Fruit trees from Big Lots

[littlelemon]

I am in the market to buy a few new fruit trees this year. I would like to get a golden delicious apple and also some pear trees. Big Lots has fruit trees super cheap- $14.50 per tree. I have bought trees there before (not fruit trees, ornamental) and they have done really well- as well as the trees I have bought at my local nursery. However, that old agage "you get what you pay for" haunts me when I buy trees there. I just feel that I am not getting the best quality or something. I would like to hear some opinions before I take the plunge and buy the trees. Big Lots doesn't have the year guarantee the way most nurseries do, but that really doesn't concern me as $14.50 isn't that much for me to lose if the tree dies. I have only lost young trees before to deer so I am pretty confident the trees will survive. I am most worried about getting bad stock- especailly for fruit trees where the quality of the fruit is important to me.

I am SO tempted to buy the fruit trees there though. I am on such a tight budget and I only have $80 to spend on trees this year. I could get 2 at the local nursery for that price, or I could get 5 at Big Lots.

 

[i_am2bz]

BIL/SIL have bought trees from Big Lots before that did really well, but like you, they were ornamental, not fruit.

I bought my pear tree at 1/2 price from Home Depot (so, like $15, I think) because it was the end of the season...but, depending on where you are, you may not want to wait that long. I'm in zone 7b, so I wouldn't be adding any more trees til the fall.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Personally I would get them. I expect Big Lots get them from places that go out of business or that had left-overs and want to get them off inventory.

Apple and pear trees that have a cultivar name like Golder Delicious are from grafts. They are not seed grown. That part of the quality does not bother me much. Where the difference might come in is what root stock are they grafted onto? Different rootstocks not only control the size of the final tree (dwarf, semi-dwarf, or regular) but also can affect how they handle drought, wet conditions, certain diseases, and things like that. Different rootstocks have different effects.

If, and this is a huge IF, if the people at the nursery really know what they are doing, they may be able to talk root stock with you and help you decide which one is best for your situation. But the odds are, all their Golden Delicious trees are on the same rootstock and you get what you get. IF they order specifically for your area, you might get a rootstock that is friendly to your general region, but then again, maybe not.

It is also possible that people at the nursery will take better care of the trees so they have a better chance at survival. That purely depends on the people at the nursery and the people at Big Lots and what those specific people know about taking care of the trees. I've gotten some pretty badly root-bound trees from a nursery.

To me, the benefits of buying from a nursery are the guarantee and possibly the trees have been better cared for. If the trees looked good to me, I'd rather have 5 instead of 2 if I had any room left for fruit trees.

Just my personal opinion. Good luck!!

 

[wifezilla]

My fruit trees and vines were all "Charlie Brown" end of season uber-discounted clearance items. Last year I had pears coming out of my ears. The year before I got over 50lbs of grapes from 1 vine.

For me it has been well worth the risk.

 

[journey11]

I've been hesitant to buy them from Big Lots myself, for much the same reasons. Their trees are always so BIG for the price, so I've worried about them being root bound too, but maybe I'm just being paranoid. I wonder if they'd let you unwrap one to look?

 

[silkiechicken]

I had my parents return two fuji apple trees to costco they bought for like 16 bucks, and instead, went with them to a local nursery to buy 2 short season apple trees for more than twice that cost. Where we live, even though costco sells fruit trees of all types, our season and micro environment would probably result in no ripe apples had my parents kept the two fuji trees. We got a liberty and williams pride instead. It was interesting to note that the local nursery did NOT carry any fuji's... as their reasoning is that they did not suit the majority of growers in our area because they needed more heat and longer summer....

So that's just what we experienced, and it would have been a disappointment to spend 2-3 years maintaining a tree that gives you green apples that are supposed to be red.

 

[Collector]

I say, if the variety is right for your area go for it!

 

[MotherBrugger]

Our Big Lots doesn't carry any fruit trees that I know of. But hubby drives by a much bigger and nicer one a few times a week. I'll have to have him look and see if they carry some...

 

[littlelemon]

I just thought I would update and let you all know that I went ahead and bought the trees. One gala apple, one yellow delicious, an anjou pear and a kieffer pear. I also bought a crabapple tree and planted it today

I will give them good care and see what happens. I am still going to the local nursery to buy a redbud tree, but I am really happy to get 5 trees for the price of 2 this early in the season. Thank you all for your input.

 

[vfem]

I bought some at Food Lion for $12.99 a tree... pear & peach. I am happy to say I have fruit on both and they are doing really well. I was not disappointed at all. Remember those trees came from somewhere... likely a nursery they does whole sale trees that even quality nurseries buy from. Its just how they are taken care of since you Big lots got them... then on to you. I'm sure with proper care they'd be great for you.

JMHO