I've ordered from carino nurseries the past 3 years. Always receive bigger stock than I am expecting. I never lose any of the stock through their fault. But various things take their toll in this climate such as drought and winterkill. I have resolved to planting every tree I buy from mail-order nurseries in a nursery bed myself. Then I grow them in the nursery one or 2 years and they have the size to compete against the elements.
I have lost too many trees to pests such as voles, mice, rabbits, and deer; that my patience is zill to none.
With shipping costs getting higher and higher, I also am buying more tree seed(which is cheap to ship) and unloading it in blocks in my nursery. But I have heard that people direct-seed trees into fields. And with such a high population of seedlings, the predation pressure doesn't effect the tree stand's future.
I have also added bamboo to my forest collection. Some people hate it and some people love it. There are various kinds, including a native bamboo that northern people can grow.
