How to choose healthy fruit-tree seedlings

Choosing the right seedling is the first — and one of the most important — steps towards a healthy orchard. Here are the criteria we look for ourselves when preparing seedlings from G.T. Cebotari Feodor Mihail nursery for customers.

1. Bark condition

A healthy seedling's bark is smooth and supple, with no large dry patches, deep cracks or obvious signs of disease or pests.

2. Root system

Roots should be firm and hydrated, not dry, brittle or blackened. A well-branched root system, not just one long taproot, helps the seedling establish more easily.

3. Graft union

On grafted seedlings, the graft union should be clearly visible, well healed, with no cracks or signs it hasn't bonded properly. This is the point where the chosen variety was joined to the rootstock.

4. Age and size

A seedling of the right age for planting — neither too young and fragile, nor unbalanced in growth between roots and top growth — generally establishes better than one oversized for its age.

5. Where it comes from

A seedling bought directly from an experienced nursery that can confirm the species, variety and production method (grafting) gives you more confidence than one with unclear provenance. All seedlings from our nursery are grown in-house, in Jora de Sus.