Orders placed for the SuperTrees or other nursery stock after September 15, 2024 will ship SPRING 2025. Once the weather permits shipment your order will go out based on your planting location and zip code. We will send notification by email of your shipped order status and tracking information. 

Call us:   (651) 470-2096

Welcome to
Karsten Nursery

HOME OF THE HYBRID SUPERTREE
The Fastest Growing Tree in North America!

First Season's Growth in 40 Seconds

 

The Hybrid SuperTree grows fast!

Here's a video a guy made showing his first full season of growth.

Results will vary by soil, water, fertility and climate, of course. When everything is right these trees will hit you in the chin if you stand too close!

All Hybrid SuperTree ordered now after September 15 will ship out in SPRING 2025, as soon as the weather allows in your zip code. If you have any questions or concerns about shipping or anything please feel free to email us at Joel@KarstenNursery.com or give us a call us at 800-901-9902 and we are happy to help.

Buy as many Hybrid SuperTrees as you need

10 trees

$89.99

20 trees

$176.99

30 trees

$262.99

40 trees

$345.99

PlantSkydd is an animal repellent that deters nibbling by rabbits, deer & voles.

Listen to

What our customers are saying

“

"Every single one of the 250 SuperTrees I purchased last spring made it through the winter and are still growing like weeds. It won't be long now until we cannot see our neighbor's ugly backyard." 

John W

Sibley, Iowa

“

 "I am the world's worst gardener, and thought that these SuperTrees would end up in the brush pile like most things I plant after a few months. All I have done is water them and they are 25 feet high and very full of leaves. My kid ran the mower over one of them when I first planted it, and it has come back and actually looks the fullest of any of them we planted. Amazing!!!"

Aaron R

Mankato, MN

“

"The Hybrid SuperTrees we purchased last spring are already providing us with a privacy screen and shade. Our neighbors are amazed that we have gotten nearly 12 feet of growth already since we planted them.

Mike L

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Faq

What is a Hybrid SuperTree? Is it a GMO?

This tree was developed by cross breeding the Salix matsudana with the Salix alba, and the resulting seeds were planted in mass. This particular cutivar was selected from among those seedlings, and has been replicated via cloning after that selection. All of the derivatives are genetically identical and thus result in very similar characteristics. THEY ARE NOT GMO. Anyone who thinks these are GMO doesn't have a clue what GMO plants are. No chromosome splicing here AT ALL!

How far apart should we plant the Hybrid SuperTree?

That depends! If you are trying to develop a wind break, snow catch, dust or noise barrier, then plant one row 5-6' apart, and no closer than 5'. If planted too close, they will rub against each other before they have a chance for their bark can mature. The thin bark will easily rub off and this creates wounds in the tree bark, which can be an issue when the tree matures. If planted at least 5' apart they will not touch one another until they have had time to grow thicker bark, which won't rub off easily. If you are planting and you have lots of space, then plant the same number of trees but make two rows 8-10' apart, and plant the trees 8-10' apart in each row but stagger them between the rows. This gives more space for them to fill out, and yet gives the same density of plants for wind or snow blowing from the side. 

How big are the Hybrid SuperTrees when they are shipped?

These are alive and growing about 1/2" every day, so we target shipping them at 12-24" but sometimes they are slightly taller. The plugs will have leaves already growing. The root ball on the plugs is about the size of a soda can, with a netting around the root ball. Plant the netting with the tree, and it will dissolve away and the roots will burst through it.  We also offer taller transplants that ship bare root, without fully extended leaves. These have a bit larger root system and tend to transplant well. We can ship these anywhere in the USA by Postal, UPS or SpeeDee Delivery. Our only limitation for shipping is when it gets hot, because when the trees arrive at your door they CANNOT sit in the sun on a hot day inside the box, or they will die! If you take them out of the box and put the roots into a pail of water they are just fine like that until you have time to plant them. We ship up until it gets to the hottest part of summer, then we pick up again in early fall.  After October 1st, orders placed will usually be scheduled to ship in the SPRING! You will clearly see on our website if we are delaying shipments at the time you order.

What kind of soil do Hybrid SuperTrees need?

At our tree farm we jokingly say that if we could dig planting holes in the highway, the Hybrid SuperTree could grow roots into the asphalt! Our experience with fast growing trees goes back 35+ years and our customers tell us how well this hybrid of the Salix grows in pure sand, heavy black clay, and everything in between. If you have poor soil it is important to make a bigger planting hole 1'x1' and backfill with 50/50 mix of good compost and your virgin soil. This lets them get started, and then they will push roots out from there. If anything grows in the soil where you will plant them, then you can count on these growing there too.

