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Whips Whips are almost always one-year-old tops. They range from being completely unbranched to being lightly branched on the lower stem. Ash, Mountain Ash, Linden and Honeylocust will generally be completely free of branches. Some Norway Maple varieties often have a number of branches while others do not. Red Maples, and to a lesser extent Sugar Maples and Crabapples, tend to branch freely off one-year growth. Any branches above 2 or 2.5 feet from the ground are left on whips to help increase caliper and thus provide a sturdier stem.
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Branched Flowering Trees Crabs, Hawthorns and Cherries are generally 2 year old trees topped at 4 feet. A leader is reestablished in the Crabs. Flowering Pear and Mountain Ash branch well naturally, so are sold untopped with a central leader. Certain Crab varieties are available as high topped liners. These trees are topped at 5 or 5.5 feet to develop a greater branching area long the main stem. These are excellent for growers who wish to produce a taller caliper tree. |
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Branched Shade Trees These are produced with a straight central leader and radiating lateral branches. These varieties include Ash, Maple, Honeylocust, Linden, Oak and Birch. Varieties such as Norway Maple, Sugar Maple, and Honeylocust, which are not free branching, are topped. A single dominant straight leader is always established in these by hand taping the top shoot. Linden, Pear, Mountain Ash, Red Maple, Birch and most Ash varieties do not need to be topped as they branch well. In either case, the form is the same – a straight leader and symmetrical branching. In general, 6 - 8', 1.25" and 1.25 - 1.5" grade trees are two years old. Some 1.25-1.5" and all larger sizes are three years old. The basic form is the same. Larger grades of trees have fuller heads and more secondary branching. |
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Light Branched Trees These have the same general form as branched trees. They differ in having fewer and/or shorter branches. They are often a good, economical choice for growers who are lining out trees, as they have good sturdiness due to their caliper, while the heads are lighter and will be less likely to fall over. Growers generally thin out and prune back branches when planting, so this tree can work well for them. Garden centers and landscapers may not be happy with light branched trees as they don’t have the time to let the tree fill out. |
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Weeping Trees Weeping Cherry and Weeping Crabapple are graded by head quality. Heavy select and Number 1 grades should be used for landscape installations and quality garden center sales. Number 1 light and Number 2 grades are lighter and less full, and less expensive. They are good for growers who line out stock for several years. Topped Young’s Birch is graded strictly by caliper. Young’s is also available untopped for those who prefer it this way.
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Contorted Trees Contorted trees are trained from their first flush of growth as whips to develop a contorted, snaking trunk. Graded by head quality, the caliper of these trees is equivalent to straight trunked trees of the same grade and variety, but with a shorter overall height due to their curved trunks. As is the case with weeping trees, heavy select and Number 1 grades are best for landscape installation and garden center sales. Number 1 light and Number 2 grades are a less expensive alternative for growers who line them out for several years.
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Multiple Stemmed Forms A variety of plants are grown with multiple stems. If several separate root stocks are combined, we consider the plant a clump. Paper and European Birch are produced this way. Bushes and multi-stem trees are produced by stubbing a single understock just above ground level, and encouraging several stems to grow. If the plant matures to less than 15 feet, we classify it as a bush. If it normally grows to tree-sized proportions we call it multi-stem.
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Custom 3™ These are smaller sized one year old trees. Far from being the “runts of the litter” of our regular production, these trees are grown apart from the rest of the crop, using special techniques to produce high quality little trees at a lower cost. These are excellent small liners for hot climates where larger trees are more subject to transplant shock. They are excellent promotional items for garden centers, allowing advertising of name brand cultivars at low prices. And they are of ideal size for mail order distribution. Most cultivars are unbranched or lightly branched and sold as a whip grade. Plums are branched and listed as such.
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Custom 5® The perfect tree for the retail garden center! This is a small branched tree which is produced by using a variety of special cultural techniques. The tree is designed to fit neatly in a #5 container. The tree size and branch structure are exactly proportioned to this pot size. All shade tree varieties are produced with a straight leader so that the tree will continue to grow upright, and lower limbs may be removed. Most flowering trees are topped to produce a gracefully spreading canopy. As there is little standardization among container manufacturers, we recommend a pot with a top diameter of 13 inches and an 11 inch depth. This is a little wider than many producers’ “# 5 container”.
