Hot weather last summer has resulted in fewer varieties of trees for sale this year during the annual tree sale conducted by the Clark County Farm Forestry Association. The sale is set for Saturday, March 19, beginning at 8 a.m., at the Albertson’s parking lot, 2108 W. Main St., Battle Ground.
The sale is slated to continue until 11 a.m. but will end sooner if all of the trees are sold.
Trees in this year’s sale will be priced at $1, $2 and $3 each.
Popular Douglas fir trees will be priced at $1 each for trees measuring about 18 inches tall.
Priced at $2 will be Western Red Cedar, Grand fir, Noble fir, Ponderosa pine, Big leaf maple, Oregon ash, Red Osier dogwood, Pacific willow, Shore pine, Sitka spruce and red elderberry.
Incense cedar, coast redwood and giant sequoia will be offered at $3 each. Salal will also be available.
Most trees at the annual sale will range in size from 6 inches to 2 feet tall and will be bare root. Most trees at the sale are also native to the Pacific Northwest.
Members of the Master Gardener program of Washington State University will be on hand to answer questions about planting and caring for trees.
The Farm Forestry Association recommends that trees be planted as soon as possible. Trees should be stored in a cool, shady place with roots kept wet until planting. The planting hole should be deep enough so that the roots do not curl in the hole. The soil should be packed firmly around the roots to avoid air pockets. It is not necessary to fertilize the newly-planted seedlings during the first year but the planting area should be kept weed and grass free for two to three years.
Net proceeds from the sale, which were about $12,600 last year, are used for scholarships and donations to forestry-oriented projects. Around 9,800 trees were sold last year of which about 2,400 were Douglas fir.
The Clark County Farm Forestry Association is an organization of tree farmers with over 250 members who own about 20,000 acres of timber land. Douglas fir trees are propagated from seeds collected by members.
In addition to the public tree sale, members of the association purchase seedlings annually for planting on their own properties.
