Roadside Revegetation

IMPLEMENTATION GUIDES
A
B
Figure 10-72 | Stoolings baeds are
managed production facilities
Stooling beds can be cultured to prevent
the occurrence of insect galls (A) and fungus
cankers, such as Cytospora spp (B).
Reducing Costs – It might seem that collecting cuttings in the wild would be the least
expensive means of obtaining cutting materials. This is not necessarily the case. Inefficiencies
of driving to remote locations, pulling cutting materials to road ways, using make-shift cutting
practices, and working under severe winter conditions all add up to high costs per cutting.
Select Species Suitable for Stooling Beds
Poplars, cottonwoods, and willows are the species most often used in stooling beds. It should
not be assumed, however, that all species of the willow family are good candidates for stooling
beds. Some species have growth characteristics that reduce their potential. For example,
trials at the Colorado State Forest Service Nursery in Fort Collins have shown that narrowleaf
cottonwood (Populus angustifolia) and narrowleaf willow (Salix exigua) do not “stool” well
and must be propagated by other methods (Grubb 2007).
There is great potential for using other woody species that have the propensity to sprout
and form roots easily. For example, redosier dogwood (Cornus sericea) is commonly grown
in stooling blocks and used as a source of cuttings for restoration sites. Outplanting success is
higher than with wild cuttings collected on the project site, and has ranged from 50 percent to
90 percent (Hoag 2007). In North Dakota, twinberry honeysuckle (Lonicera involucrata) is being
investigated (Morgenson 2007). Native species that root easily from hardwood cuttings have
the potential to be grown in stooling beds to generate cuttings. Species that have inherent
deep seed dormancy characteristics, such as snowberry, honeysuckle, elderberry, and some
species of currants, could be more easily propagated in the nursery using stooling beds than
sowing seeds to produce seedlings. Species that have consistently low seed viability, such as
mock orange and ninebark (Physocarpus spp.), may also be produced more economically in
stooling beds.
The Plant Materials Centers of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service identified
the potential of a wide variety of woody native plants that would be suitable for stooling
beds (Table 10-15). For example, Crowder and Darris (1999) discuss which plants are suitable
in the Pacific Northwest and provide a wealth of information on the installation and culture
of stooling beds.
Roadside Revegetation: An Integrated Approach to Establishing Native Plants and Pollinator Habitat
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