How to Plant a Bare Root Tree

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Planting a bare-root tree or shrub is easy! There are just a few tricks you should know. These instructions should help. If you have any questions, stop by the nursery or give us a call!

  1. Unpack your plant. Remove it from the bag, and loosen or remove any tightly-wound tags or stem tapes. Carefully untangle the roots. Trim off any broken roots or branches. If the roots have dried out, soak them in plain, air-temperature water for 15 minutes to 3 hours. Do not soak for more than 4 hours. If you cannot plant your bare root tree right away, put it outside and cover the roots with moist sawdust or mulch. Try not to store your tree this way for longer than several days. Planting immediately after purchasing is ideal!
  2. Dig a short, wide hole, about 2′-3′ deep and wide. It should be wide enough that the roots can grow outward without crowding. If you find you dug the hole too deep, put some soil back in and firm it down with your foot to prevent settling.
  3. Using the excavated field soil, make a mound in the center of the hole, gently firming the soil as you create the mound to avoid settling. Place your plant atop the mound, spreading the roots out evenly down the sides of the mound. Take care that you are not planting too deeply; the crown should be above the soil. It is better to plant too high than too low.
  4. Sprinkle a mycorrhizae inoculant over the bare roots.
  5. Lightly amend the backfill soil with rich compost and a very light application of an organic starter fertilizer. Shovel the mixed soil into the hole, gently tamping it down as you go. It should be firmly but not tightly packed. Water generously to help settle the soil around the roots and into the hole. If you notice that your plant is sinking as the soil settles, it is VERY important to gently wiggle and lift your plant, or start over again and replant. Being planted too deeply can suffocate the root system and is the leading cause of tree death. It is better to plant too high than too low.
  6. After the water has soaked in, spread a protective mulch 2-3 inches deep in a 3-foot diameter area around the base. Leave a 4-inch circle around the base of the plant, so the mulch never touches the trunk. We recommend our Soil Building Conditioner as a mulch.
  7. If needed, stake your tree. Use 3 stakes, evenly spaced around the tree. Tie loosely enough so that the tree can move a bit, but tightly enough that it will not tip over. Trees need trunk movement to become strong and straight and self-supporting. Mark your calendar to remove the stakes after a season of growth.
  8. Protect from rabbits and rodents.  Make a 2′ – 3′ tall “tube” of galvanized hardware cloth or 1″ chicken wire to encircle the trunk.  It should fit closely, but allowing an inch or so of room between the trunk and the barrier.
  9. Protect from deer. You can make a “cage”  around the tree by wrapping a length of field fence in a circle. Or use the stakes as a framework, and wind wire or fishing line around them. Take care that no wire or plastic is touching or wrapped around the trunk of the tree. Even trees that are “deer resistant” can be subject to rutting, and newly planted trees and shrubs can be knocked down by deer. It is never a bad idea to keep newly planted plants well-sprayed with deer & rodent repellant sprays – it can help to make a bad first impression!
  10. Throughout the growing season, give your new tree plenty of water. Deep watering is recommended to help the tree develop a deep root system. Leave the hose on a trickle for 1-3 hours to make sure that water is soaking the entire root zone. It can be helpful to set a reminder alarm on your cell phone! The goal is to keep the soil moist but not soggy and to allow the soil to drain well between waterings. Deeply rooted trees are more drought-resistant in the long term. In the first season, a tree-gator bag can help make watering newly-planted trees a bit easier. If you have a spray irrigation system, DO NOT rely on it to provide adequate, deep watering. In the first 2 – 3 years you will need to supplement to make sure water is getting down deep enough.

Here’s a video with Tobey Nelson showing us the process!

CLICK HERE TO WATCH

Orchard Mason Bee Basics

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Mason Bees have created quite a buzz these past few years, becoming popular with gardeners, farmers, orchardists, and stewards of our native habitats – with good reason! They are excellent pollinators, pollinating 95% of flowers they visit vs. honeybees’ 5%. This means more pollination from fewer bees, in fact it’s been found that 250 female mason bees can pollinate apples as effectively as about 50,000 honey bees! They are active starting in about late March or so here in Western WA, continuing for about 6-8 weeks until the adults die, leaving the cocoons to mature until the next spring. Their active time coincides with the bloom time of many fruit bearing plants, so they are a great addition to any home orchard or fruit garden. If you’re struggling with fruit production in your garden, adding mason bees is an excellent idea.

