Hardy fuchsias are stunning beacons of color in the garden from early summer to fall and deserve much more attention from a horticultural perspective both in nursery production and on garden center benches. There are few other plant genera that are as useful in garden design as hardy fuchsias. They bloom from June until well into October, much to the appreciation of hummingbirds, who thrive on the sweet nectar from the flowers.

The genus Fuchsia was first observed by French botanist Charles Plumier on an expedition to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, now Haiti, and the Dominican Republic in 1696-97. Plumier is widely considered the most influential botanical explorer of his time. He named this new plant Fuchsia after German physician and botanist Leonhardt Fuchs, (1501-1566). Plumier published Nova Plantarum Americanarum Genera in 1703, a year before his death, where along with hundreds of other genera, you find the new genus and species Fuchsia triphylla. The vast majority of fuchsia species are native to Central and South America, with the exception of a couple of very interesting species native to New Zealand, F. exocorticata and F. procumbens.

Putting the word "hardy" in front of a plant name can be problematic, especially if you live in say, northern Minnesota, where the hardiest of fuchsias are certainly annuals. However, anyone gardening in USDA Zone 7 or higher can enjoy hundreds of fuchsia cultivars that will be reliably perennial. A trick I’ve learned to eek-out a little more cold tolerance is to plant fuchsias very deep, covering at least half of the stems so that only the top third of the plant sticks out above ground. Like a tomato plant, everything below the surface will quickly form roots, and the deepest roots will be 1-2 feet below the ground and more protected from winter freezing. Mulching heavily in USDA Zone 6b might help protect fuchsias from freezing. Even if you’re not able to over-winter fuchsias in colder climates, they are fast growers and are beautiful in the landscape as annuals. In maritime climates, fuchsias are definitely best grown in full sun with plenty of summer water. In hotter and more humid climates, they will benefit from afternoon shade.

In nursery production, a 72-cell liner will finish a beautiful gallon by April if planted in late August or early September and grown in a cold frame or greenhouse with minimal heat. The plants will establish easily through fall and go through a brief dormancy until late February. They will be blooming nicely for Mother’s Day, when you’ll have a robust root system ready to grow in the garden.

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Decker’s Nursery in Groveport, Ohio, is in the midst of a $250,000 solar project. The nursery is working with Ecohouse Solar to install two solar panel systems that will provide all the electric for its propagation barns and greenhouse which equals the size of three football fields. Decker’s, which is approaching its 100th year, provides local and national retail and growers with wholesale shrub liners, specialty conifer grafts and finished material.

Recently, Nursery Management editor Kelli Rodda sat down with Pam Dukes, special projects director at Decker’s, to find out more about this new solar project.

Nursery Management: What is the scope of the project?

Pam Dukes: We are installing two solar panel projects on our propagation side of the nursery. We have multiple electric meters throughout the nursery and are currently targeting two meters with the solar system.

One meter covers a barn, our actual propagation production area and part of a 400-foot tunnel. We have a total of 24 propagation greenhouses — 12 north and 12 south extending on each side of the tunnel that utilize energy to monitor mist systems, irrigation, fans, radiant in-floor heating systems, etc.

The second meter covers the balance of the 400-foot tunnel and associated greenhouses and a 3-acre greenhouse with computerized weather systems that trigger automated greenhouse roof adjustments based on environment diagnostics.

With an average nursery kilowatt per hour use of around 200,000 kwh a year, we are working on eliminating 48% of our current electric costs by implementing the two solar panel systems, and more importantly this mass consumption and its impact on the environment.

NM: What started the nursery even thinking about solar?

PD: It’s the right thing to do. This has been on our radar for years, and we were looking for the right opportunity. The reduction in price of solar panels and materials, as well as the government tax incentive made this year the right year for us. On top of using the sun to power us, we can also sell our SRECs (solar renewable energy credits), which is power generated but not used, back to the power company.

NM: What infrastructure is required?

PD: Part of our vendors program was to have electrical and structural engineers out to tour the structure and address any concerns. Direction and roof grade are taken into consideration to maximize the system recommendations. Fortunately, Decker’s Nursery builds ‘old school’ and our building is not only positioned optimally, the structural integrity can handle additional irrigation piping and the weight of the solar panels with ease.

NM: What are the pros and cons?

