Beware of old stock in diminished condition when shopping nursery clearances.

Looks like some good deals there, BorS! Field grown stock as per the photos unlikely to have the problems bboys alludes to.

FWIW, this seems to be another sign of the times economy-wise. So many wholesale growers in the Oregon area and reduced purchasing by retail outlets, I'm not surprised more than a few go belly-up.

seems like the nurseries that were closely tied into the new construction/ex-urban trade are the ones that are going belly up first.

from a few people i talked to, last year at least, nurseries that were nimble enough able to take advantage of the edibles trend did quite well.

This is obviously the stock of a wholesale grower :-) And in some areas of Oregon, you can't drive 100 feet without encountering one - they seem to be the option of choice for anyone with land that was formerly a hazelnut orchard. The problem is that that there are SO many wholesale growers in the region that unless they have an established retail customer base to which to sell their stock, times are very tough. And most successful retail nurseries that have been in business for any length of time also have an established list of wholesale vendors they focus on, often the larger, more established and better known ones.

But you do have a point, eeldip -- even the established retailers have curbed or reduced their purchasing of landscape plants to correspond to the vagaries of the current economy. Therefore, the smaller, newer wholesalers have even a more difficult time generating business. There is a higher failure rate in this side of the business as opposed to retail because of the timing of the production of these larger plants and an inability to adapt rapidly or change product lines.

Apparently the grower was leasing the land and they broke the lease and left, leaving the owner of the property all these plants.
Selling them as "you dig" on Craig's List is a way to make some money and cheaper than paying someone to bulldoze them.

There is another wholesale grower going broke clearing their container stock on Craig's List. :( less interesting stuff though.

Yes, it is old container stock that you have to evaluate carefully before deciding it is worth buying and planting. Specimens in diminished condition are not a good buy, may even fail to establish after planting out.

Okay, I may be in trouble here. I have ordered 400 kinnikinnik plants from a wholesale nursery in Banks, Oregon that I found on Craigslist. They are driving a truck north on saturday and will deliver to my home. 4" plants for .99 each. What should I look for to make sure the plants are healthy? If the plants have been mishandled will they likely recover? Price is good but it is still a lot of money for dead plants!