Bare Root vs Containerized Seedlings: How to Decide

Having discussed your goals, we can help you evaluate your land, its soils, site preparation needs, potential cash flows and other factors that might affect which seedling type to plant.

As, or more, important with seedling type is the level of genetics chosen because the seedling is really just the “package” for whatever kind of genetics, old-school or advanced, that determines the productivity, health and value of a future forest.

Under typical conditions during the normal planting window of December to March, bare root seedlings will survive and grow equally well compared to containerized seedlings and at a significantly lower cost. With good site preparation, proper handling and planting quality, bare root seedlings will average @85-90% survival. Under similar conditions, containerized seedlings will survive at higher rates and can be planted earlier (mid October) and later (April) into the planting season than bare root seedlings.

Remember, planting containerized seedlings is not a substitute for good site preparation. Landowners should not skimp on site preparation thinking that containers will compensate for poor or no site prep.

For example, failing to bed a wet site and then planting containers will not give results as good as bedding and planting bare root seedlings.

So how can landowners determine which type of seedling to plant? Dr. Rafael de la Torre, ArborGen’s Manager of Planning & Analysis, was tasked to help provide the answer. His analysis compared different levels of survival of bare root seedlings from 50-90% to 95% survival for container seedlings. He assumed 505 trees per acre (TPA) for containers and 545 TPA for bare root.

Using growth and yield biometric models to project how stands will develop for this range of survival, he then used cash flow analysis to determine the net dollar value (aka: Bare Land Value which is the sum of all costs and revenues during the life of the stand in perpetual rotations in today’s dollars) generated for the landowner under each survival level.

For additional insight, he calculated these values for several levels genetics starting with Open Pollinated (OP) 2ndGen, OP Elite, Mass Control Pollinated®(MCP) Advanced, Select, Elite and 2.0. He also conducted these analyses for each of the four major growing regions of the Southeast and used the timber prices for those regions.

The results were clear and are shown in the graph below for the lower coastal plain region.

Planting containerized seedlings with 95% survival is not financially justified when bare root seedling survival is greater than 60%, i.e. doing so yields a lower value per acre.

This is true for every level of genetics and for all four of the major regions. And at 60% bare root survival, the value is very close to equal for bareroot and containers.

This is important because we are seeing many landowners plant containers with sub-par genetics. Yes, they may get good survival, but ultimately give up an enormous financial opportunity they could have had with MCP that produces much more wood volume of higher quality….more sawtimber.

So, remember, survival only gets you trees, but genetics delivers the value. Spending more money on containerized seedlings is a cost, but spending more money on genetics is an investment.

Plant the right seedling type for your property using all available information such as this analysis. Our Reforestation Advisors will be glad to help guide you through the decision process that meets your goals using our state-of-the-art tools and their years of expertise.

Success Story: Brandon Chandler

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