JOINT ADVISORY COMMITTEE

FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF AIR QUALITY

PASO DEL NORTE

JAC TREE PLANTING INITIATIVE

This page is devoted to improving air quality by promoting tree planting. Why Trees? Trees produce oxygen via photosynthesis. Trees act as windbreaks and provide habitat for critters. Trees provide shade from that desert Southwest sun.

The JAC Strategic Plan discusses reforestation efforts in the Paso del Norte region. All communities in this region have ongoing tree-planting initiatives. Mexico's National Forestry Commission manages the Pro-Arbol program. The U.S. offers programs managed by the National Arbor Day Foundation among others. Texas Forest Service, New Mexico Environment Department, and New Mexico Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department (support forestation activities in the Paso del Norte region through tree planting drives and promotions. The JAC planted 2,000 pine tree seedlings in Spring 2007 and plans many more down the road.

If you received a packet of Pine Tree seeds PLEASE plant the seeds and try to grow a tree. Otherwise, go out to your nearest nursery, buy yourself a tree or two, and plant them in your yard or donate them to your favorite community group.

SO, what to do with that packet of seeds. Here are two simple methods of growing trees from seed. One is the old-fashioned way; the other is "The Other Way". Whichever way you choose please just remember to water each tree at least twice a week for the 1st 4 years of its life then once a week after that. Before long, the tree will find some water (hopefully not in your wastewater system) and it may take care of itself from that point on.

Growing Pine Trees from Seed

The Old Fashioned Way Use any kind of container that is 4 inches deep and has drain holes on the bottom. Use 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 perlite, and 1/3 vermiculite or any potting soil you have available. Plant 2 seeds per pot. Plant seeds 1/2 inch deep and cover with potting soil. Water thoroughly twice a week depending on humidity. KEEP OUT OF DIRECT SUNLIGHT during germination. Sprouting (germination) will take between 10 to 21 days. The seeds are very dry. Seedlings are ready for permanent planting when they are about 10 inches tall. Fertilize with Miracle Gro as directed on the container once the seedlings are 1/2 inch tall.

The Other Way Place the seeds in a glass filled with water to soak for 1 day. Use 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 perlite, and 1/3 vermiculite or any potting soil you have available. Make sure the soil is damp, not soggy. Place the soil in a tray and place the seeds on the soil & cover with a plastic wrapping paper. Place the tray in a refrigerator for 21 days. This is called stratification. Use any kind of container that is 4 inches deep and has drain holes on the bottom. After stratifying, plant 2 seeds per pot filled with potting soil as previously discussed.. Plant seeds 1/2 inch deep and cover with potting soil. Water thoroughly twice a week depending on humidity. KEEP OUT OF DIRECT SUNLIGHT during germination. Sprouting (germination) will take between 10 to 21 days.. Seedlings are ready for permanent planting when they are about 10 inches tall. Fertilize with Miracle Gro as directed on the container once the seedlings are 1/2 inch tall

SCIENTIFIC STUFF - Learn about the Scientific Classification for Pinus Eldarica

Classification:
Pinus brutia Ten. var. eldarica (Medw.) Silba
Kingdom - Plantae - Plants
Subkingdom - Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision - Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division - Coniferophyta – Conifers
Class - Pinopsida –
Order - Pinales –
Family - Pinaceae – Pine family
Genus - Pinus L. – pine
Species - Pinus brutia Tenore – Calabrian pine
Variety Pinus brutia Ten. var. eldarica (Medw.) Silba – Afghan pine or Mondale pine
Source: USDA

Glossary:
Germination: The process where growth emerges from a period of dormancy. The most common example of germination is the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm.

Stratification: Tree seeds must be subjected to a period of cold and warm stratification to break their dormancy before germination takes place, as it would normally in the spring. Stratification provides the period of cold by adding the seed to damp peat, sand or vermiculite and putting it in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for 21 days prior to germination.

Resources: A Guide to Forest Seed Handling, R.L. Willan