These bulbs offer great color and fragrance with disease resistance, and some are native to boot When gardeners, landscapers and restoration managers look to buy bulbs, they’re finding exceptional and versatile material that meets their design goals and gardening aspirations. Breeders and growers are providing an outstanding selection of commercial bulbs, including tulips, daffodils, corms, […]
Growing at the right pace
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Marred by the recession, nursery growers are evolving along with the industry Over the past few years, Minnesota-headquartered Bailey Nurseries worked on breeding a new addition to its Endless Summer® brand of hydrangeas. Called Summer Crush®, the plant erupts in raspberry red or neon purple flowers, hues that are much bolder than the standard […]
Member profile: Kelleygreen Nursery
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When wholesale plant buyers drive across the wooden, one-lane bridge to access Kelleygreen Nursery, they typically don’t do it by accident. The grower of containerized Japanese maple varieties is situated on 22 acres of gently sloping ground that is nestled between forested Coast Range hills, about a three-hour drive from Portland, or about 45 minutes from Eugene. “If somebody comes here, we know they’re serious,” said cofounder Jan Kelley, who owns and operates the nursery together with his son, Kevin.
Green from the ground up
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Whether the customers are landscapers or retailers, the most sought-after characteristics in ground cover plants for pathways and walkways are the same. People want low-growing, low-maintenance, drought-tolerant, evergreen, flowering, noninvasive, deer-tolerant, durable and — gaining in popularity — rabbit-resistant plants. And it would be nice if they could also help with the dishes! Customers […]
Building your Lean team
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These analytical tools can help nurseries reach the next level of efficiency Last May, Digger presented the Efficiency Issue. We examined ways in which Oregon nurseries are making their operations more efficient, and we showed examples. Each nursery is unique. Our goal was to show off the ingenuity of some growers and inspire others to […]
Identifying value and waste
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The key is in knowing what the customer is actually willing to pay for The central concept of Lean is to identify process steps that add value and those that are wasteful, eliminating the latter to become more efficient. It sounds simple but isn’t. Rick and Elizabeth Peters own a Wilsonville, Oregon-based Lean consulting firm, […]
Creating ‘standard work’
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Finding and reinforcing best work flows helps nurseries run a tighter ship Walk into JLPN Inc., a seeding operation and nursery in Salem, Oregon, and even if you’re not familiar with how to harvest or grade container seedlings, you’d soon be doing it like an experienced hand. How? Simply by looking at the laminated diagrams […]
Organizing spaces with 5S
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The 5S methodology for storage and arrangement makes waste reduction far easier Many nurseries deploying Lean to make their processes less wasteful have found that organizing work spaces is a crucial part of their approach. To do this, they are deploying a Lean methodology called “5S.” The letters stand for 1) sort, 2) set in […]
Keeping things moving
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The Lean concept of continuous flow delivers big for Oregon’s nurseries Twenty people to five. A quarter-mile span to 20 feet. One week to 20 minutes. What do these all have in common? They are all some of the head-scratching efficiencies that individual nurseries across Oregon have realized since they’ve implemented one key Lean concept […]
Knowing our customers
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Last fall, I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Bridget Behe, a professor of horticulture at Michigan State University. She was giving a presentation on her research into the marketing of edible and ornamental horticultural crops, which is her area of expertise. If you are not familiar with Dr. Behe’s podcast, “Connect 2 Consumer,” I […]
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