In most nurseries, you’ll hear babies crying. But adults may
be crying this fall — after they
learn that pine nurseries have sold out of their seedling
trees.

"Our nurseries produced about the same number of
seedlings for this year as
normal," said David Moorhead, a forest regeneration
specialist with the University of
Georgia Extension Service. "But landowners need more than
that."

Moorhead said it’s not so much a seedling shortage as a
demand overage. But the effect
is the same. People planning to plant pine trees need to order
their seedlings as soon as
they can.

Georgia landowners plant about 300,000 acres of pine trees
annually — more than any
other state. That helps contribute to the $16.2 billion economic
impact of forestry and
forestry products in Georgia.

"Adverse weather over the past two or three years was
just one factor that kept
Georgia farmers from planting as many trees as they usually
do," he said. They’re
trying to catch up now.

Nurseries plant enough seeds in March and April to cover
expected demand for the next
tree-planting season. Georgia landowners plant pine seedlings
from November to March.

In a typical year, farmers plant 600 to 700 seedlings per
acre. That creates a Georgia
demand of about 195 million seedlings. But landowners will order
more than that.

Most farmers order 5 percent to 10 percent more than they
expect to plant. "This
allows them to cull the seedlings and plant the best of
them," Moorhead said.
"So they order a little extra."

After adding in the extras for "insurance" and
those to make up for acres not
planted in 1994 or 1995, Georgians’ demand for pine seedlings
will far outnumber the
supply.

Many people order seedlings from private nurseries or their
state forestry commission
in early- or mid-fall. But Moorhead said those who wait will
likely be disappointed.

"Many of the 200 million seedlings planted for the 1996-
1997 planting season are
already spoken for," he said. "Nurseries grew some
under contract. Others are
secured by order reservations."

Based on a high demand this year, many nurseries may increase
the number of seedlings
they start for the ’97-’98 season.

Across the South, laws require most state-run pine nurseries
to sell seedlings to
landowners in their home states first. Moorhead said Georgia
farmers looking for seedlings
in Mississippi or Alabama will find the nurseries can’t sell to
them yet or have
already run out of seedlings.

"Even if farmers can find pine seedlings out-of-state,
they need to make sure the
variety they buy can grow well where they want to plant
them," he said. "It’s no use paying top dollar
for out-of-state seedlings that are just going to die a year
after they’ve been planted."

Fortunately, homeowners looking for ornamental pines for
their landscapes can still
find plenty in nurseries.

Moorhead said Georgia pine farmers cut nearly 500,000 more
acres than they plant every
year. "Some find it’s more profitable to grow an annual row
crop or convert that land to
uses other than pine forests," he said. Others let the
forest regenerate naturally,
with a mix of pine and hardwood trees.

But you have to look at the forest, not just the trees.

"The 20- to 30-year maturation time of pines helps even
out a drop in plantings in
one year," Moorhead said. "So it won’t make a great
impact on forestry production levels."