Keys to Successfully Planting
Longleaf Pine
Bill Pickens
2004 Tree Planters Meeting
Kinston, NC
Keys
1. Well-prepared, competition-free sites
2. Healthy, top-quality seedlings
Bareroot or Container?
Storage Length
3. Meticulous care and careful planting
Proper Handling
Planting Depth
Plant Early
4. Proper post-planting care
“There is a strong, direct, and positive
correlation between percent survival
and initiation of height growth with
intensity of site preparation”
(NCFS Forestry Note No. 61, “Establishment and Growth of
Longleaf Pine on Droughty Sites in North Carolina, May 1988”
Importance of Site Preparation
“Longleaf . . . will grow best in the
complete absence of all competition, . . . ”
(“Silvics of North America”, Vol. 1, USDA, Forest Service,
Ag. Handbook 654)
“. . . it is imperative that adequate site prep
be completed prior to tree planting . . .”
(Don H. “Zippo” Robbins, 1996 memo to Technical
Development Unit)
Keys
1. Well-prepared, competition-free sites
2. Healthy, top-quality seedlings
Bareroot or Container?
Storage Length
3. Meticulous care and careful planting
Proper Handling
Planting Depth
Plant Early
4. Proper post-planting care
Top Quality
Bareroot Longleaf Seedlings
• Fibrous root
system with RCD
> .4 inch
• Tap root > 6 inches
• 5 or more first
order lateral roots
• Moist roots
• Healthy foliage
Top Quality
Containerized Longleaf
– Needle length must be at least 4” long
– Plugs must be at least 5.5 cu.in. in volume
and at least 4.5” deep (4.75”)
– Root collar diameter < .20”
– Cull “floppies”
Container or Bareroot
• 1995 Region-wide survey
% S urvival
(first year)
B areroot
65 %
C ontainer
83 %
% H eight
G row th (after
2nd year)
34 %
62%
Bareroot vs Container
• Texas study 1994, loamy sand, cutover
– Container LL- 93%
– Bareroot LL- 12%
Bareroot or Container?
• Success with either if proper care and
planting techniques are applied.
• Machine planted bareroot better survival
than hand planted bareroot
Sonderegger Pines
Sonderegger “Guidelines”
• Stem Elongation <1 1/2 inches
• difficult to recognize and have LL
characteristics
• Count as cull on Quality Tree planting
Inspections, but if tract scores 75-85% due
to sonderegger cull - OK to Cost Share
• < 75% ARF OK required
Storage issues
• Bareroot - Length of storage critical!
– Keep to a minimum
– No more than 10 days
• Container - Storage not as critical
– Keep to a minimum
– 2 weeks
– Seedlings must be acclimated to colder weather
(hardened-off)
Effects of RCD and Storage on Bareroot Longleaf Survival
Adapted from a study by White
Study results ………..
T able 1. P ercent m ortality of container longleaf seedlings by num ber of w eeks in
storage
No
S torage
1 w eek
2 w eek
3 w eek
4 w eek
6 w eek
8 w eek
1996 M oist S ite 1996 D ry S ite
E arly
L ate
E arly
L ate
7.5 b
0.0 a 7.5 ab 5.0 a
20 c
7.5 b
2.5 a
n.a
n.a
n .a
10 bc 17.5 bc
12.5 c 22.5 c
5 ab
2.5 a
n.a
n.a
n.a
n.a
n .a
n .a
2.5 a
15 a
5 .0 a
n.a
n.a
n .a
1997
L ate
16 a
1998
L ate
42 a
22
50
20
26
38
46
42
54
a
b
a
a
a
a
a
a
LL Storage Study 2000
90
#dead seedlings
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Jan- Feb- Mar- Apr- May- Jun- Jul- Aug- Sep- Oct01
01
01
01
01
01
01
01
01
01
no storage
2-week
4-week
6-week
8-week
10-week
Keys
1. Well-prepared, competition-free sites
2. Healthy, top-quality seedlings
Bareroot or Container?
Storage Length
3. Meticulous care and careful planting
Proper Handling
Planting Depth
Plant Early
4. Proper post-planting care
Planting Depth
• Do not cover terminal bud
• Bareroot with bud at ground level
• Container - keep bud above ground,
anticipate washing or erosion, error shallow
rather than deep
DEEP 1”
SHALLOW 1 1/2”
Planting Method
• Study Results:
NC Study results……….
Survival
Percent Survival -1st growing season
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
0
minus1/2"
2004
minus 1"
2003
minus 11/2"
1" deep
Planting Method
• Study Results:
Longleaf Planting
Techniques
Machine Planting
Machine Planting
Machine Planting
Machine Planting
Planting Methods
• Hand Planting
– Handle the seedlings carefully, protect them
from the sun and wind. 2 minutes of root
exposure in severe condition can kill trees.
Planting Method
C om m on T ree P lan tin g T ools
Early Planting
Early Planting of Containerized Longleaf Pine
RESULTS
LL Early Planting
% Survival
Nov 14,2004
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
81%
41% 39% 39% 45% 46%
33%
56%
48%
0%
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Keys
1. Well-prepared, competition-free sites
2. Healthy, top-quality seedlings
Bareroot or Container?
Storage Length
3. Meticulous care and careful planting
Proper Handling
Planting Depth
Plant Early
4. Proper post-planting care
Florida pusley
Texas panicum
Morning glory & Sicklepod
Height Growth of Longleaf Pine Following
Herbicide Treatments
Height in Feet
6
5
Broadcast - 2 yr.
4
Banded - 2 yr.
3
Broadcast - 1 yr.
2
Banded - 1 yr.
1
Check
0
Second
Third
Fourth
Year Following Planting
Ag Fields Problems
• Erratic survival for site treated with Oust or
Velpar
• High pH > 6.5 increases the activity of
OUST - Limit to 1 oz. per broadcast acre
• Soil OM at < 2% increases VELPAR
activity- limit to 21 oz. per broadcast acre &
OUSTAR to10 oz. (equal to 22oz of VELPAR
and 1.5 oz. of OUST)
• Do a SOIL TEST!!!
Keys
1. Well-prepared, competition-free sites
2. Healthy, top-quality seedlings
Bareroot or Container?
Storage Length
3. Meticulous care and careful planting
Proper Handling
Planting Depth
Plant Early
4. Proper post-planting care