The Seed Orchard

In 2002 Christie-Elite established a unique 7 acre seed-orchard at the Forres site, comprising a matrix of 40 genetically superior clones of Sitka Spruce.

• Christie-Elite was the first private nursery in the UK to establish its own seed orchard for the production of genetically improved Sitka spruce transplants
• Once the orchard is in full production, Christie-Elite will be able to offer transplants with superior growth and timber production traits currently only available from cuttings.
• The orchard is now ten years old. In 2010 we collected the first 200g of viable seed.
• Production should now steadily increase each year allowing us not only to be self-sufficient in genetically superior seed but also to be able to offer surplus seed for sale to our industry colleagues.