Minnesota DNR State Forest Nursery accepting seedlings orders

The Minnesota Department of Natural Re­sources State Forest Nursery is accepting or­ders for spring 2024 seedlings beginning Oct. 25, 2023. With approximately 3 million seed­lings available for the spring planting season, this is a great opportunity for landowners to reforest their property to create wildlife habi­tat, shelterbelts, or a woodland oasis.

Since 1931, the Minnesota DNR’s State Forest Nursery has developed techniques to ensure the highest-quality seedling stock. The State Forest Nursery offers 26 species of native bareroot trees and shrubs. However, seedling selection and availability decreases after the first few weeks of sales. Visit the State Forest Nursery seedling ordering web­page (mndnr.gov/forestry/nursery/ordering.html) to view the available species and access the tree seedling order form.

A minimum order of 500 seedlings is required when purchasing from the State Forest Nursery. This is roughly the number of seed­lings needed to plant one acre of bare land. Orders can be tailored in increments of 100 for each species. Prices vary depending on species, with the price as low as $195 for 500 seedlings. The State Forest Nursery also of­fers two pre-selected seedlings packets, sim­plifying the decision-making process. The conifer packet includes 250 white spruce and 250 red pine seedlings to add more greenery to woodlands in winter. The fruiting trees and shrubs packet features a mixture of choke­cherry, black cherry, nannyberry, hackberry, and wild plum to create a pollinator-friendly habitat.

Landowners can receive assistance identifying the trees and shrubs best suited to their property and woodland management goals by reaching out to a local DNR forester (mndnr.gov/woodlands/cfm-map.html).

Seedlings must be planted within Minneso­ta. The last day to order seedlings is Friday, March 29, 2024.

Landowners interested in planting fewer than 500 seedlings are encouraged to contact their local Soil and Water Conservation District (maswcd.org) to learn if they offer a tree sale program. Some SWCDs also offer planting services.