Find inspiration for your next conifer complements.

The conifer, Cis Korean fir (Abies koreana ‘Cis’)

I am sure everyone who has heard my nonsense knows that the best companion for a conifer is another conifer. If you were to pick one, the best one to pick is your favorite. Of course, my favorite is whichever one I happen to be standing by at the moment. Right now, I happen to be standing by Abies koreana ‘Cis’, so that is my favorite at this moment.

My garden is small, so to get 350 conifers in there you have to like small. Now can you believe people like other things besides conifers, even me, so that is where the other companions come into their own. I like to break it down into five categories trees, shrubs, perennials, (somebody told me rock garden plants were really perennials regardless of how small), hardscape, and people, yes, people.

A Stewartia koreana tree (Stewartia koreana)

Companion Trees for Conifers
First, are the trees. I don’t like many as “Conifer Companions,” but I like some and I bet you can add some to my list. To start, I like small trees. There are not many of those, but an Aralia elata ‘Variegata’ fits the bill. You don’t see many in the U. S. and I like things that not everyone has. Heptacodium miconioides flowers very late into September and the sepals, which are after the flowers, are better than the flowers. It also has white bark which gives it winter interest.

Another small tree you don’t see too often is the Chionanthus retusus which I call my olive tree. If you have a female plant, it will get green fruit, (the olive part) that turns a very pretty blue. I like this tree quite a bit. My brother and I also have several Acer palmatum, but they are in a pot, which we bring in on our unheated enclosed patio to keep them somewhat warmer in the winter. You see, they are not hardy in our part of Iowa. My favorite tree is our Stewartia koreana, which is the best tree we have in the garden. It flowers around the 4th of July, has great fall color, and the bark is outstanding year around.

The dwarf shrub, blue mountain heath (phyllodoce caerulea)

Conifers and Complementary Shrubbery
There are many shrubs and I like to stay to the smaller size. The small daphnes are outstanding, and I have about thirty of those. Also, the small heaths and heathers work well. Heaths for spring bloom and heathers for late summer bloom are both evergreen for year-round color. Stay with the smaller ones as some of the larger ones are too big for companions. You may be surprised, but some of the rhododendrons work well. Rhododendron ‘Purple Imp’ and Azalea ‘Red Elf’ are two that come to mind, plus they are evergreen.

Now if you like a challenge, Cassiope, Phyllodoce, and X Phylliopsis are what you want to give a try. They are very hard to find. They like acid soil and cool temperatures, which make them very difficult for me to grow in Oelwein, Iowa. There are other small shrubs that work well such as Gaylussacia brachycera, Kalmia latifolia, Pieris floribunda and many others that I bet you have given a try.

The rock garden plant, Saxifraga 'Rose Marie'

Rock Gardens Plants and Conifers
Now for rock garden plants, or is that perennials? It’s up to you. There are so many of these it is hard to know where to start or stop. To make it easier, I have a rule of thumb; the foliage cannot be taller than six inches. The flowers can be taller, but the foliage no more than six inches. We can’t have that foliage hiding our small conifers, can we? A few that I like are Androsace primmuloides ‘Yunnanensis,’ Aquilegia jonesii, Draba athor, Erigeron hybrida ‘Canary Bird,’ Gentiana acaulis and of course, the saxifragas. One that I especially like is Saxifraga ‘Rose Marie’ maybe because the flower stem is so short there is no chance to hide the conifer foliage. Now of course, there are many others that meet my stringent demands, but these are a few rock garden pants that I like.

From a gazebo to a path, everything that is not a plant is hardscape to me. You might have a fire pit, gnome house, bench, or a stream, that all qualify. My favorite we have is a teaching tree. Many things can be hardscape, but I think our teaching tree says it all. You can have a garden with a lot of neat plants, but you need hardscape to make it a true garden.

A teaching tree

Conifer Companions
Finally if you remember, I said in the beginning you need people. You have to have people to make the gardening experience complete. These may be friends you have made at a regional or national ACS meeting.

It might be those that have visited your garden. Or it may be friends at a Rendezvous in the Bickelhaupt Arboretum. Wherever you make gardening friends, they are the best friends you will ever have. So even though it seems impossible, there are other things besides conifers you can have and I hope you have a few.

Text and photographs by Gary Wittenbaugh.

