By Jeff Burbrink
Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County

Jeff Burbrink
Extension Educator, Purdue University Elkhart County

ELKHART COUNTY — There is starting to be a nip in the air, which means it is time to order trees from the 2022 Elkhart County tree sale. The sale is sponsored by the Elkhart County Soil and Water Conservation District and the Michiana Master Gardeners.

Order forms for this popular program can be downloaded at https://www.elkcoswcd.org/wp-content/uploads/2022-Tree-Sale-Order-Form.pdf or you can pick it up in person at the Elkhart County Soil and Water Office, 59358 CR 7, south of Elkhart or the Purdue Extension – Elkhart County Office, 17746 CR 34, on the fairgrounds east of Goshen.

Early birds who order and pay before Jan. 7 receive a 10% discount on the total dollar amount of the order. The last day to place orders is March 4. The trees will be delivered on March 26, to the Sheep/Swine Building on the Elkhart County 4-H Fairgrounds, just in time for spring planting.

The species being sold this season include American arborvitae, eastern white pine, Norway spruce, American beech, hackberry, northern red oak, sugar maple, tulip poplar, white oak, eastern red bud, white flowering dogwood, and winterberry. They are sold in packs of 5, 10, and 25, and there is a variety pack to encourage diversity of species on your property.

We try to select tree species to sell that are long lived, not disease or pest prone, and are good for conservation and nature in general. All the species being sold, with exception of the Norway spruce, are native to Indiana. While not native to our area, Norway spruce is a desirable replacement for blue spruce, which is plagued with several diseases and insect issues and is no longer recommended in the Midwest.

Arborvitae, Norway spruce and white pine are commonly used as windbreak or privacy screenings and provide winter color and shelter for animals. Many of the hardwood species produce food for birds and other wildlife.

Hackberry is one tree some of the readers may not be familiar with.  You do not see them often in tree sales or nurseries or backyards. We had one near our home on my family farm. They generally grow to be tall, single trunked, majestically pyramid shaped tree, and rarely drop branches.  The leaves have a rough sandpaper feel to them.  And while the leaves often have a wart-shaped gall on them which some people do not like, the gall does not result in health issues to the tree.  Hackberry would make an excellent replacement in wooded areas where you have lost ash trees to the borers in recent years.

The order form includes information on the growth habits, soil and light preferences, salt tolerance, and benefits of these plants. The seedlings are sold as bare root stock, so a bundle of 100 trees can easily fit in the trunk of most cars. Credit cards and checks can be used for payment. On pickup day, there will be information available on the planting and care of the trees.