What about water?

Some Salix species grow only near lakes and rivers and need water, these trees do not require water nearby, and are actually quite drought tolerant once well established. To get them established make sure you water well when you plant, this gets all the air pockets out of the soil. If no rainfall is received then plan to provide one gallon per tree per week for the first three months. The KEY is how you water. Slowly! Use a bucket with a nail hole near the bottom and fill the bucket and let the water drip out slowly. If you set up irrigation, DO NOT WATER EVERY DAY. This is worse than not watering at all, because we want to make sure the roots can get air,  and if the soil is wet no air can get to the roots, and your trees will die. They cannot live with standing water around the roots for more than about a week or ten days at most.

Are the Hybrid SuperTrees hardy in my zone?

Hybrid SuperTrees are hardy in Zones 3 -10. They will grow almost anywhere!

How long do these trees live?

You will begin to see some dead branches in the upper crown of the tree when it gets about 15-18 years old. The trees will begin to decline slowly from this point. By the time it is 22-25 years old it will have some larger dead branches, and if it is in a high visibility area you will likely want to remove them and make firewood! If they are in a pasture or edge of a woods, they can be left alone and will simply fall over and rot at about 30-35 years old. We encourage our customers to think long term and plant other longer lived trees inside of these. While the slow growing trees need protection and take 20 years to get to a good size, the SuperTrees will protect them. When they come down in 20-30 years, the other trees can then take over for the next 150 years. 

Can Hybrid SuperTrees withstand wind?

You should know that our nursery and the trees in this picture are located in NOBLES county MN. Our county has more wind towers per capita than any other county in the Midwest. Our town hosts the annual National Wind Surfing Championships, every year. WE ARE WINDY! 60 mph wind is not uncommon and daily it seems to blow 25 mph. These trees have no problem. They stand in the middle of a field and hold up well. We get 50' wide and 10' deep snow drifts on the leward side of the row every winter. They are not hurricane proof or tornado proof, and not as strong as an oak tree, but they are very durable, and NOTHING like a weeping willow that drops branches in every slight breeze. Farmers and ranchers love these because they are no maintenance, then in twenty years, whack them down, and replant between the stumps. Push the logs in a pile to make firewood, and burn the branches.

How tall and wide do Hybrid SuperTrees get?

If planted in a row or grouping were the roots will compete with each other they will max out at about 45' tall, and 12-14' wide. If planted in the yard away from other trees, they will get upwards of 65-70' and 30-40' wide in the crown. They like full sun, but will grow with some shade, however they won't get nearly as full and dense without full sun.

Should we stake these trees or fertilize them?

Do NOT stake them! Let them whip around in the wind, because this builds "stem taper" which allows them to resist the wind when they get older. If you stake a tree when it is young becasue it is windy, then the day you pull the stakes, you should sharpen your chain saw blade, because it is going to snap off shortly.  

Fertilize at least yearly. These trees grow fast and use a ton of nitrogen from the soil. Adding one cup of fertilizer per inch of diameter, measured 12" up from the soil line, works well. Spread it evenly in the drip zone, which is the area covered by the canopy of the tree.  Fall is best, but spring is fine too, and twice or even three times a year is even better. You will see the results quickly.

Should we mulch around our Hybrid SuperTrees?

YES YES YES. One of the best things for any young tree is to have a deep 6-8" layer of mulch around it to hold in moisture and keep weeds from growing. The mulch also moderates the soil temperature around the tree. Ask a local arborist or tree removal company to dump a load of wood chips for you. This isn't fancy stuff that you would buy at the store, but is is perfect for what you need and it will probably be free! It is well worth the work to wheel barrow a couple loads around each tree, because it eliminates weeding around the trees and you will see amazing growth results as well.  Add to the mulch if needed for a few years, but then in a few years the SuperTree will shade itself and few weeds will grow in the dark underneath the thick branches.

How much is shipping?

The cost of shipping has increased dramatically in the past ten years if you haven't noticed. We have a flat rate for shipping, and we ship ground service. If you order ten trees the shipping total is $6.99. If you order 20 trees the total is $7.49 and if you ordered 100 trees the shipping total would be $11.99, so as you can see our shipping charges are very fair. You can see a breakdown of prices on trees on the order page here on this website.

Can these trees be shipped to Canada?

In order to ship trees over the international boarder, an inspection certificate is required for every shipment. The cost to obtain one of these inspections is approximately $450.  This means the volume of the order must be large enough to offset this cost, or the customer must pay this extra cost. We require a minimum order of $5,000 to cover that inspection, or we will require the customer to pay all or a portion of the cost.  