Conifer of the Quarter: Taxodium distichum - Bald Cypress

By Jeff Harvey
June 29, 2017

Taxodium distichum - bald cypress

Taxodium distichum 'Cascade Falls' (Photo by Jeff Harvey)

Commonly known as Bald cypress, Taxodium distichum has always been fascinating to me. I have always liked the bark, and the natural shape is hard to beat, especially the silhouette in the winter time. They were designated the state tree of Louisiana in 1963. Native to wet and swampy areas of the southeast, they are very adaptable. You can find many growing in drier areas and even as far north as New York. One of the ways to tell Taxodium apart form Metasequoia is knowing your ABC’s. Fortunately for many of us, you only need to know up to C. Bald cypress leaves grow in a swirling pattern and originate alternately along the stem, so A is for alternating leaves, B is for bald, and C is for cypress. On the other hand, Metasequoia leaves grow opposite one another rather than alternating.

Taxodium distichum ’Jim’s Little Guy’(Photo by Sandy Horn)

One of the fascinating things about bald cypresses are the knees they make in wet conditions, known scientifically as pneumotosphores. Once thought to be a way of getting extra oxygen, they now are believed to be used in helping anchor the trees. Many trees have survived hurricane force winds. The knees are also prized by woodworkers and wood carvers. The wood is tight grained and very rot resistant. In the 1900’s, bald cypress was harvested for timber.

There have been a bunch of Taxodium seedlings and sports on the market lately. One, called ‘Twisted Logic’, was in the auction this year. Another twisted branched variety is ‘Crazy Horse’. Some choice witch's brooms include Metasequoia glyptostrobiodes ‘Matthaei’ and ‘Hamlet's Broom’ as well as the ever-popular Taxodium distichum ‘Secrest.' Other large varieties are Metasequoia glyptostrobiodes ‘Silhouette’, ‘Waasland’ and the dwarf Taxodium distichum ‘Pevé Minaret’. There are several weeping forms, including Taxodium distichum ‘Cascade Falls’ and ‘Fallingwater’.

Taxodium mucronatum ‘Oaxaca Child’ (Photo by Jennifer Harvey)

At our meeting in Chattanooga three years ago, Dr. David Creech gave a lecture on Taxodium. He also brought a bunch of numbered test plants he wanted distributed across the southeast to see how they did. Some were only labelled with a number, while others were named cultivars - ‘Jim’s Little Guy’ and one from Mexico, Taxodium mucronatum ‘Oaxaca Child’. In Zone 8, ’Oaxaca Child’ is evergreen, so he is really interested in how far north it is evergreen. Ours lost its needles in the winter but we have had no die back so far. The leaves do break dormancy a little later than our other Taxodiums. We are in Zone 7a.

David would like to know how both the named and numbered cultivars are doing, so please send your results to Dr. Creech at [email protected]. He would like to know what zone you are in as well as how yours is growing, whether there is any die-back, and whether it is evergreen in your garden.

Fertilizing Conifers
By Web Editor
November 22, 2019
Dr. Bert Cregg of Michigan State University answers frequently asked questions on feeding your conifers.

Nutrient deficiencies in conifers are linked to site factors such as unfavorable soil pH

Nutrient deficiencies are a common cause of reduced growth or poor appearance in many plants, and conifers are no exception. Unfortunately, the Internet and other sources are full of home remedies for nutrient deficiencies that are of dubious value as well as other misinformation about plant nutrition and proper fertilization. Below are some of the common questions which arise when dealing with nutritional issues in conifers.

What nutrient elements are needed for conifers?
Conifers, like all plants, require 16 elements for normal growth and development. Plants obtain three of these elements; carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, from air and water. These three are not considered when discussing nutrients which must be obtained from the soil. The remaining elements are grouped based on the relative amounts contained in leaf or needle tissue.

Macronutrients are elements which occur in relatively large amounts, usually 0.1 to 2.5% of leaf dry weight. These are nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, sulfur, and magnesium. Micronutrients are elements needed in relatively small amounts, sometimes as little as a per million of leaf dry weight or less. These elements are sometimes referred to as trace elements and include: iron, boron, manganese, molybdenum, copper, zinc, and chlorine. See table for abbreviated elements.

Are there certain elements commonly deficient in conifers?
Conifers, especially evergreen conifers, typically have lower nutrient requirements than deciduous broadleaved trees since evergreens don’t have to produce an entire new canopy of leaves every year. The likelihood of encountering nutrient deficiencies depends on several factors including the type of conifer and soil conditions.

