Planning your planting project

SaskPower is committed to protecting the environment while operating in a manner that will, to the greatest extent possible, conserve natural resources, maintain natural systems and preserve natural diversity.

Each year, we produce and distribute nearly 500,000 tree and shrub seedlings free of charge to school groups, conservation organizations and individuals interested in enhancing and preserving Saskatchewan's environment.

Let us help you with your planting needs. We hope you will find the information within these pages inspiring, helpful and informative.

Why plant seedlings?

Planting, protecting and maintaining trees and shrubs can help us to:

• sequester CO2
• enhance the appearance of a particular area
• improve wildlife habitat by providing shelter and food;
• reduce soil and wind erosion; and
• reclaim marginal or disturbed tracts of land.

Where should I plant?

Once you have decided why you are planting seedlings, consider the site(s) in detail because it could affect the design and species of your project. Evaluate all possible limitations, including:

• topography and space
• water supply
• susceptibility to flooding;
• salinity, or the content of salts in the soil
• any previous chemical applications, including sterilants
• location of gas, power and telephone lines and poles
• restrictive legislation, including distance from municipal or provincial highways
• ease of access, especially by machines where necessary
• potential vandalism and pest problems
• climate characteristics of the area

Soil sampling can be beneficial, especially if you are unfamiliar with the site.

When you have determined both the limitations and potential advantages of the site, your project design and selection of species can begin.

Why is design important?

The design of a planting project is important to achieving your original purpose. Specific purposes will call for specific design characteristics that can help accomplish your goals. For example:

• A planting intended to attract wildlife would be designed in an undulating or curved margin to improve the amount of edge. This refers to the area where two habitats, such as grassland and shrubs, meet. The more edge available, the more wildlife will use the habitat. Edge also provides a degree of protection to wildlife as they feed along these two merging habitats. A wildlife planting design should also include a greater variety of species and more fruit-bearing species than other purposes and designs would require, as you will want to provide food as well as shelter.
• A shelterbelt planting tends to be designed in longer, straighter lines, to enable fieldwork with large equipment. Acting as a windbreak, this type of planting can be designed with fewer species than the wildlife planting, and with longer continuous rows of single species, considering such characteristics as ability to trap snow, density, height and volume.

What kinds of seedlings should I use?

Purpose, design, and the limitations and potential advantages of the site are all factors that affect the species of seedlings you will select to achieve a successful planting project.

Knowing what will grow best and where can be a challenge. Begin by looking around in your project area to observe what is growing well. Various native and non-native species are available for planting in Saskatchewan. Generally, plants that are moved outside their geographic range do poorly – especially when adverse conditions exist. A jack pine, for example, if planted in Swift Current, would not be expected to do as well as it would in its native habitat in Prince Albert.

For detailed information about conditions required by certain species, and about species best suited to specific limitations, view our Tree seedling guide.

Related links

Growing tips & tricks