Any suggestions where to buy it, cost and what to buy? I'm replacing a 50 year old Willow Oak.

Did your neighbor cut the 50 year old Willow Oak down to improve their view?

Don't plant another Willow Oak!

How big of a tree and budget? Environment Design can get you as big of a tree as you want-if you're willing to take out a mortgage on it.
Personally I'd go with a 3" diameter 65 gallon container-or even better a 90" diameter tree spade dug tree. That 3" tree will not go through as much transplant shock and will catch up to a 6-8" tree in 4-5 years anyway. Market on 3" tree is around $700-$1000 right now, species dependent. 6-8" tree you're probably looking at $3000.00-$5000.00. That's tree and planted-you could always go with Moon Valley Nursery for a lot less-but you're taking a chance you'll get a quality tree.

Good lord that is a lot of lroce difference for what essentially seems like acting as a storage facility for the tree for 4 to 5 years. What needs to be done besides water the tree to go from 2 to 6 inches? Hell, do you even need to water them in tx with all the rain we get?

How big of a spade do you need to plant a 90" diameter tree??????????????????

two1993ags said:

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How big of a tree and budget? Environment Design can get you as big of a tree as you want-if you're willing to take out a mortgage on it.
Personally I'd go with a 3" diameter 65 gallon container-or even better a 90" diameter tree spade dug tree. That 3" tree will not go through as much transplant shock and will catch up to a 6-8" tree in 4-5 years anyway. Market on 3" tree is around $700-$1000 right now, species dependent. 6-8" tree you're probably looking at $3000.00-$5000.00. That's tree and planted-you could always go with Moon Valley Nursery for a lot less-but you're taking a chance you'll get a quality tree.

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If one cannot say on this board that body armor is overkill, then you can't tell a fellow doctor they shouldn't plant a full grown tree.

90" diameter? That's the one I want

mAgnoliAg said:

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90" diameter? That's the one I want

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Yea, but what about its length?

jwoodmd said:

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two1993ags said:

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How big of a tree and budget? Environment Design can get you as big of a tree as you want-if you're willing to take out a mortgage on it.
Personally I'd go with a 3" diameter 65 gallon container-or even better a 90" diameter tree spade dug tree. That 3" tree will not go through as much transplant shock and will catch up to a 6-8" tree in 4-5 years anyway. Market on 3" tree is around $700-$1000 right now, species dependent. 6-8" tree you're probably looking at $3000.00-$5000.00. That's tree and planted-you could always go with Moon Valley Nursery for a lot less-but you're taking a chance you'll get a quality tree.

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If one cannot say on this board that body armor is overkill, then you can't tell a fellow doctor they shouldn't plant a full grown tree.

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Better listen to him. He's a wood doctor

malenurse said:

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jwoodmd said:

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two1993ags said:

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How big of a tree and budget? Environment Design can get you as big of a tree as you want-if you're willing to take out a mortgage on it.
Personally I'd go with a 3" diameter 65 gallon container-or even better a 90" diameter tree spade dug tree. That 3" tree will not go through as much transplant shock and will catch up to a 6-8" tree in 4-5 years anyway. Market on 3" tree is around $700-$1000 right now, species dependent. 6-8" tree you're probably looking at $3000.00-$5000.00. That's tree and planted-you could always go with Moon Valley Nursery for a lot less-but you're taking a chance you'll get a quality tree.

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If one cannot say on this board that body armor is overkill, then you can't tell a fellow doctor they shouldn't plant a full grown tree.

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Better listen to him. He's a wood doctor

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Well, as a vascular and trauma surgeon who does microvascular surgery, I have sewn together partially detached pieces of wood.

Joseph's Nursery in Pearland May be worth checking out.

But oak.

Sea Speed said:

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Good lord that is a lot of lroce difference for what essentially seems like acting as a storage facility for the tree for 4 to 5 years. What needs to be done besides water the tree to go from 2 to 6 inches? Hell, do you even need to water them in tx with all the rain we get?

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You have fertilizer, trimming/shaping, pest management, repotting constantly to prevent root balling, soil blending, etc. All done by manual labor.

Then you have the risk associated with the whole process. And having that money tied up for years.

It's a pretty complicated business.

Ok so they aren't planting them on a large parcel and potting them when they are ready to be sold? Thata what I would have assumed but I reckon that would take a lot more space.

Shawnee Trees
3330 Schlipf Rd, Katy, TX 77493

Sea Speed said:

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Ok so they aren't planting them on a large parcel and potting them when they are ready to be sold? Thata what I would have assumed but I reckon that would take a lot more space.

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Some do, but then you have to dig them for order. Others do "pots" or "crates" because they are shipping all over the country. Depends on their market and ideal sales window. It's much easier to get a random landscape company flatbed with a forklift to deliver a big tree in the suburbs than a limited availability large truck with a specialized excavator.

Thanks for the suggestions. I was quoted $ 1,800 for a 200 gallon water oak and I might go with that. The current willow oak is loosing branches and there is dead branches on the tree. My other neighbors are having similar issues and some are trimming and some are removing.

Hard pass on Water Oaks. Sure they grow "fast". But it seems the major of their life cycle is spent in decline/dying mode. They drop lots of debris. I'd go with just about any other oak species.

I would second the recommendation against water oaks. They're starting to fail throughout my neighborhood where they were planted ~50 yr ago.

I planted a Monterrey Oak a bit over a year ago when I was looking for something that was fast growing but not as prone to failure as the water oak.

thanks, what about a Shumard Oak?

agdoc84 said:

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thanks, what about a Shumard Oak?

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Its what i bought. Drops all its leaves every year in a pretty array of colors. Hardier that a majority of other normal Texas oaks and color changes in fall. Thats what sold me.