In general, micronutrient deficiencies are comparatively rare since plant need for these elements is low, and most soils can supply them in adequate amounts. Some exceptions are iron and manganese, which can occasionally become deficient as soil pH increases. Nitrogen can become deficient since it is the element plants need in the largest amounts. Also, nitrogen is very dynamic in soils and can be lost by a variety of ways such as leaching, volatilization, and denitrification.

Magnesium and potassium can sometimes be limited in sandy soils that have a low cation exchange capacity and, therefore, a low ability to retain these nutrients. Phosphorus availability in soils varies widely around the country and even between locations within a region. Because excessive P can contribute to surface water pollution, it is important to establish a need for P before applying P fertilizer. In fact, some states have banned P fertilizers for homeowners, or require a soil test before applying P fertilizer.

How do soil properties influence plant nutrition?
Plant nutrient availability is inextricably linked to soil properties. Discussing all the soil factors which impact plant nutrition is beyond the scope of this article, but there a two key soil properties critical to dealing with plant nutrition; soil pH and soil texture.

For most plants, the optimum soil pH is around 6.5. This is because the availability of some elements decreases as pH goes above 6.5 while others decrease as pH goes below 6.5. For conifers, this “sweet spot” of soil pH is lower than for deciduous trees, usually 6.0 or even a little lower. Soil texture describes the relative proportion of sand, silt and clay particles in a soil. Ideally, soils should have a mixture of particle sizes since sand provides porosity and air space while silt and clay contribute to water holding capacity.

Clay particles, along with soil organic matter, also contribute to cation exchange capacity (CEC). CEC refers to the ability of a soil to act as a reservoir for important nutrients such as K, Mg, Fe, Mn, Cu and Zn. Conifers grown in very sandy soils with low organic matter have a potential to experience deficiencies of some of these elements.

How do I diagnose a suspected nutrient problem?
Diagnosing a suspected nutrient problem in conifers often requires some detective work. Visible symptoms expressed by a plant are usually the starting point. There is a common misconception that nutrient deficiencies can be diagnosed by simply matching the plant symptom to an image in an extension bulletin or website. In reality it’s rarely that simple. Several nutrient deficiencies can result in symptoms that look similar; N, Mg, and Fe deficiencies can all result in chlorotic (yellow) foliage.

It is also possible that symptoms may not be related to a nutrient problem at all. Drought, heat, insects, herbicides and other factors can produce symptoms that can be mistaken for nutrient problems, so it is important to eliminate other causes. A soil test that includes soil pH is a minimum requirement to adequately assess a nutrient problem. In many states, soil testing is available through university extension services, as well as through private labs.

Detailed instructions for collecting and handling samples are usually provided by most testing labs. The key step to remember is to collect a series of samples which are representative of the area where plants are having issues. Many university extension labs and private labs also perform foliar nutrient analyses. These will show the actual concentration of the essential nutrients in the leaf tissue. Again, detailed directions on sampling are available from most labs.

Foliar sampling is particularly useful in nurseries and large landscapes where it is possible to sample “good” and “bad” specimens of the same species or cultivar. By comparing the foliar test results of the two samples, nutrients that are deficient will often become apparent.

Foliar symptoms such as yellow (chlorotic) needles may indicate a nutrient problem but soil or foliar sampling are often needed to identify which element is limiting

Should I fertilize my conifers?
With increased public concerns over the impacts of excessive fertilizer nutrients on our surface waters, the days of recreational fertilization are over. Fertilizers need to be applied with a purpose. This requires identifying a specific deficiency through visible symptoms, a soil test, a foliar test, or, preferably, a combination of at least two methods.

When should I fertilize conifers?
Fertilizer nutrients are most efficiently taken up when roots are actively growing. For most trees, including conifers, this usually means during the spring. Avoid fertilizing in the summer to reduce potential volatilization in hot weather. Fertilizer can also be applied in the fall after budset, but there is potential for leaching if using a nitrate-based N source.

If a soil test indicates that soils are deficient in potassium, muriate of potash (KCl) is a commonly-used source of K. This is a fertilizer which has a high salt index. It is often applied in the fall to reduce the potential for fertilizer burn and to allow excessive chloride to leach out with rainfall and snowmelt.

