Set Yourself Up for Success with Good Planning

One of the most critical aspects of planning for success is to acquire seedlings appropriate for your specific region. Not knowing the seed source of your seedlings can be devastating. For example, seedlings produced from seed from Florida won’t survive or reach their full potential on a site in Virginia. Just look at the results below.

Reliable seedling providers should always provide landowners and their foresters with the correct geographic seed source and back it up with genetic performance data.

Performance Rating System scores (PRS) from the North Carolina State University Tree Improvement Cooperative are available for trees tested in its field trials. When deciding between different genetic choices, the checklots in NCSU PRS data must be from the exact geographic location or provenance.

For example, if you want to compare two families for use in South Carolina, the appropriate checklot in the PRS scoring will be the South Carolina checklot. Your forestry seedling provider or Consulting Forester should be able to readily provide you with the information to provide the correct comparisons. Demand data transparency in making your seedling selection.

Ask your seedling provider and Consulting Forester for NC State PRS when making your decision.