News

We’re starting a tree seedling nursery on the Atlanta Beltline.

There is a growing gap in the tree industry. Climate volatility, long-lingering effects of COVID-related supply chain disruption, economic pressures, and market demands have resulted in a tree nursery industry with fewer suppliers and a shrinking inventory. Each year, smaller nurseries are shuttering or adjusting their inventory to grow trees for a mass market, leaving a significant gap for Trees Atlanta and other organizations invested in a healthy urban forest.

This has resulted in less diversity and fewer tree species available for purchase that are native and best for challenging urban conditions.

The Trees Atlanta tree nursery will be a place where thousands of trees will be propagated and germinated to grow into seedlings. The seedlings will be distributed to tree farms where they are grown into small trees. In a few years, the trees will be planted in communities across metro Atlanta by Trees Atlanta and others. The nursery will focus on increasing our tree diversity, making our city more resilient, healthier, and more sustainable for wildlife. The nursery also opens up exciting opportunities to expand workforce training, activate volunteers, engage neighbors, and enhance education programs, including workshops on seed collection, sorting, stratification, and planting.

November is the month of Giving Tuesday fundraising. This year, Giving Tuesday is on Tuesday, Dec. 3. Our goal is to raise $60,000 to help fund our tiny tree start up! We hope you are as excited for this project as we are!

Species diversity and supply in the market is decreasing

Sourcing a variety of high quality, native trees has become increasingly difficult each planting season, according to the planting team at Trees Atlanta. Other conservation organizations are experiencing the same constraints.

Native tree species most suitable for urban conditions are often slower to grow and more difficult to produce compared to non-native species. Commonly planted non-native trees, like the fast-growing crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia), will thrive almost anywhere – which serves its purpose when planted in challenging street side margins where few other trees would thrive. Finding Georgia oaks, sassafras, and sourwood is much more difficult.

Most retail nurseries offer popular ornamental trees (i.e., non-native, exotic species) in greater quantities than native species. Consumer demand drives what shows up in stores, but access to available inventory also influences what we buy. It’s important to ask local nurseries to stock more native species if the species aren’t on the shelves.

This effect influences wholesale nurseries where we purchase trees for community plantings. It also affects purchase decisions of landscaping companies, developers, and other companies that plant a lot of trees.

Responding to changing climate demands

The life of an urban tree is no walk in the park. The trees we plant along streets, in parking lots, and throughout downtown Atlanta face tough growing conditions, from a lack of soil volume to severe compaction. These challenges limit root growth and make it harder for trees to access water and nutrients. What thrived in Atlanta’s forests 100 years ago might not be as well-suited for the hotter summers today and in the future. Urban trees often fight an uphill battle — but that’s where we come in.

A healthy forest is one that is biodiverse, and the same holds true in urban settings. The more complex and diverse an ecosystem, the better it will withstand stressors like drought, disease, and warming temperatures. By planting a wide variety of tree species in Atlanta, we can better prepare our urban canopy to face the uncertainties of climate change. Planting native species is the sustainable way to grow a more resilient urban canopy.

We are inspired by the work of other community forestry organizations, such as Tree Pittsburgh (PA) and Casey Trees (DC). They are operating tree nurseries that grow many of the trees they plant in their cities. We can create a supply of the kinds of trees we need for Atlanta, too. Like many of our best projects, we got creative and got to action when opportunity arose.

Just steps from our headquarters, a portion of the 3-acre triangular parcel of land across the street was available. We talked to a tree nurseryman who specializes in growing tree “liners” – tiny tree babies grown from cuttings, tissue culture, or seedlings. This led to discussions with a local tree grower who believes in the importance of native species for our cities. He stepped forward with the means to grow liners into larger trees, and other nurseries became interested, too. More like-minded folks added ideas that strengthened the case to start the tree nursery. Over a few beers, an idea was sketched out.

The one-acre portion of land where the nursery will be started is on the Atlanta Beltline Westside Trail on Allene Avenue steps from the Trees Atlanta Kendeda TreeHouse. With a lease agreement with Atlanta Beltline, Inc., Trees Atlanta has obtained use of the property to build a tree nursery to grow specific selections of tree seedlings and keep trees for the planting season.

Our first year plan

With the help of volunteers, we’ll collect seeds and cuttings from local native trees that have thrived in modern conditions over many decades. By doing so, we’ll be selecting for genes that will likely prove more adaptable to increasingly stressful conditions. These seeds and cuttings will grow in liner pots and some in one- and three-gallon container trees, which we will plant, distribute, or grow in even larger containers for future planting.

During the first year, we’ll focus on growing three native, urban hardy species that are currently nearly impossible to find in the nursery trade. Species could include two-winged silverbell (Halesia diptera), Georgia oak (Quercus georgiana), and red buckeye (Aesculus pavia).

We will also experiment growing hardy genotypes of species from the southernmost part of their natural range. Adding more of these genotypes will allow us to test the viability of these species as Atlanta and the region’s temperatures continue to rise.

How You Can Help

Our seedling nursery is a critical step in strengthening Atlanta’s urban canopy for future generations, and we need your support to make it a reality. With your donations, we can begin cultivating a diverse, genetically resilient crop of native trees.

With your help, we can move toward our goal of growing 500 seedlings in our first year. Imagine one day seeing these small starts grow into mature trees that shade our streets, improve air quality, and provide homes for wildlife across the city. That’s an incredible investment in trees and future generations.

Help us plant the seeds for a healthier, more resilient Atlanta.

Photos (As they appear): Cover Image, Credit: John Becker. “Overhead view of the location of the future Trees Atlanta seedling nursery along the Atlanta Beltline Westside Trail”; Credit: Trees Atlanta. “Urban trees planted along John Portman Blvd.”; Credit: Courtney DiCarlo. “Trees Atlanta’s Executive Director Greg Levine discussing plans for the future tree seedling nursery over beers with future partners”; Credit: Trees Atlanta. “The current state of the future seedling nursery site, including hoop houses.”

Posted on: November 1, 2024