From September 1st to October 15th, the Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF) collects a variety of species of acorns and nuts from local trees and sends them along to the Augusta Nursery in Crimora, VA to be cultivated into tree seedlings that will become the forests of tomorrow. Seedlings grown from Virginia-grown seed generally produce trees that will best thrive in our state’s climates. These seeds will produce next year’s hardwood seedling crop, which will be sold to Virginia’s forestland owners.
Interested in sharing your acorns or nuts, or possibly know where a healthy specimen tree is located? Visit Seeking Acorns and Nuts to Grow Seedlings to see the species needed for 2025 and learn how to get started!
Certain nuts can be difficult to find regionally, and availability can change year to year. At times, one species of tree in a region may produce minimal acorns, while others are abundant. This is why DOF encourages landowners and citizens across the state to assist in the identification of donor trees and collection of the seeds. The more trees that can be identified for collection, the more nuts can be potentially planted in the nursery.
Once collected in bags, the nuts must be identified and labeled, to even include a small branch if needed to correctly ID the tree. These bags can be dropped of at one of eight convenient locations around Northern VA. (Note: Collection bags are also available at all of these locations).