Throughout March, 44,000 Douglas firs grown at SSP’s plant nursery in Kalmar, Sweden, were planted in Niedersachsen. This is the first time that SSP has delivered rooted planting material with Conniflex-treatment commercially to Germany. As a first attempt, an order of Douglas firs was placed where German seeds were sown in Sweden in February 2018. The rooted plant system soon proved to be advantageous as the Douglas fir is sensitive to weather conditions during its first few months. Growing the plants in a greenhouse produced approximately 70 % more plants compared with traditional open-land cultivation.
Conniflex consists of a sand and water-based adhesive that functions as a kind of protective armour around the stem of the plant.
After these initial positive experiences with the Douglas fir, cultivation volume is forecast to double by 2020 and attempts will be made to do the same with larch.
