Bareroot Seedling Inspection

Various Regions have different assessment forms to fill out during the inspection process. The Northern Region (R1), for example, uses the Stock Quality Assessment Form, R1-FS-2470-21, to document assessment of the delivered stock. Use one form for each lot of trees received. The form is designed so that once the standard is understood, the quality of the trees can be indicated by a mere checking of yes or no boxes. A narrative section is provided to explain why the trees are not acceptable. The seed lot number, pack number, and pack date at the top of the form is required for lot identification and may be taken right from the end of the tree boxes. Tree quality items to check are:

Tree Vigor

Abnormal tree color, dry or damaged roots, needles falling off, and similar maladies suggest problems. Always check the condition of root and stem cambium along with the buds.

Root and Stem Cambium-To check the cambium, peel back the exterior bark of the roots and stems. The cambium underneath should be glistening white or a cream color. If the cambium is brown, yellow, or creamy brown, the trees have been damaged by freezing, poor storage, or fungal attack. Cambium damage may indicate damage before packing as well as damage afterward.

Buds-Slicing the buds vertically should reveal green, healthy internal tissue. Brown, black, or yellowish tissue in the bud is a sign that the bud has been damaged. If just the terminal bud has been damaged, the trees can still be planted. If the other buds are damaged as well, the stock should be thrown out.

Needles-Dry or wilted foliage is a sign of stress or damage. Spruce and Douglas-fir needles that fall off when they are brushed are dead. Pine needles that break easily when they are bent are dead (unless the needles are still frozen). (top)

Root Length

Root lengths should be checked to see if standards are met. Root lengths of 90 percent or more of the trees in the lot should meet the specified standards, unless the standards have been modified by prior agreement between the district and the nursery. (top)

Live Roots

Check whether roots are alive by stripping the outer layers of bark with a pocketknife or fingernail to expose the roots' cambial tissue. This tissue will be a white to cream color in healthy roots and brown to yellow tan in dead roots. Tree boxes can be checked by taking a tree from the top, center, and bottom of a box. Do not be alarmed to find that some roots are dead a quarter of an inch or less from the cut ends. This is normal. Also, in some species (especially Douglas-fir) a portion of the fine root system may die with no apparent adverse effect to the tree. However, if more than 15 to 25 percent of the roots are dead, more than half an inch from the tip, there is reason for concern. Seek advice on the quality of the stock. (top)

Root Dormancy

Check the roots for elongation of the new white root tips. A dormant root system will have few, if any, new white growing tips. If new root tips are longer than a quarter of an inch or more than just an occasional root has new root tips, the trees have broken dormancy. Trees with appreciable new root growth before planting have a risk of reduced survival, except on moist sites. At least 95 percent of the stock should meet the standard. Some trees, especially grand fir and to a lesser degree western white pine, may exhibit a few new white root tips and a small amount of winter root growth during mild winters. However, usually there are only a few new white root tips and they are usually short. (top)

Top Caliper and Stem Height

Nursery cull standards for both top height and stem caliper should meet nursery standards. Unless agreed to otherwise, at least 95 percent of the stock packed should meet this standard. Contact the Nursery Manager for the top caliper and height requirements. (top)

Lammas Growth

Lammas growth (abnormal late season growth of terminals or buds) has been a problem recently only in the pines, but all species can be affected. Late-season flushes of growth cause two problems with nursery stock. The late-formed growth is often succulent and not hardened off properly. Even worse, trees in this condition may not be fully dormant and they will not store well. Experience has shown that lodgepole pine with succulent lammas growth will spoil in storage conditions suitable for dormant trees.

Lammas growth may vary. Some lots of trees will exhibit growth that is a mixture of different lammas types. Nurseries deal with this problem by culling trees with green, nonsucculent tissue longer than 3 inches or small, soft buds. Usually, lammas are a problem only in the pines, especially lodgepole and ponderosa. Tree lots with green, succulent growth and soft buds in more than 5 percent of the trees should be reported as not meeting the quality standard. The three types of lammas growth are: lammas shoots, long buds, and proleptic shoots.

Lammas Shoots- Lammas shoots are shoots that develop by bursting and elongating the current year terminal bud. This will result in 2-0 stock having the appearance of 3-0 stock with the last growth whorl in varying degrees of hardening off. Some of the growth whorls may not be cold hardy.

Long Buds- Long buds develop when the current year's terminal growth elongates without bursting. Elongation may be from a few millimeters to 4 or 5 inches. The result is often a long, skimpy, succulent terminal with a soft, unhardened terminal bud.

Proleptic Shoots- Proleptic shoots are shoots that emerge from the current year's lateral buds while the terminal bud remains dormant.