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Home → Publications → Tree Planters' Notes → Tree Planters' Notes Volume 19, Number 1 (1968) → Shallow Sand Cover Gives Best Germination of Black Spruce Seeds

Shallow Sand Cover Gives Best Germination of Black Spruce Seeds

In trials with black spruce seeds sown on organic soil in plastic tubes at four depths of sand cover, maximum germination resulted with the 1/16 in. cover. Germination was inadequate with depths greater than 1/8 in. The Ontario method of growing tree seedlings in containers is summarized in an official manual (6). The most suitable container has been a white plastic tube, 1/2 in. interior diameter x 3 in., made from high impact styrene and split along one side. Early trials reported by McLean (5) tested red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.) ; in later trials black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill) BSP) and white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) were tested. In preparation for a large scale sowing of black spruce, some factors affecting germination were tested. Earlier experience at the Ontario Tree Seed Plant, Angus, showed that 1/16-inch was the preferred depth of sand cover for unsorted black spruce seeds in laboratory sand bench germination tests, resulting in normal germination of over 90 percent in 11 days.


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Author(s): A. J. Carmichael

Publication: Tree Planters' Notes - Volume 19, Number 1 (1968)

Volume: 19

Number: 1