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Refrigerated Storage of Nursery Stock

For the past 6 years the Mason State Forest Tree Nursery at Topeka, Ill., has used refrigerated storage for some of its conifer stock as a means of overcoming the handicaps of labor shortages and inclement weather during the spring shipping season. Trees are dug in early winter and stored under refrigeration for 3 to 4 months, usually from December through February. The amount stored in this manner depends somewhat on lifting conditions during the winter, but as many as a million trees have been successfully carried over. They are also dug as early as possible in spring and stored under refrigeration, or if necessary, for short periods in automatic fan-controlled, air-cooled storage rooms. Spring storage of this type presents no problems and lasts from a few days to a few weeks. In this way, Mason State nursery can ship over six million trees in less than 5 weeks in the spring.


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Author(s): Hugh B. Wycoff

Publication: Tree Planters' Notes - Issue 42 (1960)