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You are here: Home / Archives for Jon Bell

The (not so) big chill

By Jon Bell — Posted July 26, 2023

Plant sales have cooled off since the highs of the COVID era, but 2023 is shaping up strongly so far for the green industry It got cold in Atlanta this past winter. One day in December, the mercury topped out at a frigid 7 degrees. “I can’t ever remember a single-digit day since I moved […]

Filed Under: Nursery Operations Tagged With: Business, Digger, Digger magazine, OAN, OAN Members

Branching out with banking relationships

By Jon Bell — Posted June 21, 2023

Financing for the nursery industry can be tricky without a few financial friends Any business faces challenges, but nurseries have a unique set all to themselves. There’s nature to contend with, a perpetual shortage of labor, and the fact that crops planted today won’t be ready to sell, in many cases, for years. And when […]

Filed Under: Nursery Operations Tagged With: Business, Digger, Digger magazine, OAN Members

Spraying sustainably

By Jon Bell — Posted April 20, 2023

An intelligent spraying system can help growers reduce pesticide use, save money and better manage their crops Until about six or seven years ago, Hans Nelson and Sons Nursery in Boring, Oregon, would apply standard pesticides to its roughly 150 acres of shade and flowering trees using traditional air-blast sprayers. The sprayers, used throughout the […]

Filed Under: Nursery Operations Tagged With: Digger, Digger magazine, OAN, OAN Members, Pesticides, Wholesale Nurseries

The tribulations of big trees

By Jon Bell — Posted March 24, 2023

Growing bigger trees that will flourish in a changing climate takes a long-game approach For decades, tree-lined streets across the country — largely in the Southeast — would erupt in the bright white blossoms of Callery pear trees (Pyrus calleryana) every spring. Affordable, fast-growing and easily shipped, the trees had become the darlings of landscapers, […]

Filed Under: Nursery Operations Tagged With: Digger, Digger magazine, OAN, OAN Members, Plants, Wholesale Nurseries

Water, water everywhere?

By Jon Bell — Posted February 24, 2023

Western nursery associations team up to tackle the rising tide of water woes Glenda Mostek, executive director of the Colorado Nursery and Greenhouse Association, has a colorful way of sizing up one of the bigger issues facing the Centennial State’s nursery industry. “Whisky is for drinking, water is for fighting,” she said, quoting a phrase […]

Filed Under: Nursery Operations Tagged With: Digger, Digger magazine, OAN, OAN Members, Politics, Wholesale Nurseries

Boxing out boxwood blight

By Jon Bell — Posted December 27, 2022

Growers must work vigilantly to keep the fungus that causes boxwood blight out of their nurseries Boxwood is one of the most popular landscaping plants around. It’s evergreen and pretty, it provides natural privacy, it’s easy to maintain and it can be shaped into attractive ornamental topiaries. In fact, so popular is boxwood that it’s […]

Filed Under: Nursery Operations Tagged With: boxwood blight, Digger, Digger magazine, Pests and Diseases, Plants

Cool ridin’

By Jon Bell — Posted November 2, 2022

Refrigerated trucks are key to spreading the Oregon nursery industry far and wide When you think about it, it’s pretty amazing that, say, a young Autumn Blaze® red maple tree (Acer × freemanii ‘Jeffersred’) that starts its days here in Oregon can end up all the way across the country in a backyard in Boston. […]

Filed Under: Nursery Operations Tagged With: Digger, Digger magazine, OAN, Transportation

Assessing consumer demand after COVID

By Jon Bell — Posted July 21, 2022

After two banner years and still going strong, the nursery industry faces some headwinds Nearly three years in, and the story about how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the nursery industry has become well worn. Forced to stay, work and learn at home because of COVID, people started to pay a lot more attention to […]

Filed Under: Nursery Operations Tagged With: coronavirus, Digger, Digger magazine, Economy

Certifiably successful

By Jon Bell — Posted May 25, 2022

Sustainability-minded certification programs can help nurseries grow and improve Scholls Valley Native Nursery sits on 60 lush acres just outside Forest Grove in the eastern foothills of the Oregon Coast Range. To the west of the nursery, Roderick Creek rolls by before merging with Gales Creek, which borders Scholls Valley’s western edge on its way […]

Filed Under: Nursery Operations Tagged With: Digger, Digger magazine, Edibles

When you know what to grow

By Jon Bell — Posted March 18, 2022

When considering which trees to produce, several factors are important, but profitability is king What’s the recipe for becoming a successful grower of trees? Try one part climate and weather, another part land and inputs. Add in a solid team of employees and loyal customers, some business acumen and a dash of forecasting magic. Don’t […]

Filed Under: Nursery Operations Tagged With: Digger, Digger magazine, Nursery operations, OAN, OAN Members, Trees

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FARWEST SHOW UPDATES

Farwest celebrates 50 years in style

Farwest Show attendees choose Eclipse® Hydrangea as People’s Choice at New Varieties Showcase  

Farwest Show attendees select favorites for the Retailers’ Choice Awards

Youngblood Nursery Inc. wins Best in Show booth award at 2023 Farwest Show  

Variegated Frydek Elephant Ear wins Farwest New Varieties Showcase Judges’ Choice award for 2023

More Updates from Farwest

NURSERY NEWS

Darcy added to OSU agricultural Diamond Pioneer Registry

Nursery industry tops list of Oregon ag commodities

Fall Creek promotes Amelie Aust to executive board chair

Hall of Famers give gift towards horticultural industry advocacy

Verl Holden retires from Oregon Garden Foundation Board

More Nursery News

From the pages of Digger

September 2023

August 2023: Farwest Show Edition

July 2023: New Varieties Showcase Preview

June 2023: The Shrubs Issue

May 2023: The Sustainability Issue

More issues of Digger

The Value of Membership

Seeding the next generation of horticulture specialists

Farwest turns 50

Member Profile: Mahonia Nursery

More member stories

CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE

Virtual is the new reality – for now

Trade shows in the time of COVID

A demand ‘renaissance’ for nurseries

Western Nursery & Landscape Association falls victim to pandemic

MANTS 2021 to move online due to COVID-19

More articles

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