Will these trees invade my underground pipes?

If you happen to live in a rural area and you have a septic system with a drain field, then stay away 30'+ to prevent any chance of roots growing into the drain pipes seeking moisture. If you only have sealed pipes like water lines or sanitary sewer lines then there sould be no water outside the pipes so the roots have no reason to grow toward the pipes.

8-10 feet of

growth/year

FEATURED PRODUCT

Our Featured Product
the HYBRID SUPERTREE
grows 8 - 10 feet per year.

Since we are a Wholesale Business,
minimum quantity per order is 10 trees.

The photo you see at the top of this page shows a row of Hybrid SuperTree (Salix matsundana x alba) planted 6 feet apart after 50 months of growth. Average height is 35' and width is 15 - 20'. These trees are hardy down to the cold of zone 3, up to zone 10. We sell the Hybrid SuperTree all over the USA and Canada and it grows well in all climates from zone 3-10, even into zone 2 with recent years sales into Canadian territories.

Karsten Nursery maintains a production greenhouse facility in rural Southwest Minnesota near Worthington. All shipments originate from zip code 56187. Our nursery is regularly inspected and licensed by the state of Minnesota for disease and insect control.

We have a Minnesota Nursery and Landscape Association Certified Nursery Professional on staff, and have extensive experience in nursery production for more than 40 years. Many past customers have returned year after year to purchase additional stock and have always found we offer the finest quality and lowest prices around. We are a wholesale business; however over the years retail customers looking for good prices and willing to order in our minimum bundle quantities have discovered we are a great source of trees, shrubs and conifers at a very good value. We often say: "Shop us 2nd! Visit our competitors first, and then come back to buy from us."

Why plant Hybrid SuperTrees? Other trees can take 30 years to give you shade and provide a visual barrier from unsightly views. If you need a fast-growing hedge row that will provide quick protection from wind, snow, dust or noise then place your order today and get your Hybrid SuperTrees in the ground soon! We encourage you to plant a variety of other species outside the perimeter of Hybrid SuperTrees as well, so that in twenty years you will have a beautiful, mature stand of trees inside the declining row of willows.

A Word of Caution: Please avoid purchasing Hybrid trees from nurseries or online sellers who offer them as unrooted cuttings. The death loss percentage is very high (35%+) because the Salix species responds best to warmed bench rooting, and will tend to die in high percentages if direct planted. This means extra work for you even if the seller replaces the cuttings that don't root. If one tree in a row dies, you'll have an open space in your row that is difficult to fill in. The new replacement will be very small and the others grow very quickly. Remember 35% of those replacements will also die, and so on. Our stock is sold as rooted plugs or well rooted 2nd year transplants. The rooted plugs have a small plug of rooting soil mix enclosing the roots, this way they are never exposed to the air. Our second year transplants are well rooted and viable to sprout quickly. OUR STOCK will NOT die if given even basic care. OUR ROOTED PLUG STOCK can be planted anytime during the year while cuttings can only be sold/planted during the early spring, so if you need replacements you will need to wait a whole year to get those from the supplier.  We do offer these Hybrids in sizes from 12" up to 5', and smaller trees are first year rooted plugs while taller options are second year transplants. The transplants are larger with fuller root systems. We encourage all orders for larger sizes to be placed as early as possible as they tend to sell out. If they are available to order then they are NOT sold out. Inventory changes daily in the spring. Our rooted plugs are the best option if you may not be able to plant them immediately when they arrive. If you are a farmer and field work will be your priority in the spring, then we suggest ordering the rooted plugs, as they can remain in a pail of water for weeks without any problem, whereas the second year transplants will need to be planted very soon after arrival to insure viable establishment. Remember shipping costs will increase with the longer box size required to ship taller plants. The weight is not the key factor in pricing shipping on taller trees.

ADD SOME PLANTSKYDD TO YOUR ORDER!

We highly recommend that you also purchase some PlantSkydd® animal repellent to protect your young trees from hungry critters like rabbits & deer. We are an authorized provider of PlantSkydd® & offer it because we want our trees to arrive healthy & then enjoy the best possible conditions to thrive after you planet them. You can order your PlantSkydd® in liquid or powder concentrate form, along with a sprayer to apply it to your freshly planted trees. Click here to see your options.

We are a WHOLESALE nursery

offering the advantage of small bundle purchasing to

homeowners, landscapers and retail customers

throughout the United States.

>