I get a lot of testimonials about how tree tubes help our customers achieve their tree planting goals.
Sometimes I get one that embodies all of the reasons I started promoting tree tubes 23 years ago. Like this one:
“Thanks again for the great product – it’s made me look forward to planting seedlings again (I had resigned myself to planting larger trees, but far fewer each year).”
How awesome is that?? The best way to plant a tree is as a small seedling, so that the roots develop in situ without the deformation/maiming that occurs with larger planting stock. Of course the other benefit of planting seedlings as compared to larger stock is you can plant a whole lot more of them for the same money! A final benefit is that while only a limited number of species (with an even more limited number of clonal varieties) is available in the commercial nursery trade as large planting stock, seedlings are available in nearly infinite variety.
However, seedlings are vulnerable to moisture stress, weed competition and of course critters. This customer had tried to plant seedlings, failed repeatedly, and had resigned himself to the high cost, slow growth and limited variety of larger planting stock… until he discovered tree tubes.
Ironically, way back in 1989 I wrote a paper for a Nursery Management course as part of my Urban Forestry degree in which I argued in favor of shifting the nursery industry from large planting stock to smaller stock planted with tree tubes. If memory serves I got a C- on that paper (the professor was very “old school” and a nursery industry traditionalist). I think I will send my customer’s comment to my old prof and see if he’ll reconsider my grade.
