Columns

Lending our future a hand

By Jim Simnitt — Posted March 27, 2020

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

By Jeff Stone — Posted March 23, 2020

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

By Susan Ford — Posted February 26, 2020

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

By Andy Peterson — Posted February 26, 2020

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

By Jeff Stone — Posted February 26, 2020

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

By Jim Simnitt — Posted February 26, 2020

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 […]

Gleams of an extended garden season

By Mike Darcy — Posted January 23, 2020

Former Portland Rose Society President Rich Baer sent me a photo that he took this past Thanksgiving from his garden. It was a bouquet of roses. I have lived in the Portland area for many years and it is not often I’ve thought of picking a full bouquet of roses at the end of November! […]

Success is the sum of many parts

By Jeff Stone — Posted January 23, 2020

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 […]

Instant gratification

By Jim Simnitt — Posted January 23, 2020

This past fall I was able to take time away from my nursery and visit a few of our new retail customers. It’s always great to get out and see how the retail sector of our industry is doing. One of the things that kept coming up was an emerging trend of “just in time” […]

Spending your first digital dollars

By Ian Doescher — Posted January 1, 2020

Beyond the ads you see on Facebook, Instagram, and Google, digital advertising may be something of a mystery to you. Many small- and medium-sized businesses aren’t sure where to start when it comes to digital marketing, because it is still fairly new and its landscape is ever-changing. Given the challenges, you may be curious about […]