Earlier this spring, all signs suggested that the nursery industry might be in for a rough ride. In early March, the World Health Organization announced that COVID-19 had become a global pandemic. Soon thereafter, states began declaring emergencies, closing schools and limiting large gatherings. Then came the stay-at-home orders and the closure of non-essential businesses, […]
Up and running — online
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For retailers, an unfortunate pandemic accelerates the trend towards online ordering It’s May, the month of Mother’s Day and, typically, the peak season for garden centers and nurseries in Oregon and around the Northwest. It’s the month when Americans usually spend close to $1.9 billion on flowers to honor their moms and when pastime gardeners […]
Mastering the merge
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Nurseries share the benefits of integrating wholesale and retail in one operation It was 38 years ago and Grace Dinsdale had just launched Blooming Nursery, a wholesale nursery in Cornelius, Oregon; just west of Hillsboro. Her goal from the get-go had been to operate as a wholesale nursery that could supply the industry with a […]
Proper credit
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Nurseries need to play it safe when it comes to setting payment terms In 2006, about six years after he founded JLPN Inc., a nursery seeding operation in Salem, John Lewis had finally reached a point where he was ready to begin operating on cash. Up until then, the business had been run largely on […]
Keep on truckin’
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Nurseries work closely with shippers to keep their products rolling Here’s something to think about: The top agricultural commodity in Oregon is nursery and greenhouse products. In 2018, nursery and greenhouse sales in the Beaver State topped $996 million — a quarter-of-a-million dollars higher than the No. 2 commodity, cattle — making Oregon one of the […]
O, Christmas trees
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The industry’s been on a rough ride, but some silver linings point to a bright future The years leading up to the Great Recession were merry ones for Christmas tree farmers in the United States. Consumer demand and spending were strong, prices were steady, and the supply was bountiful. The future looked bright as a […]
Growing at the right pace
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Marred by the recession, nursery growers are evolving along with the industry Over the past few years, Minnesota-headquartered Bailey Nurseries worked on breeding a new addition to its Endless Summer® brand of hydrangeas. Called Summer Crush®, the plant erupts in raspberry red or neon purple flowers, hues that are much bolder than the standard […]
Creating ‘standard work’
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Finding and reinforcing best work flows helps nurseries run a tighter ship Walk into JLPN Inc., a seeding operation and nursery in Salem, Oregon, and even if you’re not familiar with how to harvest or grade container seedlings, you’d soon be doing it like an experienced hand. How? Simply by looking at the laminated diagrams […]
Keeping things moving
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The Lean concept of continuous flow delivers big for Oregon’s nurseries Twenty people to five. A quarter-mile span to 20 feet. One week to 20 minutes. What do these all have in common? They are all some of the head-scratching efficiencies that individual nurseries across Oregon have realized since they’ve implemented one key Lean concept […]
The value of influence
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Nurseries strategically seek influence and recap the rewards About 10 years ago, Costa Farms launched a campaign called “O2 for You,” which was designed to play up the valuable role that houseplants can play in cleaning pollutants out of indoor air. The Miami, Florida-based horticultural grower — now one of the largest in the world — compiled […]
