And the time has arrived to begin to establish a forest. All this needs spending but it will be richly repaid in the future. One solution is of course that we fetch plants and seeds from a forest nursery, but for smaller areas cheaper and from nature’s point oif view more appropriate solutions can be tested.

The best option for establishing a new forest is to use plants and seeds originating as close nearby as possible, which ensures the best suitability. The planting material can also be partly or wholly home-grown, but for this also seeds are needed. If none are to be found in the neighbourhood then material with checked properties has to be used.

Sometimes there are dense self-sown stands near broadleaf trees, from there a part can be dug up and planted further away. For spruces too this is useful.

Pines however grow best from self-sown plants, it is wiser to sow than to plant pine. It is vitally important in such a case to know the origins of the seeds. In our forests at the moment a great deal of Darmstadt pine grows, inherited from manor owners and not suited for our nature. In the USSR plant hunt planning too pine seed was collected from low trees; the hope for a good-quality offspring will not be realised, in the future they produce mainly gnarly, amply branched slow-growing trees.