The North Carolina Forest Service Nursery Program will be accepting orders for seedlings beginning today (Monday). The NCFS produces about 16 million quality seedlings for nearly 50 species of conifers and hardwoods annually, including an expanded selection of control mass-pollinated loblolly pine seedlings. These seedlings offer superior growth, form and disease resistance due to solid nursery research and production experience.
“Trees are one of North Carolina’s greatest renewable resources and an important economic driver in North Carolina, contributing around $32.7 billion annually to the state’s economy and provide more than 150,000 jobs for North Carolinians through the forest products industry,” said N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler.
The NCFS nursery program has a large, reader-friendly catalog from which to order tree seedlings. Landowners can find information about the types of tree species, quantities and costs on the inside pages of the catalog. Each tree description includes information about ideal planting locations and whether a species is typically used to benefit wildlife, restore habitats, or as marketable timber.
Hardwoods are sold in quantities as low as 10 and conifers in quantities as low as 50. For those wishing to purchase larger orders, the nursery will continue to sell tree seedlings by the hundreds and thousands. Demand for these seedlings is up, so anyone interested in buying trees are encouraged to order early.
Distribution of seedlings will occur in the fall, depending on the weather conditions. Seedling orders are shipped to one of 13 locations statewide for a small fee or via UPS for a charge. For information on planting trees, people are encouraged to contact a local county ranger. Ranger contacts can be found on the contact page of the NCFS website at http://ncforestservice.gov.
Catalogs are available at a local NCFS office, which are located in all 100 North Carolina counties. The catalog is also available by clicking here. Seedlings can also be ordered by mail or order by phone at 1-888-NCTREES (1-888-628-7337). Seedlings can be ordered with a Visa or Mastercard. Just complete an order form and send it to Seedling Coordinator, 762 Claridge Nursery Road, Goldsboro, NC 27530.