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You are here: Home / Archives for Nursery Operations

A season of nightmares

By Mitch Lies — Posted November 2, 2022

With low availability and higher driver and truck costs, shipping costs skyrocketed in 2022 For as long as Erica Hill can remember, Union Pacific railroad has provided the nursery industry with a special commodity rate to move stock during the spring shipping season. Until this year, that is. “With container availability issues and with the […]

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

Protecting your office against cyberattacks

By Ron McCabe — Posted November 2, 2022

Hacking and cybersecurity issues have been steadily increasing in the green industry. But for horticultural businesses facing a variety of challenges, addressing these issues is rarely the top priority. Nonetheless, this is an increasing issue that owners and managers should pay attention to. Cybercriminals target everyone. Cybercrime for hire is big business and is a […]

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

Seedling growers poke through scorched earth

By Erica Browne Grivas — Posted October 3, 2022

Seedling demand has heightened due to fires and a market surge, but growers must cope with rising fuel costs, labor shortages, supply issues and more.

Filed Under: Nursery Operations

Space limited for boxwood blight workshop on October 20

By Curt Kipp — Posted September 13, 2022

Five organizations are collaborating on a boxwood health workshop for growers set for 8:30 a.m.–noon Thursday, October 20 at the North Willamette Research and Extension Center, 15210 N.E. Miley Road, Aurora, Oregon. Registration is now open and is limited to 40 people; those interested can sign up online. There is a $15 cost.

Filed Under: Blights, Boxwood Blight, Nursery News, Nursery Operations, Plant Diseases, Plant Pests and Diseases Tagged With: diseases, Oregon State University, pests, Pests and Diseases

Lean outdoor growers ferret out waste, boost profits

By Mitch Lies — Posted September 12, 2022

Small margins and lengthy production timelines at nurseries mean that small changes implemented with Lean production techniques can add up to less waste and better margins — while better protecting workers.

Filed Under: Nursery Operations Tagged With: growers, mechanization

Retaining workers is more important than ever — and helping them progress is key

By Tracy Ilene Miller — Posted September 12, 2022

In the current work environment, where labor is short and positions are hard to fill, employee retention programs are just as important as recruitment, and have become a cornerstone of business longevity. Here we look at strategies to retain talent.

Filed Under: Nursery Operations Tagged With: Labor, Retention

‘A perfect storm of hurdles’

By Mitch Lies — Posted July 21, 2022

Container vendors deal with supply chain, labor and raw materials issues, which in turn affects growers and retailers In her 14 years as hard goods buyer in the nursery industry, Cheryl Atwater has seen economic cycles come and go, plant trends peak and drop off and markets surge and decline. Never, however, has she experienced […]

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

Assessing consumer demand after COVID

By Jon Bell — Posted July 21, 2022

After two banner years and still going strong, the nursery industry faces some headwinds Nearly three years in, and the story about how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the nursery industry has become well worn. Forced to stay, work and learn at home because of COVID, people started to pay a lot more attention to […]

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

A natural pairing

By Emily Hoard — Posted June 22, 2022

Retailers find success pairing houseplants with a new breed of hard goods Judy Alleruzzo has witnessed many different trends during her 35 years at Al’s Garden & Home in Woodburn, where she is the houseplants and perennials buyer. In the past six to seven years, succulents have been the go-to plants that reignited the houseplant […]

Filed Under: Nursery Operations Tagged With: Digger, Digger magazine, hardgoods, Independent Garden Centers, Retail Nurseries

Dealing with a known quantity

By Mitch Lies — Posted June 22, 2022

Wholesale nurseries find personal service and relationships are still key for making the sale Many nurseries no longer input orders manually, in some cases saving hundreds of work hours monthly. Smartphones have become indispensable as nurseries snap photos of plants and shoot them across the country in a matter of seconds. And in response to […]

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