Fruit Trees Ordering Info
We’ll probably order from Bay Laurel Nursery at https://baylaurelnursery.com/ They have a TON of info online and so many varieties. However, as they are out of stock on many trees already, I’m also looking at Peaceful Valley http://www.groworganic.com.
Bay Laurel Nursery DISCOUNTSmost trees are $22 to $28, semi dwarf trees cost more than full size trees and multi grafted trees cost quite a bit more.
The following discounts apply to trees only – Fruit, Flowering and Nut:

  • 5 to 10 – 5% off
  • 11 to 15 – 10% off
  • 16 to 20 – 15% off
  • 21 or more – 20% off

SHIPPING: $25 for ONE tree, or $6.50 per tree if ordering 4 or more.
Shipping Discounts on Trees

  • For orders of 10 or more trees, 10% off shipping charges
  • For orders of 20 or more trees, 15% off shipping charges

CHILL HOURS
I read http://www.davewilson.com/product-information-general/special-topics/fruit-tree-chilling-requirement and it’s so complicated, I decided to see what does well in Meadview (see http://highdesertpermaculture.org/blog/2015/11/25/happy-thanksgiving-and-pics-of-meadview-fruit-trees/ for some pics) and I looked them up at Bay Laurel Nursery:

Babcock Peach – Semi-dwarf
Longtime favorite white fleshed, freestone peach. Sweet and juicy, aromatic, subacid. Ripens mid July. Widely adapted: low chilling requirement, yet not early blooming. [important here because we often have late hard freezes.] 250-300 hrs. Self-fruitful. Available on Cit. $27.95
Granny Smith Apple – Semi-dwarf
From New Zealand. Large, late, green, all-purpose, very popular apple. Crisp, tart, excellent keeper. Requires long summer; thrives in hot climates. Prolonged bloom; good pollenizer for other apples. Ripens in Oct./Nov. 500 hours or less. Self-fruitful. Available on M111. $26.95

So I’m looking at trees with similar chill requirements and we’d like to get a Babcock Peach. With the Granny Smith ripening in October / November I’m concerned about freezes. We are at 3800 ft elevation, Meadview is a few hundred feet lower. I’m sure we have quite a few more chill hours than Meadview.
I just talked to the owner of the Babcock Peach and he got most of his trees from Willis Orchard and the Babcock came from the Home Depot (he got lucky!).  Unfortunately, he has no idea which rootstock he has for any of his trees.  While the Babcock did so well last year, a few years ago he got almost no peaches because we had a late hard frost.  And that’s why one should have SEVERAL fruit trees.
I also looked at Peaceful Valley trees and at http://www.groworganic.com/peach-muir-semi-dwarf.html they list a peach with 600 chill hours as growing well in the Central Valley, Cal. Isn’t it colder here than in the Central Valley?
And unfortunately, Peaceful Valley also sold out of many varieties already.
ROOTSTOCK – the most important criteria and why I’ll NEVER buy a fruit tree at the Home Depot or Walmart again.
Bay Laurel’s Babcock Peach rootstock:

Citation (Cit.)
Peaches and nectarines dwarfed to eight to fourteen feet, apricots and plums dwarfed to twelve to eighteen feet. Very tolerant of wet soil, but not drought tolerant (induces early dormancy in dry soil) so needs very regular water in hot climates. A top dressing of mulch can help maintain soil moisture. Resists root-knot nematodes. Induces heavy bearing at a young age. Very winter hardy. Strong and well anchored. Pat. No. 5112 (Zaiger)

I called Bay Laurel and found out that they also had the Babcock Peach on Lovell rootstock, but it’s already sold out! They recommend the Lovell rootstock for our area:

Lovell (Lov.)
Vigorous, standard rootstock for plums, peaches, nectarines, apricots, prunes, almonds. More tolerant of wet soils than Nemaguard, also more cold hardy [we get single digit temps every few years]. Susceptible to nematodes in sandy soils. Provides good anchorage and high degree of disease resistance. Unpruned tree height of standard varieties 15-25 feet. Size can be controlled further with summer pruning.

They MIGHT be able to get a few more on Lovell rootstock. Didn’t think that they’d be sold out already!
POLLINATER REQUIRED OR SELF-FRUITFUL?
Obviously, you won’t get fruit if you don’t have a pollinator UNLESS the tree is self-pollinating.
WARRANTY
Bay Laurel:

If, after following the enclosed planting instructions, your plants do not leaf out and grow, we will replace them one time, the following season, provided you pay the cost of shipping and handling.
WE DO NOT GUARANTEE FIGS OR PECANS.”

Both Peaceful Valley and Bay Laurel have a June 1 deadline to report dead trees for replacement the following season.
I can see already that we’ll be ordering again as soon as they start taking orders (November for Bay Laurel.)
If you’re interested to add to our order now or in fall, please post here!
Also, we plan on ordering more berries, kiwi, figs etc. from Hartmann’s, here is last year’s order info:
http://highdesertpermaculture.org/blog/2015/01/22/add-to-our-wholesale-berry-fruit-and-nut-tree-orders/