State game commission’s plant seedling sale starts Monday
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Landowners wanting to plant tree species that benefit wildlife are in luck.
The state game commission on Monday will start its annual sale of tree and shrub seedlings from its Howard Nursery in Centre County. The sale will continue through April 23.
Orders can be placed online through www.pgc.state.pa.us, then click on the “Forms and Programs” section and choose “Howard Nursery Seedling Program.”
The sale was canceled in the spring because of covid-19.
Seedlings that would have been dug up and shipped out last spring were left to grow another year, the game commission said. In some cases, that means the nursery will be offering larger, more-resilient seedlings in this year’s sale with a wide variety of 20 seedlings available.
Howard Nursery produces bare-root seedlings for wildlife food and cover on state game lands.
The commission began producing seedlings and other plants at the facility in 1954 to supply wildlife food and cover plantings on state game lands. In addition, the nursery grows tree and shrub seedlings for use on hunter access properties, the Seedlings for Schools program and the commission’s conservation partners.
Production now amounts to 2 million to 8 million seedlings each year.
What’s available
Among this year’s offerings are red mulberry, North America’s only native mulberry tree, which grows to mature heights between 30 and 50 feet; Eastern red cedar, which also is known as juniper and produces a berry-like cone used by many birds; and Northern bayberry, a hardy shrub that can reach 15-foot heights and is an important winter food source for grouse and other birds.
A variety of oaks, pines, spruces and other deciduous and evergreen trees and a host of shrubs also available for sale, the commission said.
The agency reported that its nursery presently has twelve 4-foot-wide, 440-foot-long beds of red oak seedlings — a linear mile of red oak — awaiting to be sold, shipped and transplanted, said Brian Stone, manager at Howard Nursery.
“There’s more of a variety of species because the seedlings stayed in the ground last year so a few of the seedlings have grown bigger than in previous years and are of exceptional quality,” Stone said. “So, we’re very excited to get the 2021 sale underway and later this spring get seedlings out to properties statewide to improve habitat and help Pennsylvania’s wildlife.”
How to buy seedlings
Any remaining surplus is available to Pennsylvania residents for purchase. Seedlings are sold in units of 25.
Most orders of 12 or more total units qualify for discounted pricing, which can drop prices to as low as $5.50 per unit, the commission said. Regular price ranges from $7.50 to $9.50, depending upon the seedling species.
In the 2021 sale, red mulberry is the only seedling for which a discount isn’t offered because it is available in limited numbers.
Stone said those who are interested in placing an order can call the nursery at 814-355-4434 once the sale begins Hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Orders can be placed by fax at 814-355-8094, also starting Monday.