Seedling Tree Program

• CSFS Conditions for Seedling Sales
• Recommended Trees & Shrubs for San Luis Valley
• How to Decide What to Order
• 2013 Alamosa District Seedling Tree Application
• Products Available from the Alamosa District

Each year, the Alamosa District sells low cost, high quality seedling trees and shrubs (small trees or shrubs that are one to three years old). The seedlings are available to landowners who wish to plant a windbreak or shelterbelt, or for reforestation, erosion control, wildlife, visual screening or noise barriers.

All seedlings are grown in our nursery in Fort Collins and are delivered to Alamosa in April. If you want more information about this program, please call our office at (719) 587-0915.

If you forget to place your order this year, contact us at (719) 587-0915! We will have a supply of extra trees and shrubs available for sale in the spring on a first-come basis.

Colorado State Forest Service Conditions for Seedling Sales

• You must own a minimum of one acre of land.
• This nursery stock is NOT for use in ornamental or landscape plantings.
• Any seedling purchased from the CSFS or our distributor may NOT be resold as a living plant.
• The minimum order is 25 plants; bare root seedlings in multiples of 25, potted in multiples of 30 or 50, depending on type. Extra large potted trees (XLP) may be purchased as replacement plants.
• Payment must accompany orders; refunds will not be given for cancelled orders after March 1, 2013.
• If trees ordered are not available, a refund will be issued unless a substitution is requested.
• The CSFS Nursery is not responsible for inventory errors.

Recommended Trees & Shrubs for San Luis Valley

The most popular shrubs native to Colorado and the valley are: chokecherry, sumac, sand cherry, buffaloberry, woods rose and golden currant.

In addition, caragana and sumac are excellent for drought resistance and cold hardiness. If you have alkaline soils, caragana, lilac, buffaloberry and woods rose are good choices.

Trees native to the valley are: narrowleaf cottonwood and in higher elevations, aspen, Colorado blue spruce, Douglas-fir, Engelmann spruce, lodgepole pine, ponderosa pine, Rocky Mountain juniper, white fir, bristlecone pine and limber pine.

If you want to plant a windbreak in the valley, the Siberian elm and Rocky Mountain juniper are excellent for drought resistance, cold hardiness and alkali tolerance. The narrowleaf cottonwood and golden willow require more water, but also do well in alkaline soils and are cold hardy.

For more information about these recommended trees & shrubs, please refer to the CSFS Nursery Buyer's Guide (1.9 MB PDF).

How to Decide What to Order

1. Determine your goal

• Wildlife - Choose species that provide shelter and food
• Aesthetics - Choose species with good color and size variety
• Windbreaks and snow fences - Choose a variety of species that provide different layers of vertical cover. See Living Snow Fences: Protection That Just Keeps Growing (5.3 MB PDF)

2. Determine your environment

• Plant species appropriate to your USDA Plant Hardiness Zone
• Plant species appropriate to your soil type - Use a USDA Web Soil Survey for specific soil data

3. Select appropriate species

• Plant species according to elevation range
• Plant species with water needs according to your capabilities and resources
• For additional species information, visit the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Plant Database

2013 Alamosa District Seedling Tree Planting Guide (83.5 KB PDF)

2013 Alamosa District Seedling Tree Application

To order seedling trees and planting supplies, please download our order form (220 KB PDF) and return to the Alamosa District. The deadline to order seedling trees is April 1, 2013.

Products Available from the Alamosa District

2013 Seedling Tree Supplies Brochure (150 KB PDF)