For those of you who plan on planting trees this Spring, many counties are at the start of the window for ordering trees, to plant bare root this Spring. Many counties, all over the US, lump together a multitude of small orders and purchase and sell trees, bushes and other plants at wholesale prices, typically a $1.50 to 25 cents each. Often the prices are additionally subsidized by the county.

Different counties offer different selections of plants that will do well in your area. Many counties will allow people from other counties in their state and sometimes other states, to purchase as well. Some counties are pick up only, but many do ship.

Many of the trees and other plants offered are beneficial to wildlife.

County Soil and Water Conservation and Agricultural Districts and Departments are typically the places that offer cheap trees.

I am buying pawpaw tress from my county this Spring.

Keith

I need some more Russian olive trees the cedars I can dig up anyplace. I kill the cherry trees when I spray for weeds they don’t last long around me.

YOU MIGHT WANT to rethink that . They brought them in for restoring strip mines here. 30-40 years later the land is a massive jungle. But your land your headache.....

Its weird how geography comes into play Russian Olive trees are now considered invasive and a noxious pest species in many locations.

So that's where these pesky vines came from.

lol, I checked my County w-site and nothing.
I'll stop next time I go to the city.

Do a Google search with your county name and SWCD after it and you should find your County Soil and Water Conservation District. There is one in pretty much every County across the Country, even NYC has a SWCD. If they don't have a tree sale they can probably point you to one.

I’d say that here Russian Olive trees are in the top 5 for shelter belt for plantings. No takeover anyplace I’ve ever seen but a hardy windbreak tree that bares fruit for wildlife and is good shelter from raptors. Lots of cedar beating programs going on now no programs or reason to remove the Russian Olives never been a problem around here.

Autumn Olive is a massive invasive in Michigan. They grow densely and are full of thornes. If left unchecked they will completely take over so thick you can't get through them. I am destroying them constantly.

We must be talking about different trees never seen any overgrown Russian Olive thickets outside of a shelter belt they were planted in there.

Russian olive and autumn olive are different, slightly similar looking plants. Russian olives have yellow flowers, a more tree like form and green fruit. Autumn olives have white flowers, a more bush like form and red fruit. Both are invasive, where conditions are right, but don't spread easily in some areas at all. Autumn olives are sold by nurseries as lycopene berries. Autumn olive fruit tastes good, but it is so small we've only bothered to pick it once. I've never tried Russian olive because it doesn't grow here.

A friend of mines farm, 6.8 miles from here, at a higher elevation, gets covered with autumn olive, anywhere it's not controlled. I only have 1 bush of it on my entire farm. I have much more honeysuckle instead.

Autumn olive, Russian olive and honeysuckle can all be extremely easily propagated by cuttings. I first did it as a kid, totally by accident, when I used honeysuckle to mark my garden rows. Rooting hormone helps some, but cuttings taken during the dormant period, will usually root with out it. Just cut a 6" or so long piece, with 3 leaf nodes, dip the bottom end in hormone and stick in moist ground.

None of the 3 should probably be propagated.

Keith