Organisations involved in greening activities are spending as much as Rs. 100 to Rs. 150 per sapling, since they opt for grown ones.
There is uniformity in the preference of Olirum Erodu Foundation, Erode Siragugal, Aram Sei and smaller organisations for saplings that are in excess of four to five feet.
They usually get the saplings from nurseries at the time of planting, and incur additional expenditure on tree guards.
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According to the Chief Executive Officer of OEF, Chandrasekar, survival rate of grown saplings was much higher than smaller ones.
The Forest Department, on its part, has also been distributing saplings of various shade-giving trees to factories and educational institutions. Several thousands of saplings have been raised in the nursery at Vellode Bird Sanctuary.