If you line up a contractor whose only experience is planting containerized seedlings, don't buy bareroot. If you purchase bareroot, find a contractor who has been successful with bareroot. Maintain Oversight of the Planting Operation. You or your representative should be on site with the planting crew to ensure that the operation meets your quality standards. You may want to hire a forestry consultant to manage or procure the contractor and planting job.
Some foresters are knowledgeable about longleaf.
Some are not. For assistance in this matter, contact your local forester with the Alabama Forest Commission. Or, to acquire a list of forestry consultants who work with Ion leaf pine in your area, call the Longleaf Alliance and request this information. Also, some of the larger timber corporations have landowner-assistance foresters that can help you. I Do not plant in dry soils.