What is the best fertilizer to use?
The best fertilizer to use is one that meets plant needs based on a soil test or foliar test. Where possible, look to use a fertilizer which addresses more than one need. For example, if plants are N deficient and soil pH is above optimum, a fertilizer that contains ammonium sulfate can help to add nitrogen and reduce soil pH.

Avoid applying excess elements that are not needed. For example, if plants are deficient in N, but a soil test indicates other nutrient are sufficient, use a source such as coated urea rather than a complete fertilizer such as 10-10-10, which will provide excess phosphorus and potassium that are not needed.

How much should I fertilize?
Most soils labs will provide fertilizer recommendations along with soil test results. This will usually include a recommendation for N along with any soil element that is deficient. Labs that are accustomed to working with homeowners may report fertilizer recommendations in pounds per 1,000 sq. ft. of ground area. So, if you have a landscape bed that is 10’ x 25’ (250 sq. ft.), you would multiple the recommended amount by 250/1,000 or 0.25.

Many agricultural labs will provide recommendations in pounds per acre. The key number to remember is 43,560 - which is the number of sq. ft. in an acre. So, for our 250 sq. ft. bed, the conversion is 250/ 43,560 or 0.006. Also, an internet search of “area conversions” will link you to many useful calculators.

How can I adjust soil pH?
If a soil test indicates that pH is lower or higher than the desired range, it may be possible to adjust pH either by adding lime to raise the pH, or applying sulfur to lower the pH. Most soil test reports will supply recommendations for lime rates to achieve a desired pH. In general soil pH adjustments will be easier to accomplish on coarse soils than on clay soils.

Liming is most effective when lime can be incorporated into the upper surface of the soil. For this reason, lime is often applied as a pre-plant adjustment. Surface application of lime after plants are established can be effective, but the effect will be much slower than if lime is incorporated. In agronomic crops applying sulfur to lower pH is less common than liming to raise soil pH, so soil testing labs may not provide recommendations for lowering pH.

The table provides some general guidelines for using elemental sulfur to lower pH. Soil pH can also be reduced by applying urea, ammonium sulfate or other ammonium-based fertilizers. Conifer gardeners may also apply products such as Holly-tone or Miracid to adjust pH. When using sulfur or fertilizers to lower pH, keep in mind that soil acidication is accomplished by soil microbes. So, it may take a year or longer to see the desired impact.

As with liming to raise pH, it is typically harder to affect a change on a clay soil than on a coarse soil. Lastly, the effect of the sulfur on pH is transitory and pH will drift back up over time, so be prepared to follow up with additional soil tests and re-adjust every three years or so.

Needle chlorosis in Mugo pine (Pinus mugo)

What is a fertilizer analysis?
Fertilizer analysis (or grade) refers to the chemical composition of a fertilizer. By convention, fertilizers are classified by three numbers such as 10-10-10, which represent the amount of N, P, and K in the fertilizer. The first number is the % N in the fertilizer. Thus, if a soil test recommended 1.5 lbs. of N for a 1,000 sq. ft. bed, we would need to add 1.5 / 10% (1.5/0.10) = 15 lbs. of product.

For P and K the numbers are little more complicated. The second number is the amount of P as phosphate (P2O5), and third value is the amount of K as potassium oxide (K2O). Fortunately, most soil tests will provide a recommendation based on the amount of P2O5 and K2O, and many commercial fertilizer bag labels now express the analysis in both the traditional N-P2O5- K2O format as well as actual elemental concentration. And, if all else fails, a quick internet search of “fertilizer calculator” will link to a number of excellent university extension sites.

What about foliar fertilizer?
Foliar fertilization refers to the application of liquid fertilizer directly to the foliage of plants to remedy a nutrient deficiency. Growers apply foliar fertilizers in certain horticultural applications such as bedding plants in order to overcome specific deficiencies and prepare plants for sale. Most conifers are poor candidates for foliar fertilizer because the thick, waxy cuticle on their foliage is a barrier to nutrient uptake. In certain situations, micronutrient deficiencies in conifers may be addressed with foliar fertilization, but a better approach is to understand and address the underlying soil nutrient or pH issues.

What about organic fertilizers?
Organic fertilizers include a wide array of products that supply nutrients from living or once-living sources. These are in contrast to most standard inorganic fertilizers produced synthetically. Some examples of organic fertilizers are composted manures, fish emulsions, bone or blood meal, and Organic Materials Research Institute (OMRI) – approved pelletized organic products.