These native bees are solitary, nesting each to their own holes, and therefore do not have a hive or make honey. With no reason to be aggressive or protective, orchard mason bees are extremely gentle, and rarely sting. There have been zero reported cases of severe allergic reaction to mason bee stings. Kids love to watch the bees emerge from their cocoons and fill up their nest holes, they are a great way to teach about life cycles as well as develop a love for nature. Native bees are on the decline, so raising your own native bees is a great way to contribute to biodiversity and make sure the plants around you get pollinated.

If you’d like to learn more about mason bees, our bee supplier Knox Cellars Mason Bees has lots of great information HERE.

What you need to get started with Mason Bees:

Early nectar sources – dandelions, Forsythia, Pieris, witch hazel, Maple trees and fruit trees or shrubs are all great early blooming plants.

Clayey mud – if you’ve got clay in your soil naturally, you can just dig a small hole for them to access it, otherwise provide a small dish of moist clay for them nearby.

NO chemical or pesticide use – if your property is small, talk with your neighbors as well to see if they are pesticide free to keep your bees healthy.

Nesting holes – these can be paper tubes, reeds, bamboo tubes or special wooden blocks which can be cleaned. Avoid drilled wood blocks, as they can’t be cleaned, and if using reeds, paper or bamboo they’ll need to be replaced each year. These will need to be kept in a small housing of some kind that is sturdy, protective and water resistant and attached to a house, shed or sturdy post. We have several options for nesting holes and shelters available at the nursery.

Bees! – we have live bees available as loose cocoons or filled tubes as part of an easy starter kit. We keep them refrigerated so ask any nursery employee, we’re happy to get them for you.

Caring for your fresh cut and living Christmas Trees

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Caring for your freshly cut Christmas Tree

Follow these tips to keep your real Christmas tree as fresh as possible. If you are unable to set up your tree when you get home, store it in a cool sheltered area like the North side house, away from the wind and sun. With proper care, your Christmas tree will bring warmth and pleasure throughout the holiday season!       

1. Make a fresh cut.

If you didn’t have us make a fresh cut at the Nursery, before you bring the tree into your home and place it in a stand, re-cut the trunk at least one inch from the bottom just before putting it in the stand. Even if you just cut it on a choose and cut farm, this re-opens the tree stem so it can drink water.

2. Choose a spot away from heat sources.

Heat sources like heat registers, space heaters, fireplaces, wood stove, televisions, computer monitors, etc. speed up evaporation and moisture loss of the tree.

3. Water immediately.

After making the fresh cut, place the tree in a large capacity stand with warm water. The stand you use should hold at least one gallon of fresh water.

4. Don’t add anything to the water.

Research has shown that plain tap water is the best. Some commercial additives and home concoctions can actually decrease a tree’s moisture retention and increase needle loss.

5. Check water level daily.

Do not allow the water level to drop below the fresh cut or the stem will reseal and be unable to drink. Christmas trees are very thirsty! It is not unusual for a tree to drink 2 gallons of water the first day it is the stand.

Living Christmas Trees

A Holiday Memory to Enjoy Year after Year!

Tired of investing in a beautiful conifer every December, only to throw it out in January? Consider purchasing a living Christmas tree to plant in your landscape after the holidays!

Tips for Success

1. Only keep living Christmas trees inside your home for a maximum of 7-10 days. We recommend moving the potted tree into your garage or other protected area for a week before moving it indoors. Likewise, after the holiday it’s a good idea to move it back to the garage for a week before planting. This allows the tree to adjust to the sudden change in temperature!

2. Living Christmas trees need water every day, but not too much! Once inside your home, an eight-foot conifer will enjoy about a quart of water per day, broken up into smaller doses. One way to do this is to sprinkle ice cubes over the root ball: they will melt slowly and water the tree a little at a time.

3. Use low-heat electric lights, and position the tree away from heaters to avoid drying out.

4. Choose an appropriate location to plant your tree: plenty of sunlight and well-draining soil are the two primary needs of most conifers.

5. Don’t fertilize until spring. Fertilizing during transplanting can stress the tree.

6. Water your transplanted tree. Keep an eye on your new tree for the first couple summers, and water it during periods of heat and drought. As the root system becomes more established, conifers become more independent and drought-tolerant.

Happy Holidays!

