Horsford's Plant Sizes and Vocabulary
Horsford Gardens and Nursery grows trees, shrubs and perennials in a variety of sizes. Below is a guide to understanding Horsford's plant sizes and vocabulary.
B&B = Balled and Burlapped
We also call these field-dug plants. The plant grew in the ground and was dug by hand or with a tree spade. It was then wrapped with burlap and large trees are also placed in a wire basket for transport and handling. Some shrubs like our field-grown lilac and most large evergreens are B&B.
We dig trees and shrubs in early spring that will be B&B plants
B&B winterberry plants from our fields
CAL = Caliper
Caliper measures the largest diameter of a tree’s trunk. Trees with a trunk four inches and larger are measured 12″ above the ground. We begin pricing trees by the caliper at 1.75″, up to 7″ and sometimes even larger. Trees measured in caliper are usually B&B.
Many B&B trees are measured in caliper
Single Stem/Treeform, Clump, and Multi-Stem
These are terms used to indicate the number of trunks certain plants have. Single stem is a typical tree with one trunk. Clump means multiple single-stem trees were grown together to achieve a plant that has multiple trunks (ie: birch, serviceberry). Multi-stem shrubs or trees have a single base but they branch low to the ground (ie: magnolia). Multi-stem plants create density with multiple branches, versus growing individual suckers from the ground (ie: lilac).
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GALLON Sizes and Other Containers
We grow other shrubs and plants in a range of containers. See the numerical size in our plant catalog for details. Some containers can be more squat, others are deeper so your hole size for planting may vary.
We accept our own containers back for reuse. We cannot accept containers from other garden centers since they can differ in size or be different weights of material that don’t hold up in reuse.
Pot 'N Pot is a growing system at the nursery where container trees are grown within vessels the same size and submerged in the ground (think, a pot in a pot). The in-ground system moderates temperature and moisture reliably, and root pruning bags prevent circling roots.
Common sizes from smallest to largest:
- Plugs – select perennial groundcovers like vinca and thyme
- 3″ pots – annual flowers, vegetable starts, kitchen herbs, select perennials
- 4-packs – annual flowers, vegetable starts, kitchen herbs
- Flat – used to describe 18, 3″ pots or cell trays of 50 small plugs
- 1-gallon – most perennials
- 2-gallon – larger or faster-growing perennials like peonies, grasses and hosta
- 3-gallon – shrubs, trees
- 5-gallon – shrubs, trees
- 7-gallon – most fruit trees, trees
- 10-gallon – trees, some fruit trees
- 15-gallon – trees, some fruit trees
Pot 'N Pot growing system at the nursery
Perennial grasses in one-gallon and 3" pot containers
Perennial astilbe in one-gallon containers
"How will I get it home?"
What to expect when transporting your plant:
B&B - some smaller B&B shrubs may fit in an SUV, B&B trees require a pickup truck. Please bring a tarp when it’s time to bring your plant home. They protect branches from rubbing and leaves from falling off while driving. We have tarps available for purchase. We’re happy to help you load and tie up your plants for transport.
B&B trees require a pickup truck. We can help you tie them up for transport
Containers – those up to 5-gallon typically fit in a regular vehicle. Seven, 10 and 15-gallon containers may be able to fit in an SUV, but it just depends on the species, time of year, and size of vehicle. It also depends on the number of trees or plants you’re bringing home.
Fruit trees in 7-gallon containers
Flowering shrubs in containers
