As a former elementary school teacher, I wouldn't go with Arbor Day as their seedlings are hit or miss quality and it would be discouraging for your kids to have plants that fail through no fault of their own.

I have bought liner-sized plants by the flat from Western Maine Nurseries and they have done really well. I think they sell both seedlings and cutting grown plants and some are bare root. http://www.wmnurseries.com/âÂÂ

Another source for native plants is the NH State Nursery, which sells seedlings.
http://www.nhnursery.com

I imagine that others can chime in with other inexpensive, reliable sources of small or seedling trees as well. Some areas have small plants sold through county or state conservation organizations that you order and then pick up on a particular day.

I often plant in the early fall as soil is warm and temperatures cooler, so roots can grow and there is less water stress on the plant. If you plant in the spring you will need to visit frequently over the summer or set up a soaker hose on a timer during periods of drier weather. Some years our rainfall is fine here without supplemental water, but if we have a dry summer, you will need to have a plan for regular watering.

Flintsters, sounds like a nice project. First off though, you might want to investigate alternate sources for your seedlings. For whatever reason(s), Arbor Day Foundation has tended to not be a good source for planting stock. Meanwhile, there are numerous offerings elsewhere that will provide good stock at the proper time of year, which is generally going to be spring.

I'd plant about three feet apart, although I'm fishing in the dark here a bit, not knowing how long you will be "growing them on" in the raised beds. BTW, the fact that these are raised beds is of no consequence to this discussion-just the fact that this is a temporary location is what matters.

In terms of care, provided they have been properly planted, watering and perhaps some weed control will be about the only maintenance needs. Then too, depending on species selected and voraciousness of rabbits, etc. in your area, you might find that you need to fence or in some other way prevent herbivory. That should be about it. Write back if you still have unanswered questions.

+oM

arbor day is a nice place to make a donation ... but not a great place to buy stock ...

call your COUNTY extension office... and discuss this with them.. they might even provide a body for teaching ... see link ...

you are making this much more difficult asking the worldwideweb for advice ... though we do love you ... but use your local resources ... and keep coming back to us ... for questions during the process ...

they may also have an annual spring plant sale ... and if not them.. the COUNTY soil conservation district [probably in the same office] ... wherein you might be able.. e.g. buy 25 pines for 16 dollars or so ... i have no clue if vermont offers such ... so call you LOCAL experts ...

young transplanted trees.. will need water in the summer... so you would probably have to visit once or twice during vacation for such ... in a forest.. they could make it.. but when you are adding them to a playground.. in a raised bed.. you are so altering their space.. that you will have to take care of them on some level ...

here is a PDF link to copy/paste in your browser:

http://www.vtfpr.org/urban/documents/VTTree%20Guide.pdf

and before you do all this.. you better make sure .. that if you succeed ... you have somewhere to take them ... that part might not be as easy as you think ... the extension office might help you there .... and do understand.. that they would need to be moved.. within a year or two ... else they will get too big to move, and outgrow you little raised bed area ...... should you succeed wildly ... [which isnt all that hard ... believe it or not]

good luck

ken

also try this link for the planting process:

https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub

Here is a link that might be useful: look at the third link ...

Cold steam farms offers incredibly inexpensive seedlings and has a decent variety as well. Check them out as a good alternative to AD

Another one I like is itascagreenhouse.com. Grown in "styroblocks" so these are technically plugs, not bare root. Good people and lots to pick from.

+oM

how big do raised beds need to be.. to grow forest trees...

i am picturing a 5 foot wide bed next to the school wall ...

i am thinking 25 by 100 feet????

and then i would ask.. why raised... did we throw some decent soil on top of some bad clay???? ....

ken

I guess what confuses me about that question too is whether or not these trees are intended to remain here. Seems he did say transplant later. FWIW, and I know you know this Ken, raised beds are a great way to grow most anything. I was doing that with vegetables in the 70s! But for a temporary "growing on" nursery bed,, what matters is spacing (So you can dig later), accessibility (For pretty much the same reason), and having ability to water, fence, weed ,or any other maint. item that might come up. I know I've been pretty lucky with weather factors, but man, all the stuff I've planted in the last four years-if I'd fretted too much about this or that, I'd never have gotten anything done. As it is, I've got a small forest in the making. And hey, that's hooked onto a large forest!

+oM