Fall Planting Dos and Don’ts for the Pacific Northwest

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Fall is the best time for planting!

Fall is a great time to plant here in the Pacific Northwest. Cool temperatures and increased moisture mean lower transpiration rates, making fall planting and transplanting less stressful for a plant than in spring or summer.   

Don’t wait for spring!

Fall-planted trees, shrubs, and perennials develop more established root systems. Plants that seem to be “sleeping” during the winter are actually hard at work growing roots. Between October and March, there are several root growth cycles. A shrub planted in the fall will be more robust and resilient than the same shrub planted the following spring.

Do plant before the ground freezes!

Plants are more insulated in the ground than above it. If you have plants still sitting around in their pots, it’s better to get them into the ground than to leave them unplanted. Even if you are unsure of where they should go, plant them somewhere. You can always transplant them later! If you must leave plants unplanted, bring them into a cool garage or at least insulate their pots/root balls with some mulch, in a pile of autumn leaves, or stack some evergreen boughs around them. If you can get a shovel in the ground with relative ease, you can plant, which is the best solution. 

Do check for water!

Our abundant rainfall in winter usually means less work for the gardener. Soils typically remain moist between October and April. But sometimes we see dry spells, and winter winds can be desiccating. Areas under eaves or large evergreens can tend toward the dry side as well. Don’t assume that since it is raining, your plants are well watered. Do go out and feel the soil to see if it is moist several inches down. You may need to supplement occasionally.

Do mulch!

Our fall and winter temperatures can vary, and these temperature changes can be a bit hard on roots. Providing a nice blanket of mulch can help moderate soil fluctuations, which your plants will appreciate. Plus, keeping the soil “in the dark” will suppress those cool-season weeds! Just remember to keep the mulch away from the trunks and crowns of your trees and shrubs, and don’t bury your perennials!

Do consider staking!

During the winter, we can get winds that can impact unrooted trees. Do consider staking fall-planted trees to help keep them straight. Remember to give them some wiggle room and not tie them too tightly. Here is a short video guide from the International Society of Arboriculture for staking trees.

Don’t fertilize!

Fertilizing can confuse a plant, making it think it is time to grow when it’s not. Fall-planted trees and shrubs rarely need any fertilizer. It is best to wait until March or April to feed your plants.

Don’t prune!

In general, it is best not to cut back plants at the time of planting. The exception would be any broken branches. Keep the trimming of newly planted trees and shrubs to a minimum at this time.

I hope this article has encouraged you to keep gardening this autumn! Take advantage of the benefits of this time of year and invest in the beauty of your yard and garden for all the seasons to come. 

Growing Gorgeous Grasses

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Ornamental grasses are the perfect way to add texture and movement to a garden.  While they look great all year, fall is the time when they really shine. 

Mother Nature coaxed the evolution of a grass for every ecological niche: there are both evergreen and deciduous types, and varieties that grow in shade as well as sun.  Plant breeders have made improvements on the work of Nature.  Now there are grasses offering leaves of brilliant lemon yellow, calming powdery blues, cozy deep wine reds, tawny toffee browns and oranges, and some with stripes and some with splashes.  There are wide and skinny blades to suit a range of texture needs.  Their flowers range from soft bunny tail-like wands to velvety plumes to charming dangly oat-esque seed heads to spikes that look like a glistening explosion of fireworks when they are backlit in the low autumn sun.

Many grasses offer fall color.  Many offer drought resilience.  Whether you need a short little tuft or a tower fountain, include some grasses in your garden and enjoy the sound of grass rustling in the wind. 

Maintenance Tips

The best time to plant grasses is fall, when they are readily available in nurseries.  You can also plant in the spring.  Evergreen grasses should not be cut back!  Deciduous grasses are best tidied up in February just when new growth starts.  If your grass needs a boost, fertilize in March or April.

Here are some of our favorites.

