Sep 18, 2024
4 critical factors to consider when buying forest seedlings
Eesti Metsameister’s subsidiaries Eesti Taimekasvatus and Eesti Metsahaldus are busy preparing for the autumn reforestation season. While the management team is currently focused mainly on soil preparation and planning the logistics of the planting work, our nursery is hard at work lifting forest seedlings and getting them ready for planting.
With that in mind, here is a simple ABC for forest owners who are reforesting clear-cut areas this autumn. These are the factors to pay attention to when you are looking for and ordering forest seedlings.
1. Check the plant health register
When buying plants, it is important to make sure they are purchased directly from a producer or supplier that holds the relevant permits and is entered in the national plant health register.
The plant health register is a national information system designed to ensure plant health protection and effective supervision of compliance with plant health requirements. Forest owners can check a register entry themselves on the register’s website.
2. Issuing a plant passport
A seller entered in the plant health register has the right to issue a plant passport. A plant passport is an official document or label confirming that the plants meet plant health requirements, are free of pests and have been grown by a registered producer whose activities are under state supervision.
3. The basis for a reforestation subsidy application
Registration in the plant health register is also important when applying for a forest regeneration subsidy. The subsidy is only paid to those who have planted on their land plants that are under state supervision.
4. Background check
We also recommend checking the supplier’s background, including any tax arrears and whether annual reports have been submitted. A background check is especially important if the seller asks for advance payment for the plants.
Certified forest plants from Eesti Taimekasvatus
Eesti Metsameistri Taimekasvatus is registered as a supplier of forest reproductive material in the Register of Economic Activities (no. KUL000087) and in the national plant health register (no. TTR4732), and has the right to issue plant passports.
Eesti Taimekasvatus was founded in 2015 with the aim of making plants of Estonian origin more accessible to forest owners. Since then, we have been growing home-grown spruce, birch, pine and black alder seedlings in our own nursery in the village of Suure-Rakke in Southern Estonia. Our range includes both bare-root and potted plants.