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Custom 10® A step larger in size than Custom-5®, these two year old trees are grown to create maximum appeal in the retail sales yard. Averaging 1" in caliper, Custom-10® trees give an immediate impact to the landscape. Branching near 32" in flowering trees, and just above 40" in most shade tree varieties puts the fullest part of the canopy at eye level where customers are better able to appreciate their fullness. Trees are grown to be exactly the right size and proportion for potting into a #10 container. Root systems will fit the pot with little trimming. We recommend a 10 gallon container with 13 to 15 inch depth and a 15 to 16 inch top diameter. Pots shorter than 13 inches will not have enough depth to accommodate the roots of certain varieties.
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Custom Liner® These trees are produced especially for growers who are concerned about the quick establishment and survival of their trees. Custom Liners® are root pruned, a practice which results in a denser, more fibrous root system and less transplant shock. The branches are considerably shorter than our standard grade. This means they will need very little pruning before planting out. Thus the terminal buds can be left intact on the leader and branches, and straighter regrowth may result. We train Custom Liners® to develop a good branch structure in the 5 to 7 foot area of the trunk. This is the area that is most important to growers in establishing the base of the tree’s canopy structure.
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Customized Canopy® This is a special grade designation, exclusive to Schmidt’s. This is a tree developed to fill the gap between mass produced shade tree liners and individually cared for specimen trees. It is a large caliper (1.5 - 2.5") bare root tree with an especially well branched head. It has been grown on wide spacing and carefully pruned for three growing seasons. All Customized Canopy® trees have straight single leaders to well above 10 feet. They have symmetrical primary branching and considerable well spaced secondary branching filling out the head with no gaps. It is excellent for landscape use, containerization, and lining out by growers who wish a more rapid turnover.
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Balled & Burlapped Trees B&B trees are appropriate for lining out in the field, landscape installation, immediate garden center sales, or containerizing for future sale. Our B&B line complements bare root production by offering balled and burlapped trees of varieties that are difficult to handle bare root. Some varieties are offered B&B as well as bare root so growers can choose the type of liner that works best for them. Trees are carefully dug by hand by our own crews.
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Containerized Trees Our containerized shade and flowering trees are a much different product than traditional “container-grown” trees. Comparing the two is an “apples and oranges” affair. Generously graded by height and caliper as well as container size, trees are generally larger than those sold by container size alone. Unlike many “container-grown” trees, our containerized trees have strong, straight trunks with heavy caliper in relation to height. By “containerized,” we mean that most of our trees are field grown to nearly finished size, then established in containers for year-round sales. During their years in the field, special cultural techniques including pruning, transplanting and undercutting help to tailor a tree ideal for finishing in containers. They possess balanced, well-developed root systems that quickly establish themselves first in the container, and then in the landscape. Containerized in early spring, trees receive intensive care including careful pruning, fertilization and optimal irrigation throughout the growing season. Under properly controlled growing conditions which we have perfected over the years, they add considerable branch length, leaf density and caliper size while growing in containers. Because we pioneered containerization of field grown trees, you can depend on us to provide the best in the business. Eliminate the springtime headaches of potting your own. Let us do the work of growing premium trees and shrubs so you can concentrate on selling them.
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VigorLiner® The VigorLiner® series is a collection of high value deciduous trees grown in containers. Liners of these unusual varieties are not widely available due to difficulty in bare root handling. These are varieties praised by horticulturists and garden writers and sought by landscape architects and designers. Many are North American natives such as American Hornbeam, American Beech, Sourwood and Striped Maple. Adding them to your product line will help to set your nursery apart from the others, and help your business grow. Growers find VigorLiner® trees to be an economical and viable size for lining out and growing to landscape specimen size. Grown in #2 containers, they range in size from four to six feet in height. Because they are provided in containers, trees may be shipped in the fall and planted at your convenience. Although we developed the VigorLiner® series especially for our grower customers, garden center retailers are finding these uncommon varieties to be ideal for cash and carry sales. Gardeners with an appetite for the unusual are quick to recognize the value and quality of these trees.
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Trees worthy of our UtiliTrees™ designation are those best suited for planting in the restricted zone between street and sidewalk and beneath utility lines. All mature at heights that are unlikely to tangle with overhead lines.
Pedestrian-friendly branching is compact or vase-shaped to allow for pruning without destroying the shape of the tree. Disease and pest resistant, these cultivars are tolerant of varied soils, climates and urban growing conditions, and require minimal maintenance.
Tree specifiers including utility company arborists, urban foresters and landscape architects are being made aware of our UtiliTrees™ selections. They are invited to use our Tree Locator service (See Services) to find these trees in their region, grown to landscape size by our customers.
To see a list of varietites that we consider to be UtiliTrees™, click here.