Evergreen grasses for sun

Carex testacea, buchanini – Bronze sedges

Festuca – Blue Fescue

Helictotrichon – Blue Oat Grass

Evergreen grasses for shade

Acorus – Sweet Flag

Carex Evercolor series –Everest, EverGlow, Eversheen, Everillo, Everoro, or Feather Falls

Lirope spicata & muscari – Lilyturf & Mondo Grasses

Ophiopogon ‘Nigrescens’ – Black Mondo Grass

Deciduous grasses for sun

Anemanthele

Calamagrostis – Feather Reed Grass

Imperata ‘Red Baron’ – Japanese Blood Grass

Molina caerula – Moor Grass

Panicum – Switch Grass 

Pennisetum – Fountain Grass

Deciduous grasses for shade

Carex elata Bowles Golden – Golden Sedge

Chasmanthium latifolium – Sea Oats

Deschampsia cespitosa – Tufted Hair Grass

Hakonechloa macra – Japanese Forest Grass (several cultivars)

Watch this video with Tobey Nelson to see some of these grasses and learn more about using them in your garden!

Bare Root Edibles 2024

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We’ve pulled together a list of links to each of our bare root fruit and veggie related blogs for 2024 to make it easier for you to find what you’re looking for!

Read about the varieties we are carrying this year, including pollination charts and root stock information here:

Plums
Pears
Apples
Cherries
Peach, Apricot & Nectarine
Oddballs, Combos and Crosses
Nuts
Fruit Shrubs & Perennial Veg

Bare root planting instructions with a video can be found here:

How to Plant a Bare Root Tree

Our bare root is all on sale through the end of February 2024, shop early for best selection. Happy Planting!

Bare Root Small Fruits/Veg 2024

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Raspberries

Raspberries are best grown in full sun and rich well drained soil with regular irrigation. Their blooms are attractive to pollinators and birds will compete with you for the fruit, making them quite wildlife friendly!  Raspberries are self-pollinating.

After planting, prune the bare-root canes back to about 2 inches above the ground. Do not skip this step! This encourages the roots to send up new growth during the growing season. It is the nature of raspberry plants to send up new growth as suckers or basal shoots from below the ground. This means the canes that you plant may not be where you find signs of life or new growth. When it’s time to grow, you will see new sprouts emerge from the ground around where you planted the cane; this growth is coming from the raspberry plant’s root system.

Canby “Spring” Crop Raspberry: A tasty, nearly thornless raspberry producing large, good quality, bright red berries. Strong vigorous canes support the heavy summer crop. Nearly the ideal berry, great for freezing, canning, cooking, and fresh eating. Developed in Oregon and first introduced in 1953.

Caroline Everbearing Raspberry: Heavy crops of large berries with fantastic, intense flavor. Fruits ripen in summer and continue producing until frost. Tolerant to root rot and has a high resistance to gray mold.

Honey Queen Everbearing Raspberry: Honey Queen lives up to its name with its deliciously sweet honey flavor packed into beautiful yellow, soft, and medium-sized berries perfect for picking and eating in the summer.

Royalty Purple Raspberry: Clusters of large, purple berries ripen in late summer. This variety is known for its sweet-tart flavor, making it perfect for desserts or fresh snacking. Its vibrant fruits and consistent yields make it a top choice for gardeners.

Currant

Currants are beautiful additions to your yard or landscape, not only your fruit bowl! These upright-growing shrubs are great for a fruiting hedge or screen; they are attractive in bloom and are a striking sight when fruiting, with large clusters of berries cascading down the heavily laden branches. Currants are rich in antioxidants and have a much higher vitamin C content than oranges. They are attractive to pollinators and wildlife! Plant in full sun to light shade, in rich well-drained soil. Currants are drought-tolerant, but fruit set and quality will be compromised with irregular water or in poor soils.

Primus White Currant: One of the sweetest of all currants. Heavy yields of beautiful white berries on a compact shrub.

Asparagus

Asparagus is a perennial vegetable that takes 3 – 5 years to establish – but it is worth the wait! Careful site preparation and planting will bring rewards in the long run. Dig a trench 12” – 15” deep and wide. Add compost and/or aged manure, making a mound. You may also wish to incorporate some all-purpose granular organic fertilizer. Place crowns 12” – 18” apart on top of the mound, spreading roots out well. Cover with rich soil; crowns should be at least 6” deep.  Water well. As shoots appear, continue to cover with soil until the trench is full. For the first two growing seasons, do not harvest the shoots – rather leave them to develop leaves which will speed development of a robust root system. In the third and fourth year you may take a small harvest of stalks larger than pencil size, being sure to leave an ample number of stalks to develop into leafy stems. In the fifth year and beyond, you can harvest shoots for about a month to 6 weeks until shoot size begins to diminish. Then leave those shoots to grow on and feed that plant.

