New Hampshire Seedling Sales Rise In 2021

CONCORD, NH — More and more New Hampshire residents have been going outside, especially after the lockdowns of 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

And state officials have a little bit of evidence to that fact as they have seen a sharp increase in orders for seedlings, especially smaller ones, which is leading to the presumption that Granite Staters are connecting more with the outdoors.

The NH State Forest Nursery said Wednesday that total sales for 2021 rose 14.2 percent to $220,481 when compared to 2020, which, itself, was also a record year. The state shipped more than 238,000 seedlings out — an increase of nearly 28,000. About two-thirds of the orders were around $100 — “indicating that consumers continue to work on smaller projects,” according to officials.

Orders were placed quickly with Christmas tree species, like balsams and Fraser firs, selling out at the end of December 2020 and early January.

“By the end of January, more than 1,000 orders had been processed; the previous benchmark was 660 orders,” a report stated. “Seventy-seven percent of the species and packages offered were sold out before seedlings began to be removed from seedbeds in the spring and processed for shipping.”

Nursery stock is not imported or transplanted from other sources — ensuring the seedlings are “well adapted to the New Hampshire climate.” Ninety-four percent of orders in 2021 came from New England customers, with 73 percent from New Hampshire, the report stated.

The state grows about 3 million seedlings annually on 16-acres of seedbeds. The state also has 20-acres of seed orchards and testing areas. The state nursery, located in Boscawen, is on an 880-acre state forest.

For more information about New Hampshire’s State Forest Nursery, including how to be added to the mailing list to receive the 2022 catalog, visit the nursery’s website, linked here.

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