Where can I buy trees? Help me plant a tree! (Bowie: to buy, live)

[Steel Man]

Originally Posted by cheermomof4girls

My dad raves about a place that is near 1604 and Bandera-off of 1604. He said the price also includes the planting of the trees. Sorry, he can't remember the name at the moment.

Is that the one at Bandera and Prue road?

[rstrstx]

Originally Posted by AirForceDoc

Just go to Home Depot. They have trees that are 10 feet tall or taller. Save money. They cost from 25 to 150 bucks.

You gotta be careful, a lot of the trees Home Depot sells are not suited to San Antonio. If you can find something like a Monterrey Oak there at a good price that's one thing, but a lot of times they sell absolute trash like willows or maples that will last a year or two then croak. They're great for cheap mulch and supplies and even a lot of smaller plants like liriope or crepe myrtle, but for serious trees that you want to last a long time it's best to go to a traditional nursery. I've had good luck with trees from that place at Hwy 16 and 1604 south of town (Alfaro?), also Burns on Highway 87 towards LaVernia and both of the Rainbow Gardens (my favorite nursery in town). Milbergers is OK but pricier and Fanicks is an old-time nursery good for fruit trees. If you're ever up in Austin they have some of the neatest retail nurseries in the state

[hadleyzoo]

Originally Posted by rstrstx

You gotta be careful, a lot of the trees Home Depot sells are not suited to San Antonio. If you can find something like a Monterrey Oak there at a good price that's one thing, but a lot of times they sell absolute trash like willows or maples that will last a year or two then croak. They're great for cheap mulch and supplies and even a lot of smaller plants like liriope or crepe myrtle, but for serious trees that you want to last a long time it's best to go to a traditional nursery. I've had good luck with trees from that place at Hwy 16 and 1604 south of town (Alfaro?), also Burns on Highway 87 towards LaVernia and both of the Rainbow Gardens (my favorite nursery in town). Milbergers is OK but pricier and Fanicks is an old-time nursery good for fruit trees. If you're ever up in Austin they have some of the neatest retail nurseries in the state

Agreed. Alfaro is great. The quote for a tree includes them bringing it out to you and digging it and planting it. We had them plant a Texas Mountain Laurel in the back and they had to get 5 guys to lift it over the fence because it wouldn't go through the gate. We had a Monterrey Oak planted in the front and that thing has grown a lot in the 2 years we've had it. Our laurel is blooming right now. They seem like good, honest, decent people to work with. This spring (I guess that's now isn't it?) we want to get a couple of crepe myrtles from them.

[Joli]

The nursery on Hwy 16 at Prue Road inside Loop 1604 is the Garden Center.
I bought a Monterey Oak there and paid to have it planted. Monterey Oaks
grow really fast and do not get "oak wilt". The special may still be going on,
but they had a flyer on the front fence saying free tree planting.

If you moved into your house in July, IMO, you might want to wait until fall before planting any trees. The heat during the summer will be really hard on them, especially large trees.

[dmarie123]

Thanks,
That would be my next question, what and when to plant... but figured the folks at Alfaro or whereever I decide to buy would be able to help with that.

[Bo]

The other day I saw a sign for this place called Texas Wholesale Plants and it reminded me of this thread. They claim to have very low prices and they'll deliver for a flat $55 inside 1604.

[patriotizm]

My husband and I planted 37 trees on our property last fall and three more this winter. We purchased most of them at Rainbow Gardens on Thousand Oaks (price per tree varied from $25 to $85, depending on variety and size); however, Milberger's on 1604 had a better price on the 11 Texas mountain laurels we needed (two- or three-gallon plants for $20).

We chose to purchase native trees, figuring that they should not only grow well, but they should be more tolerant of harsh conditions. We ended up with live oaks, Texas red oaks, burr oaks, chinquapin oaks, Monterry oaks (also known as Mexican white oaks), Texas redbuds, big-tooth maples, Texas mountain laurels, flame leaf sumac and a possumhaw.

If your husband or son or nephew is at all strappin', :-) you should have no trouble digging holes for trees. My husband had to use a pick for most of the holes for our trees, but even the holes that were in pretty much solid rock didn't require a jackhammer.

You will have to water newly planted trees, so plan for it. The first few weeks they should be watered twice a week, and then after that they should receive about an inch of rain (or ten minutes with a garden hose) each week for the first six to nine months. (One exception to the above rule of thumb is Texas mountain laurel; too much water can kill those.) For any tree, dig down a few inches into the soil and feel it with your finger to determine when to water.

We planted our trees last fall, hoping that winter rains would help us out with watering--no such luck this year. Spring is also a good time to plant, but July would more than likely be hard on a tree. If I were you, I'd spend this summer getting my ducks in a row, so to speak. Tour some nurseries, talk to some specialists, and pick out your trees. Dig a test hole to see how much time you need to allow for each one. Then, when the temperature drops a little next fall, go for it.

[Cookiemeister]

If you are seriously looking for serious trees go to The Arrangement on Quill off of Hillcrest just past Bandera... take a right onto Quill off of Hillcrest. I was over there today and I have never seen so many big trees in all my life. They have everything under the sun and the prices are cheaper than any other place in town. They didn't have many flowers but are getting alot in this weekend. I bought some purple lantana for $3 qt size and good size plant but I had to hunt for them... better to ask for help if you are looking for something specific because sometimes they are in odd places. Things get moved around alot since they do so much big business with contractors. Better call about their hours... they close pretty early.

[miaht82]

I planted a few Oak Trees (seeds) 3 weeks ago and they are already about 6 inches
Oaks grow great here, and don't need much watering or care.

[1StarRanch]

Well if your looking to grow a tree from when it's a baby and support the environment thing (a green peacy as I'll get), you can always go to Arborday.org. I got my pa 10 small sticks that will eventually grow to be trees, for the price of membership which was like 15.00 bucks or so.