Many of the seeds, and later cuttings, were successful and grew into viable seedlings. A year later the remaining seeds were sent to the southern Forest Service station in Gulfport, Mississippi (sycamore, loblolly pine, and sweetgum) and to the western station in Placerville, California (redwood and Douglas fir) to attempt germination. Somewhat surprisingly, it proved successful and the seeds started growing, but they did not survive long because the facilities there were inadequate. Stan Krugman collected the seeds and an attempt at germinating some of the seeds was made in Houston. Unfortunately, the seed bags burst open during the decontamination procedures after their return to Earth, and the seeds were scattered about the chamber and exposed to vacuum, and it was thought they might not be viable. Roosa carried possibly 2000 or more seeds in the cannister in his personal kit, a small canvas pouch that stayed with him as he orbited the Moon in the command module 'Kitty Hawk' in February, 1971. Control seeds were kept on Earth for later comparison. The seeds were classified and sorted, and sealed in small plastic bags that were stored in a metal cannister. Seeds were chosen from five different types of trees: loblolly pine, sycamore, sweetgum, redwood, and Douglas fir. Stan Krugman of the Forest Service was put in charge of the project and selected the seeds for the experiment. Ed Cliff, Chief of the Forest Service, knew of Stuart Roosa from his days as a smoke jumper and contacted him about bringing seeds into space. The project began after Roosa was chosen for the Apollo 14 mission. They stand as a tribute to astronaut Roosa and the Apollo program. Known as the 'Moon Trees', the resulting seedlings were planted throughout the United States (often as part of the nation's bicentennial in 1976) and the world.

Upon return to Earth, the seeds were germinated by the Forest Service. Packed in small containers in Roosa's personal kit were hundreds of tree seeds, part of a joint NASA/USFS project. Forest Service smoke jumper, orbited above in the command module. Five days later Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell walked on the Moon while Stuart Roosa, a former U.S. Apollo 14 launched in the late afternoon of Januon what was to be our third trip to the lunar surface.

Moon by Edgar Williams