Oregon is an ideal place for growing nursery stock — particularly woody material — and out of the many trees and shrubs we grow here, maples are always among the favorites. It’s only fitting that today, as the first Farwest Show nursery tour begins, the focus will be on maples. Five nurseries will be part of today’s Gen(i)us Acer tour:

• Crispin’s Creations Nursery — Molalla, Ore.
• Herinckx Nursery — Gervais, Ore.
• JLPN Inc. — Salem, Ore.
• Arrowhead Ornamentals — Hubbard, Ore.
• Brentano’s Tree Farm LLC — St. Paul, Ore.

All of these growers have a reputation for quality and innovation, and two — JLPN Inc. and Crispin’s Creations Nursery — have been featured in our Oregon: The State of Perfection series. Here is a video from Crispin’s Creations Nursery that we filmed in 2011:

Watch back later today for reports and photos from today’s tour. In addition to today’s Gen(i)us Acer tour, organizers have set up a couple of Acer displays for the Farwest Show expo floor, which will be open Thursday, Friday and Saturday, starting at noon each day.