Frequently Asked Questions

More than likely, yes. The overwhelming amount of fruit trees will need two of the same variety of trees to produce fruit. You will need to purchase at least two different varieties of the same type of tree. You will need two apple trees, two pear trees, two sweet cherry trees, and probably two plum trees. Peach trees, most blueberries, pie cherries, and grape vines are self fertile and do not need a pollinator. However, even with self fertile trees, you will get more, larger, and better fruit if there is a pollinator nearby. 

Kickapoo Orchard and Bare Root Tree Sales:

46490 State Highway 171 Gays Mills, WI 54631 from Saturday 3.19.2022- Sunday 6.19.2022

Roots to Fruits Nursery Retail Location:

201 Manning Ave Soldiers Grove, WI 54655 from Monday 6.20.2022- Sunday 12.11.2022

From 12.12.2022- 3.17.2023 the retail location is closed but we are available at 608.735.6000.

We pride ourselves in following growing practices that encourage biological diversity, increased soil health, and ecological balance, without the use of harmful chemicals or GMOs.

A climate zone results from the climate conditions of an area; its temperature, humidity and type of precipitation, and the season. 

We try to eat as many apples as possible to give you the best idea of how they taste and for what they are used. Assuming we haven't tasted the apples, we try to read as many blogs, news articles, scientific papers, and other orchards for their descriptions. We base our roostock sizes and characteristics from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

There is no standardized split between dwarf, semi-dwarf, and standard trees so for simplicity's sake, we assume that all trees 50% or smaller of stardard are dwarfs. A rootstock/tree that is between 50% and 90% of standard are considered semi-dwarfs. All trees 90% of standard or larger are considered standards for our purposes. 

For information regarding cider content- we use the metrics from Washington State University. While this list is not complete but we do use information gathered elsewhere online to mirror those metrics. 

Many modern apples have pedigrees produced from Universities or research programs that we use for reference. Here is a good example for the GoldRush apple for reference and further reading. 

What does NYSAES stand for? That acronym is short for New York State Agricultural Experiment Station which is a part of Cornell University. 

You would have to call 608.735.6000 at our home office to place that kind of order. We cannot immediately fill an order with inventory that we do not have and we will place an order for you for next season. We will also request a 50% deposit on trees for next season. 

Once an order has been placed, it cannot be refunded, cancelled or returned. This policy begins February 20th. Should an exception be made- each item returned will be subject to a 25% restocking fee. 

Fruit, maple, oak, and nut trees all require full sun which is at least 6 hours of full sun. However, 8 hours is preferable. Some ornamental trees prefer partial shade. This is indicated in the description of each tree.

Apple trees should receive 10 gallons of water a week unless it rains. Maples should be watered every 3 or 4 days until they establish their root systems- this takes about 6-8 weeks.

We recommend no less than 15' but not more than 50' to ensure proper pollination. Dwarf trees can be planted as close as 6' apart.

We have a pruning guide available at the top of the website that has details about how to prune fruit trees. However, there are a few steps you can take to ensure the trees grows and fruits properly over the next few years. 

Planting year: Always allow the tree to properly flower and bloom- the is a natural cycle and helps the tree get into a properly rhythm. You want it to begin the fruiting cycle. You tree should NOT fruit this year. If it develops a fruit, remove it with a knife or pruners before its gets larger than a dime. The tree at this stage might be old enough to produce fruit but the root system is too small to support fruit. 

Year 2: The tree might fruit but should only have fruit ever 6", if at all. You'll probably get a couple pieces of fruit the second year after its planted. In Winter, prune off any broken or damaged limbs to the nearest bud. 

Year 3: This is the beginning of your consistent crop and you'll probably get 3-6 pieces of fruit on the tree this year. If the fruit, especially apples and pears, grows in clusters, remove all but 1 from any cluster. This will help not stress the tree out. By this time, the root system should have caught up to the above ground tree and your tree should be able to support a consistent crop. 

Year 4 and 5: By now the tree can be lightly annually pruned. No need to cut off the top of the tree if there is nothing wrong with it. Once the tree grows beyond your reach you might consider pruning it back to make harvest time easier but semi-dwarf and standard trees will get larger than what you could reach.

Yes. Call 608.735.6000 to have us plant your trees. We charge a fee to plant each tree plus a flat delivery fee based on your location. There is a 1 year guarantee on the tree if we plant them. 

