Actually, that is not the easiest question. Everywhere I can think of is pretty expensive. Depends on whether you are trying to find a large landscape size tree or something smaller. Weston Nurseries has a good selection and a lot of the larger sizes with price tags to match. Their home base is in Hopkinton and that would be where to go to see their trees. I think you can find lower prices.

I know someone on this forum mentioned somewhere South of Boston and I forget the name, maybe they will chime in.

I would just go to your local garden center and ask. Even though they may not deliver and plant for you, most garden centers have people they know and recommend for work like that.

Two place come to my mind. Lake St Garden Center in Salem NH-they have a lovely selection and often times have different sizes of the same tree. I purchased a Twisted Larch there about 8 years ago-planted it myself. They can certainly deliver and plant for you. The other garden center that I like is Salt Box Nursery in Billerica. This is a much smaller operation-but they have great quality and a good selection. They will deliver and plant for you as well. Now that said, neither of these places are inexpensive. When I purchased my Larch I bought it the end of September on sale.

thanks... I'm going to have to research this - I have all summer since I was going to plant in Fall. I started to wonder about anything cheap even from HomeDepot since I am prone to killing things.

Mahoney's is the closest to me, but I rarely ever buy anything there.

I think Lake St Garden Center is a place recommended by someone else, but I can't fully remember.

But I am SO SAD with the tree gone - it's so sunny and sparse looking. I might try to spend as much as I can for as large as I can.

If you have any money to spare, I think this tree is the thing to spend it on. Please, take my word for it. You'll be looking at this tree every single day for years and years. Although most of us would tell you that a smaller tree catches up to the larger size in a couple of years (the smaller ones are less stressed by transplanting, esp in hotter weather which is fast approaching) there's a difference between a 2 footer and a 5 footer, so consider buying the biggest one you can afford.

Save your pennies this summer. Research the tree that will be perfect for your spot. Go to different nurseries this summer and look at them in person. I"d vote for the nursery in Rhode Island, whose name totally escapes me....I think....I"m sure its Katsura Nursery. Gorgeous stock, real unusual as well the usual, but all in good shape. You might very well find the same things at Weston's Hopkinton center.
Get over to the tree forum where very experienced,opinionated gardeners can give you details to consider in your choice.
Finally, save all the information you get, make your decision, take that extra 150 dollars saved in the sock over the summer and buy the tree in autumn. It is a better season to plant, especially with New England's recent years of early heat and little rainfall.
I can tell you love trees. It will be worth all the time, effort and delayed gratification to give yourself time to make an informed choice.
I hope you find what you love.YOu'll let us know, of course!
idabean

thanks idabean. I'm actually depressed I even cut it down now! I should have waited all summer for what shade it provided and done it when I could plant the next day.

But my husband was sure it was going to land on a car in the driveway. More than half the branches never leafed out last summer. It was so horribly infested and freaky to see these massive carpenter ants everywhere as the guy cut up the trunk! I killed like 20 that made it into my garage!

At the same time I had a few other things trimmed that really needed it. And I took out a huge rhododendron that actually looks fine gone since the fence is very nice. I had him leave the stump as it has a few suckers on it so I would not be surprised if I have a mini-sized rhoddy by the end of summer.

which brings up another question: what are you doing about the stump if you're planting in the same spot?

Since you mentioned the carpenter ants - keep a look out. Since you just destroyed their home, they will be looking for a new one. Hopefully it won't be somewhere inside your house.

I put out a couple ant baits... I've killed a couple more today. They are big - biggest I've ever seen! I guess I should do that foundation spray tomorrow.

I was hoping since he took all the wood and ground the stump (the stump part looked clean - not infested) that meant most of them drove away in the chipper.

He ground the stump.

I was wondering how close to the same spot one could dig a new hole -any idea??

Idabean's so right about saving up to get the biggest tree you can, after lots of research. I agree ---- be careful where you shop. Sometimes cheaper is not best in the long run.

Five years ago we bought a beautiful Heritage River Birch from a large nursery center. That nursery did not plant stock, so we had to have it picked up and planted by a landscaper --- not cheap. A few years later one of the trunks developed a borer and we eventually removed it. Then came hurricane Irene. Our birch came down when a wind surge twisted the center trunk around, hitting the other trunk. As we were cutting it up we noticed that the tree, which we thought had three trunks, was actually three trees that had been wired together with a thick band underneath the soil level! From the narrow size of the three trunks below the band and the way their trunks thickened out above, it was pretty obvious that our tree was doomed from the start. But there was no way we could have known this until the tree died.

Last year we went to a very reputable (other) nursery and bought a single trunk 10 ft Cully birch. This nurseryman discouraged us from getting a multi-trunk birch because of the high winds along our river. Yes, the second tree was more expensive than the first, but it had been dug into the ground at the nursery, was mounded up and well-watered -- very healthy looking.

The second nursery did install their own stock. We expected their service to be double the cost of the tree because they charged by the hour for two men. But since we had a stump removal service come beforehand and grind out the hole and my husband and I also dug out even more afterward, it cost far less than we had expected. I also think because this nursery was planting their own stock, they took great care. The tree arrived completely encased in a burlap wrap. The two nurserymen were extremely aware about placement of the tree on site, they brought in extra dirt, they mounded up and graded underneath. When they left it looked like the tree had always been there.

I look at a tree as an investment. Take your time and investigate the places people suggest.

Molie