The JFS Product Lines
Trees are the answer
Whips
Whips are almost always one-year-old tops. They range from being completely unbranched to being lightly branched on the lower stem.
Ash, Linden, Honeylocust and Kentucky Coffee Tree will generally be completely free of branches. Some species branch naturally at a young age, and 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.
Branched Flowering Trees
Flowering Crabapples, Cherries and Hawthorns are generally 2-year-old trees topped at 4 to 5 feet, depending on cultivar. A leader is reestablished by taping.
Certain Flowering Pear, Plums, Snowbell and others have dominant central leaders and branch well naturally. These are generally untopped.
Head height, symmetrical branching and straight central leader create a structural foundation for a premium quality caliper tree for the growers, while the heavy branch structure and full canopy serve the needs of the garden center and those growers who service garden centers by finishing bare root trees in containers.
Branched Shade Trees
Varieties including Honeylocust, Ash, Birch, Linden, Oak and some Maple have naturally straight central leaders and radiating lateral branches. Varieties that are not free branching, such as Sugar Maple and certain oaks, are topped while dormant to promote symmetrical branching during the next growing season.
A single dominant straight leader is then established by hand taping the top shoot. Varieties that branch well are not topped.
In either case, the resulting tree has a straight leader and symmetrical branching. In general, 6-8′ and 1″-11⁄4″ grade trees are two years old. Most trees of larger sizes are three years old, possessing fuller heads and more secondary branching.
Light Branched Trees
These trees have the same general form as our regular branched grade. Caliper is the same, but, light branched trees differ in having fewer and/or shorter branches.
Often a good, economical choice for growers who are lining out trees, as they generally thin out and prune back branches at planting time.
Landscapers and garden centers may prefer to use regular branched grade trees, as they don’t have the time to let a light branched tree mature to a saleable form.
Weeping & Head Grade Trees
Weeping and top-grafted forms of Flowering Cherry, Crabapple, Redbud, and others are graded by head quality.
Certain compact forms of Crabapple, Cherry, Hydrangea, Tree Lilac and others are also graded by head quality.Heavy select and #1 head grades should be used for landscape installations and quality garden center sales. #1 light head and #2 head grades are lighter and less full, and therefore offered at a lower price.
They are an economical choice for growers who line out stock for several years.
Multi-Stem, Clump and Singles for Clumping
A variety of trees are grown with multiple stems, and identified herein as “multi-stem” or “clump.” Multi-stem trees are created by stubbing a plant just above ground level and encouraging several stems to grow from that single root. Multi-stem varieties include Maples, Redbud, Crabapples, Serviceberries and more.
Clump forms are offered in our container and Root Pouch® product lines. Clumps are created by arranging several individual young plants within the container. Birch, Aspen and Goldenrain Trees are grown in this manner.
Growers can create their own unique birch clump forms by customizing the number of stems, planting angles and spacing between stems by using Singles for Clumping described below.
Birch Singles for Clumping
Bare root birch liners designated as ‘singles for clumping’ are the best choice for growers aiming to develop finished clump-form trees that are vigorous and balanced in relation to the caliper of each stem. Graded by height and caliper, they can be planted in the field or in containers.
The reduced royalty* on each stem offers growers an affordable option for creating their own “style” of clump form birches by planting on preferred spacing in combinations of three, four or more. Because each sapling has its own root system and more room to develop, the resulting trees develop trunks of similar or equal caliper and a pleasing, natural-looking balance.
* Liners offered as ‘Singles for Clumping’ are to be used only for the purpose of growing clump-form trees.
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.
Containerized Trees
Our containerized trees are a much different product than traditional “container-grown” trees that are propagated in containers and grown to larger size by shifting up to a larger container size as the plant matures. By “containerized,” we mean that most of our deciduous trees are field grown to nearly finished size, harvested bare root, and then established in containers to make them available for year-round sales. Containerized in a bark medium in early spring, trees receive intensive care throughout the growing season that includes careful pruning, fertilization, weed control and optimal irrigation.
During their years in the field, special cultural techniques including pruning, transplanting and undercutting help to tailor trees for finishing in containers. Unlike many “container-grown” trees, our field-grown, containerized trees have strong, straight trunks with heavy caliper in relation to height. Generously graded by height and caliper as well as container size, our trees are generally larger than those sold by container or box size alone. They possess balanced, well-developed root systems that quickly establish themselves first in the container, and then in the landscape. A portion of our B&B crop is also containerized in order to make our conifers, Japanese maples and other species available throughout the year.
Our garden center and landscape trees are offered in plastic pots that range in size from #5 to #25. Our largest container trees grow in 28″ and 32″ plastic-lined wire baskets, measured by the diameter across the top.
Our VigorLiner® product line includes deciduous trees that are difficult to produce and transplant via traditional bare root methods. Because healthy trees begin with fibrous, well-developed root systems, our VigorLiner® trees are grown in special containers that we have found to produce the very best root system for each species and cultivar in the program.
Visit this link for a more complete description of our VigorLiner® program.
Root Bags
Field-grown trees in root bags have better survival rates and more vigorous first season growth than bare root plants of the same varieties. Inside the bag, roots penetrate the fabric but are constricted, causing a proliferation of roots with high carbohydrate reserves.
Small ball sizes make them easier to handle and lighter to ship than B&B products. Although the cost is higher than that of a bare root tree of the same grade, the advantages of speedier growth and quicker establishment after transplanting make them a good value.
What’s good for tree roots is also good for the environment. Our fabric containers, whether destined for above ground or in ground production, are made from 100% recycled materials, a mix of natural fibers and resins made from recycled plastic water bottles. Root Pouch representatives tell us that our nursery’s use of their products since 2012 has helped to divert more than 1.5 million water bottles from our country’s landfills.
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 TreeLocatorSM 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.
