Digger magazine

Written to make you a nursery industry expert.

Welcome to Nursery Country

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As a nursery state, Oregon is known for its natural attributes. Great soil. A moderate climate with winter dormancy, so many different plants can be grown here. And, of course, an ideal balance of cold-season rain and warm-weather sun. But there’s also the remarkable vision that many Oregon growers possess.

Welcome to Nursery Country: Rare Tree Nursery

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Brent Markus is a rare individual, having built his own wholesale, retail and landscaping businesses from scratch by the age of 32. Perhaps that’s why his wholesale nursery is called Rare Tree Nursery. But really, it’s the rare plant material he grows: some 700 varieties of dwarf conifers, plus an assortment of Japanese maples.

Season forecast calls for milder temps, more rain

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Phil Volcker of ERF Weather Inc. is expecting that Western Oregon will see a milder winter this year, with above-average rainfall. He shared his thoughts with members of the OAN’s Willamette Chapter during their late November meeting in Salem. “I’m confident we’re going to see a very good water year this year,” he said. Volcker […]

OSU receives $3 million grant to study destructive pathogens

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Agrobacterium tumefaciens creates cancer-like galls on the roots of plants such as Gaillardia. (Photo by OSU Plant Clinic) Oregon State University announced plans to use a $3 million grant to study two groups of bacteria that result in millions of dollars in losses annually to the nation’s nursery industry. According to a press release, OSU researchers […]

Sniffing out osmanthus

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There are 23 species of osmanthus native to China, where the plants boast wide use and symbolic importance. But as garden and landscape plants in the U.S., the attributes of osmanthus are surprisingly underutilized.