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Moser FastFruitTrees!™ are
Moser's exclusive greenhouse propagated and grown fruit trees that are an
alternative to conventionally propagated tree. We can allow you
to catch up when you have missed a custom budding deadline for conventional
field budded and grown trees or if you need a small amount of custom grown trees
in a hurry. They can also be useful in increasing scarce supplies of
budwood if you have a newly discovered cultivar that you wish to increase, or
for saving that family heirloom or favorite old variety no longer available in
the regular nursery trade.
Moser FastFruitTrees!™
will likely never replace the conventionally grown, field budded tree for most
large commercial growers. It is still young, new technology being developed
exclusively by Moser's. However, the potential advantages of the greenhouse propagated
tree are several fold:
- Faster trees---cutting off a
year of nursery production time. Bud it this spring--- plant it this summer,
fall or next spring.
- Comparable quality---but
likely smaller, finished trees to conventionally grown nursery trees,
especially on vigorous roots. A potential advantage for vigorous cherry,
plum, and peach, where many growers don’t want too large of a tree. More work
needs to be done with apples and pears to finish them into comparable
feathered sizes in one season.
- Potential cost savings---for
a grower able to properly care for a fully leafed out and growing potted tree
that can be planted after danger of spring frost, the cost savings could be
significant. However, if the nursery is going to transplant and care for the
tree, then, expect prices to be comparable to conventionally grown trees.
- Quicker turnaround from
order to delivery--- greenhouse production allows late ordering and
contracting, faster delivery time, as well as smaller minimum orders.
- Increasing scarce budwood
supplies--- greenhouse production could be very useful for increasing supplies
of budwood of newly discovered cultivars, since the trees once transplanted
into the field could be cut for budwood for conventional trees that summer.
 Dormant
rootstock is potted in the greenhouse in mid-Feburary to early March and allowed
to break dormancy. We are still working on the proper pot size to use,
soil mixes, fertilization regimes, etc. in order to improve the efficiency of
the whole operation.
At a suitable time, dormant buds are chipped budded onto the
rootstock and allowed to grow. Because of the controlled environment of
the greenouse, we are able to manage the growth on the new trees more closely
than field budded trees which are subject to more of the vagaries of "Mother
Nature".
After the danger of spring frost has passed, these trees can be
either:
Transplanted directly to an orchard location, providing the
grower has drip irrigation and the ability and management skills to nurture the
more tender greenhouse grown tree that will require much more care than a
conventional dormant planted bareroot tree, or
Transplanted to one of Moser's nursery fields for finishing into
a more conventional bareroot tree of nice caliper.
At left is sweet cherry in September after transplanting a
Moser FastFruitTree!™
into one of our nursery fields. Below are Toka plums in the same field
which started out as Moser'FastFruitTrees!™.
At this time, we are looking for grower
cooperators to help us refine the technology of taking a
Moser FastFruitTree!™
from the greehouse directly to the orchard, so if you don't mind taking a little
risk and you are a "hands on" type grower who is willing and able to give these
trees the extra care they need, then we'd like to hear from you. We expect
a significant cost and time savings can be a benefit.
When further grown in our nursery field,
we have no doubt that a Moser FastFruitTree!™
will perform like a conventionally budded and
grown in-the-field type tree. Expect these trees to be priced comparably
to conventional bareroot nursery trees and of equal quality.
Moser Fruit Tree Sales
usually places large
contracts of fruit trees, over 1000, with our normal suppliers in order to get
you the best price and quality. However, for small amounts it is more
difficult for the large nurseries to handle properly.
How many times have you run into the problem of trying to get just a few trees
of an old apple variety or cultivar? Sometimes, we can find that same variety for
you, but too often the cultivar has been discontinued or dropped from
production. Sometimes, the original nursery doesn't even have scionwood
available anymore.
Moser Fruit Tree Sales can now offer you some help. If you
are looking for a small amount of that special variety, not currently available
in the trade, or maybe not available on the rootstock you prefer, we may be able
to bud and grow some for you. We specialize in semi-dwarf Geneva 30, EMLA
7, EMLA 106, dwarf Bud 9 and other rootstocks.
Let us know the specific combination
of cultivar and rootstock. We may not be able to propagate any varieties or
cultivars, still protected by current plant patents, unless we can get proper
licenses from the patent owners, but we can do many antique, heritage, and
older apple varieties that no longer are readily available. In most cases,
you supply us the budwood so that we are sure that we will be doing the specific
cultivar that you need, but we are in the process of establishing a diverse
scionwood orchard of heritage, antique, cider, and hard-to-find- original
strains of apples.
Link to List of Varieties in Moser's Scionwood Orchard
If you have a new discovery, either a
seedling or a sport, of something that you think is unique or special, and want
a small quantity of trees we can grow them for you. We can also help
evaluate it and work with our major nursery partners to determine its commercial
potential and develop it further.
While we speculate on a certain quantity of
roots, we need to know your needs as soon as possible. Budding starts in
August, and we must have your choice of rootstock planted and available in the
quantities you need by that previous spring.
Please contact us
for pricing, terms, and conditions of sale.
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