We have conducted trials growing conifers with OMRI-approved and conventional fertilizers at Michigan State University and, given the same amount of nutrients, trees grew similarly and had similar foliar nutrition with both types of products. Some factors to consider in using organic products include material handling (organic products usually have a relatively low analysis so more product needs to be applied) and odors and attractiveness to animals for products such as fish emulsion or blood-based products.

Summary
Most garden soils can provide adequate nutrients to grow quality conifers. When nutrient problems occur, try to identity the underlying cause, which usually requires a soil test including soil pH. If fertilization or soil pH adjustment is recommended, focus on addressing the principle issue and avoid applying fertilizer elements, especially P and N, if they are not deficient. This will help to keep your conifers looking healthy and protect the environment.

Text by Dr. Bert Cregg. Photographs by Petr Kapitola.

Dr. Bert Cregg is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Horticulture and Forestry at MSU.

How To Start a Tree Nursery
By Robert Fincham
December 8, 2021

The Bloom Garden Centre, in Bressingham, UK (USDA Zone 9), is a retail garden center in England showing a method of displaying their conifers.

So You Want To Start A Nursery

Text and Photography Bob Fincham

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, my late wife Dianne and I owned a wholesale nursery in Oregon, while also making retail sales through Coenosium Gardens. I used to mail a quarterly newsletter to our customers about the nursery, sale specials, and plant stories. A few of the readers of this article may recall this newsletter: Mitsch/Coenosium Notes.

One of the articles responded to a common question from our retail customers who wanted information about starting a nursery. I felt it was appropriate to resurrect and update the article I wrote about that same topic. Specialty conifer nurseries used to be more common than they are today. There are advantages and disadvantages to starting such an operation. If the reader is thinking about doing something along these lines, perhaps reading this article will help in the decision making.

I have had many discussions with individuals who were thinking about starting a nursery. A tour of a nursery greenhouse and gardens filled with many different plants is intriguing and looks like fun. It looked that way to me in the early 1970s, and Coenosium Gardens started as a hobby that got out of control.

The very first question to consider is why enter the nursery business in the first place. Sometimes a person chooses the nursery business as a career from the start. They either always enjoyed working with plants or were part of a family business.

I have found that those who enter the nursery business as a career change do so for various reasons: dissatisfaction with a present career, the loss of a job, the need to do something less stressful, or retirement from another profession. Whatever the reason for changing, financial improvement is seldom a primary consideration. After all, the nursery business is a form of farming, and few farmers amass much wealth.

I knew most of the nurserymen when I started collecting rare conifers. They were running their nurseries as more of a hobby/business endeavor. Most of them wanted to gain extra income from their hobby while trying to enjoy it more fully.

It is essential to decide if the nursery business is a sideline or a full-time business, providing income for your livelihood. This choice will determine the answers to many questions about your market and the product you choose to grow.

One exciting facet of the nursery business is the friendliness of the people involved. There are very few firms or trades where a person starting out can obtain advice and assistance from competitors. The nursery business is such a field, within limits. I’ve had people visit and ask us how to do many specific things related to plant propagation. When they asked for free scion wood to start a propagation nursery, they did not understand why I said no. Most nurserymen are more than willing to lend a helping hand to the novice, provided, of course, that the newcomer is making a substantial effort on his own behalf. No nurseryman will allow himself to be taken advantage of.

My own retail garden center from my days living in Eatonville, WA (USDA Zone 8a). I had found a good niche doing mail order sales with some local sales. Seen here are the greenhouse at Coenosium Gardens.

The first decision most people make when entering the nursery business is about what to grow, what they like, not necessarily what they can sell.

For example, a person enjoys growing fruit trees in a home orchard and has even grafted different varieties onto some of his trees. So, the grower invests in a piece of land and lines out some young fruit trees. He figures that when the trees become large enough, they will be sold for a profit.

This same story can apply to just about any facet of the nursery business. Take the person who completes an extension course and decides what to grow through discussions with classmates and the instructor. Unfortunately, just like the orchardist, this person has put the cart before the horse. Unless a person takes a very systematic approach to enter the nursery business, the results can be disastrous. A neglected field of poorly grown stock becomes choked out by weeds, or, just as easily, an area of beautifully nurtured but unsold plants can be the outcome.

Several decisions must be made by the aspiring nurseryman. They do not necessarily have to be made in the order presented, but they have to be made.

