These tips will help growers spend their business dollars wisely As a business owner, you want to spend your money on what provides true, long-term business value. Because nurseries can rely heavily on cash flow to keep their operations running, it’s important to understand where your money is going and plan for your capital investments. […]
Nursery Operations
Your efficient nursery business
Nursery profitability is always a challenge. We talked to more than a dozen growers and industry colleagues who have become more efficient, and increased their bottom line, by improving their management, workflows, inputs and workspaces. Whether it’s a daffodil or a giant sequoia, a plant is a relatively simple closed system. Its ultimate growth is driven by basic environmental factors such as light, water, soil and accessible nutrients. The nurseries that produce these plants, however, are much more complicated.
Managing for efficiency
Efficiency begins at the top. It starts with company leadership setting an expectation and empowering employees to contribute their ideas and expertise. It’s about encouraging dynamic, back-and-forth conversations in the workplace. Companies such as wholesale propagator JLPN Inc. in Salem, Oregon; wholesale grower Skagit Horticulture in Mount Vernon, Washington; Eshraghi Nurseries in Hillsboro, Oregon; wholesale […]
Plant Features
Natural by design
The concept of designed plant communities combines the synergy of nature with the order and beauty of horticulture Some neighbors are better than others. They’ll take in your mail, watch your dog or bring you soup when you’re sick. Then there are those who fight over boundaries or play their music at 2 a.m. So […]
Small, tall and packed together
The trend toward smaller spaces drives intensive use of perennials and grasses The midcentury ranch house with the huge yard is a thing of the past. Replacing it is the tall house with a small yard — and that’s changing the shape of home landscaping. Everywhere across the country, homebuilders are squeezing as many new homes […]
A houseplant awakening
Growers and retailers tap into a renewed interest in indoor plants Lisa Eldred Steinkopf is addicted to houseplants and has a huge collection to prove it. She recently published a 272-page hardback book on the subject, Houseplants: The Complete Guide to Choosing, Growing and Caring for Indoor Plants. “If I had only paid a dollar […]
The Value of Membership
Green trade groups adapt to the changing landscape
Nonprofit nursery associations continually adapt to help their members succeed Like many large nursery associations in the United States, the Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association (MNLA) has a big, broad spectrum of members it represents: nursery stock growers, commercial flower companies, landscape design firms, irrigation companies, arborists, lawn care business, mom-and-pop shops, massive agriculture operations […]
Measuring return on investment of OAN membership
OAN member benefits are designed to save members money and improve business outcomes Any experienced grower or supplier will continually evaluate the performance of their business. From measuring the intake of supplies for production or calculating the costs for off-loading inventory, a successful business makes continuous adjustments to streamline their operation. The Oregon Association of […]
