A Delivery from Musser Forests, Inc.
A new tree project is now underway at my Bedford, New York farm.
Over the weekend, a delivery of more than 15-boxes arrived filled with hundreds of bare-root tree seedlings and other young shrubs. I try to plant as many trees as I can every year. Trees are extremely important to our environment - they are the world’s single largest source of breathable oxygen, they absorb carbon dioxide and potentially harmful gasses, and they create an ecosystem to provide needed habitat and food for birds and other animals. Some of the specimens will be added to my gardens. Many will be potted temporarily while their root systems develop, and a lot of young trees will be planted directly into the ground back in the woodlands of my farm, where they will thrive under forest cover.
Enjoy these photos.
-
- The Equipment Barn was transformed into a giant potting shed for this tree-planting project. I’ve bought many trees from Musser Forests Inc. over the years and have always been very pleased with their specimens. http://www.musserforests.com
-
- Musser Forests, Inc. was established in 1928. Every year, Musser produces more than 35 million conifer and hardwood seedlings and transplants – plus, ground covers, landscaping shrubs, perennials and ornamental grasses. They offer one of the broadest selections of plant material available from one nursery.
-
- Ryan carefully checks the packing slip to ensure all the boxes and specimens arrived.
-
- Well-packaged bare-root cuttings arrive with moist roots and, if any, bright foliage.
-
- While Ryan assesses the delivery, Carlos fills several trug buckets with water.
-
- Ryan checks the condition of the rhododendrons. Rhododendrons are attractive, blooming specimens in many landscapes. They prefer environments where it is neither too hot nor too cold and need a certain amount of chilling to develop strong flower buds in spring.
-
- These rhododendrons came to us as small potted seedlings, which we will repot into larger vessels. They look very healthy.
-
- Ryan also removes the bare-root cuttings from the boxes, and groups them together, counting each bunch along the way.
-
- Healthy bare-root cuttings should not have any mold or mildew on the plants or on their packaging. The branches should be mostly unbroken, and roots, rhizomes, and other parts should feel heavy – not light and dried out.
-
- The root portions of the plants are immersed in water, so they can soak well – doing this gives the plants a better start.
-
- The cuttings are also kept in their bundles, so they are easily identifiable when potted. This bucket includes swamp white oak, Quercus bicolor – a North American species of medium-sized trees in the beech family, and Pinus thunbergii, also called black pine, Japanese black pine, and Japanese pine – a pine native to coastal areas of Japan and South Korea.
-
- These are Eastern Larch seedlings, Larix laricina. They are also commonly known as tamarack, black larch, or American larch. It is a species of larch native to Canada, from eastern Yukon and Inuvik, Northwest Territories east to Newfoundland, and also south into the upper northeastern United States from Minnesota to Cranesville Swamp, Maryland.
-
- Ryan places another bundle of eastern larch into bucket – these seedlings are slightly taller than all the others.
-
- The boxwood, Buxus, varieties include ‘Green Velvet’ and ‘Green Mountain’. ‘Green Velvet’ is a hybrid boxwood cultivar. It is a broad, compact shrub that grows up to three or four feet tall and three to four feet wide. Buxus ‘Green Mountain’ is a vigorous evergreen shrub with bright green foliage that retains good color throughout winter.
-
- Here’s Phurba placing specimens into another plastic container for watering.
-
- The boxwood will remain here until they are planted.
-
- We also received a selection of pink hardy azaleas, Azalea ‘Boudoir’ – a densely branched dwarf form evergreen with watermelon-pink blooms, which contrast nicely with the dark green foliage in May. It tolerates shady locations, but grows best in partial sun.
-
- My farm is more than 150-acres, so there is ample room to plant all the trees. Many will be planted directly in the woodland. Some of the other specimens in this batch are American red pines, white oaks, and Scotch pine ‘French Highland Strain’.
-
- These are yellow-gold barberry seedlings. Barberry is a tried-and-true classic throughout the entire growing season with its vibrant foliage. In shades of green, yellow, and rich burgundy, these plants make up for their lack of showy blooms with their constantly colorful foliage. This is the same yellow-gold colored barberry that I grow in my terrace parterre.
-
- We ordered a lot of pots for our bare-root tree planting project. It’s a good idea to save plastic pots like these if you can – they always come in handy.
-
- They are very small now, but in time, if they are in good condition, these trees should do just fine. I am looking forward to seeing them all mature here at the farm.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
