Retailers and growers can fill the demand for nutrient-rich berries, fruits and vegetables A show of hands for those who think “superfood” when loading bananas in the supermarket shopping cart. No takers? No surprise. Even though bananas are touted as a good source of fiber and potassium, folate, vitamin C and B6, and other antioxidants and […]
About Tracy Ilene Miller
Meeting online customer expectations
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Prepare before jumping into online retail, lest the opportunity become a pitfall COVID-19 pushed many garden centers to catch the growing wave of online shopping. E-commerce sales are forecasted to account for nearly a fifth of all U.S. retail sales by 2025, according to Statista. Total retail e-commerce sales in 2021 increased 17.9%, according to […]
Unsung perennials
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A treasure trove of options is available for those who want to go beyond the staples Thousands of books are written about them, as are poems, and there are even songs sung about the flowers we know as perennials. Perennials are the backbone of most garden designs and some container gardens, as well. Consumers adore […]
Competing for key personnel
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Nurseries dangle remote work, added benefits and work-life flexibility to attract top talent The nursery industry has struggled with labor shortages for years. It started with field, farm, and greenhouse workers, and more recently has grown to include the key roles of propagators, growers, sales representatives, and managers. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, horticulture and […]
The impervious barberry
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These top-selling shrubs are durable, beautiful and deer resistant Oregon is the number one producer of barberry, selling $7.7 million worth in 2019, according to the USDA Census of Horticultural Specialties. That’s 39% of a nearly $20 million national market, mostly attributed to Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii), a plant that has taken a hit with […]
A hearty appetite for edibles
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Growers find they can’t grow enough edible plants, and retailers can’t keep them in stock In March 2020, U.S. governors began rolling out stay-at-home orders, including in Oregon, because of the coronavirus known as COVID-19. Not long after, Americans in lockdown turned their attention to edible gardening any way they could — in containers, in […]
The foundation of learning
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Growing minds: Part 1 Oregon’s higher horticulture education programs feed the pipeline of nursery talent When Ryan Contreras, associate professor at Oregon State University (OSU) in Corvallis, Oregon, talks to students with an interest in plants and the horticulture program, one point inevitably rises to the top. “I can guarantee you a job in the […]
Flowering cherry trees then and now
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Flowering cherry trees remain popular, from old mainstays to new selections, with more on the way It’s March, and soon showy displays of Japanese flowering cherry trees will trumpet their annual announcement that spring has arrived. Thus, consumers will be prompted to head to garden centers with hopes of adding the ephemeral beauty of these […]
Tough and beautiful
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Spireas are mainstays of the shrub world, thanks to their gorgeous blooms and steadfast demeanor Timing is everything with Japanese spirea (Spiraea japonica). The time is now — as in no later than early March for a hard pruning — for this tough, summer-flowering shrub that blooms on new wood. Yet, pruning can be a […]
Tough, tall and reliable
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Honeylocust provides abundant shade, grows quickly and adapts well to extreme conditions Acer (maple) and Quercus (oak) may monopolize spotlights on shade trees, but Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis (honeylocust) holds its own as a major crop and it’s an important addition to the catalog of reliable tall trees. Oregon nurseries grow more honeylocust than any […]
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