NH State Forest Nursery opens second year of online sales

A late spring frost coupled with last summer’s seemingly never-ending rains negatively impacted agricultural production statewide and the New Hampshire State Forest Nursery Boscawen was no exception.

The nursery, which is now accepting online seedling orders for spring 2024, announced that quantities of conifer species will be extremely limited this year, including several popular Christmas tree species.

Despite the unfavorable weather, there are several additional shrub and hardwood tree species that have not been offered in recent years, including red-berried elder, winterberry holly and yellow birch. There will also be increased availability of the pollinator pack, which has five seedlings each of beach plum, crabapple, gray dogwood, nannyberry and Virginia rose. Debuting in 2021, this popular pack sells out quickly each year.

“This past season’s unusual weather had an adverse impact on the quantity of seedlings we are able to offer this year,” said Nursery Manager Billy Kunelius. “However, this is an opportunity for people to plant other tree and shrub species they might not have previously considered, creating more diverse landscapes that benefit birds, pollinators and wildlife.”

Customers can order seedlings from the nursery’s online store, buynhseedlings.com. The site offers real-time inventory of available species and order confirmation, removing any uncertainty about whether an order will be able to be filled.