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You are here: Home / Archives for Jon Bell

Virtual is the new reality – for now

By Jon Bell — Posted January 25, 2021

The nursery industry’s power trade shows go virtual in the age of COVID-19 Vanessa Finney can say something about the Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show (MANTS), one of the industry’s largest annual shows, that just about no one else can. She grew up with it. Literally. Finney’s father, Carville Akehurst, was the first executive vice president of […]

Filed Under: Coronavirus, Events Tagged With: Digger, Digger magazine, Trade Shows

Trade shows in the time of COVID

By Jon Bell — Posted January 6, 2021

The Baltimore and Minnesota shows plan virtual offerings for January Since 1981, the Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show has been held every year at the Baltimore Convention Center. One of the industry’s largest shows, it usually draws close to 12,000 attendees and nearly 1,000 exhibitors to about 300,000 square feet of convention center space. MANTS would […]

Filed Under: Coronavirus Tagged With: coronavirus, Digger, Digger magazine, Trade Shows

Plants on the move: Freight with uncertainty

By Jon Bell — Posted October 21, 2020

COVID-19 threw nursery shipping for a loop, but things settled and stayed strong Gary “Bert” Bertleson used to have it pretty good in the summer. The head of nursery over-the-road sales for Integrity Logistics, a freight shipping and trucking broker in Wilsonville, Bertleson would regularly take an entire month off in the summer. He was […]

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

Nurseries, COVID-19 and the economy

By Jon Bell — Posted July 29, 2020

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, […]

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

Up and running — online

By Jon Bell — Posted April 24, 2020

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 […]

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

Mastering the merge

By Jon Bell — Posted March 27, 2020

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 […]

Filed Under: Nursery Operations Tagged With: Business, Digger, Digger magazine, Retail Nurseries, vertical integration, Wholesale Nurseries

Proper credit

By Jon Bell — Posted January 23, 2020

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 […]

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

Keep on truckin’

By Jon Bell — Posted October 23, 2019

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 […]

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

O, Christmas trees

By Jon Bell — Posted September 26, 2019

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 […]

Filed Under: Nursery Operations Tagged With: Christmas trees, Digger, Digger magazine, Operations, Plants

Growing at the right pace

By Jon Bell — Posted July 26, 2019

  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 […]

Filed Under: Nursery Operations Tagged With: Business, Digger, Digger magazine, Economy, Wholesale Nurseries

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NURSERY NEWS

Terra Gardens owner’s gesture for his mother opens the door to other wheelchair-bound gardeners

OAN announces 2025 Friends of Nurseries award winners

OAN leads grower-driven Japanese beetle solution

AmericanHort president and CEO to step down

In memoriam: Bill Van Belle

Longtime employee buys Heritage Seedlings and Liners

In Memoriam: Melvin John Steffenson

New USDA Census of Hort arriving in mailboxes this month

More Nursery News

From the pages of Digger

March: The Perennials Issue

February: The Greenhouse Issue

January 2026: The Retail Issue

November 2025: The Transportation Issue

October 2025

More issues of Digger

Pests and Diseases

OAN leads grower-driven Japanese beetle solution

Prioritizing nursery pest challenges

New tools in the battle against thrips

Aiming for precision in pest control

Oregon’s nursery licensing program aims to keep the entire industry healthy

More articles

FARWEST SHOW UPDATES

2026 Farwest Show issues calls for speakers

Excitement, optimism prevail at 2025 Farwest Show

Dazzling plants, products garner Retailer’s Choice Awards

Youngblood Nursery wins Best in Show booth honors at the 2025 Farwest Show

Glow Sticks Fescue wins top honors from judges at Farwest Show’s New Varieties Showcase 

More Updates from Farwest

The Value of Membership

AmericanHort president and CEO to step down

OAN honors industry leaders at 2025 Convention

Meet the Leader: Patrick Peterson

More member stories

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