Part 2: Choosing trees and shrubs--Bigger projects & Next-level tips

By Deb Ganster
President, Seacoast NH Permaculture
 [This is the second in a three-part series on considerations when choosing trees and shrubs. To read Part 1 on tips for novices, follow this link: tips-for-novices-succeed-with-seedlings-from-the-nh-state-forest-nursery.html
 
In Part 1 of this series, you learned about the NH State Nursery annual seedling sale and the basics of how you might make choices of trees and shrubs you’d like to add to your property. In this article, we’ll add some additional considerations for bigger projects and more advanced plantings.
 
Some of us, for example, are focused on site-wide goals. Nurseries that sell seedlings at a good price are selling young plants for large-scale restoration projects. Part of the planning and selection should account for a certain percent of loss. 
 
Genetic diversity is an important consideration in this regard. If the seedlings are healthy and the site is appropriate for their needs, a large enough percentage will survive.  It is somewhat of a survival-of-the-fittest scenario.
 
For small sites where plantings will receive more individualized attention, it may be better to purchase fewer plants that are older. These will be more expensive, but they will give the homeowner a jump start. Trees that bear fruit and nuts are a great example of this. If you want to increase the likelihood of a yield—fruit or nuts—in your lifetime, get an older plant!  
 
You may also want to select for certain genetics. Native species are the best for wildlife, but not always for human food production.
 
For example, I have A LOT of aronia berry here, and most of it is from native stock with genetic diversity. But I have a few that are cultivars, and they are far superior for berry
Yields--bigger berries and more of them.
 
Therefore, if you have a smaller site, you want your design and selections to give the yields you need, and cultivars are more often going to do that. This is one of the benefits to doing zone analysis where you identify your food-producing zone, your forever-wild zone, and so on.
 
Another key consideration is how the selection behaves once it is planted. Moving things around is not always as easy as it sounds.  I will sometimes buy small plants and pot them to let them grow longer before meeting the big world (like the New Jersey Tea I just bought from a good source--and for a steep discount). Other plants establish quickly and spread out, send up suckers, and establish themselves in ways that may or may not appeal to you. 
 
And, not surprisingly, some things don't transplant well. Knowing the range of traits and particulars in advance of selection is key here. In addition to reading and research, try to see something actually growing at someone else’s site. This is a great way to learn about problems and failures before you buy.
 
Finally, given my long-term commitment to the plantings that I choose, I research items over and over--and over again. That investment in time and analysis has proven invaluable in achieving my overall site design.