An Eastern hemlock seed orchard grows in the Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center, Cumberland Forest unit. The tree grew from seeds developed by the UT Tree Improvement Program in 1995 after they were collected from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The program planted the hemlocks in 2001, and clones from those trees were planted in 2023. In August, research associates Ami Sharp and Allison Mains flew drones over the seed orchard to survey it for cones after a visual survey was conducted earlier in the summer. They plan on comparing the two surveys to determine seed load ahead of seed collection in September.

Meanwhile, the program lifted rooted hemlock cuttings from misting beds in its greenhouse. Those clones will complete the clonal portion of the seed orchard.

UT-TIP began the hemlock seed orchard project in response to the nonnative hemlock woolly adelgid, which has decimated populations of hemlocks throughout the U.S. It says Tennessee will use the seed orchard for reforestation once conservation agencies gain control of the hemlock woolly adelgid.