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President’s Message: Into the unknown

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Spring is a hectic time. Add in a worldwide pandemic with economic uncertainties, and it can be a recipe for disaster. The most unnerving aspect is the unknown. As an industry, we are accustomed to unpredictable weather. We see damaging frosts, rainy weekends, and hot, dry summers stressing the growing season. These are all hiccups […]

Up, down and all around

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Sometimes popular phrases never really disappear. They just go dormant and then come back again.  We might refer to them as being recycled, but I prefer using the word “dormant” since this is a garden column. The phrase “up, down and all around” was commonly used in garden training sessions in the 1970s and 1980s, […]

Lending our future a hand

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The nursery industry as a whole is mutually supportive. We help each other out. There is always someone willing to assist a fellow nursery or talk with someone looking to start a career in this great industry. One of the ways Oregon Association of Nurseries members help each year is to promote horticultural education through […]

Rationality is our friend

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The COVID-19 virus will most certainly impact families, friends and businesses. It is already causing tremendous disruption in the economy, not to mention knocking our daily lives off auto-pilot. In mid-March, I communicated with our membership the need to embrace that fear is not our friend — rationality is. We provided reliable resources people can […]

Protections for your selections

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Breeders and growers looking to protect their work have several available options There are a multitude of options for intellectual property (IP) protection for plants and plant-based inventions in the United States. A well-honed IP strategy can result in innovation and growth for just about any nursery stock producer, retailer, landscaper and related companies serving […]

Knowing customer needs before they do

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You’ve got a great location. You’ve got massive inventory lined up on nursery benches. Perhaps, you even have indoor lines of merchandise, such as home décor and clothing. As far as you can tell, you’ve got everything a good nursery or garden center should have. So, why aren’t people buying anything? Accurately anticipating your customers’ […]

Sticking together on big pest issues

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Nursery and greenhouse operators face an ever-increasing set of opportunities and challenges. Few are more daunting, or more of a game changer, than pest and disease issues. Oregon has a stellar reputation of producing quality plant material, which is shipped throughout the Pacific Northwest, the nation and internationally. Faced with uncertainty regarding the spread of […]

Our voice matters

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In February, I joined a group of the OAN’s Government Relations Committee members on a trip to Salem. We met with legislators to talk about the current session and how multiple bills directly relate to, and impact, our nursery industry.  Ten or more years ago, this would have been an “off year” — the legislature would […]

Success is the sum of many parts

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The nursery and greenhouse industry is chock full of successful operations — companies that have grown with the industry over time. To achieve that kind of lasting success requires a strong vision, as well as an ability to build a sound team to execute it. I’ve been fortunate to participate in successful teams multiple times […]