PD: The pros: we will reduce or eliminate our electric bills associated with those two meters, and over a year, the savings really add up. Solar will also give us a leg up on having control over rising energy costs. We can receive credit on our solar power produced but not used, and this adds to our savings and helps make the payoff period shorter. And the environment — one of our vendors shared that our system would be like removing 470 cars from service for one year, or the equivalent of 57,675 trees planted and grown for 10 years. Everyone can relate to those comparisons! The cons: Other than a temporary added workload to execute the project and managing the investment of this project — both of which we are happy to do — I have not come across any major cons. I will say that this should not be considered as a huge money maker and credit programs on SRECs vary from state to state, something to research prior to the commitment for sure, but likely not a barrier to proceeding with the project.

NM: How do you expect to benefit from it?

PD: Cost savings, helping the environment, being an industry influencer and it just feels good!

Cost savings and helping the environment are very important to Decker’s Nursery. If we can lead by example and hopefully influence others in our industry by sharing our experience and generate more solar projects, that will benefit not only our environment, but their bottom lines, as well.

NM: In general, what were your energy costs prior to solar and what do you expect to save?

PD: Based on the last 12 months usage for just two of our meters being outfitted with solar energy, we are looking at an annual savings of almost $25,000 on our electric bill.

NM: Were you able to apply for grants to help offset the costs?

PD: After heavily researching, we did not take advantage of the grants. It was a timing issue. The variables to eligibility and the likelihood of being awarded a grant are comparable to a lottery situation, and the grant application is not a simple process. If you have a larger scale project, are willing to work with and pay a grant writer and the timing allows (such as cut off dates of grant application periods) then it is certainly an opportunity for possible savings. Keep in mind that, depending on the size of your project, a grant writer fee can start at $5,000.

NM: Did you look at other alternatives?

PD: In a nutshell, no. We have had our eye on solar options for a while and our next step was to take advantage of the tax credit offered by the government.

NM: What advice would you give other nurseries considering solar?

PD: Do it! Not only for the long-term savings, but for the environment as well.

For more: www.deckersnursery.com

It certainly wasn’t the right time to buy a nursery. But how often does your big break happen when you’re ready for it? Wayne and Amanda Staehely founded Columbia Nursery on a dream and when Wayne’s dream property became available, they couldn’t let it slip by.

Wayne was bitten by the plant bug early. He grew up on a dairy farm in Canby, Ore., but he liked growing. His father’s friend, Steve Germany, ran a wholesale nursery in Canby, and frequent visits served as Wayne’s introduction to the business.

“I’d always go over there when I was a little kid, look at his operation and think ‘Wow, this would be fun to do someday,’” Wayne says.

He worked at retail garden centers in high school and had plenty of friends in the nursery business – including his college roommate, whose father owned a nursery. He transferred to Portland State University to be closer to his girlfriend, Amanda, and he started renting a five-acre spot in Wilsonville, Ore. to “get my feet wet.”

At the beginning, Wayne thought he’d be a propagator because he’d been intrigued by the art of grafting. He’d visit other nurseries, learn what he could and work for free.

“I’d go over to other nurseries and kind of hang out,” he says. “You ask a lot of questions and people teach you things. And then after the first couple of years I’d be grafting by myself and other nurseries would call up and I would go do piece work them or for friends that were behind on a certain variety that was time to graft.”

Wayne would graft for other nurseries during the day and do his own grafting at night. He came to understand the trading and bartering aspect of the nursery business.

“Scion wood is kind of hard to come by even when times are good, especially when you’re starting out,” he says. “If you grow up conifers, you have to have a significant number to produce a significant number of trees. You might get two or three decent pieces of wood off of one tree. And if you’re trying to do production in the nursery business, you really depend on other people that grow the same product to help you out.”

Wayne still dropped by Steve Germany Nursery, where he’d eventually work, first on weekends and later as a manager. Wayne spent a lot of time picking the owner’s brain. He learned a lot from Steve and his connections, which included John Mitsch – pioneer of dwarf conifers and owner of Mitsch Nursery.

“Once you show a little interest, [Steve] said, ‘Well, go talk to this guy. I’ve known him for 20 years.’ That’s how I got to network a lot more in the industry and ask the right questions and find out how to do a lot of things.”

Seize opportunities

By 2007, the couple was engaged, finishing school and outgrowing their own five-acre plot. In a stroke of luck, Wayne’s neighbors, who lived adjacent to his family’s dairy farm, contacted him with a message.

