Section
SANDY, OREGON THURSDAY, APRIL 23. 1981
The
Post
Area News
Nurseries major
portion of the
local economy
The Sandy and Boring area contains some of the
best land in the country for nurseries.
And local growers are taking advantage of it
In 1980, Clackamas County grossed 20 million in
nursery sales which is the top amount in the state
and the Boring—Sandy area had a huge part in it.
“ Boring used to be the leading area in the nation
for nursery stock," said Cliff Paul, owner of Paul
Brothers and Alpine Nursery, 8655 SE Revenue
Road. Boring
Why is the Boring—Sandy area so rich in
nurseries?
“ A combination of soil and climate,” said
Paul,"it is the most ideal climate probably in the
world for growing ”
The soil is “good, heavy, soil with not much clay"
he said The top soil is two to three feet deep, which
allows for drainage
Dave Dillard, owner of Dillard’s Nursery, on 13265
SE Bluff Road, agreed with Paul
“The climate's perfect for growing plants," he
said. “ It ’s moderate — not too hot, not too cold and
there’s plenty of rain to keep the trees green "
There may seem to be a lot of nurseries in the Bor
mg Sandy area now, but there used to be a lot
more until housing in the area increased and zoning
became more strict.
“ The taxes became so excessive that the land was
sold out to developers," said Paul “ A lot of them
i nurseries), moved to Canby. Their land and taxes
are cheaper."
But now, because of the high interest rates, there
is a lack of building, which is hurting nursery
businesses.
“ Business is a lot slower this year than last," said
Dillard “ If the building and housing doesn't pick
up, we'll be out of business."
The recession has also hurt the nursery business
As the costs of everything else went up. so did the
costs for labor, shipping and supplies for nurseries,
according to Ray McNeilan, local extension agent
Labor costs were the highest because there are so
many extra hands hired in summer. So, the
nurseries, like all other businesses, raised their
costs.
About 95 percent of the stock grown in Oregon is
shipped out of state through brokerages, McNeilan
said The remaining five percent goes to retail
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nurseries and landscapers Ninety percent of
Alpine's stock is shipped to places like Utah and
Idaho They ship mostly pines, conifers, evergreens
and mugho pines and start shipping out in February
and April
“ We ship in accordance to the climate and en
vironment that they will do well in," said Paul. "We
wouldn't ship azaleas to the midwest because it
would freeze out in the winter.”
Dealing through brokerages is advantageous to
both the buyers and sellers
“ You’re selling large quantities," said Paul. " It
takes as much to sell one to 10 plants to a customer,
as it takes to sell loo to 500 to a brokerage."
There is also more security in dealing with a
brokerage.
“ You’re dealing with fewer people and more
reputable firms," said Paul "You know you'll get
your money from them "
Brokerages are also advantageous to the buyers
“ The company is large enough to supply the needs
of the buyers," said Paul, therefore the companies
won't lose through the market.
Growers need that security in case of a bad
season or bad weather conditions.
Severe winters can be a problem, said Paul,
although the past three years of ice storms did not
seem to affect most nurseries stuck However, the
older trees did feel the effects.
"Ice storms can be very bad if trees are too old,”
said Paul, "they will give in and break Young trees
are more flexible."
Dillard had no problem with the ice storm either
"Most of my trees just bent over and came back
up ” Dillard said
Most nurseries have plastic shelters called lathe
houses to protect plants from rain, hail and sun
Rain can also be a problem, because if there is too
much ram, the ground can’t be worked and if there
is not enough in two to three months it can cause a
problem, according to Dillard. But in Oregon,
droughts are rare
A lot of rain is especially good for growing
nursery stock especially in the months of April, May
and June which are the best months for selling
Soil, as well as the infamous Oregon rain, is a key
to the success of nurseries in the Sandy and Boring
area
"MBS.,
or.
