To Plant OR Not to Plant? That's the Question

[RPF]

Considering the unusual and extremely dry conditions this spring/summer (in BC), I'm just wondering what folks think about planting later this summer/fall?
Has anyone planted during similar conditions in the past and how was seedling survival?

[Gingerplanter]

We all need our ei hours. Plant, plant, plant. Fill plant next year. We can't afford to lose a year of growth.

[salbrecher]

In the interior fall plants were too dependent on weather and were usually more hassle than they were worth and we don't do them much if any. Survival was poor if the rain didn't come. Smaller planting numbers generally make it possible to get the seedlings in in the spring window as well.

That said, we've had a few very dry springs where we planted low elevation IDF into bone dry soils/duff where I was sure the seedlings would die. I checked the seedlings for root growth every week and there was none until we received the June rain several weeks later. The seedlings started putting out roots a few days after the rain and survival was quite good. That was Fdi and Lw though which are better adapted to drought.

Not sure what this means for the coast but I would imagine if you don't get rains within a few weeks of planting (maybe less with Cw, Hw etc. or hot temps?) you are probably throwing good money after bad! Can't you just lift them and put them in frozen storage or are the blocks too high elevation to do in the spring? If the winter is as dry as last year maybe a December plant will work...

[RPF]

We could store them until spring, however, if we have a "normal" winter with tons of snow, most of the areas we've scheduled for planting this fall will be snow covered until late May or June. We use to plant well into June many years ago, but we started noticing that many of the late spring plants were failing - probably due to a combination of being in cold storage for up to 8 months and planting when conditions were turning warm and dry. (ie already stressed seedlings suddenly being exposed to drought like conditions). Therefore, I'm reluctant to take that risk again. It'll be cheaper to compost the seedlings rather than spend money on cold storage and have the seedlings fail anyway.

If someone had a crystal ball and could tell us what kind of winter we will have this year, perhaps storing them would make sense if snow packs are low again.

I heard that TimberWest (or whatever they were called back then) many years ago on Vancouver Island use to start planting in the middle of August. Does anyone know how those plantations survived? And what species they were planting?

Oh, what to do????

[salbrecher]

I recall starting for several years mid/late august for them around nanaimo lakes area about 10 years ago but they would usually not start until they had had a good rainfall. Heavy to Douglas-fir from what I recall.

[shawniganlaker]

Most of my contracts are set to go ahead. That amounts to 4 separate operating areas on Vancouver Island where the foresters have decided to plant. I know of one operation that has decided to drop the fall program and cold store the seedlings.

Everyone is speculating a later start than usual.

I have planted for Island Timber and Western Sayward in August in the past but that won't happen this season. BCTS on the Island has for as long as I can remember run a later planting program that stretches to the end of October. From what I understand those seedlings have had solid survival. I'd be wary of planting CW/HW or YC heavy settings until the rain comes. CW can't hack the heat.

[RPF]

Hoorah! After a long wait, the rain has finally come.
It looks like we will start planting trees within a week or two.

[ggrant]

I have been wondering if the very hot dry conditions in the BC interior this summer are causing unusual mortality in this year's seedlings?
Happened to be on a disc trenched block today that was planted in 2021, and it appeared to have about 75% mortality. Outlier, or expected?

[Casper]

I have been wondering if the very hot dry conditions in the BC interior this summer are causing unusual mortality in this year's seedlings?
Happened to be on a disc trenched block today that was planted in 2021, and it appeared to have about 75% mortality. Outlier, or expected?

From what I have seen, mortality is quite high in some areas. Even now, some summer trees being planted are dead within the week, just too damn dry.

[jdtesluk]

I have heard of several large-scale plantation failures this season. One must consider of course that the heat event we had this summer was basically unprecedented in the history of modern silviculture, and it was not really possible to predict it. Certainly, the losses will be in the millions, and forestry companies will be looking to have drought/and or extreme heat added to the section 108 of the FRPA to protect them against such failures.

I would expect there will be various factors determining which plantations were worst hit....time since planting, exposure, treatment, species, and so forth, with recently planted SW exposed prep blocks may be among the worst hit. Hard to say how many millions fried, and how many more millions may have been burnt in the fires that followed.

There is nothing to celebrate in this. These events are part of ominous changes. However, it does likely portend a further bump in provincial volume.

I wonder what adjustment in specs we may see to protect against this in the future? I've pounded shingles into flat ground in Merritt to provide shade and cattle protection, and I've leaned small pieces of debris against the lower part of seedlings in Cowichan to protect the root collar from sun exposure. What else could be tried? Perhaps, dainty little cocktail umbrellas? Gel coatings around the plug and root collar?