All the plants to be dug are first tagged with color
ribbons. Each customer is assigned a different color ribbon. After there has been a hard
frost and when soil conditions are correct it is time to dig the plants.
The tree spade is carefully placed
around the tree. The blades work their way into the ground in rotation until they fully
extend into the ground.
A burlap liner is placed inside a wire basket. Then the
tree is carefully lowered into the basket. The burlap is pinned to cover any exposed soil
and help hold the soil in place.
A piece of burlap is wrapped around the
trunk to protect it from damage. String is tied around the trunk and looped through the
wire basket. The top of the tree is also tied up to prevent damage and facilitate loading.
The basket is then crimped. This makes the wire basket
smaller. The roots are protected inside this very tight package.
This tree is now ready for shipping.
Specially designed jaws grip several trees at once and
load them onto a truck.
When the trucks are full all the plants
are moved back to the main nursery and your order is assembled for shipping.
