Gravel Bed Tree Nursery

Volunteers planted more than two dozen seedlings in the new gravel bed tree nursery.

Created in 2023, the gravel bed nursery is an irrigated raised bed filled with pea gravel where bare root trees are placed and cultivated for three to six months. The purpose of the gravel bed is to increase the tree’s fibrous root system in preparation for planting at a later date.
This system has been in use at commercial nurseries, municipalities and universities for more than 20 years. There are many communities throughout Minnesota that have built these types of gravel bed systems with great success.
Our bed is a visually appealing trapezoid shape of approximately 100 square feet that is designed to hold between 25-50 trees each year.
The project is a collaboration between the Washington County Conservation District, Washington County Fair board, Minnesota Water stewards, Climate Action Corps (community forestry program) and the Washington County Master Gardener Volunteer Program Tree Squad. The grant for this project was generously provided by North Woods and Waters of the St. Croix heritage area.
Our tree nursery will serve as a demonstration and educational resource in addition to providing new trees throughout Washington County

Gravel bed benefits

  • Savings: Gravel beds can save the community money through the utilization of bare root stock, which is typically 1/2 the price of containerized trees and 1/4 the price of balled and burlap trees.
  • Species Diversity: Gravel beds can help increase species diversity because there are typically more species available as bare root stock than as containerized or balled & burlapped stock. Greater species diversity can reduce a community’s vulnerability to insects and disease.
  • Flexible Planting Times: Gravel beds allow bare root stock obtained in the spring to be planted in the throughout the growing season and into the fall. Communities can plant less expensive trees when they have the time and resources.

More information about the benefits of gravel bed tree nurseries comes from the UMN Forestry Outreach & Research Nursery & Lab at:  (https://trees.umn.edu/outreach/gravel-beds)

Plant List

A serviceberry – Amelanchier alboria x grand Aut Brilliance

B elm (St. Croix) – ulmus am First Editions ‘St. Croix’

C ironwood – Ostrya virginiana Ironwood

D redbud – Clerics Canadensis MN strain Redbud

E yellowwood – Cladrastis kent Yellowood

F shagbark hickory – carya ovata

Gravel Bed Nursery Map