Best place to obtain saplings for transplant

[DeerMeadowFarm]

I'm not sure if this is the place to ask or not, but I'm wondering where people are getting saplings for transplant. I have bought trees from various locations with various levels of success, mostly with conifers.

I am looking for conifer saplings for a couple of areas for border and wind protection. I am also interested in planting some nut trees as we are trying to grow more and more of our own food.

I live in south-central Massachusetts (Warren). Any info is greatly appreciated.

[PoginyHill]

Look for your local USDA extension office. They normally offer native species for sale in the spring. You may need to order ahead of time. Personally, I have had good success transplanting balsam fir from saplings in the woods. You may not have that on your property, but maybe some neighbors that have done recent cutting and have a carpet of saplings. I pulled what I needed, just like a week and immediately put them in a pail of water. Transplanted to my yard. I made a line of them along a driveway. I think I did 30-40 or so. After 3 years, I've had no mortality. That surprised me. I planted them close assuming some would die. I'll need to take every other one in the next year or so as they are starting to overlap.
The key to any transplant - whether purchased seedings or your own transplant is plenty of water for the first year or two. I've had many die because I neglected that.

[SwampDonkey]

I always plant transplants as soon as the snow goes, you get a lot better success. I never transplant in the heat of summer. I got all of mine from my own land. I never transplant shaded trees, they usually don't survive and if they do they take years to adjust. Best spot to get new transplants is from a clearcut after at least 3 years to find the vigorous ones. I remember DNR saying they were not subsidizing transplanted tree plantations because of mortality. Some people give transplanting a bad name, I don't loose hardly any transplants. In fact I have seen lots of containerized plantations fail due to soil conditions, competition and seedlings not kept watered before they were stuck in. So you can make the argument for either method in my book.

[PoginyHill]

I've transplanted several sugar maple (mostly from light-suppressed homes). Generally had good success with lots of water for the first year or two. These have all been during the summer (can't recall if early, mid, or late - several years ago - but definitely all with leaves). I had read that transplanting maple just after leaves fall is best. I did that the fall of 2019. The spring of 2020, the leaves were very small, some turned brown on the edges, but remained all summer. Hoping to see full-sized leaves this spring. But I think I'll go back to summer transplanting as I have done before. Never recall those trees struggling much after transplanting.

[SwampDonkey]

Here's one of 6 sugar maple I planted behind a row of older spruce, before leaf out. They had good long leader growth on them when I dug them up and were around 3 feet tall. I measured a 54" growth between nodes in that year shown with the tape. One of them doesn't act very frost hardy. It will sometimes die to the ground, then grow for 5 years and die back again. Never seen that before with native trees.



Transplanted hop hornbeam, one of 5 or 6, this was planted before leaf out. Probably 3 feet tall then.  Been having seed for years.




Black ash I planted years ago, before leaf out. Nice and healthy, but I bet the rings are tight.



Had a mature butternut I planted almost 30 years ago, had to remove it because of Arthur damage. Was collecting nuts off it and planting around. Easy to germinate. It was probably 15 feet tall and easy to dig in the spring time with tractor bucket, shallow roots in deep dark loam along the creak.

All my transplants get a pale of water when planting, and never water again.

[Plankton]

Someone on here let me know about the NH state forest nursery for conifer plugs and they have older too. Good prices.

I get apple scions from Fedco in maine they have a good selection of fruit and nuts and also would check out st. Lawrence nursery for fruit and nut etc.

[PoginyHill]

Some updates. The sugar maple I transplanted in 2019 (reply #3) finally looks healthy this spring. The top 3rd of the tree died, but the lower limbs leafed-out nicely with plenty of new growth.

On the balsam-fir front, I transplanted 50 small trees as a separation between two fields. I used the same technique as the 30 I planted 4 years ago.


Stripped the sod where the tree line was to be planted - about 30" wide 6" deep trench. Pail seen here has about 20 trees I pulled up from natural re-generation in my woods. Water tank to provide plenty of water.


 

Filled the trench with veneer chips. A total of about 10 yds' worth. To retain moisture and minimize grass/weeds.




Below is the line of trees I planted in 2018. About 6 ft tall now. Planted these only 2ft apart. I plan to remove every other one in the next year or two. These guys looked just like the one picture above when they moved to their new home (but the new ones I spaced 5 ft apart, not 2ft).