Mary Washington Asparagus: This variety offers buttery and robust flavor, thick straight green stalks and later, fern-like foliage.

Sweet Purple Asparagus: In addition to the fun coloration, the flavor is said to be distinctly sweeter than green asparagus. This variety is less prone to developing fibrous strings and woody stalks.

Nuts for Whidbey Island 2024

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Nuts are an investment in the long term. Trees need time to mature before they can reliably produce mature fruit. Protect the harvest from squirrels and birds.

Hazelnuts/Filberts (Corylus avellana)

Plant in very moist, fertile, well-drained soil for best results. A full-sun to part-shade site should be chosen for optimal results. Hazelnuts are not pollinated by our native Filbert.

Jefferson: Thought to be the best all-around hazelnut variety for commercial or home growers in the USA. Extreme disease resistance; immune to Filbert Blight. Produces heavy yields of large nuts that consistently fill out their shells. An Oregon State University introduction. Pollinated by Theta & McDonald.

McDonald: Very disease resistant, early cropping, consistently productive with consistent quality and good flavor. Plant with Jefferson, Eta and/or Theta for cross-pollination.

Yamhill: This recent introduction from Oregon State University features attractive, compact growth habit, good crops of large and delicious nuts, and total resistance to Eastern Filbert Blight. Yamhill’s high productivity has made it popular with commercial growers. Plant with Jefferson or Gamma for cross-pollination.

Walnuts

Walnuts require two varieties for cross pollination.  They also require patience, as they may not begin bearing until after 10 years of establishment.

Cascade: Manregian x Russian. Thin shell, excellent buttery flavor from plump, light colored kernels. Fast growing, large tree. Self-fertile but much better with a pollinizer.

Carpathian: English type, very cold-hardy, excellent quality hard nut.

Almonds

Hall’s Hardy: Hardy and bears heavy. Large nut and hard shell. Late.

Chestnuts

Chestnut Colossal: Exceptionally large nuts of good quality. Sweet flavor, smooth texture and easy to peel. Early ripening. Plant with Nevada Chestnut for cross-pollination.

Nevada Chestnut: An attractive, large spreading tree with tropical looking, glossy green leaves and showy, fragrant, yellow catkins. Medium sized, very sweet tasting nut. Plant at least two different trees to cross pollinate. Good Pollinizer for Colossal.

Fruiting Cherries 2024

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All our fruiting cherries are grown on dwarfing Gisela 5 rootstock (unless otherwise noted) to make them easier for bird netting and access to the fruit. Sour cherries (Prunus cerasus) are said to be self-fertile, but sweet cherries (Prunus avium) need a second sweet variety as a pollinator.  Since sour and sweet are different species, they do not pollinate each other.

Sweet Cherries:

Angela: Has large, sweet, black fruit that resists cracking and disease. Blooms early to mid-season. Ripens mid-season. A self-pollinating tree but will perform better with another variety such as Stella or Van.

Bing: The most popular sweet cherry on the American market, Bing cherries produce large, dark smooth skinned fruit in mid-June to early July. The fruit is firm and extremely juicy and very sweet. Great for fresh eating, baking or preserves. One tree can be a heavy producer, with mature specimens producing 50-100lbs of fruit in one year. A WSU Mt. Vernon recommended variety. Blooms early. NOT self-fertile; pair with Rainier, Lapin, Stella, Sam, or Van for pollination.

Lapin: An outstanding sweet dark cherry for Northwest gardens. Fruit is very large and crack resistant, sweet,  juicy, perfect for fresh eating or baking. Blooms early, ripens mid-season. Said to be self-fertile but fruit set can be improved with another variety such as Rainier or Bing. A WSU Mt. Vernon recommended variety.

Rainier: Large, delicious fruits are yellow with pink blush. Blooms early. Needs a pollinizer such as Bing, Lapins, or Royal Anne or Vandalay.

Royal Rainier: Large yellow cherry with slightly more red blush than Rainier. Excellent flavor, taste test winner. Ripens early, about 3-5 days ahead of Rainier. Pollinated by Bing and Lapins. Maxma 14 rootstock

Sam: Fruit are so dark red in color they are almost black. The flavor is considered “sweet/tart”. An excellent choice for the Pacific Northwest because of its resistance to cracking/canker, cold hardiness, and heavy yields. Pollinate with Bing.

