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Home → Publications → Tree Planters' Notes → Tree Planters' Notes Issue 64 (1964) → Importance of Top-Root Ratios for Survival of Douglas-Fir Seedlings

Importance of Top-Root Ratios for Survival of Douglas-Fir Seedlings

Coniferous seedlings with tops more than three times heavier than the roots are considered poor risks for planting (1). However, results of a study reported here indicate that a high top-root ratio is not necessarily detrimental to survival of seedlings that have well-developed root systems. Seedlings studied were 2-0 Douglas-fir grown from seed collected in the southern Oregon Coast Range at elevations varying from 300 to 600 feet. Excessive watering and fertilizing during the seedlings' second year in the nursery resulted in a high percentage of plants with large tops. Terminal and lateral shoots of many seedlings were still succulent in mid-November 1961, when they were lifted, packed in moist shingle tow, and put into cold storage. A bale containing 2,000 seedlings was provided in December 1961 by the State office of Bureau of Land Management (in Portland). John F. Lanz and Erik V. Abolins of the Coos Bay District, Bureau of Land Management, helped find a suitable area for planting and supervised the planting.


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Author(s): Richard K. Hermann

Publication: Tree Planters' Notes - Issue 64 (1964)