Hi SH,

PaulinoÂs carries BIG trees, but theyÂre going to be expensive and need to be deliveredÂand probably planted for you tooÂunless you have a BIG truck, and probably a fork liftÂand lots and lots, and lots of help! They carry all sizes.

And Timberline carries some pretty big ones too, but wonÂt have as much of a selection as PaulinoÂs when it comes to trees.

IÂm sure there are other places, but those are the best two I know of in the Metro area.

Skybird

Nick's has a good supply right now and IMO cheaper than Tagawa; Paulino's usu has 15 gals. I wouldn't buy ash due to lilac and emerald ash borers, and maple is subject to chlorosis around here. Swamp white oak, KY coffeetree, London plane, chinkapin oak are good choices.

Dan

If your goal is to have big trees faster, starting with larger trees may backfire on you.

I don't have a link to the article, but I read that the larger trees tend to get shocked more when transplanted and after a couple of years, smaller trees planted at the same time are often larger. The larger trees are also more likely to die due to the transplant shock.

I agree with bpgreen. I've heard that it takes a year per diameter of trunk to re-establish the roots.

I can't recommend a local shop because I have purchased all of my trees from Harmony Gardens in Fort Collins - well worth the delivery charge IMO. I have purchased about 50 trees from them and never lost a single one.

When I lived in Longmont, I bought 5' CO blue spruce - maybe 6 of them. Feeling like they were too small, I bought a few 8 footers. The 8' trees never really adapted before I moved. The 5' trees at least caught up, if not surpassed the big ones. The extra cost for the big ones was never realized.

My current yard is 6 years old and have many maples (recommend Autumn Blaze) and a purple ash. They are finally taking off, planted 4 or 5 years ago. They were about 2.5" in diameter at planting and have at least doubled.

I started with decent looking trees (had to be placed in the holes with a trolley) and deep root water them monthly - all year. In the spring, I pound those tree food spikes around the roots.

I must say the neighbors ask why my trees are so much bigger then theirs, when our landscaping was done at the same time. Food and water!!

I also prune religiously, to direct/improve the growth. It must be an OCD because I cannot look at most trees without imagining how they would look pruned!!