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Getting a tree seedling some questions.

bluebird

Rub my belly!
My mom got me Wall-E DVD collectors set from target it comes with a paper with a code to enter on the site for a live tree seedling I'm not sure if it'll come bare-root or in a pot, but I'm wondering what type of soil and size pot should I use intill it's spring to plant it in the ground it's too cold I really wish they ship the seedling to people in spring stupid offer I hope when it comes the weather will be ok.. :-(

Here's a little information from site "A live evergreen tree seedling, appropriate to your climate, will be sent to you based on your location." also once the codes and my address is entered I'll receive the tree in 6 to 8 weeks bad time to do a promotion like this it's too cold to plant tree seedlings, I have a grow shelf where I grow my Neps, sundews, pings, and VFT seedling so hopefully the seedling will be ok for the time intill spring I have a few CFL and to plan to get a shoplight for my 48inch wide growshelf there's a 42 inch shoplight and a 24 inch shoplight at the store which be the best the 48 inch is $14 + tax and 23 inch is $9 + tax Should I pay the extra only thing the 48 inch one doesn't come with lights so I'll have to buy a pack..

I still need to check out lowes and homedepot to see their lights.

Thanks for any help when it comes I'll post pictures and hopefully it'll survive long enough for spring to come.
 
Potting a hardy evergreen up and leaving it at room temperature in a house will kill it. Put it in a cool, dark place like a refrigerator or a garage if it comes tubed. It must be moist with the roots but not frozen or allowed to dry. Plant it ASAP as soon as the ground thaws.
 
If it's acclimated to your region as they say it will be, then it should be hardy enough that the cold won't be a big problem. You may have to wait a few weeks, but by early Spring it should be OK. Use an indoor potting mix with some extra perlite for drainage, and go for a pot that is as wide, or half as wide, as the tree is tall. I suspect it will come potted, though.
~Joe
 
I think it'll come bare-root because that's what's used for mass-planting and they're cheap to buy and cheap to ship. Maybe it'll be a black spruce since they're used in a lot of northern tree plantations. On the other hand, maybe they're factoring in global warming and will send you a loblolly pine. I agree with seedjar's potting instructions, especially about drainage. Because it'll be used to indoor conditions, protect it from sun & wind when you first plant it outside and water it frequently for a while. Good luck.
 
Thanks for the help days has been in the high 30F to low 25F and nights high 25F low 13F and it's been pretty windy anyways I'll follow your instructions once it comes I think it'll come with instructions on it, but it's probably not as imformitive as people here.

If it's a black spruce that'll be nice I've had them at my last house well any type of evergreen is fine I got plenty of room for trees in my yard..
 
A tree hardy to a cold climate must go through winter, no matter if it's in a pot or in the ground. It needs the cold rest period or it will die. Beginners with bonsai often make the mistake of bringing in a hardy tree during the winter only to have it die.

If it's hardy to -20ºF in the ground, it's hardy to -20ºF in the pot (if heeled in).

The proper place for it is outdoors with the pot buried in the ground up to the first limb of the tree until spring.

A potting mix for an evergreen would consist mostly of very fine gravel such as granite chicken grit (that won't float and shift to the top like perlite) and pieces of pine bark. Water should drain out as quickly as it's poured in.
 
A tree can handle a year without a hard winter better than it'll handle a sudden move into harsh weather. The seedling was probably bagged months ago and is probably pretty stressed by now, so it needs gentle handling.
 
Even so, it needs a drop in temperature. The practice of having "live" Christmas trees are case and point- they suffer (sometimes die) inside in the unseasonably warm and dry climate of the indoors and then fry when abruptly planted outside because they are already stressed.
 
Commercially produced tree liners are kept in large walk-in coolers to keep them in a suspended state of growth after potting and before shipping anyway. The coolers are typically kept at 35ºF. Dormancy is induced at prolonged periods of 45ºF. So... it's likely already dormant and I wouldn't wake it this time of yr by keeping it anywhere even near 45ºF.

Over the yrs I have handled Japanese Black Pine, Ginkgo, Austrian Pine, Wisteria, Trident maple, Chinese Elm, Shimpaku Juniper, and Norway Spruce just to name a few. All by the 100s ea. Never seen a healthy liner that wasn't kept in a cooler or cold-frame near freezing, and for good reason. They need it cold, not just cool.

The only crop I ever lost was a crop of heated Yoshino Cherries that was supposed to be kept cool before shipment and shipped dormant. They arrived in full leaf and every one of them died.

That was the only time anybody ever shipped me anything out of dormancy. It just isn't commercial practice to ship liners and seedlings out of dormancy. They are shipped from a cooler to arrive before last frost so that they are set in before waking from dormancy to avoid stress.

At least that's how it's supposed to be done. Not to say this particular place will play by the rules. Just saying how it likely will be from my experience.
 
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