Because we have to physically deliver your trees once they are planted in containers, the cost of delivery does increase. This process does not involve an actual shipping company but a Roots to Fruits Nursery Employee, time, and gas. This person will be in contact to schedule a day to deliver your trees with a receipt. We scale our delivery fees based on quantities, distance, and proximity to other deliveries. We are able to deliver trees up to 200 miles away from the nursery. We do also charge $1.00/ mile for delivery.

We ship via SpeeDee Delivery service from March through June on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. Roots to Fruits Nursery employees will deliver trees in containers. 

We begin to ship trees around the middle of March just as the ground begins to thaw. We ship south first. 

We ship to Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, North and South Dakota, parts of Eastern Nebraska, and the St. Louis area on SpeeDee. We are able to ship to all other states EXCEPT California and Arizona on UPS. 

Yes. Please mention this in the notes section of your order or give us a call at 608.735.6000 to delay your order. You can also ask us to ship on a certain date as long as that day is a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday.

Yes! During bare root season you can come to Kickapoo Orchard to pick up your trees. That way you can meet us and ask questions about planting or maybe purchase another tree. At our retail location trees are available for purchase and pick up. 

The 5G is a nursery term for a pot size that typically hold about 3.5 gallons of soil. We are able to deliver trees in containers up to 200 miles away from the Nursery for a $1.00/mile charge. We use a Roots to Fruits Delivery van and employee to deliver trees in containers. This process may take up to 30 days from purchase date to actually arrive at your location. This delivery price and schedule applies to all container sizes. 

Due to restrictions on height and length of packages we cannot ship a tree taller than 72”. All trees shipped outside of SpeeDee shipping range (Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Wisconsin, and parts of Missouri and Michigan) will be trimmed down to 72”.

Yes. When available, we sort the trees into several different sizes: Maiden, Field Ready, Hand Select, and 5G Container. A Maiden tree is typically a whip with few, if any, lateral branching. A Field Ready tree has lateral branches and is usually about 5' tall. A Hand Select tree is larger and has more lateral branching than a Field Ready tree. Lastly, we offer an option to have the trees planted into a 5G pot.

We offer three rootstock sizes that all grow to different heights. A dwarf tree is the smallest, topping out at 12'. This is the easiest to prune, spray, and harvest. It will need support to stay vertical and is susceptible to grazing from deer. A Semi-Dwarf tree will grow to 18' and requires a little more effort to prune, spray, and harvest but will produce more fruit than a dwarf tree. A Standard tree is the largest and most vigorous tree topping out at 25' and requires the most effort to maintain. Standard trees are good for food plots and provide shade. 

Which tree is good for you depends on how much space you have and how much effort you want to put into the tree. Small yards will would benefit from a dwarf tree but larger landscaping can handle a semi-dwarf or standard trees. We can help you decide which is best. 

Bare root trees are trees that are free from soil around their root system. Bare root trees can be shipped and moved with ease. We keep them in cold storage with their roots literally bare and plant them in the summer before they leaf out.

The larger the tree the sooner you will get fruit. For the largest trees we sell, about 10% will fruit the first year and 75% of them will fruit the following year. It should take about two more years of root growth to support a consistent crop.

Bare root trees are easy to move and ship and do not require daily attention but must remain cold. Bare root trees are lighter and anyone can plant them but are only available from March through June. The shipping cost on bare root trees is lower as numerous trees can get packaged together. Because bare root trees tend to be younger they are more easily manipulated and pruned to a desirable shape. You have a larger range of selection of bare root trees and a larger variety of rootstocks from which you can choose. 

Trees in containers work well when you are not able to plant the tree immediately or want to send a tree as a gift. Trees in container can also be sold and planted all year. If space is at a premium around your house, trees in containers take up much less space and are mobile around your home or porch. If you choose to move in the near future, you are able to bring the tree with you. Many trees come in rootstocks that stay small and are suitable for container growing.  

We categorize our apple trees into four sizes: Maiden, Field Ready, Hand Select, and (3 or 5) Gallon Container depending on the size of the tree. Maiden trees are usually 2 years old and are 4-5' tall with little to no lateral branching. These are also called whips and will bear in 2-3 years. A Field Ready tree is 2-3 years old but 5-7' tall, might have some lateral branching and will bear in 1-2 years. The Hand Select trees are only about 5% of trees we have and are 3 year old trees, 5-8' tall and can be heavily branched. You can expect fruiting on a Hand Select tree in about a year. These trees are sold bare root. The last category, the trees in containers are planted in a 3 or 5 gallon pot. 

Our Maple trees typically come in multiple sizes ranging from 3-4' to upwards of 12'+ and range from whips to heavily branched trees.

All other trees come in one or two sizes and are delineated within their respective sections.