“They said ‘Hey, we’re looking to sell, we know that you need property to start a nursery, would you be interested?’ We said we were interested, and although I was just getting out of school and engaged, we took a big leap of faith and bought that property in Canby,” Wayne recalls.

The young couple remodeled the house and cleaned up the property. The nursery was the next step in their journey, but as it turns out, the Great Recession was right around the corner.

“It was hard when we started,” Amanda says, “because it was really slow in the industry and I think people were really concerned about taking a risk on a young person.”

Not that she necessarily blames them, but it did add to the difficulty of growing a fledgling business.

“It wasn’t an established nursery; they didn’t know how long we’d be around for,” she says. “It’s hard enough in a regular economy. Everyone was nervous to take a chance on us and they didn’t want to be let down.”

Amanda also grew up around the nursery industry, and she has even closer ties than her husband. Her parents own Simnitt Nursery, a wholesale nursery in Canby that specializes in rhododendrons and Pieris. She’s the office manager at Columbia Nursery, and has been a member of the Oregon Association of Nurseries board of directors since 2009, and has served as president of the Clackamas chapter.

Wayne prefers to grow different plant material than what Amanda grew up around. The nursery focuses on field- and container-grown Japanese maples and rare conifers. The decision to expand the focus to smaller deciduous trees as well was made by looking at the current trends in housing – yards are not getting bigger. So Wayne decided to provide colorful trees that won’t become overbearing.

“When I was new to the industry, I’d go around and just see some certain named varieties or certain things that did well and some that look great, but they’re just not going to be a great grower,” Wayne says.

That was enough for him to decide not to grow a particular product. If he knows it’s not going to do well in production, he’ll choose not to grow it because he doesn’t want to have to discipline a customer.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by cultivar fatigue. Especially when you can look in a Conifer Society book or a conifer encyclopedia and find 15-plus varieties of a slow-growing blue spruce. Wayne suggests whittling that number down, then doing the same thing for a weeping variety or columnar variety.

“What I try to do is, after seeing all these different varieties, single out the cultivar that is going to be the best,” Wayne says. “Then I just keep it true to name and keep the form consistent for the customers so they have a consistent product year over year. You don’t want to grow too many of one variety. Just focus on the best one that you’ve seen. And sometimes that changes. As an industry progresses, you’re always trying out new things for your customers, but you need to be consistent at the same time.”

Wayne chooses to graft his young plants partially by necessity, but partly by choice. Some of the woodier material could be propagated through tissue culture, but it wouldn’t be worth the time he would have to put into it. Cuttings aren’t always possible for woodier items; they grow slower and not as well on their own rootstock.

Sometimes he buys liners to bring in new stock or new varieties. But you aren’t guaranteed to receive what you order in the amount you ordered. For instance, if he’s looking for a particular blue spruce, grafting offers more certainty.

“You know the scion wood that you’re getting. If I order a ‘Fat Albert’ from a nursery, they could have been confused with ‘Backeri’ or ‘Hoopsi’ and so you don’t have to deal with the misnaming of varieties. And when you’re grafting it’s really up to you. But the reason I graft is because I enjoy doing it. It’s kind of a niche.”

When he grafts, he’s able to dictate his own numbers and create a hardier plant for his customers.

“Grafting isn’t just the motion of cutting the plant and picking the right scion,” Wayne says. “It’s the aftercare as well. There’s a lot more than you think. It’s not just a numbers game for that day. You’re not going to get anything to take if you don’t go into it with the aspect of ‘This is a living thing. I need to nurture it and really care for it until it gets established.’”

Another bold move

As the Staehelys managed to keep their business afloat through the recession and grow as a family, another opportunity arose. It was 2013 and Steve Germany, Wayne’s mentor, wanted to retire. He didn’t have any children and wanted to sell his business.

It represented a huge expansion for Columbia Nursery, but it happened within perhaps the craziest six-week span of the Staehelys’ lives.

They were finishing a large remodel on their house, the infrastructure on the existing nursery had just started to really come together and, to cap it all off, they had just had their first baby.

“It really was his dream,” Amanda says. “Like, he grew up with this guy. He was the one who gave him his first plant. It was kind of Wayne’s dream property, to be honest. And it was something we couldn’t pass up. He approached us and we had to do it then and make a big choice. But we did it and that’s why we did it.”

It may have been Wayne’s dream, but it wasn’t always Amanda’s.

