What is sourcing the best seeds and why does it matter?
You've probably heard of "eco sourcing" if you've had much to do with buying native plants. Broadly speaking that's collecting seeds from the same area that you're going to plant them in.
There are two reasons why that is important
- It protects the unique features of locally grown trees
- It ensures that the tree you're buying will grow well in your area
The Restore Native approach to Eco Sourcing considers some other factors too. We accept that a lot of the widely grown plants have been shifted about the country for centuries so there's a lot of cross pollinating.
Because we're only growing the colonizing species they are less important to be eco sourced than the forest trees which will eventually cover the area you're planting. So although Manuka and Pittosporum are shipped all over the country... the Kahikatea, Tawa etc that will eventually form your forest will either be brought in by seed dispersing birds or should absolutely be eco sourced where a local seed source is available.
So what do we do?
We collect as much of our own seed as possible and we do this from local sources.
This ensures we're selecting from trees that are displaying the right traits and will be strong and healthy for your project.
We also collect from a number of trees. Genetic diversity is really important so we'll never just select one tree.
We're not buying in all of our seed/seedlings like some other nurseries and we think that's really important. We want to make sure the right tree for your property starts with the right parents to grow strong and healthy trees and ultimately is tailor made for it's forever home.
Hopefully this sheds some light on why our policy of selecting locally grown and strong seeds for our trees helps you to ultimately grow a better forest on your proeprty.
Of course we'd love to discuss your planting project so feel free to get in touch.
Adam
