On a cool early spring morning, several tractor trailers drove along Kauffmans Mill Road, backing carefully next to the nursery where rows of freshly dug trees waited.

In three days we dug over 400 trees with root balls ranging from 18” to 36”, scheduling the work between rain showers and wet, cold conditions which were challenging for workers, but perfect for lifting the dormant trees and shrubs.  All trees were either shipped or picked up within 7 days, ensuring they experienced the least amount of stress before reaching their new locations.  We used seven tractor trailers to deliver the bulk of the trees. There were a few trees we could not get to because it was just too wet, but we will plan to harvest them this fall at a larger size.

We are planning to dig another 400 trees this fall and 600+ next spring.  Orders for fall will need to be placed by October 20, 2014 and for spring by March 1, 2015.  We can only dig when the trees are dormant in order to insure a safe and successful transplanting for our customers.  We learned a tremendous amount about what it takes to tag, prepare, protect, dig, stage, and load trees this spring.  Several trees have already found their way successfully into the landscape and are leafing out.  We are going to be monitoring as many of our trees over the spring and summer as possible to see how they do and make sure our customers are pleased and we have met their expectations.

A big thanks to Eric Sours, nursery supervisor and Shawn Bradley, White House Farm manager for managing this dig. Also, we appreciate all of our customers that helped make our first harvest a success.