A user's guide to nursery stock types

Foresters must consider many factors when selecting nursery stock types for their planting projects. Forest nurseries can now produce a vast array of stock types to meet any challenge in the field—these target seedlings can be defined for particular sites. It is important that foresters work with a nursery that is known from experience or reputation to provide a consistently good product at a reasonable price. Foresters and nurseries must foster open and effective communication to continually improve stock type quality. To facilitate communication between nurseries and foresters, a system of naming stock types developed and those stock type descriptions fall into three broad categories: bareroot, container and “plug plus.”