Richmond Nursery Tree Field

We have a weak spot for trees. I love trees. Trees never cease to amaze me when I think of planting a tree knowing it could very well outlive my generation or even the next generation.

Each year we plant our a number of small trees in our own fields and grow them on. Three to five years later, we dig them as large "caliper" sized trees. Caliper trees are simply larger plants measured by trunk diameter. These trees tend to be hardier and healthier than many other trees. Because the Ottawa climate is considerably colder with a shorter growing season, our own trees are far more acclimatized than most others. Also, we grow our trees in a field of heavy clay, the native soil found in much of the Ottawa area. This reduces the changes of soil problems when planted in the average urban yard since the soil type is nearly the same.

Fewer and fewer garden centres are working with large caliper trees in wire-baskets and are opting for smaller trees in pots. In our experiments, we find our caliper trees have a greater success rate in the garden than container-grown trees. We do admit, our caliper trees are heavier and harder to move, but the health of the plant is our first priority and we have that.