship during the dormant season, from January to April, starting with Florida first, then the southern states and the northern states in April, to arrive with the beginning of spring.  You can pick up plants from the nursery year-round.

9. Do you offer a guarantee? No, we are not Walmart or Home Depot.  There are too many things that can happen that are beyond our control that can hurt the trees.  Please read our gurantee here.

Growing questions:

1. When is the best time to plant trees?  In Florida, you can plant year round, as long as you have irrigation to water the plants, and you are planting container-grown trees.  Winter and spring are traditional times, but plants also do fine when planted in summer during the rains, or in the fall.  We pot up trees all year round in the nursery, and it is no different.

2. Does ________ need a pollinator?  Each variety description lists whether or not a pollinator is needed or they are self-fertile.  This is shown on the complete variety list.

3. How far apart should I space the trees? Most fruit trees can be planted 10-20' apart.  Allow enough space between rows for mowing equipment.

4. How soon will I get fruit?  Most fruit trees and berries will produce fruit the year after planting.  You should not allow a tree to overbear when it is young, so remove some fruit if the crop appears too heavy, or it will stunt the growth of the tree.

5. When should I fertilize? Use 1 lb of a balanced 12-12-12 with minor elements per inch of trunk diameter per year.  Put half around the tree in the winter, and half after summer rains have started.  Don't fertilize in the late summer or fall, as this could lead to vigorous growth and damage from early frosts.

6. When do I prune?   Most plants are pruned when dormant in the winter.

7. Do I need irrigation? We highly recommend installing an irrigation system.  Infrequent watering from a hose is not enough, especially in the first year of growth.  If you are planting in the woods where there is no water (especially for chestnuts and wildlife trees) we strongly suggest you use Grow Tubes.

Chestnut questions:

1. Do Dunstan Chestnuts require pollinators? Yes, all chestnuts need pollinators.  You must plant a minimum of 2 Dunstan trees together to get nut production.

2. Will other chestnuts (such as Chinese) pollinate Dunstan Chestnuts? Yes, but the nut production will not be as good.

3. How far apart can I plant chestnuts and still get pollination?  A minimum of 20' and a maximum of 50'.

4. What is the spacing for chestnuts?  We recommend 20'x20' (=108 trees/acre).  They will begin to touch after 12-15 years, and can be thinned at that time.

5. When should I plant chestnuts?  In the north, early spring (when we ship) or early fall (Sept-Oct).  In the south, they can be planted most of the year, except during the coldest part of winter, or during extended droughts.

6. Do you sell Dunstan nuts? No, we use all of our crop for planting.

7. Should I use Grow Tubes?  How long do they stay on the trees? Yes, we highly recommend Grow Tubes if you are planting in an area where you do not have access to water, or there is pressure from deer browsing on the young trees.  The tubes stay on until the trees become constricted around the trunk.

8. How similar are the Dunstan Chestnuts to the American Chestnut? Dunstan Chestnuts are blight resistant, which American Chestnuts are not.  They produce larger nuts than American Chestnuts.  If grown in the open, Dunstan Chestnuts will spread (just like Americans) and if grown in the forest or tight spacing, will be more timber form.  The quality of the wood is similar.