Planting evergreens at Alpine Nursery in Boring.
stories, photos by Shannon Kelley
Local retailers diversify to meet the demand
While Boring and Sandy are
buried in a heap of wholesale
n urseries, only three re ta il
nurseries touch its ground
The oldest in the area, Janz Ber-
ryland, 37601 Highway 26 in Sandy,
has been su p p lyin g fr u its ,
vegetables, flowers and nursery
stock to local residents for the past
19 years
Anton Nigdek, manager of Janz,
is more partial to fruit.
"At fruits and vegetables. I'm a
professional and at shrubs I ’m a
semi professional," said Nigdek
Janz gets most of its fruit from
Hood River but gets 80 percent of
its nursery stock from wholesalers
in the area.
Since Janz first opened in 1961,
business has expanded, including
its nursery stock Janz carries
varieties of shrubs, bed plants and
fruit trees, but plans on expanding
its stock next year,
"W e re increasing our nursery
stock," said Nigdek. including
more ground cover and fruit trees
“ Next year most of the plants
will be in the lathe—house,"
Nigdek said
Nigdek has learned a lot about
the nursery business since Janz
first opened, including when to
order
"You have to plan in July for
(next) June, and the previous year
is when you have to order the
plants," he said.
Flowers are the favorite for
Nigdek at Janz and different times
of the year are good for different
types of flowers April, May and
June are the busiest months,
especially now with so many
holidays This month the popular
item is azaleas.
"We can't get enough of them,”
said Nigdek, “ that's our big
Mother s Day special "
Most of Janz's customers are
to give good advice to people.
"I learn 10 new things every
day," said Dube, "and it’s in
teresting to me because it doesn’t
come to a climax and stop "
Toney's F a rm M a rk e tin g ,
located at 42340 SE Highway 26. is
a unique type of nursery Owned
and operated by Anne Wickersham
and her husband, Toney's nursery,
not to be confused with Toney's
berries, began as a back porch
hobby that got "completely out of
hand." according to Wickersham
The business began one year ago
when a friend asked her if she
wanted a green house for her small
container plants she was raising.
The green house turned out to be
26-feet wide, so Wickersham decid
ed to start her own business.
Paul Dube of Wonderview Nursery does a little garden work on his lot.
from the Sandy area, with a few
from eastern Oregon and out of
state Over the year, Nigdek has
built up a trade with his customers,
"Dealing with the people is what
I like most.” Nigdek said, "with
basically the same people coming
back and back, we have built up a
reputation "
W o n d e rv ie w N u rs e ry and
garden center.located at 29300 SE
Haley Rd in Boring, opened for
business a month a n i- a —half
ago
F o r m e rly G le n d o v e e r
Nursery, the new business has
seen a lot of traffic since it opened
" I ’ve been surprised how well
we've done in the last month.” said
Paul Dube, who co-owns the
business with Kevin Sturdy
Like Janz, April, May and June
are the best months for selling, ac
cording to Dube
Wonderview stocks basical
ly rhododendrons, heather, flower
ing trees, ground cover (moss and
ivy), shrubs and bedding
Being sort of green in the
nursery business when he first
started. Dube has found that there
is a lot to know in the nursery
business
"1 knew a little at first but I've
always enjoyed it,” said Dube
Now Dube is learning more every
day
"We need to know how big the
plant will get. where it should be
p la n te d ,
about
f e r t iliz e r ,
chemicals, diseases, when to water
and how to protect..’ said Dube
"We try to give the customers
ideas on what might look best,"
said Dube, " It makes me feel good
Now, Toney carries everything
from azaleas to birch, from
rhododendrons to aborvitas, with
all the starters shipped from
Hawaii. Costa Rica and other
places.
Wickersham raises all the plants
herself and sells the seedlings to
buyers from California. Eugene,
wholesalers and retailers, but
mostly to individual customers
from Sandy, Estacada and other
areas
"I've gained an awful lot of
senior citizens by selling individual
plants," said Wickersham. "its too
much for them to buy a lot of
plants; here they can have their
pick "
Toney s has also diversified,
which means that when one pro
duct. such as berries, ir e in a
slump, everything else can be rais
ed.
"They sort of compromise for
one another,” Wickersham said
"A lot of businesses have diver
sified — it’s something to fall back