“My parents had a nursery, so growing up I used to swear that I would never do this to my kids,” she says. “Spring break? We’re always going to go on vacation. That’s what I thought. I couldn’t believe that I was stuck at home every spring break while my dad was shipping out plants. Lo and behold, I guess it didn’t work out like that.”

The Staehely family has the hectic life of young parents, but with the added degree of difficulty that comes from being entrepreneurs. Both Wayne and Amanda work other jobs in addition to running the nursery. Amanda runs a pilates studio and manages the ballet portion of a dance studio in Canby.

The couple has three children, five-year-old Luke, two-year-old Emma and 11-month old Grant. Of course, having the kids are around complicates running a business, but it also makes it fun. They love getting their hands dirty, and they’ve been involved in nearly every aspect of the nursery’s work – save spraying.

“If a main line breaks, my five-year-old is out there helping us put that pipe back together,” Amanda says. “My daughter is playing in the office with me while we work and the 11-month-old takes naps in his pack and play.”

There’s really no other way it can work. The Staehelys receive lots of help from family and friends – their “army.”

Wayne and Amanda like that their children are growing up outdoors in an industry that is nurturing by nature. Not every kid gets to ride on the tractor with dad. They still face many challenges, as all nursery growers do. The No. 1 challenge is increasing labor costs.

“There’s just not as many people that want to do farm labor and that is absolutely the hardest,” Amanda says. “We’re constantly searching for more employees.”

Currently, Columbia has three full-time employees and three part-time employees. If they had their way, they’d have more to help with the heavy lifting. Some of their specimen conifers are 16 feet tall and 1,000 pounds.

“You can’t just load a truck with one or two people,” Wayne says. “You need some good numbers during shipping season. That tends to be when it’s the hardest to find people.”

Labor and legislation go hand-in-hand, and the current state legislature in Oregon has made life tougher for businesses like Columbia Nursery, Amanda says. That’s why she’s gotten more involved with the OAN.

“The OAN does so much, as far as lobbying against certain things, and we need it,” she says. “There were some bills this year that really could have crippled us and potentially shut us down if they had passed.”

Most of Columbia Nursery’s plant material is shipped east or to Canada. Rewholesalers and independent garden centers are the nursery’s main customers. After the 2013 expansion, Columbia has 120 acres available. They usually keep about 80 acres in production.

“People seem to be every year progressively more excited about plant material,” Wayne says. “When construction is good, the economy is good. Everybody gets excited and therefore you get more excited because you see the plants leaving more frequently.”

For more: www.columbia-nursery.com

Photos courtesy of Van Belle Nursery

Prides Corner Farms in Lebanon, Conn., sells container product to independent garden centers and landscapers across the northeast. That region’s market has evolved since the recession and many of Prides Corner’s customers prefer 3-gallon plants.

“It’s a strong 3-gallon market in the northeast, especially in New York and Boston,” says Mark Sellew, owner of Prides Corner Farms.

Instead of shifting up liner material, which takes labor and extra production time, Prides Corner uses RocketLiners from Van Belle Nursery in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada.

“We stick the RocketLiners directly into the 3-gallon container and can turn that product in one year,” Sellew explains. “That really enhances our market and helps keep costs down.”

RocketLiners are grown in specially made trays that were developed at Van Belle. Head grower Diego Martinez had been experimenting with new growing trays, trying to find a product that would improve drainage for better root growth. Diego and his team tested out different trays, and although each had something to offer, no one tray combined all of the solutions they were looking for. So, they designed their own tray that Diego says has superb drainage and supplies the right depth for excellent root training and plant health.

The RocketLiners are shipped potless through Van Belle’s FloGo Shipping System.

“I’m really impressed with the size of the liners and I really enjoy the fact that they’re shipped without the plastic pot,” Sellew says. “They go from the cardboard, recyclable tray right into the container. By taking out that plastic, they’ve helped create a more sustainable supply chain.”

Sellew, who’s a self-professed “brand-a-holic,” buys RocketLiners from Van Belle’s Bloomin’ Easy brand.

“I call it the millennial brand,” Sellew says. “It has a feel that’s different from some of the other brands out there. It speaks to the younger gardening consumer very effectively with its tag line ‘Plant, Water, Relax.’”

The brand offers consumer support such as how-to videos and tailored care reminders.

“We started growing the Bloomin’ Easy brand in decent numbers last year, and our customer like the feel of it – like it’s a little more exclusive,” Sellew adds. “The brand offers a value proposition for garden centers who want to be different and stand out with a more unique product.”