Ordering Details
Normally we begin taking orders November 1st for shipment or pick-up in January and February.
Quantities of many plants is very limited. Don’t be disappointed–order soon! To get first dibs, it’s best to get on our mailing list and get the first email we send out.
Felix Gillet Institute Heirloom Fruits, Grapes and Nuts
Welcome to our brand new offering of heirloom fruit, nuts, grapes and lilacs discovered and propagated by our crew of fruit explorers here in the Northern Sierra! We have been searching for, tasting, evaluating and researching these heirloom varieties from the early mining days for over 40 years. This is the seventh year of our nursery catalog, and you will find we have greatly expanded our offerings, now with 75 varieties! We are so excited to have you put our babies in your garden, orchard or farm and share with us the mysteries and joys of growing delicious heirloom fruits, grapes and nuts.
We would be happy to help you select the best varieties and species for your site, and look forward to your decades of pleasure from our efforts.
Every plant comes with a story. Plant a piece of pioneering history and keep the efforts of master nurseryman Felix Gillet and many miners, ranchers, homesteaders and farmers alive into the 21st century.
Happy Growing!
Amigo Bob Cantisano, Adam Nuber and Jenifer Bliss
Info and Prices for All Plants
All plants, except walnuts and chestnuts, are grown without chemical fertilizers or pesticides in Nevada County, CA. The walnuts are grown for us, using our heirloom budwood, by Dave Wilson Nursery.
Most fruit and nut trees are sold as dormant bareroot with 3/8”-3⁄4” caliper and pruned back 4′-5′ tall. Figs, grapes and lilacs are sold dormant in 1 gallon pots.
Apple, Pear, Plum, Almond, Cherry $37 each
Figs $25 – $35 each
Grapes $20 -$25 each
Peaches $45 – $50 each
Walnuts $50 each
Kate Wolf Lilac $30 each
Ordering Details
Most of our plants are in very limited supply with strong demand. Don’t be disappointed.
Order now for the best selection.
We urge you to order now and reserve them until January and February for pick up or UPS shipment.
Dormant trees may be picked up in North San Juan (Nevada County), CA on specific prearranged pickup dates in January and February. We will email in advance to notify you of pickup time and location.
Or we can ship via UPS in January and February.
Note on shipping: Because of box size, it is most economical to order multiple trees. Shipping and handling is roughly the same for 1 tree or 6 trees.
Trees are picked up or shipped when dormant, bareroot, in January and February. Figs, grapes and lilacs are sold dormant and potted.
We dig the trees when both the trees are in total dormancy and the soil is not saturated from winter rains in January and February. Trees start to break dormancy here in North San Juan at the end of February or March. Your trees must be planted by then. Trees transplant and grow much better when planted when they are fully dormant.
Please see ‘Ordering Details’ in the menu for information on prices, product details and other ordering details.
If you have further questions, please contact us at thefgi@gmail.com or call 530-292-3619
Thank you!
Some of our trees are available at Sweetland Garden Mercantile in North San Juan. 530-292-9000
New for 2018: A limited selection of our trees will be available at Feather’s Nursery in Downieville, CA.
Warranty
We warranty that our trees are true to species, and are accurate to variety as is humanly possible. They are growing very well for us in our nursery on the San Juan Ridge at 2400 feet and pure well water. We believe they will grow well at your location. We warranty that the trees will, when properly planted and irrigated, grow vigorously. While we make good efforts to insure trees are free from diseases and nematodes, we can make no guarantees. If a tree from us fails to leaf out and grow, please notify us via email by July 1 to ensure a free replacement the following winter.
We further warrant we have made every effort to insure that our nursery stock is free of injurious plant pathogens and diseases. Despite our diligent efforts to do so, we make no warranties, expressed or implied, that 100% insures our plants are free of injurious disease or nematodes.
A Word About Variety Identification
We have made every attempt to accurately identify these heirloom varieties, however this is an immense undertaking. There are very few reference books for most of these heirlooms, and many of them date to the 1800s and contain no pictures to assist with identification, only line drawings and wordy, arcane descriptions. Most have multiple names for the same variety, and pictures are often quite different for a variety with the same name! We have spent countless hours agonizing over the accuracy of these variety identifications, and have made our best effort to get it right. However this is as much an art as a science, and we are still learning. Unfortunately none of the mother plants come with a tag on them or a map that tells us what they are, so we do our best detective work to sleuth out the answer. We can guarantee that we love the varieties we sell, whether we can identify them 100% percent or not! We have discovered and evaluated many other varieties that we have chosen not to propagate. These are the best of the ancients that we have found to date. Stay tuned, as we are finding more great varieties each year!
Will our high elevation plants grow successfully at your location?
We have been frequently asked if our plants, that originate at higher elevations, will be suitable for your locale. Research in the grape, garlic, cherry and strawberry industries has shown that mother plants grown at higher elevations show more vigor and productivity when grown at lower elevations. We believe this to be true for all fruits, grapes and nuts. The only exception is if the tree does not receive enough winter chilling to induce full dormancy. Chilling is defined as the number of hours below 45°F during the dormant period. All of our plants should thrive at any site with greater than 500 hours of winter chilling. Figs require only 100 hours of chilling. The vast majority of Northern and Central California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington receive more than 500 hours of winter chilling, with exception of sites immediately facing the ocean. If you are unsure that your site receives adequate chilling in a normal winter please contact your local University farm and home advisor, or see: http://fruitsandnuts.ucdavis.edu/chillcalc/index.cfm