Conference Tour: Oct 12
Join us as we tour three large scale nurseries based in West Michigan: Walters Gardens, Hortech and Spring Meadow Nursery. Enjoy behind the scenes tours and network with colleagues old and new throughout the day. After the nursery tours, Spring Meadow’s owner, Dale Deppe, welcomes you to his home garden along the picturesque Grand River. A tour of the grounds, which includes the largest collection of hydrangeas in the Midwest, will be followed by a fabulous dinner along the river.
Walter Gardens
In its 70th year of business, Walters Gardens has it down to a science. Get an inside look at their bare root processing, cold storage facility and greenhouse production areas. Learn what goes on in their tissue culture lab, preview the latest perennials to be introduced by Walters Gardens and learn about their marketing techniques on both the national and regional level.
Walters Gardens, Inc. is a family owned and run wholesale perennial producer located in Zeeland, Michigan. In 2016, the company celebrated its 70th year of business. Walters Gardens has a long history of field-grown bare root perennials such as Hosta, Daylilies, and Hardy Hibiscus, but the majority of their product line is now produced under cover of greenhouses. In recent years, Walters Gardens’ focus has been to introduce new and exciting perennials to the market, both with their internal hybridizing program and external breeders. They enjoy a close relationship with Proven Winners, the #1 Plant Brand. www.waltersgardens.com
Hortech
The Hortech tour will feature an in-depth tour of production facilities where they produce and grow perennials, groundcovers, ferns, ornamental grasses and climbing vines. Learn the latest in production methods including bareroot, plug, cutting and seed. Tour the perennial variety garden and learn the latest about biocontrol practices.
Hortech in an innovative professionally managed Midwestern wholesale nursery, founded in 1983 which specializes in perennial plants: conventional perennials, labor saving groundcovers, hardy ferns, climbing vines and a wide array of ornamental grasses. Offering a palette of the finest native and non-native species, Hortech is unique in that our plants are test grown in our trial garden and evaluated for hardiness, beauty and sustainability. We resist the modern concept of rushing products to market to be first, whereby the consumer’s landscape becomes the trial garden. We would rather do the testing here, so that when you purchase our plants from Midwestern garden centers and landscapers, you will be satisfied with the results. www.hortech.com
Spring Meadow Nursery
Spring Meadow Nursery will show you the latest innovations in the nursery world. From the automated grading machine that grades and sorts plants into four categories to the ISO sticking machine that sticks 2,000 stems per hour, it’s a tour you won’t want to miss. With over 700,000 square feet fully automated greenhouse growing space with a unique rail system that makes trimming and moving liners a breeze, it’s a sight you’ll want to see!
Spring Meadow Nursery, Inc. is a market leader in flowering shrubs, potted liners, plant breeding and breeder representation. Located in Grand Haven, MI, Spring Meadow Nursery grows over 500 varieties of woody plants, including 275 varieties marketed under the Proven Winners® brand. Proven Winners® ColorChoice® shrubs have won over 158 awards, more than any other shrub brand. A few of the better known varieties include Invincibelle® Spirit II hydrangea, Incrediball® hydrangea, the Lo and Behold ®Chip series of butterfly bushes and Bloomerang® reblooming lilacs, Wine and Roses®weigelaand Little Lime®hydrangea. www.springmeadownursery.com