Grand Junction Field Office – Seedling Trees
The annual seedling tree and shrub sales program offers eligible Colorado landowners a convenient source of high quality, affordable planting stock for conservation plantings.
These plantings can include hedgerow and windbreak establishment; noise, dust and visual screening; wildlife habitat improvement; living snow fence development; reforestation and afforestation efforts; erosion control projects; and Christmas tree plantations. Native and introduced varieties of trees and shrubs are available.
Quick Links
- Program Requirements
- What to Plant & How to Care for Seedlings in Western Colorado
- Seedling Survival Supplies
- Seedling Planting Equipment
Program Requirements
- Use seedlings for conservation purposes, cannot be solely used for landscaping
If you do not qualify for the program, desire larger trees, want landscaping plants or are interested in a species not offered, numerous commercial nurseries should be able to meet your needs.
Seedling orders are taken from November to April of each year. Numerous nurseries should be able to meet your needs if you desire larger trees, want landscaping plants or are interested in a species not offered.
Order the seedlings in the county you would like to pick up the seedlings in, you do not have to live in the county to order seedlings from them.
Seedlings are available for pick-up on ONE specific day, determined by the cooperator selling the seedlings but usually during the beginning of May. The cooperator will contact you with the pickup date after you have placed your order.
Grand Junction Field Office Seedling Cooperators
| COUNTY | OFFICE ADDRESS | OFFICE PHONE |
|---|---|---|
| Delta | CSU Tri-River Area Extension 525 Dodge Street Delta, CO 81416 |
(970) 874-2195 |
| Garfield | Garfield/Pitkin Soil Conservation District 258 Center Drive Glenwood Springs, CO 81601 |
(970) 404-3443 |
| Mesa | CSU Tri-River Area Extension 2775 Highway 50 Grand Junction, CO 81502 |
(970) 244-1834 |
| Pitkin | Garfield/Pitkin Soil Conservation District 258 Center Drive Glenwood Springs, CO 81601 |
(970) 404-3443 |
| Rio Blanco | White River Conservation District 351 7th Street Meeker, CO 81641 |
(970) 878-9838 |
What to Plant & How to Care for Seedlings in Western Colorado
Visit our Colorado State Forest Service Nursery for additional information on:
- Seedling sizes
- Buyer’s Guide: descriptions of an assortment of tree and shrub species available
- Current Nursery Inventory: shows a real time view of the inventory
- Seedling Planting Guide
- Publications by the National Agroforestry Center
Additional information can be found on the National Agroforestry Center’s publications page.
Not all tree and shrub species for sale are appropriate in western Colorado. Look at the Seedling Plant Selection presentation (5 MB PDF) and the Species Suitability Guide (94 KB PDF) to determine what species may do well in your area. Some plants thrive at different elevations; refer to this Plant Elevations Guide (12 KB PDF) to see which plants like it cold and which plants prefer lower elevations.
Mulch (50 KB PDF) and Polymer (50 KB PDF) can improve a seedling’s chance at survival when used properly. These tips help you choose which type of mulch or polymer will work best for you.
Planting depth (30 KB PDF) is critical for these small seedlings. Planting too deep will kill the plant due to lack of oxygen available to the roots. The top root should be right below the soil line.
The seedlings have been pampered in the nursery and will require supplemental water once planted.
For information on how to plant and care for the seedling trees, view the workshop presentation (11 MB PDF). For photos of the different shrub and tree species that may be available each year (it depends on many factors at the nursery) view this plant species photo set (4.5 MB PDF) from the nursery.
Seedling Container Sizes
Extra Large Potted
Small Tube
Large Tube
Small Tray
Bare Root
Large Tube
Seedling Planting Equipment
The Grand Junction Field Office has tractor-drawn implements available for a fee to landowners for installation of larger conservation plantings.
We have had these labor-saving machines for years, and similar ones are used extensively for the large windbreaks planted on Colorado’s eastern plains. The Grand Junction Field Office has a tree planting plow and a weed barrier fabric laying implement that greatly facilitate planting trees on larger jobs.
The landowner is responsible for supplying the tractor and operator needed to pull these implements. If you do not own or have access to a tractor, you might consider either renting or borrowing one. Please contact the Grand Junction Field Office for more information about renting these implements. Equipment availability is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Planting a lot of trees is a lot of work!
Tree Planting Plow
Planting trees by hand to the proper depth can be quite a job, especially with several hundred trees. Tree planting plows can plant 300 to 500 seedlings per hour. Even if your site prep is not the best, your whole crew didn’t show up to help and your tractor is giving you problems, you should still average more than 300 seedlings per hour!
Tree Planting Plow Pros
- Speed of planting 300-500/hour
- Depth of planting easy to control
- Roots properly compacted, no air pockets
- Easy to do a quality job
- Nice furrow left for irrigating down row
Tree Planting Plow Cons
- Too much hassle for less than 500 trees
- Not good for over 5 percent side slope
- Must provide your own tractor
- Need at least a 3-person crew
- Must pick up & return equipment
Weed Barrier Fabric Laying Machine
If you are doing a large project with weed barrier fabric, you will want to use this! It lays fabric over your planted row and plows dirt onto the edges to hold the fabric down. One person riding the machine marks the fabric where a seedling is located as it is laid down, while another person following behind makes a slit in the fabric and pulls the seedling through.
Site Preparation
Site preparation (i.e. plowing and disking, deep rototilling, etc.) to loosen the soil and eliminate competing vegetation is necessary before using these implements. Ideally, this should be done the autumn before seedlings will be planted. Site preparation also can be done in the spring prior to planting.