Field Nursery Production

Center for Crop Diversification System ProfileCCD-SP-6Field Nursery ProductionCheryl Kaiser1 and Matt Ernst2IntroductionField nurseries are the traditional method of producingand marketing ornamental trees, shrubs, fruit trees,and perennial flowers. Until the mid-1900s, nearly allnursery crops were produced in the field. Even withthe advent of above-ground container and pot-inpot production, field nurseries are still widely used.Some of the advantages of field production over otherproduction methods include: less maintenance andlabor requirements during the growing period, abilityof plants to overwinter in the field without additionalprotective measures, and lower start-up costs. InKentucky, most field-grown trees and shrubs are soldas balled-and-burlapped (B&B), meaning that the soilsurrounding the plant’s root system is dug with theplant and wrapped in burlap.MarketingNursery crops are marketed in several different ways. Retailers market directly to the end consumer,typically homeowners. This is most commonly doneeither through retail nurseries, which produce some orall of their own plant material, or garden centers, whichpurchase their inventory from a wholesale nursery.These businesses must be conveniently located forconsumer access, ideally near urban or high-trafficareas. Retail nurseries additionally require adequatespace and facilities for production, either on-site or ata nearby location. Mail-order nurseries also sell directlyto the end consumer, but their plantsare shipped directly to the customerrather than sold at a retail outlet. Thisis a great option for nurseries that12produce specialty plants and whose customers areplant enthusiasts located across the country or globe.The vast majority of mail-order nurseries sell eitherbare root or small container-grown plants (1-galloncontainers or smaller) due to high shipping costs anddifficulties in packaging, but larger plants can alsobe sold by mail-order nurseries if they are highlyvaluable. Wholesalers produce plants that are typicallysold in large batches at significantly lower prices tolandscapers, retailers, or other nurseries that growand resell the material at a larger size. Wholesaleproduction is usually most efficient when a limitednumber of plants are grown in large numbers. Re-wholesalers purchase large orders of variousplants from wholesale producers andresell the plants to landscapers requiringdiverse but smaller orders.www.uky.edu/CCD Landscapenurseriesusually produceCheryl Kaiser is a former Extension Associate with the Center for Crop Diversification.Matt Ernst is an independent contractor with the Center for Crop Diversification.Cooperative Extension Service Agriculture and Natural Resources Family and Consumer Sciences 4-H Youth Development Community and Economic Development

plants for their own in-house landscaping service, butsome may also sell plants at a retail outlet.Licenses and Shipping RegulationsAny business that sells plants capable of overwinteringoutdoors must obtain a nursery or nursery dealerlicense. In addition, businesses that sell plants toout-of-state customers should also obtain a license,regardless of the plants’ ability to overwinter. InKentucky, these licenses are obtained from the Officeof the State Entomologist. Additionally, shipmentof plants or plant parts across state lines can, inmany cases, require a Phytosanitary Certificate. APhytosanitary Certificate is also required for mostinternational shipments of plant material. Nurseriescan contact the Office of the State Entomologist todetermine if a certificate is needed and how it can beobtained.Market OutlookThe nursery industry is driven by new homeconstruction and healthy consumer spending, and thenursery sector was challenged by broader economicconditions from 2006 to 2012. Some economic growthsince 2012, particularly in housing starts for 2015-16,increased demand for many green industry products,particularly trees, shrubs, and sod. Nursery producerswill want to develop a business plan that takes intoaccount broader economic cycles while gauginguncertainties in the housing market. Consolidationin the green industry has also created large firms thatmay realize economies of size and scale outside thegrasp of smaller firms. Smaller firms may wish tofocus on specialty production, new market niches,add-on services and other activities adding value to anursery’s plant production.Nurseries continued cautious capital investments afterthe economic downturn, positioning for demand growthobserved in 2015-16. About one-third of Kentuckynurseries indicated in 2012 that they planned somecapital improvements, and many nurseries indicatedbeginning or continuing improvements in 2014.Nursery producers will want to develop a businessplan that takes into account the cyclic nature of theeconomy and the potential for a related uncertainhousing market.Production ConsiderationsSite selection and preparationThe primary consideration in selecting a site for a fieldnursery is the soil. Fields should be free of large stonesand hard pans that interfere with root development.Not only must the soil be fertile and well-drained, butit must hold together around the roots when plantsare dug as B&B products. Production of bare-rootplants requires a soil that will easily fall away fromthe roots. Bare-root production of trees and shrubs isnot common in Kentucky.Locations that flood periodically must be avoided.The ideal site has a slightly sloping topography (lessthan 5 percent) and offers water drainage to a pondor retention basin for recycling back to the crop. Areliable source of clean, pest-free water is an importantconsideration if irrigation is to be used.Knowledge of the field history, including previouscrops, herbicide use, and soil-borne disease incidence,is important in choosing the appropriate plants forthe selected site. If the field has previously been insoybeans, the site should be tested for soybean cystnematode infestation. The presence of this pest inthe soil could severely limit out-of-state export.Procedures to allow shipment of plant materials basedon plant pest quarantines or other restrictions arebased on the requirements of the receiving state and/or federal restrictions.Site preparation includes testing soil fertility soappropriate fertilizer applications and soil pHadjustments can be made prior to planting. Compost,animal manure, and/or green manure are commonlyincorporated into fields to increase organic matter.Although winter protection for field-grown plants isnot necessary in Kentucky, well-placed barriers canhelp reduce burn and desiccation from winter winds.Crop selectionThere are thousands of plants and cultivars producedand marketed by field nurseries. These includeornamental trees and shrubs, fruit trees, ornamentalgrasses, and woody small fruits. Most nurseriesproduce a variety of plants with known high marketdemand, while other nurseries produce specialtycrops, such as native plants or uncommon cultivatedplants. As is true for any outdoor nursery, the selectedspecies and cultivars must be well adapted to localclimatic conditions.

