Believe it or not, West Virginia has a state tree nursery.
It’s called the West Virginia Clements State Tree Nursery.
And the state tree nursery has a superintendent.
His name is Jason Huffman.
Jason Huffman will be visiting Berkeley Springs on November 9 at 11:30 am.
He will be answering questions at a potluck lunch at the Morgan County Senior Life Services Building, 106 Sandmine Road in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia.
The presentation will be of interest to gardeners, naturalists and horticulturists in general. All are invited.
The state-owned tree farm was established in 1961, and encompasses some 126 acres, including seedlings or cover crop and 15 acres of seedbeds. It sits near the Ohio line in West Columbia, West Virginia.
The West Virginia Division of Forestry operates the nursery with four employees and twelve inmates from the Lakin Women’s Correctional Center.
The Nursery currently grows 22 species of trees.
Superintendent Huffman recently agreed to propagate two additional natives – the Yellowwood and Carolina Silverbell – from seeds grown and harvested in Morgan County that will be handed over after the luncheon.
Seedling sales of bare root trees, primarily for conservation purposes, have averaged one million annually over the past ten years.
Trees are available to order inexpensively from the Clements State Tree Farm.
Early orders are promoted because some species sell out each year.
The Nursery is experiencing difficulty with its seed deliveries this year and welcomes donations of locally grown tree seeds – these should be reasonably clean, kept cool, and labeled as to type when brought to the luncheon.
Those preferring an onsite Senior Life Services catered lunch instead of the potluck must pre-order – call (304) 258-3096 before November 3.
Questions about the event should be addressed to Dawn White, (304) 258-5422 or Potomac Valley Audubon at (304) 676-3397.