The North Carolina Forest Service will begin taking orders Monday, July 1, for conifer and hardwood seedlings.
The Forest Service Nursery Program produces 16 million seedlings, enough native and genetically improved tree seedlings to plant roughly 30,000 acres, equivalent to nearly 23,000 football fields, each year, officials said Monday.
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“Having healthy trees and forests provides many benefits to our state, including helping to clean our air and water and sequestering carbon,” Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said in a statement. “I encourage residents to take advantage of the high quality trees produced through the North Carolina Forest Service nursery program. Seedlings go quick so you’ll want to purchase them early.”
Genetically improved stock is available for Fraser fir, loblolly, longleaf, shortleaf, eastern white pine and Virginia pine.
“These seedlings offer better volume growth, tree form, disease resistance, straightness, and other characteristics needed to produce beautiful Christmas trees, healthy woodlands and quality forest products,” according to the Forest Service.
Tree seedlings can be ordered from the online seedling store at www.buynctrees.com, by calling 888-NCTREES (1-888-628-7337) or 919-731-7988, or the order form in this year’s nursery seedling catalog that will be available next month in county Forest Service offices. A user-friendly online catalog will soon be available, as well.
The catalog offers information for landowners about the types of tree species, quantities and costs to order. Each species description includes information about ideal planting locations and whether a species is typically used to benefit wildlife, restore forest habitats or as marketable timber.
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Most containerized seedlings are available October through March while most bare-root seedlings are available January through March. Seedling orders can be shipped to one of 13 distribution centers statewide for a small fee or through UPS for a charge. Seedling orders can also be picked up from the Forest Service’s Claridge Nursery in Goldsboro or the Linville River Nursery near Crossnore in Avery County.
Customers can pay by check, money order, Mastercard and Visa.
For information on planting trees, customers can contact their Forest Service county office and nursery locations.
