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Home → Publications → Tree Planters' Notes → Tree Planters' Notes Volume 64, Number 2 (2021) → Fall Planting in Northern Forests as a Reforestation Option: Rewards, Risks, and Biological Considerations

Fall Planting in Northern Forests as a Reforestation Option: Rewards, Risks, and Biological Considerations

This paper examines the option for fall planting in northern forests to help foresters make informed silvicultural decisions regarding plant date. A literature review determined that 75 percent of fall-planting trials conducted in northern forests had field survival and/or growth that was comparable with, or higher than, spring- or summer-planted seedlings. Nonetheless, 25 percent of trials did not show fall planting to be effective, thus illustrating risks associated with this planting option. Reasons for an unsuccessful fall-planting program were related to nursery hardening practices and planting into stressful environmental conditions. The annual phenological cycle must be considered for developing hardened seedlings suitable for fall planting. This information allows foresters and nursery managers to determine when and where fall planting is a viable option for northern reforestation programs.


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Author(s): Steven C. Grossnickle, Joanne E. MacDonald

Publication: Tree Planters' Notes - Volume 64, Number 2 (2021)

Volume: 64

Number: 2