A person should decide if they are going to have a wholesale or retail operation. There are fundamental differences between the two. The wholesale nurseryman must grow many plants of only a few varieties while dealing with a relatively small number of customers. This kind of nurseryman will be able to concentrate almost entirely on growing and working with the plants.

Seen here are the rear of the holding houses and the greenhouse at Lehighton, PA (USDA Zone 6a). The flattopped holding houses collapsed in a winter rainstorm; one of many rookie mistakes.

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Retail nurserymen handle a smaller number of plants with a wide variety. They deal with a much larger customer base than the wholesaler. Retailers must be more of marketing experts and know the growth requirements and landscape uses of a substantial number of plants.

Suppose a person enjoys working with many different people daily and a wide variety of plant material. In that case, the retail plant business should be considered. Suppose a person does not like to spend a lot of time selling plants and prefers concentrating on the nursery’s farming aspects. In that case, the individual should be a wholesale grower.

A newcomer to the nursery business must choose one or the other. Trying to do both retail and wholesale will usually mean that neither is done very well. There is too much dilution of effort. An experienced nurseryman can consider combining retailing and wholesaling into one operation, but care must be taken. A wholesaler does not want to compete with one’s own local customers by opening a retail area. Likewise, a retailer who opens a wholesale department will find many of retail customers expecting to make wholesale priced purchases.

Once the retail/wholesale decision is made, then marketing must be considered.

A course on marketing at a local community college can be a good investment for the new nurseryman, especially since marketing involves several parameters. Where are the customers located? The plants must be suited to their tastes and growing conditions. Where are the competitors? A retailer must be most concerned about the local competition, while a wholesaler must deal with local and distant competition. What kinds of plants are lacking in your marketplace? Are any of these things that the nurseryman would like to grow? How can a market be created for some of the items that you want to grow?

The decisions up to this point should have provided some direction about selling what is to be grown. Now it is time to make some specific determinations about the crops. The wholesaler may do some brokering but will produce the majority of what is to be sold. He must grow large quantities of relatively few items. The nurseryman must be a successful farmer as well as an astute businessperson.

On the other hand, retailers will purchase much of what they sell, growing a much smaller percentage of their crop than the wholesaler. They must work with relatively small quantities of many different varieties. However, even so, some growing is beneficial since some costs can be reduced. With a good plan, the retailer won’t have to worry about shortages of choicer plants.

My first greenhouse, Lehighton, PA (USDA Zone 6a), was built out of 2 x 4’s and poly. It was heated with a coal stove and sufficed until we moved to Oregon in 1986. My investment to start my nursery was minimal.

Marketing studies will help both the retailer and the wholesaler decide what material to offer for sale. The wholesaler should take things at least one step further. Attending a local trade show will provide a lot of useful information. Obtain catalogs from as many distributors as possible and find out what they are growing. Look for everyday items. Those are things that must sell well. Talk to the growers and find out what they have sold out of. Talk to other buyers and get a feel for the kind of things they want to purchase. Having open eyes and studying what others are growing will help determine what to grow. Most of what growers produce may be based upon other criteria; sometimes nothing more than gut instinct.

Do not just go to a nursery in your area and ask them what you should be growing. Do not ask a future competitor for their own unique methods of producing salable plants.

If you decide to be a grower, either as a wholesaler or as a retailer producing part of your own merchandise, you must obtain liners. Liners are the young, immature plants that will be grown into a salable product.

Liners must either be purchased from a propagation nursery or propagated in-house. Unless you are willing and able to expend considerable capital in obtaining stock plants and constructing propagation facilities, purchasing is a much wiser choice. With so many other things to learn, learning the art of propagation could dilute your effort. In many cases, in-house propagation is not as cost-effective as purchasing liners. The propagation nursery will also help make some decisions about items to grow but only if asked about specific plants. Even then, since a propagation nursery is not a grower, there is some guesswork involved.

If you have decided upon retail, you must determine what market niche you want to occupy. For example, do not try to specialize in one-gallon junipers and azaleas in an area where big box stores sell the same or similar items. Consumers shop for those items, and the small nursery cannot compete with the big box store’s buying power or prices. The smaller retailer must offer service and a product line unavailable at the big box stores. Do not ignore their store material completely. Carry some of their items to complement your main line.

Likewise, the small wholesaler should not specialize in commodity items (fast-growing, gallon material). The big commodity producers can profit by selling these plants cheaper than the small grower can raise them. Besides, commodity items are easy to produce and grow, leading to cyclical gluts and price wars between the big producers.

