Many of the UT-TIP orchards are too young to bear enough seed for commercial-scale collection. To meet the demand for seeds until these UT-TIP seed orchards mature, we have partnered with American Forests and the Tennessee Division of Forestry to develop a Tennessee wild seed collection. UT-TIP technicians use natural range maps, herbarium records, landowner interviews, and other sources to find individual trees within the boundaries of Tennessee. From these naturally occurring trees, we collect seed to be grown at the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Division of Forestry’s East Tennessee Nursery to produce seedlings adapted to Tennessee environmental conditions for reforestation and enrichment plantings. Tree species include: white, swamp chestnut, and swamp white oak; mockernut, shagbark, and shellbark hickory; ninebark; pawpaw; redbud; and Sargent’s, southern, and sweet crab apple.
