Gravel Bed Tree Planting Series – Survival Data

This case study documents the rate of survival after 5 years for saplings grown in a gravel bed for 7-15 months and out-planted around Athens, GA.

In the South, trees grown in gravel beds can be out-planted as bare-root trees at any time of the year with a high probability of survival. Of the 80 trees out-planted from a gravel bed in Athens, GA, 85 percent survived the first five years. Some species did better than others. Chinese elm (Ulmus parvifolia ‘Bosque’) and eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis) had 100 percent and 96 percent survivability, respectively, while trident maple (Acer buergerianum ‘Aeryn’) and American elm (Ulmus americana ‘Princeton’) had survival rates of 75 percent and 70 percent, respectively. Vandalism, improper landscape maintenance practices, and animal interaction appeared to be the major causes of mortality.

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