I assume the nursery stock is bare-root? Altho I have trouble with
transplant shock when I try to plant leafed-out potted stuff into the
ground, I recommend planting these in pots & potting mix until your
ground/soil is ready. Other growers have great success with this.
Have you given the plants any water yet? If they are just barely growing,
and you haven't watered them, you can probably keep them in limbo for a few
days by storing in a cold damp place. If the leaves are getting big, &/or
if you dunked the roots (for no more than a few hours, I hope!), the race is
probably started.
Tanis Cuff, s.WI, who once received mail-order conifers from Inidana, which
had been dug after full candle! Now I order from same or colder zones.
Help! I just received some apple trees in the mail from a nursery in
California which are starting to leaf out already. The soil here is thawed
but still quite muddy- is it better to plant trees in wet soil or to hold
them once they have leafed out? Is it that critical either way? I will be
digging with a shovel so I can be careful, but I will definitely impact soil
structure for the worse, and risk leaving the tree stuck in a compacted
"pot" in the ground. Any experienced apple growers out there with any
suggestions?