Planting Saplings

sugar maple bareroot sapling tree planting
One of Many Sugar Maple Bareroot Saplings Planted April 9, 2021
sugar maple red leaf spring may tree syrup
One of the Sugar Maples a month later on May 5, 2021.

Why I Like Planting Saplings More Than Adult Trees

Permaculture is all about creating sustainable systems that require a smaller input of work and resources for a greater output.  

That is why I prefer planting saplings over adult trees.  Here are some of the benefits of planting saplings:

Environmental Benefits of Planting Saplings Over Adult Trees:

  • Less time at the nursery.  Large nursery grown trees require years of watering, fertilizing, and moving trees around where as saplings can be sold after a single season of growth from seed.
  • Smaller delivery costs.  You can fit 100 bare-root saplings in a grocery bag. 100 adult trees would take 17 trips back and forth to the nursery with 6 huge trees in the bed of a pickup truck.  So much less gas!
  • Smaller holes and less digging! Less excess soil to get rid of, less chance of running into wires and pipes, so many things can go wrong when you increase the depth of the holes you are digging. A smaller hole also creates less of a disturbance in the existing ecosystem.
  • Less watering.  Well-established trees rarely need watering, but newly-transplanted trees need lots of attention.  The smaller the tree, the less water they will need after transplanting and during droughts in the first few critical summers.
  • Overall just less work, less resources, and less carbon emissions.

Personal Benefits of Planting Saplings Over Adult Trees:

  • Saplings are a lot less expensive than adult trees.
  • Whatever your goal is, your landscape trees, fruits, nuts, sap, lumber, carbon storage, etc. will have costed you less pound for pound by planting saplings.
  • With saplings, the more you buy the more you save.  With adult trees, the more you buy the more additional costs there are (mechanical shovels, soil disposal, etc.)
  • Trees are more resilient and adaptable when young making them more likely to survive transplanting (and cheaper to replace if they don’t).
  • You get to watch your trees grow from a tiny twig into its mature form.
  • Whoever is planting the trees doesn’t break their back carrying massive trees that weigh hundreds of pounds.
  • You offset your carbon footprint by choosing the more efficient, long-term solution!

To sign up for tree planting for fall 2021, email me at scott@carrollpropertyservices or fill out a contact form below.

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