Earl Ray and his family, of Conestoga Nursery in Lancaster County, PA, have been in growing perennials, shrubs and trees for retail and wholesale for more than 40 years. Today, the third generation of the family is involved in the business, growing and helping with the retail segment.
Ray shared what he’s learned about the business at the Crop Growing Expo held recently in Lancaster County.
“Back in the early days, Mom and Dad needed a day off,” said Ray, adding that Sunday was already a day off but the family needed time to take care of the family. “They closed on Tuesdays, which probably isn’t ideal in the retail world, but we’re a family business. It might be a great day to get out and get our hands dirty and grow some of our own product, but it’s also a time to regroup and focus on another four days of retail ahead of us.”
In keeping with what the family initiated, the business is still closed on Tuesdays.
One critical aspect for Conestoga Nursery is keeping all public areas clean and neat. “It isn’t easy during busy times,” said Ray, “but we’ll have someone walk through the yard once or twice a week to make sure paths are straight, plants are trimmed and dead material is removed.”
Ray said if just one or two trees or shrubs of a species remain, it can be difficult to make them look attractive. He suggested removing those from the sales area and trashing them if they aren’t saleable, or moving them in a sale area. He often places such plants out front at a reduced price, and while he admits that might not be what others want to do, it works for him.
“I try to keep it organized,” said Ray, adding that he always tries to avoid a cluttered appearance. “We’re also very fussy about how everything looks. Quality is first, and it has to line up with pricing. Customers come back if you can sell quality at a reasonable price.”
Ray admitted it’s a challenge to sell in June, July and August, the typical slow months at a nursery. Some flowering plants still look good; others, like azaleas, are past bloom and leaves are tired-looking. His answer is fertilizer.
“Some plants like deciduous shrubs need a shot of slow-release fertilizer,” he said. “Trim them back a little. Keep them in the back where it’s easier to let them flush out again and maybe you can still move them out that year.”
While the nursery features a lot of perennials, they also concentrate on landscape items including flowering shrubs and trees. Also popular are field-grown boxwood, arborvitae and yew as well as container trees, hydrangeas and skip laurel.
Standing behind what he sells is important to Ray, and although he has no control of what happens to anything once it leaves the parking lot, he believes it’s a good practice to offer a warranty. Ray offers a one-year warranty to retail customers but not to landscape contractors, because they’ve already received a discount.
“You can’t please everyone,” he said. “Sometimes you need to go the second mile. It doesn’t take them long to ruin your name.”
Having a good selection of healthy trees is one key to a successful retail and wholesale business. Photo courtesy of Leeward Tree Farm
Ray believes it’s important to understand and implement cycle pruning. “We’re growing flowering shrubs and things like panicle hydrangeas and some other flowering shrubs that do well with cycle pruning,” he said. “You can spread out the flowering window so not all the ‘Limelight’ hydrangeas are blooming at the end of July when sales are over. With hydrangea, there are about eight weeks from trim to flower, so you can calculate when the last trim would be to still have flowers at the end of September.”
The family has seen changes in the world of retail, including more requests for native plants. “Natives are here to stay,” said Ray. “People are looking for natives that will look good around their home, and they want anything from shrubs to larger trees.”
He added that while some natives aren’t particularly attractive, people still want them.
The most requested natives include sweetspire, clethra, buttonbush, chokeberry and winterberry holly. Native trees such as serviceberry, red sunset maple, yellowwood, tulip poplar and oaks are also favorites.
A new retail trend is requests for smaller trees. “Smaller conifers have always been popular here,” said Ray. “Some people come here to see if they can find the newest conifer, but it’s become challenging because they’re always looking for something different. They also want the newest Japanese maple.”
Some customers have asked for container evergreens to use in porch pots. Ray said Norway spruce is a good option for containers, white pine is somewhat challenging and firs don’t work. However, ‘Green Giant’ and ‘Emerald Green’ arborvitae thrive in pots.
Ray likes to keep a selection of potted trees in the retail yard but finds it challenging to keep them from blowing over. After experimenting with several ideas, he found that a combination of sturdy posts and high tensile wire works well. For 2-inch caliper trees, 3/8-inch wire is necessary to hold trees in place.
While Conestoga Nursery handles special orders, Ray said they can be challenging. “We try to limit those,” he said. “Sometimes we order something, then the customer doesn’t want it after they see it. It’s an extra headache to have around, and most staff won’t be familiar with it. I would rather do special orders of something I already sell.”
Training sales staff is an integral aspect of a successful business. Ray encourages employees to talk with customers about what they like, initiate a conversation to make them comfortable and gain trust. One idea for interactional learning at a weekly staff meeting is to fill a table with perennials, see who can identify them and discuss where they can be used.
“Hands-on training is ideal,” said Ray. “Working in the yard, being present and listening to more experienced staff helps new employees learn.”
Ray said the green industry is special, adding that those in the business tend to share struggles and successes. Most of all, he enjoys the process of bringing plants to maturity for customers, noting, “It’s fun for us to grow a quality plant someone can put in their yard.”
by Sally Colby
