WOW…here it is almost Memorial Day holiday weekend!
I meant to have this post up a few weeks ago…but then opted for a quick website “facelift”…and along with the good stuff came unexpected bad stuff tech issues.
And those, my friends, always are more complicated than you think and take longer to resolve.
WHEW! It feels good to be back 😉
So let’s get started and talk about planting tree seedlings!
This is a good time of the year to plant seedlings and that’s just what we did recently.
In my master gardener class last year, I found about ordering tree seedlings from the University of Idaho in Moscow here.
They’re available in spring and fall…but ya better order your share early…they sell fast!
Boy, do I wish I had known about it ten years ago! I must have been living under a rock.
Think of the semi-mature trees we’d have now….with fall color!
PITKIN FOREST NURSERY | UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO AT MOSCOW
PITKIN FOREST NURSERY | UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO AT MOSCOWWe’ve had their seedlings delivered by USPS in the past, but this last time we opted to take the beautiful two hour drive through the Palouse and pick them up.
PITKIN FOREST NURSERY | UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO AT MOSCOW
PITKIN FOREST NURSERY | UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO AT MOSCOWAt the last minute our curiosity got the better of us, and we asked for an impromptu “tour” of the operation. Don, the manager, was very gracious and showed us around…and we drooled!
PITKIN FOREST NURSERY | UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO AT MOSCOW
PITKIN FOREST NURSERY | UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO AT MOSCOWThese ponderosa pine babies will be sold this fall.
It is an impressive operation! We could have stayed all day watching… 🙂 .
Thank you, Don, for allowing us a peek inside!
Over the last 12 months we’ve planted 110 seedlings from Pitkin {10 aspen, 10 western hemlock, 15 sugar maple, 60 ponderosa pine, 5 dawn redwood and 5 western red cedar}.
They’re extremely affordable at $2.50 each and so easy to plant.
Each variety has a preferred micro-climate for optimal growth…such as mostly sun for maples and northern or eastern exposure for aspen. We tried our best to site them well.
The Pitkin Forest Nursery at UI/Moscow has an excellent PDF here that you can download and print that explains how to plant your seedlings. They include it with seedling purchases.
Even if you’re not ready to plant anytime soon, get it and save it for when you are.
We didn’t put any special soil amendment in the small holes we dug.
Believe it or not, it’s a total myth {umm…maybe promoted by garden centers and soil amendment businesses?} to add amendment. Sounds good, right? I’ve done it. Don’t.
Plants grown in native soil actually show better root growth over the long haul. Roots will generally circle around in any amendment and refuse to grow into the native soil, which leads to top heavy growth and poor roots.
I don’t need to rehash their planting tips, but I do want to show you how we deer-proofed these babies. And believe it, deer will eat anything in the dead of winter, even pine needles if they’re starving.
Back up to last summer when we took a day trip over to Ross Creek Giant Cedars in Montana.
Cool place if you get a chance to visit.
Just outside the cedar area we spied a bunch of white mesh tubes and stopped to have a look. Can you see them as white patches in the foreground?
The forest service had placed them on new seedlings…and we thought heck if that’s what they do then we should too.
We ordered a bunch here and had them shipped from Oregon. They’ll biodegrade within 2-5 years, and at that time we might have to enclose each with larger wire mesh. Hope not.
So…there you have it. Anyone can plant 8″ seedlings.
You just need to be patient while they grow!
We watered them with our obnoxious orange buckets even though rain was in the forecast two days later.
I’ve been super pleased with the quality of seedlings from UI Pitkin Forest Nursery. I think…um…we’ll be back for more.
And, please do tell if you’ve gotten seedlings from other places that we should all know about 😉
Happy planting!
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