Page 11 - Georgia Forestry - Fall 2017

5 Plant quickly
Once your seedlings arrive, plant
them as soon as possible. If you wait a few days to plant, keep the roots moist and store the seedlings in a cool, dark location. Root damage is the critical factor in transplant survival. If the roots dry out, your seedling will die.
6 Use tree shelters
on every seedling
Plastic tubular shelters protect young seedlings from browsing and rubbing
by deer. They also encourage vertical growth over horizontal branching until the seedling grows beyond the reach of deer and ground-level plant competitors.
7 Plant in full sunlight The more sun and space your seedlings have, the faster they will
produce large, healthy crowns.
8 Pay attention to the roots Dig holes only deep enough to
accommodate the roots or root ball
of the seedlings. Digging deeper and backfilling may result in settling, and the seedling’s roots need to remain close to ground level. Backfill only with the native soil you took from the hole. In addition, do not plant trees in the middle of food plots where their roots will be at risk for harm from disc harrows in the future.
9 Don't fertilize seedlings Tree seedlings require little or
no fertilization, and it is easy to kill seedlings if you put down too much fertilizer. Sunlight, space, the right amount of moisture, and limited competition will do the most for tree growth and mast production. Put the fertilizer on your food plots.
10 Control competition Your seedlings will likely
appear to sleep the first growing season, creep up in the second and really increase in size by the third. Control surrounding plants that are competing for sunlight, soil moisture and nutrients to increase growth.
The Reforestation Advantage
You only get
ONE chance to get it
RIGHT
Choose proven financial returns from elite seedling genetics based on 60+ years of research, development, and field testing
Trust the smartest investment
855.894.1707 SuperTreeSeedlings.com
LINDSAY THOMAS, JR. IS THE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS FOR THE QUALITY DEER MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION (QDMA) AND EDITOR OF QUALITY WHITETAILS MAGAZINE. QDMA IS FOCUSED ON ENSURING THE FUTURE OF WHITE-TAILED DEER, WILDLIFE HABITAT AND OUR HUNTING HERITAGE.
T
outh’s Land Sales Leader
SElandgroup.com
866.751.LAND
Th
h
e
eS
So
www.GeorgiaForestryMagazine.com | 9