How to Order Walnut Saplings
Waltree Nursery has been grafting walnut saplings at Bandirma in Turkey since 1992 and exports most of what it grows. This page sets out how an order actually works, from the first enquiry to the trees arriving on your land. If something here does not suit the way you prefer to buy, tell us and we will say what is possible rather than leave you guessing.
WHO WE SELL TO
We supply commercial growers planting their own orchards, and nurseries that resell trees in their own country. The terms differ between the two, which is why the quote form asks which one you are -- it lets us send the right price list the first time rather than after an exchange of emails.
We are a wholesale nursery, so there is a minimum order, and it depends on where the trees are going rather than on a company rule. A shipment has to fill enough of a truck to be worth sending, so the threshold is lower for a destination we can reach overland in two days than for one that needs a long haul or air freight. The figure we publish as a general guide is 3,000 trees. For some destinations it is lower and for a few it is higher. Tell us your country and the number you have in mind and we will confirm it in our reply.
If you are planting a garden rather than an orchard, a nursery in your own country will serve you better than we can, and we would rather say so than take you through a quote that was never going to work.
WHERE WE SHIP
We have exported walnut saplings to 35 countries, from Portugal to Nepal. If yours is on one of these lists we have shipped there before, we know what its plant health service asks for, and we can tell you what the documents and the freight will look like before you commit to anything.
| Market | Countries |
|---|---|
| Main markets in the EU | Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain |
| Main markets outside the EU | Georgia, India, Moldova, Russia |
| Also exported to | Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan |
We can export to countries in Europe and Asia that are not on these lists, and we do most seasons. What decides it is not the distance but whether your country will let the trees in and whether the order fills enough of a truck to be worth sending -- so ask rather than assume. One thing is worth knowing early: some countries require an import permit that only you, as the importer, can apply for, and a few of those take months.
HOW A QUOTE IS BUILT
There is no fixed price list, because the price of a grafted walnut tree depends on what you order and when you want it. Three things move it: the grade of sapling, the number of trees, and the delivery. The price per tree is the same for every variety we graft, so choosing between Chandler and Fernor is an agronomic decision rather than a cost one.
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You tell us what you are planning
Your country, roughly how many trees, and the month you want them. If you do not yet know the variety or the exact number, give your best estimate and say so -- we would rather advise you than quote the wrong thing.
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We send a price list
By email, usually within 24 hours, priced for the quantity and the delivery month you gave us. If something in your plan does not add up -- a variety that will struggle at your altitude, a pollenizer ratio that is off -- we will say so in the same reply.
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We agree the order and a delivery window
Once the price is settled we fix the quantities, the varieties and the month, and your trees are reserved in our fields for that season. You are welcome to visit the nursery and see them before they are lifted.
The quote covers the trees themselves, the phytosanitary certification and export paperwork, lifting and cold storage, and transport to your address -- with the delivery cost shown as its own line rather than folded into the price per tree.
PAYMENT
Payment is by bank transfer, against an invoice we issue once the order is agreed. Your trees are paid for before they are loaded. We send the banking details and the invoice with the confirmed order, not before.
We will never send you different bank details part-way through an order. If you receive a message that appears to come from us asking you to pay into another account, telephone us before you act on it.
DELIVERY, AND WHO DOES WHAT
We arrange the truck. We book it, load it at the nursery and deliver to the address you give us, and we handle the export formalities on the Turkish side. The freight is quoted as a separate line from the price per tree, so you can see what the trees cost and what the delivery costs instead of having the two folded into one number you cannot check.
What falls to you is the import side: clearing the trees into your country, and any import permit your government requires. Some countries need that permit applied for months in advance, and it can only be applied for by the importer, not by us. Tell us your country early and we will tell you what we know about it.
EXPORT DOCUMENTS
We prepare the export paperwork ourselves and it is part of what we quote. A shipment normally travels with:
- A commercial invoice.
- A phytosanitary certificate issued by the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, confirming the trees were inspected and found free of quarantine pests. Our saplings are checked by our own agricultural engineers before they reach that stage.
- A certificate of origin.
- The transport documents for the load.
- The Turkish customs documents.
- An EUR.1 movement certificate where your country is entitled to one. This is what lets an importer claim the preferential duty rate under a free trade agreement with Turkey, so it is worth telling us early if it applies to you.
Requirements differ by destination and they change. Some countries also require an import permit obtained by you before the trees can be shipped. Tell us where you are and we will confirm what is needed on both sides before you commit to anything.
WHEN WE LIFT AND SHIP
Our season runs from November to April, and nothing ships outside it. Trees are lifted dormant and bare-root, then held in cold storage with their roots wet, which is what lets us deliver in good condition to countries where spring arrives late instead of shipping trees that have already broken bud on the way.
This is why the quote form asks which month you want them. It is a real scheduling question rather than a formality: the earlier we know, the better we can plan your load, and the likelier you are to get the month you asked for rather than the one that is left.
WHEN THE TREES ARRIVE
Your trees arrive dormant and bare-root with their roots kept moist. Check them on arrival and get them into the ground as soon as your land allows.
If the ground is not ready, heel them in rather than leaving them in their packing: lay the roots in a shallow trench, cover them with soil or damp sand, and water them every few days. Trees will wait several weeks like that. If you have cold storage, hold them between 0 and 8 degrees Celsius with the roots kept damp.
Our chapter on planting a walnut orchard covers the arrival checks, heeling in, hole size, planting depth and the first watering in detail. Advice afterwards is free, and it is not a courtesy -- we would far rather spend an hour on the telephone than watch an orchard fail for something avoidable.
VISITING THE NURSERY
You are welcome to come and see the trees before you buy them, and customers regularly do. The nursery is about three hours from Istanbul: we can collect you from Sabiha Gokcen airport, or you can take the Istanbul to Bandirma ferry. Tell us roughly when you would like to come and we will arrange it.
COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT ORDERING
Tell us what you are planning
Send us your country, roughly how many trees and the month you want them, and we will come back within a day with a price list and an honest answer on whether the order works.