Nursery
A seedling nursery can be a very busy place. Similar to other types of farms, nursery staff plant seedlings in rows, carefully monitor and water them, and then harvest them at the end of the season. The trees are then placed in a refrigerated truck and shipped to forests across the U.S. for planting.
Watch the video that follows the growing process from seed to forest in one forestry nursery. Why do you think a strong root system is important?
Different species of trees do best in different parts of the country. Conditions like weather, soil quality and even wildlife--which tend to eat certain types of trees--can all have an impact on which trees are planted in a specific area. Generally, the baby trees we plant in a mountainous Pacific Northwest forest are much older than the baby trees we plant in a flat Southeast forest. Can you figure out one reason why?
Applying what you've learned
When seedlings are lifted, nursery teams move quickly to sort them and place them in bags that go into a refrigerated area and later onto a refrigerated truck. This keeps them cool until they’re planted, which takes place in the winter months.
Ideally, they will be planted within just a few days of lifting. Why is it important to replant seedlings in the wintertime?
A Season in the Seedling Nursery
Additional Links
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Learn more about Tree Nurseries along with what comes next in the Forestry Lifecycle: