Homeowners

A message from Phil Cates, Owner of Goldleaf Farms:

We are often asked “Do you sell or are you open to the public?”

The simplest answer is yes…but seldom.  This is predominately due to the sheer weights of our field grown trees.  The trees are machine dug and placed in a burlap lined wire basket prior to being transported to our holding yards to sell.   The smallest deciduous trees we dig are 2” in diameter (trunk measured 6” above ground level) with a 24” rootball (tree roots and soil that are placed in a burlap lined wire basket) which will typically weigh 350lbs and the smallest evergreen tree we will dig is 6’ height with same rootball size and weight.  

For us this is a very easy process because we have the equipment necessary to handle these weights and much more – the typical homeowner does not have the equipment necessary at home to accommodate these weights.  The larger the diameter of the tree trunk or taller in height requires a larger rootball resulting in more weight. 

The average tree size we sell is 3” diameter for deciduous trees and 8/10’ on evergreens with typical weights of 650-850lbs – if you are a weekend warrior you can probably handle a 2” tree provided you have a truck/trailer to haul the tree from our farm locations (we will only load on an open truck bed or open trailer, nothing enclosed) but a 3” diameter tree or 8/10’ tree definitely requires adequate equipment on your end to even lift it out of your truck/trailer much less moving the tree to your installation spot.  Along those lines a 3” diameter deciduous tree or 8/10’ evergreen will require a hole approx. 4.5-5’ wide and approx. 30” deep – most landscape companies utilize an auger to drill out those hole or several installers to hand dig out the holes, especially with our soil conditions.

In regards to the second part of the question “Are you open to the public” – since we are not retail oriented we do not have personnel at our farm locations staffing an office.  We are typically out on the farm (230 acres in Mississippi and 70 acres in Georgia) working our trees or on deliveries so we are not equipped to provide tours or visits for the general public.

The above descriptions are realistic sizes, weights and concerns you should consider.  We highly recommend you consult a local landscape contractor for your design and installation needs.

However….if you find that you are still interested in purchasing our trees, have read and understand the message above and have the necessary equipment and personnel on your end to accommodate these weight then Goldleaf Farms may be an option for you.  

A few notes to consider prior to contacting us:

• We do not offer installation services. However, we have listed a few landscape contractors near our farms you may wish to contact.
• You should have a good idea of your tree(s) needs in regards to variety, size or color.  Our inventory tab would be best place to start.
• Download our ”Planting Detail” to help you with figuring out additional items we recommend for the installation process for DYI.
• Tax is added to every sale, if paying with a credit card there is a 3.5% fee added to the total for processing.
• No warranty is provided on our trees, implied or expressed.

Thank you for your interest in our trees, I hope this information has been helpful.  I wanted to take this opportunity to respectfully answer questions from homeowners in our communities that drive past us each and every day who are curious about who we are and what we do.

If you have decided you would like to purchase trees from us after giving careful consideration to the information above, please fill out the contact form below, and Kent (MS farm) or myself (GA farm) will respond.