Growth of Tree Seedlings in Peat Pellets

The planting of potted seedlings has the principal advantage of transplant shock being eliminated. Survival, especially on severe sites, is generally far better for potted than for bare-rooted seedlings. Peat pellets, marketed by the jiffy-Pot Company of America as jiffy- 7's, are a recent and promising addition to the variety of containers available for producing potted planting stock. We grew Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine seedlings in peat pellets to test whether the roots of these species would penetrate the plastic net around the pellets and whether the seedlings would be large enough for transplanting before their roots emerged from the pellet. The jiffy-7 peat pellet is a small, easily stored disk of compressed peat encased in a thin plastic net. When water is applied, the disk expands in a few minutes to form a pellet about 1 3/4 inches in diameter and about 2 inches high (fig. 1). The pellet is then ready to receive a seed or small seedling.

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Author(s): Richard K. Hermann

Publication: Tree Planters' Notes - Volume 20, Number 1 (1969)

Volume: 20

Number: 1