Colonel William F. Fox Memorial Saratoga Tree Nursery

Each year, the Nursery produces about 1.2 million seedlings of more than 50 different tree and shrub species. It maintains more than 150 acres of seed production areas and orchards across the state. By using local seed collected from around New York State, Nursery trees and shrubs are hardy and adapted to our state's climatic condition.

As a critical contributor to New York’s seedling supply, the Nursery is undergoing a holistic revitalization, with hopes of fully modernizing the facility and significantly scale up production capacity to contribute to the State’s goal of planting 25 million trees by 2033. In order to reach these ambitious goals, the Nursery is undergoing a modernization process including infrastructure changes, which will increase the annual production from 1.2 to 6 million seedlings. Additional planned improvements include the construction of a protective fence, upgrades to irrigation and water storage systems, reclamation of fallow fields, building restoration and consolidation, and equipment upgrades.

Spring Seedling Sale

The Nursery offers an annual spring seedling sale each January through May where the public can buy tree and shrub seedlings for a low cost. Consider buying New York-grown seedlings produced from local seed sources - it's an investment for your property that will pay off in healthier, stronger trees and shrubs for our future.

Cone and Fruit Collection

The DEC Tree Nursery is looking for seeds from certain tree species that will be used to grow trees and shrubs in New York State. The harvesting season generally beings in late summer and ends in fall. Harvesters are paid for cones and seeds by the bushel, with each species having a different price. Learn more about the species needed, ripening dates, and price paid for bushel.

Supporting Reforestation in New York State

Replanting Forests

The Nursery supplies a variety of trees and shrubs that are planted across New York State in places including forests, urban communities, roadsides, along streams, and schools. Additionally, the Nursery gives away a few thousand seedlings at the State Fair every year and provides many trees and shrubs for various DEC exhibits and special projects around the state. Trees and shrubs are also provided to the Department of Transportation, the New York State Energy Research Development Authority, and county Soil and Water Conservation Districts for special projects. Though seedlings start out small in the Nursery, they have a big impact towards beautifying communities, boosting environmental benefits and biodiversity, and building climate resiliency.

Restoration of Rare and Endangered Species

The Nursery has a complete seed processing plant, special chambers for germination testing, and a wide range of processes used to coax stubborn seeds to sprout. This capability has tremendous potential for restoration of endangered plants. In nature, seeds fail when they get eaten, get moldy, or fall in the wrong place. Very few actually have a chance to germinate and even fewer actually grow. In a controlled environment such as the Nursery, these fragile seeds are able grow into sturdy plants because they are protected during their vulnerable germination and seedling stage.

Dwarf Sand Cherry

Dwarf sand cherry (Prunus pumila var. Depressa) is a threatened species in New York State. This native, deciduous shrub:

• Has branches that grow close to the ground and can grow 3 feet tall and spreads up to 10 feet across.
• Grows well on gravely or sandy soils along streams.
• Can tolerate periodic flooding as well as drought due to its massive root systems.
• Is planted to help stabilize streambanks and used to create riparian buffers, which help to protect water quality and stream habitat.
• Is preferred in areas that have ice flow problems because its short height prevents it from being damaged during winter floods.
• Benefits a variety of wildlife that eat its fruit.

Additionally, The Nursery is working on increasing the availability of other threatened, rare, or hard to find species such as pawpaw (Asimina trilobo), Atlantic white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides), jack pine (Pinus banksiana), and sassafras (Sassafras albidum). Nursery staff is currently identifying long term potential New York seed sources and best stratification or germinating practices for these species.

Research Partnerships

The Nursery provides a test site for plant-based research and development in partnership with state, federal, academic, and non-profit groups.

Research on native plants can be challenging simply because of the difficulty in obtaining sufficient numbers of plants. The Nursery’s ability to grow rare and unusual species  makes it a valuable resource for native plant research. Current projects include:

American Chestnut

The Nursery works with American Chestnut Restoration Inc. to propagate chestnut seedlings that will be used as “mother trees” as well as used in plantings with the Darling 54 American chestnut tree. Darling 54 chestnuts were developed by SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry scientists and are tolerant to chestnut blight, a deadly fungal disease imported from Asia.  Darling 54 is safe, effective and stable, and will contribute to more resilient forests for future generations.

Preserving Species for the Future

The Nursery is insurance for the future of our forests. Storing sufficient seed to preserve genetic diversity of a species is vital for our forests' future. Seed of a threatened species can be collected and stored for the future to preserve a healthy range of genetic diversity and then when the species threat has lessened, restoration can begin by growing quantities of seedlings from stored seeds.

As part of the 25 Million Trees Initiative modernization efforts, it is anticipated that the Nursery will serve as the State’s seed bank, expanding seed storage with a new centralized seed handling and processing center. This new infrastructure will expand the Nursery’s seed storage, germination, and processing capacities eightfold.

Given the Nursery’s role in conservation plantings across the state, the Nursery’s fruit and cone collection program will pay private individuals to harvest cones and fruits by the bushel.  Learn more about collecting tree seeds for the Nursery.

Support the Next Generation of Environmental Stewards

Support forest conservation and enhancement by donating to the DEC Tree Planting Fund through the Natural Heritage Trust. Donations will help the Nursery provide free and reduced cost seedlings for programs including the School Seedling Program.

A Legacy of Conservation

The Colonel William F. Fox Memorial Saratoga Tree Nursery in Saratoga is the oldest state forest tree nursery in the country. When DEC established the Nursery program in 1902, the original priority was reforestation. Reckless logging and forest fires had left bare slopes that were losing soil to erosion, contributing to serious flooding problems and contaminating water supplies. The Nursery in Saratoga was established in 1911 as one of several State Nurseries across New York. In the decades before World War II, the primary mission of the Nursery was to grow conifer seedlings for water supply protection, soil protection, and for timber plantations to ensure a steady supply of lumber.

In the early 1930s the State began the reforestation system by acquiring abandoned farms. Most of this land had to be planted to protect the soil. Nursery production rose to meet the demand, and peaked in 1938 at 72.8 million seedlings produced for planting just in that year. These plantings were mainly accomplished by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

With the establishment of DEC in 1970, the Nursery's mission became more diverse. Along with traditional forest seedling production and wildlife shrubs, the Nursery also began to produce trees and shrubs for remediation, wetland restoration, riparian protection, with a focus on growing native species from local seed sources. Over the past hundred years, the Nursery has adapted to the changing needs of forestry and land management practices. The Nursery is an essential part of DEC that embodies the goals and mission in the form of living plants that support the multiple goals and missions of DEC. Since the inception of New York's nursery program in 1902, more than 1.6 billion tree and shrub seedlings have been produced by the State.
In 2019, the was renamed the Colonel William F. Fox Memorial Saratoga Tree Nursery. A civil war veteran who went on to become New York's first superintendent of forests, Colonel Fox is credited with establishing the New York State tree nursery program, putting forest protection under state authority, expanding the Forest Preserve, and being an early advocate of the importance of urban forestry.

In 2024, Governor Kathy Hochul kickstarted the 25 Million Trees Initiative by investing $25 million of Environmental Bond Act funds into a modernization project at the Tree Nursery. A complete revitalization of the facility with infrastructure upgrades and new construction is expected to increase nursery capacity eightfold by the end of the project. This new path for the Nursery will ensure a sustained legacy of contributions to conservation by the last remaining public nursery in New York State.

• A Century of Seedlings (PDF)
• Nursing Forests Back to Health (PDF)
• The Fox and the Forest (PDF)