PlantingLiners are planted in rows between late fall and earlyspring either by hand or with a mechanical transplanter.Trees and shrubs should be planted in the field at thesame depth at which they were previously grown.Factors such as plant form, anticipated length of timeuntil sale, and equipment size must be considered whendetermining appropriate plant spacing. Sufficient inrow spacing must be provided to permit healthy,unrestricted growth until plants are sold; very narrowspacing can result in over-crowding and low-qualityplants. Tall liners, as well as those that are top heavy,may require staking during their first year.MaintenanceMany tree and shrub producers in Kentucky useirrigation only during periods of drought. However,routine irrigation may be more practical depending onplant species, size, spacing, and value. Field nurserycrops can be watered via overhead irrigation usinghand-moved systems or traveling guns, or via drip(trickle) irrigation. Maintenance fertilizer is appliedthrough side-dressing or through a drip irrigationsystem (fertigation).Field-grown trees and shrubs are pruned to controlsize, thin canopy, and improve quality. Shade trees areoften top-pruned in both winter and summer to ensurethat a central leader is maintained and the shape ofthe tree canopy is in proper proportion to the trunk.Shrubs are pruned regularly to establish a height anddensity for the planned market. Plants grown for thelandscape trade tend to require specialized pruning.Some growers root-prune either routinely or prior toharvest to increase fine root growth, which aides withplant survival during digging and transplanting. Treesmay need to be staked to maintain a straight trunk.Pest managementInsect and disease pests vary, depending on the plantspecies and cultivar. Management requires integratedpest management (IPM) strategies, such as plantingresistant cultivars, scouting, managing irrigationtimes, and practicing best management practices.A vegetation-free area needs to be maintained aroundtrees and shrubs in field nurseries. Methods of weedcontrol include mowing, mechanical cultivation,mulching, hand weeding, applying herbicides, andlaying down landscape fabric. Strategies for betweenrow (middles) weed management include covercropping (most often with fescue or crimson clover),mowing, mechanical cultivation, and/or chemicalmethods.HarvestPlants may be sold as liners, whips, or finished plants.The term Liner refers to any plant placed (‘linedout’) into a production system so it can be grown to alarger finished plant. Whips are plants consisting of astraight stem with little branching. Finished plants, thefinal stage of production, have all the characteristicsexpected in the marketplace regarding form, size,branching, and trunk size.Nursery crops grown in-ground are ideally harvestedduring the dormant season to minimize transplantstress; however, it is not uncommon for digging tocontinue through mid- to late spring. Summer diggingmay be done in small numbers in special cases forcustom orders. The time required for plants to reach asaleable size varies depending on the type of plant andgrowing conditions. In most B&B operations, plantsare harvested three to five years after planting.Plants are harvested either by hand or with amechanized tree spade. The size of a B&B rootball is determined by the caliper of the tree trunk.Immediately after being dug, the root ball is placedinto a burlap-lined wire basket. The burlap and wirebasket are then secured around the root ball to providegreater stability during transport. Once dug, rootsshould not be allowed to freeze or dry out. Potentialnew growers often inquire about the ability to rent orborrow tree spades from established nurseries. Thiswould be difficult to accomplish as these tree spadeswould most likely be used fully by their ownersthroughout the digging season. New growers woulddo well to invest in their own tree spade.Labor requirementsKey activities requiring labor include planting,pruning, weed control, staking, applying pesticides,irrigating, harvesting, and loading shipments.While labor demands for field-grown nurseries areconsiderably less intensive on a per acre basis thanother production methods, it is still the single greatestproduction expense in this type of nursery. A commonrule of thumb is to employ one worker for every 7 to 8acres in production.