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You are here: Home / Issues / December 2023: Oregon is Nursery Country

December 2023: Oregon is Nursery Country

By Curt Kipp — Posted November 30, 2023

The December 2023 cover of Digger magazine.

With a record $1.37 billion worth of sales in 2022, Oregon’s nursery industry continues to grow. And if you want to know why, you can ask the families that are driving the growth.

Ask Jan, Cindy and Jason Hupp, who run Drakes Crossing Nursery in the Cascade Range foothills, founded 1967. They’ve made huge investments in the future, leveling new production space to grow seedlings for reforestation.

Ask Nathan and Angie Holmlund, the siblings who are taking John Holmlund Nursery, founded in 1968 with Mount Hood as the backdrop, into the next generation with field-grown and containerized material for nationwide markets. They are extending the legacy of what their father, John, started 55 years ago.

Ask Alfredo and Maria Fernandez, owners of AF Nursery, founded in the Willamette Valley in 2010. Starting from nothing, they’ve built a fast-growing operation that produces 100,000 trees, shrubs and liners annually.

Or ask Tom and Laura Dufala, owners of Bentwood Tree Farm, a specialty grower of cloud-sculpted pines and other handcrafted landscape material for Japanese-style gardens, founded 2011. They’ve been able to pursue their passion for natural beauty.

The nursery and greenhouse industry continues to be Oregon’s top agricultural powerhouse. Oregon continues to produce more conifers, more shade trees, more flowering trees and more Christmas trees than any other state in the nation. It’s also among the top growers of woody shrubs, while offering a wide assortment of annuals, perennials, houseplants, and other material as well.

That material makes the world better, with 75% of it going to other states.

Turn the page. Meet the passionate people behind four of Oregon’s finest wholesale nurseries. Learn how they have found opportunity and are pursuing their dreams.

They’ll give you a sense of why Oregon is Nursery Country.

Also in this issue:

COLUMNS

  • President’s Message: Our industry embodies spirit of Oregon pioneers. By Amanda Staehely.
  • Director’s Desk: The people must step up in 2024. By Jeff Stone.
  • What I’m Hearing: Olive trees are migrating north. By Mike Darcy.

Growing Knowledge, an ongoing series provided by Oregon State University in collaboration with the USDA and in partnership with OAN.

  • Program equips growers with knowledge to prevent and diagnose nursery crop diseases: Our mission is to provide nurseries and their teams with the information and resources they need to protect and improve plant health. By Luisa Santamaria

Download a PDF of this issue.

Please send your comments on the issue to editor Curt Kipp at [email protected].

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Filed Under: Issues, Uncategorized Tagged With: Digger, Digger magazine

About Curt Kipp

Curt Kipp is the director of publications and communications at the Oregon Association of Nurseries, and the editor of Digger magazine.

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

June 2025: Shrubs issue

May 2025: Sustainability Issue

April 2025: The Tree Issue

March 2025: The Perennial Issue

February 2025: The Greenhouse 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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Updates to exisiting subscriptions can be sent to [email protected]

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  • Mike Darcy
  • President’s Message
  • Digital Growth

Resources

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  • Advertise in Digger
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