Seed Collecting / Tree Climbing

[True as Trees]

Greetings Fellow Arbs,
I'm reaching out to the masses to see if anyone knows of opportunities in the Southeast for seed collecting. This happens a lot out west, but we are located in NC and I'd like to find opportunities in our region.
Whether it's paid work or volunteer opportunities, it's all good with me. This is just something I've had interest in for many years now.
Thanks in advance if anyone can steer me in that direction!

 

[ATH]

What part of North Carolina?

I wonder if the state nurseries buy seed?

N.C. Forest Service - Tree Nurseries | NC Agriculture

 

[Stumpsprouts]

Greetings Fellow Arbs,
I'm reaching out to the masses to see if anyone knows of opportunities in the Southeast for seed collecting. This happens a lot out west, but we are located in NC and I'd like to find opportunities in our region.
Whether it's paid work or volunteer opportunities, it's all good with me. This is just something I've had interest in for many years now.
Thanks in advance if anyone can steer me in that direction!

Andrew!! Good to see you on here.

I’d pay good money for some robinia viscosa seeds. Only place I could find them was off a guy in New Hampshire on Etsy. Lol. They’re supposedly native to here but I’ve never seen em. They’d probably be blooming right about now along with the black locusts, but pink instead of white.

 

[Matias]

Not only a seed collecting gig, but a treasure hunt of sorts! Too cool!!

 

[True as Trees]

Andrew!! Good to see you on here.

I’d pay good money for some robinia viscosa seeds. Only place I could find them was off a guy in New Hampshire on Etsy. Lol. They’re supposedly native to here but I’ve never seen em. They’d probably be blooming right about now along with the black locusts, but pink instead of white.

April!
Interesting suggestion. Thanks for bringing the clammy locust to my attention. I wasn't even aware of its presence and now I'll keep a lookout for them.

 

[True as Trees]

What part of North Carolina?

I wonder if the state nurseries buy seed?

N.C. Forest Service - Tree Nurseries | NC Agriculture

Western North Carolina, at the moment. Would enjoy some opportunities to climb across the state though.
Something about piedmont and coastal climbing has intrigued me for a while now.
Maybe a need in Longleaf Pine restoration?
Would enjoy spending time in Live Oaks.

 

[Stumpsprouts]

Western North Carolina, at the moment. Would enjoy some opportunities to climb across the state though.
Something about piedmont and coastal climbing has intrigued me for a while now.
Maybe a need in Longleaf Pine restoration?
Would enjoy spending time in Live Oaks.

At the conference in Memphis Kim Coder got me energized about assisted climate migration. They’ve got baby live oaks growing in Philadelphia! I’d love to grab live oak acorns from the northern most part of their range (piedmont?) and start some here.

Long leaf pines seem to be a good bet too, I’ve got one up here in sandymush that is up to 10’ tall or so, and there’s some pretty big ones around town here and there.

I also want to locate southern sugar maple and start planting that, I’m not sure where to find that.

Clammy locust seems like a good one for restoration, the usual benefits of locust but not as tall. Plus it’s a rare native.

 

[True as Trees]

At the conference in Memphis Kim Coder got me energized about assisted climate migration. They’ve got baby live oaks growing in Philadelphia! I’d love to grab live oak acorns from the northern most part of their range (piedmont?) and start some here.

Long leaf pines seem to be a good bet too, I’ve got one up here in sandymush that is up to 10’ tall or so, and there’s some pretty big ones around town here and there.

I also want to locate southern sugar maple and start planting that, I’m not sure where to find that.

Clammy locust seems like a good one for restoration, the usual benefits of locust but not as tall. Plus it’s a rare native.

Something fascinating about our industry is how our approaches change throughout time.
Assisted climate migration is a very interesting example of this. It could certainly be something arborists of our generation start leaning more into, as we prepare for a future with trees.

Knowing there are live oaks in Philly makes me feel like we could get something going in our range. I've seen live oaks get used as street trees in Shelby, NC (which first surprised me). Felt like we were pretty far west from where they're typically seen.

I didn't realize anyone was getting longleaf to grow around here. That's pretty surprising to hear. I wonder if it's worth seeing how other southern yellow pines would fit in our elevations. If longleaf can get established, I'd assume slash and loblolly might work this high-up.

 

[evo]

Species assisted migration is where it’s at.

Maybe check with your local DNR and or USFS?

I got some friends here on the island that have a plantation for seed trees. About 8-10 acres and they sell to the DNR and other outfits for replanting clear cuts. They started a species shift about 10 years ago. I should give the a stop by as it’s been way too long

 

[Stumpsprouts]

Species assisted migration is where it’s at.

Maybe check with your local DNR and or USFS?

I got some friends here on the island that have a plantation for seed trees. About 8-10 acres and they sell to the DNR and other outfits for replanting clear cuts. They started a species shift about 10 years ago. I should give the a stop by as it’s been way too long

I went on iNaturalist and saw one entry for clammy locust that turned out to be bogus. Then another for southern sugar maple that was actually a black maple. There’s an entry for southern sugar maple in the UNCA botanical gardens though that I imagine is accurate, and it should be making seeds right about now, so I’m going to check that out next.

Below are entries for clammy locust around cashiers, which seems to be its favorite place to be. There’s also a shit ton of entries in Europe. Most be popular in gardens there.

 

[Neill]

I thought I knew of some southern sugar maple but I could be mistaken. In and around chapel hill.