16 CapitalPress.com
August 19, 2016
Bigger is better at this nursery
By JANAE SARGENT
Capital Press
Janae Sargent/Capital Press
Anthony Kinen, owner of Kinen’s Big & Phat Special Plants, stands
by his favorite tree on his nursery, the monkey puzzle tree.
Anthony Kinen grows the
same plants as a lot of other
nurseries, he just does it big-
ger.
“We grow the weird stuff
bigger than anyone else,” said
Kinen, owner and manager of
Kinen’s Big & Phat Special
Plants, near Gresham, Ore.
Kinen’s nursery special-
izes in growing large speci-
men-style trees. The idea came
from his father, Norbert, when
he started the nursery in 1998.
“He wanted to grow the
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trees larger so people didn’t
have a delayed gratiication
when they bought them,” An-
thony Kinen said.
He now grows more than
450 specimens of trees at the
16-acre nursery. Rather than
growing large quantities of
plants, Kinen said he grows
only one or two samples of
each type to sell to specialty
garden centers, wholesalers and
landscape architects.
“We’re pursuing a different
look, something that’s weird
that people haven’t seen be-
fore,” Kinen said.
Kinen relies on his relation-
ships with other farms and ven-
dors to decide which new spec-
imens to bring in. He also looks
online to ind gaps in the mar-
ket for large specialty plants.
One of his favorite trees is
the 10- to 15-foot-tall monkey
puzzle trees. They are native
to the high mountains of Chile
and Argentina. Kinen said a
few nurseries in the region
grow monkey puzzle trees but
none as large as he does.
He described his start in the
nursery business as an accident.
His father died in 2011, the
summer after Anthony gradu-
ated from Portland State Uni-
versity with a degree in interna-
tional business.
Kinen said he never planned
to take over the nursery but de-
cided he would give it a shot —
and really enjoyed it.
Having never before worked
with plants, Kinen said it was a
big challenge.
Kinen also attributed what
he learned and some of his suc-
cess to neighboring nurseries.
Customers, vendors and
neighboring farmers taught
him new things as well.
“We can be ierce compet-
itors but at the same time, it’s
like a family,” Kinen said. “I
wasn’t expecting how willing
people would be to share in-
formation when I got into the
industry.”
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