With smaller yards and a more plant-oriented public, homeowners are becoming more discriminating about their landscapes. Many small retail nurseries do quite well specializing in dwarf conifers, trees, and shrubs. The retailer must be well versed in the product to have good sales. Even a willingness to install small garden landscapes may be necessary for some parts of the country.

Bonsai have also become quite popular throughout the country, and some nurseries specialize in bonsai-suitable plant material. The retailer must be knowledgeable about the subject and must even be willing to arrange classes for his customers. A finished bonsai commands a high price to compensate for the labor involved in producing it, which often makes it a complicated item to market.

One major problem faced by all nurserymen at one time or another is how to handle unsold stock. Since plants are living, growing things, they always need more space. When plants are not sold within an allotted time period, they can clog the entire nursery. Be prepared to burn or discard more than a few plants almost every year when they do not fit selling cycles.

Having a special sale does not always work. Customers become conditioned and will often wait for these special times to buy plants, especially if end-of-the-year sales become a standard feature. Work with a few re-wholesalers who will take back plants that have outgrown your marketing scheme, in order to recoup some income. Or simply destroy the plants. Taking a smaller loss now is preferable to the more significant, long-term loss of being forced to use frequent sales to move plants.

The most serious difficulty for the nurseryman is debt. Avoid it. Sometimes debt is necessary to get through an occasional slow period in the economy, but borrowed money must be repaid. Suppose a nursery is servicing a large debt. In that case, that debt becomes a sponge, soaking up a considerable portion of a tight profit margin, under which all nurseries operate.

When starting a nursery, scale it to fit your expertise and budget, being careful that the two balance each other.

Gee Farms is a large, retail, rare conifer nursery in Stockbridge, MI (USDA Zone 5b), that is popular with ACS members. This picture was taken in July 2012 at the ACS National Conference in Ann Arbor, MI.

If you want to start a nursery, do your homework first. Growing and selling plants can be an enjoyable and very satisfying experience. Although it is seldom rewarding in a significant financial way, it is rewarding in ways that cannot be found on a spreadsheet. These other rewards should be the ones that make you want to be a nurseryman.

Coenosium Gardens is an example of the third type of nursery that is a modification of the retail nursery model I discussed earlier. It was a hobby nursery started by Dianne and me in 1979. I will mention a few things about its history as a model for any hobbyist who might be thinking of trying something similar.

It was during the summer of 1978 that I got the idea of starting a conifer business. I wanted to collect rare conifers. I had known for some time that I could not keep buying conifers on a teacher’s salary without some additional income. I also realized that I could not get collectors to share some of their treasures without offering something in trade. On top of it all, I had recently lost a few irreplaceable plants to rabbits. I needed a way to have back-up plants for rare ones that I had lost.

I had several significant decisions to make that spring and summer of 1979. First, would I graft to order, or would I sell from available inventory? I decided to do both. The new grafts would be shipped after June 1, while the older plants would go out in mid-April.

The second decision involved naming my new business. In 1980 I studied a dictionary of plant terms to find a name. I got to the C’s and came across the word Coenosium. It meant “plant community”. I figured that would be a great name. It was a name that would be unique to my nursery since nobody in their right mind would use a name that no one could pronounce.

My third decision involved advertising. I mimeographed my first plant list with brief descriptions and mailed it out to anyone who wanted it. I advertised in the publications of several plant organizations to find these people. I sent out over a hundred lists and got quite a few shipping orders in the spring of 1983. It would be my first shipping season. A year later, I published my first real catalog with pictures. The catalog that resulted set a standard. There was no catalog at the time of rare and unusual conifers for retail sales that included pictures.

I had converted most of the lawn area on our 2/3 acre into conifer gardens. Those gardens supplied the scion wood for propagation. I also had two blocks of container plants that I enclosed with white poly for the winter. Collectors used to visit regularly and were always so happy to leave with a load of rare conifers. They came from as far away as Cincinnati, OH.

Coenosium Gardens’ mail-order was proving to be successful and operated for thirty-four years. It was never a sole source of income but worked very well at paying its own way and financing my hobby.

Large wholesale conifer nurseries must limit their range of conifers to produce large numbers of fewer varieties. This one is in The Netherlands (USDA Zone 8a). Specific location unknown.