Stella: Developed in British Columbia, Stella was the first self-fertile cherry to be named. Large, heart-shaped red fruits are sweet and juicy. Considered a universal pollinizer for all sweet cherries except Bing.  Blossoms mid-season and ripens early. A reliable and heavy producer. Winner of the RHS Award of Garden Merit.

Vandalay: Well-suited to Northwest gardens. Cherries are deep wine-black, firm and have excellent flavor for fresh eating. A disease resistant/crack resistant, productive WSU Mt. Vernon recommended variety. Early blooming & self-fertile, but fruit set may be improved by planting with Bing, Lapin, Rainier.

Sweet Cherry 4-way Dwarf Combo: (4 of these 5 varieties) Bing, Rainier, Lapin, Glacier, Van, Royal Ann

Tart/Pie Cherries:

Montmorency: this variety has been cultivated in this country since the early 20th century. It is the most popular sour cherry in America. It produces a large, light red fruit for baking, drying and juicing. Self-fertile.

Cherry Rootstock:

Gisela 5: Dwarf 50-65% seedling size; early fruiting and productive; good frost and virus resistance, well-anchored, adaptable to a variety of soil types. Requires supplemental irrigation.

Maxma 14®: Dwarfing to about 2/3 of standard. Less dwarfing expected in fertile loamy soils. Induces early heavy bearing; crop management may be needed for productive varieties in early years. Good tolerance to wet soils, also performs well in calcareous soils. Resistant to bacterial canker and nematodes. Well anchored, very little suckering. Trees may be held to any desired height by summer pruning.

Peach, Apricot & Nectarine 2024

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Apricot

Harcot Apricot: This disease-resistant variety was bred in Canada, making it a great choice for northern gardens because it is a frost-hardy late bloomer resistant to brown rot and perennial canker. Fruits are oblong and yellow-orange with a rich, sweet flavor. Self-fertile but benefits from pollination from another apricot variety such as ‘Harglow’. Mariana 2624 rootstock.

Harglow Apricot: This productive variety is a proven performer for the PNW climate. It’s late blooming and early ripening (August), producing a flavorful, sweet & firm, medium to large apricot that is deep orange with a delightful blush of red. Resistant to perennial canker, brown rot, and cracking.  Self-fertile but benefits from pollination from another apricot variety such as ‘Harcot’. Mariana 2624 rootstock.

Peach

Frost Peach: A seedling from the WSU Mt Vernon test gardens, this peach is a solid choice for PNW gardens. The semi-freestone fruit has yellow flesh covered in red-blushed skin and is tasty fresh or canned. This variety is very productive, vigorous, and shows resistance to peach leaf curl. It is also quite ornamental. Self-fertile. Citation or Mariana 2624 rootstock.

Indian Free Peach: A hardy, freestone peach that is naturally resistant to peach leaf curl! Taste test winner. Fruits have white flesh marbled with crimson stripes, covered in dark red skin. Productive variety ripens in mid-late season with delicious flavor, great for fresh eating or preserves. Self-sterile; pollinate with another peach variety such as ‘Frost’ or ‘Harken’. Citation rootstock.

Harken Peach: Bred in Canada, this Peach is adapted to cool summers and is one of the most reliable varieties for rainy climates. Medium-large fruit with delicious flavor, strong red blushing over yellow skin and creamy yellow non-browning flesh, great for fresh eating or canning. One of the highest rated peaches for western WA. Self-fertile. Citation rootstock.

Nectarine

Hardy Red Nectarine:  The best Nectarine variety for cool, short summers. Tolerant of bacterial spot and brown rot. Freestone fruit has very sweet, yellow flesh covered in golden-blushed red-skin. Ripens in mid-August. Self-fertile. Mariana 2624 rootstock.

Rootstock Info:

CITATION:  Dwarfs peaches and nectarines to 8-14 ft., apricots and plums to 12-18 ft. Very tolerant of wet soil, not drought tolerant (induces early dormancy in dry soil). Very winter hardy. Resists root-knot nematodes. Induces heavy bearing at young age. Trees on Citation may be held to any desired height by summer pruning.

MARIANNA 2624: For apricots, plums, & most almonds. Shallow root system, tolerant of wet soils. Resists oak-root fungus and root-knot nematodes. Mature trees of standard varieties comparatively small, 15-20 ft. if unpruned. Trees on Marianna may be held to any desired height by summer pruning.