I read the link and it is certainly a great approach to help communities in severe climate locations. It drives home what many on this and other forums have learned - a more mature seedling has a great chance to survive.
The product the man developed helps the seedlings survive long enough for the roots to get to the depth to survive.
A good post - thanks to the original poster.
Wayne
Yes, I agree with this. I ordered hackberry, yellow birch, and bur oak seedlings this spring from a local nursery, and what I received were much smaller than twigs. The hackberry were less than 1 mm caliper. The yellow birch had virtually no roots. Many of both of these, perhaps 2/3, have died. Maybe 1 out of 6 look healthy.
The bur oaks were 2" - 4" plugs. The bur oaks are doing the best, maybe 90%+ survived. Conditions are very wet in the planting area. This is a testament to the toughness of bur oaks.
We've had a very wet spring and summer in SE WI. There's standing water in a lot of farm fields where there's usually none.