Large containers generate weighty issues

They’re big, they’re bulky, they take up a lot of space and they’re in production for a long time. But large containers -- 65-gallons or better -- command a large price.

Equipment is the key to successfully producing trees in massive pots.

Little Gem Tree Farm in Saint Helena Island, S.C., grows trees in 65- and 100-gallon containers. Production manager Tina Cahill likes the large containers for “instant landscape” sales, she said.

Little Gem Tree Farm has been offering trees in large containers for eight years. The obvious drawback to containers that size is the labor needed to plant and move such an awkward item.

But the nursery uses an automated potting system. A custom-built hydraulically powered potting machine works in tandem with a pneumatic bridge crane and an articulating wheel loader to reduce labor.

The bridge crane has simple-to-use operating buttons, she said. And the mounted load balancer ensures easy maneuverability with its 700-pound lifting capacity, tight turning radius of 30 inches, and roller guides made from alloy steel.

“This push-type bridge is made of aluminum making it not only durable but lightweight as well,” she said. “The custom bridge crane also comes with a hook to attach straps that has enabled us to lift heavy trees by their trunks to remove them from their pots. This has greatly reduced damage to the trees in the repotting process.”

Help on wheels

Parsons Nursery in Georgetown, S.C., uses a combination of manual and automated help with its 100-gallon tree production.

Parsons harvests the trees with a Kubota R520 articulating wheel loader, said Brett Link, tree farm manager. Pruning the big trees can be challenging, but Parsons takes a low-tech approach with 12- and 15-foot ladders combined with 7-foot pruners from ARS, Link said.

More automation is on Link’s wish list.

“We’re coming off our first crop of 100-gallons, so we’re planning to buy more equipment to cut down on labor, such as a Tree Rex,” Link said.

Parsons grows 100-gallon magnolias, Allée elms (Ulmus parvifolia), Cathedral live oaks (Quercus virginiana), some red maples (Acer rubrum October Glory and Red Sunset), Hightower willow oaks (Quercus lyrata), Zelkova serrata ‘Green Vase’ and Leyland cypress. The nursery sells the 100-gallon trees primarily to commercial landscapers throughout the East Coast and Mid-Atlantic.

Heaving lifting

Ingleside Plantation Nurseries in Oak Grove, Va., started selling large containerized trees -- 65-, 75- and 125-gallon varieties -- to extend the selling season, said nursery president Fletch Flemer III.

“We’re primarily a B&B operation, but this was a way to sell to landscapers who needed material year-round,” Flemer said. “That’s the biggest advantage to growing large container trees. They’re available during times when you can’t be digging.”

To cut labor, Ingleside uses a pallet forklift to move the large containers and a machine with a lift pallet to trim the trees.

“All the equipment needed for these size trees is the main disadvantage,” Flemer said.

For more: Little Gem Tree Farm, (843) 838-4671; www.littlegemtrees.com. Parsons Nursery, (800) 327-4379; www.parsonsnursery.com. Ingleside Plantation Nurseries, (804) 224-7111; www.inglesidenurseries.com.

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- Kelli Rodda

May 2008