Summer planting of container seedlings

Silver birch can be planted in the middle of the summer

The aim of the study was to look for alternatives to seedling production and planting chains of our main tree species to make planting of seedlings possible from spring to autumn. Forest tree seedlings are conventionally planted during the one-month planting season in May and to a lesser extent in early autumn. This blocks the seedling logistics from nurseries to forests and causes problems in organizing the planting work.

When silver birch container seedlings were planted from mid-June to mid-August, and were already actively growing and leaf-bearing, their early development was increased. The seedlings rooted rapidly after the planting, which increased the seedlings' growth during the subsequent years.

Coniferous seedlings did not show signs of weakening when actively-growing, well-watered container seedlings of Norway spruce were planted in June and July. Frozen-stored seedlings should not be planted after mid-June.

Additional information on the project: www.metla.fi/hanke/3257/index-en.htm