Sam and Josh Hill with pine seedlings.
Access to tree seedlings for commercial plantations and biodiversity plantings has just become easier with the next generation at Hills Transplants growing the business. Source: Timberbiz
From what started 60 years ago as a humble backyard market garden at the family home in Don, Stephen Hill has morphed what his father John started into a multi-layered commercial enterprise.
Not only do the Hills grow seedlings for the forestry industry and agriculture producers, and raspberry cane propagation, but they supply the nation’s biggest grocery chains with herbs and other leafy greens year-round using the latest techniques and technology.
And now Stephen’s sons Josh and Sam are looking to diversify Hills Transplants even further and make it easier for Tasmanian landowners to access tree seedlings for commercial timber and biodiversity or riparian area purposes, trading as S & J Seedlings.
“We believe there is a market out there for us to grow to order certain species for landowners and farmers to plant trees on their land,” Josh said.
“The approach is customer-focused, catering to specific orders and delivering seedlings when required.
“If a farmer comes to us with a particular order for a specific species, we have quality seed for, we’re more than happy to pack the right amount and get them out the door exactly when they want them.
“Two or three years ago, we just started selling a few extra pines and eucalypts that we had surplus of at the time after we finished our pack out for the year… it was like we’d put in a hook we caught shark it was that successful.
“We’re fairly new at it and we will be kind of relying on someone to come to us with different lines that we could potentially use so, therefore, we can trial it and get the seed and then grow it.”
Josh said species they planned on producing seedlings for at varying levels and by demand and advance order included:
- Pinus radiata (Radiata pine)
- Eucalyptus globulus (Blue gum)
- Eucalyptus nitens (Shining gum)
- Acacia melanoxylon (Blackwood)
- Potential wood value species for a niche market, if managed correctly.
- Acacia dealbata (Silver wattle)
- Allocasuarina littoralis (Drooping sheoak)
- Allocasuarina littoralis (Black sheoak)
- Banksia marginata (Silver banksia)
- Primarily biodiversity planting species
- Melaleuca armillaris (Bracelet honey myrtle)
- Eucalyptus pauciflora (Little snowman)
- Corymbia ficifolia (Red flowering gum)
- Callitris rhomboidea (Oyster Bay pine)
- Melaleuca ericifolia (Swamp paperbark)
- Eucalyptus viminalis (White gum)
Josh said finding seeds for certain provenances requirements was difficult, with standard seedlings their leading market driver at this stage.
He said 12 months’ notice from the landowner would be ideal when placing an order to enable them to plan, order the seed and grow the seedlings.
Private Forests Tasmania forester Rob Smith said landowner interest is growing in niche species that have both biodiversity and a wood value outside of the traditional commercial plantation varieties.
“PFT is doing a lot of work in this space as demand for speciality timbers grows,” Josh said.
“In fact, one of our successful Stems for CO2 Program grant recipients will be planting Castanea sativa (Spanish chestnut) and Quercus rubra (Red oak) next year, which will provide us some great insights and a real example of what can be achieved.
“Many species have the potential to grow in Tasmania, but species selection depends on site requirements and other factors such as the site’s characteristics (climate, soil and other ecological factors), deciding which species and provenances are likely to thrive in the conditions and deciding which of one or more species, at the same time, satisfy the objectives of the planting scheme.
“There are more options for private landowners to consider now in planting for both biodiversity and potential timber harvest with alternative eucalyptus, cypress, hardwood species gaining traction as well as Tasmanian natives.”
For further detailed information on the species in Table refer to the Species Guides https://pft.tas.gov.au/species-guides
Before undertaking any significant forestry project, it is recommended that you seek personal professional advice directly from a forestry professional on the particular matter.
Visit Private Forests Tasmania’s online interactive Tree Alliance Knowledge Hub at www.treealliance.com.au for more information on site preparation, species selection, planting and managing plantations or the free Helpline on 1300 661 009.
To discuss further with S & J Seedlings or to place an order, contact Sam on 0407834659 or [email protected]
