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You are here: Home / Archives for Kym Pokorny

A tree with a peel

By Kym Pokorny — Posted August 27, 2021

Despite some pest issues, birch trees provide a distinctive, well-loved look Sales of popular birch trees in Oregon plummeted in the early 2000s when the bronze birch borer made its way across the country and began attacking susceptible plants up and down the Willamette Valley. The voracious insect had been plaguing states in the Midwest […]

Filed Under: Borers, Bronze Birch Borer, Insects, Plant Features, Plant Pests and Diseases Tagged With: birch, Digger, Digger magazine, plant features, Plants, Trees

A hotter trend

By Kym Pokorny — Posted June 28, 2021

Widespread wildfires prompt greater demand for fire-safe plants and landscaping As the wildfires of Labor Day 2020 tore through Oregon, the impacts on homes and forests were sevbere. The flames devoured a million acres of forestlands, and destroyed more than 4,000 homes. The impacts are something foresters, landscape professionals and nursery operators must pay attention […]

Filed Under: Plant Features Tagged With: Digger, Digger magazine, Oregon Garden, plant features, Sustainability, wildfire

Catching eyes — and customers

By Kym Pokorny — Posted June 28, 2021

An engaging trade show booth, with attentive staff working it, is a lifeline for businesses The Farwest Show is back in 2021, and for exhibitors, that means one thing — time to prepare your “A” game. Whether the booth is offering plants, supplies or something else, anyone involved in nursery trade shows knows a good booth […]

Filed Under: Farwest Show Tagged With: Digger, Digger magazine, Farwest, Farwest Show

The approachable container

By Kym Pokorny — Posted March 23, 2021

Helping consumers break the rules of design, for fun and profit Traditionally, annuals fill the shelves of garden centers come Mother’s Day. The beautiful pieces wait for customers to pile them into carts, move through the check-out line and carry them home to fill containers and hanging baskets. But the popularity of pots stuffed with […]

Filed Under: Plant Features Tagged With: Digger, Digger magazine, Plants

Cultivating the curious

By Kym Pokorny — Posted February 25, 2021

How retailers can engage with a flourishing generation of new gardeners As the pandemic gripped the world in early spring 2020, toilet paper, yeast and canning supplies weren’t the only products disappearing off shelves. Plants flew out of many garden centers at an unprecedented, or at least unexpected, pace. All of a sudden, everyone in […]

Filed Under: Nursery Operations Tagged With: Digger, Digger magazine, Retail Nurseries

Can-do conifers

By Kym Pokorny — Posted September 2, 2020

As home gardening booms, these unheralded trees shine as wise, low-maintenance investments In a northwest region surrounded by forests of Doug fir, Ponderosa pine, grand fir and hemlock, people could easily take conifers for granted. However, many gardeners recognize the versatility and minimal care that make them a staple in the landscape. Even before COVID-19 […]

Filed Under: Plant Features Tagged With: conifers, Digger, Digger magazine, plant features, Wholesale Nurseries

Reblooming is booming

By Kym Pokorny — Posted July 29, 2020

Consumers are drawn to new annuals, perennials and shrubs offering easy, continuous interest When many consumers approach a garden designer or visit a garden center, they know two things for sure: They want low maintenance, and they want color from spring till fall. “I’m looking for successive bloom,” said Jenna Bayer, owner of Jenna Bayer Garden […]

Filed Under: Plant Features Tagged With: annuals, Digger, Digger magazine, Perennials, plant features

The next genera(tion)

By Kym Pokorny — Posted February 26, 2020

Breeders diligently pursue what they hope will strike the market’s fancy and become a hot seller When the perennial craze hit the Northwest 40 years ago, some breeders were front and center with plants to satisfy the gardeners who couldn’t wait to create an English garden in their backyard. The passion for blowsy borders has […]

Filed Under: Plant Features Tagged With: Digger, Digger magazine, Plants

Exciting, unusual and underused shrubs

By Kym Pokorny — Posted July 26, 2019

Trees frame the garden, perennials clothe it, but shrubs give it the bones that bring everything together. Yet so many of these essential plants never make it into the landscape. Shrubs like the exquisite Camellia × williamsii ‘Night Rider’ from New Zealand with its deep maroon red flowers and brilliant, reddish-purple new growth or vibrant, […]

Filed Under: Plant Features Tagged With: Digger, Digger magazine, Home gardening, Landscaping, Plants, Retail Nurseries

A corner of the market

By Kym Pokorny — Posted February 25, 2019

The path of the specialty nursery has unique challenges and rewards There are many Oregon wholesale growers that offer something for everyone. For them, it’s all about variety — growing and shipping as much of what their customers need as possible. Specialty growers, by contrast, are a whole different breed. They pick one plant and […]

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

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NURSERY NEWS

In Memoriam: Melvin John Steffenson

New USDA Census of Hort arriving in mailboxes this month

Oregon Association of Nurseries honors the industry’s best at 2024 Convention

Eason Horticultural Resources is now employee-owned

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

Building trust is key to establishing clientele base for new nurseries

Five owners share their experiences on what it takes to start a nursery businesses

Bailey hires new CFO and chief HR officer

More Nursery News

From the pages of Digger

May 2025: Sustainability Issue

April 2025: The Tree Issue

March 2025: The Perennial Issue

February 2025: The Greenhouse Issue

January 2025: The Retail Issue

More issues of Digger

Pests and Diseases

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

$250,000 shifted to P. austrocedri research

More articles

FARWEST SHOW UPDATES

Sense of excitement prevailed at Farwest as nursery industry ‘Meets the Future’ 

Farwest Show attendees select favorites for the Retailers’ Choice Awards

Starway to Heaven™ Japanese Snowbell wins People’s Choice balloting at Farwest Show New Varieties Showcase

Hopper Bros. wins Best in Show booth award at 2024 Farwest Show   

Starway to Heaven™ Japanese Snowbell wins Judges’ Best in Show at Farwest Show New Varieties Showcase

More Updates from Farwest

The Value of Membership

Meet the leader: Sam Pohlschneider

OAN honors the industry’s best

Oregon Association of Nurseries honors the industry’s best at 2024 Convention

More member stories

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