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PSPA Members Visit Princeton Nurseries On October 4, 2001 members of the Philadelphia Society for Promoting
Agriculture visited the Princeton Nurseries near Allentown, New Jersey.
The parent company was started in 1882 and incorporated under its present
name in 1913. The nursery currently occupies more than 2800 acres, most
of which is tillable land used for production of nursery stock. The
company is a major wholesale supplier of nursery stock for municipalities,
landscape companies, and nursery stock retail outlets. Varieties of more than 350 plant species are propagated. The Princeton Nursery's research and development department has introduced over 50 new varieties of trees, shrubs and vines, and many of these have been patented. The nursery's huge inventory also includes many additional species of plants acquired from other producers for resale. Many plants are sold balled and burlapped, while others are marketed in pots or tubs of various sizes to meet the needs of different customers. Ms. Louise Gross, represented Mr. Ivan Olinsky, President of William Flemer's Sons, Inc., the owners of Princeton Nursery, and welcomed the visiting members of the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture.
The many kinds of plant materials grown and marketed by Princeton Nurseries require several different propagating procedures. Some species must be reproduced by tissue culture techniques while others are grown from seed or from cuttings. Many woody plants are budded or grafted to special rootstocks. A variety of environmental conditions must be provided to meet the requirements of the different species during the critical propagating phase. Acres of unheated greenhouses like the one shown here are used for propagating most species of plants. The greenhouses are covered with plastic during winter months to protect the plants from low temperatures but uncovered during summer months.
Plant species that require more carefully controlled temperatures or partial shade are grown in the greenhouse shown below. Temperatures in this greenhouse are controlled by ventilation while shade is provided as needed by the automatically controlled shade cloth visible in the photograph. All greenhouses are irrigated by an automatic and centrally controlled irrigation system. Slow release fertilizers are applied to the potted plants as needed.
Most woody plants are moved from the greenhouse to the field when large enough and grown there to marketable size. Over 1700 acres of land is devoted to the production of field grown nursery materials. Most of the land used for this purpose is managed on a 7-year plan. A green manure crop may be grown or the field may be allowed to lie fallow for the first two years to eliminate perennial weeds. Thereafter a nursery crop occupies the land for about five years. During this period the plants are carefully tended to provide proper nutrition, and to control insects and diseases. During this phase plants are pruned each year to achieve a desired shape and uniformity. The field of gingko trees, shown in the photograph below demonstrates the degree of uniformity of plant shape and size that is attained with field grown stock. At harvest stage the plants are mechanically dug and the soil ball covered with burlap.
In 1964 Princeton Nurseries started production of a premium line of container grown trees and shrubs. Later the line was expanded to include a number of perennials. An area in excess of 10 acres is devoted to container grown plants. Plants are started in greenhouses and shifted to larger containers as they grow. Trees and shrubs are densely arranged as shown in the photograph below. Wires are strung between the posts and the plants securely attached to the wires to provide support needed to withstand strong winds. Containers are irrigated using a drip system to conserve water and minimize runoff. A separate system of nozzles is mounted above some temperature-sensitive plants to reduce air temperatures and promote growth during hot weather. The advantage of nursery stock grown in containers is that such material can be planted at any time throughout the growing season without stressing the plants, while field grown balled and burlapped plants should be planted only in the spring or fall depending upon the species.
Greenhouse and container grown plants as well as plants being held for shipment are irrigated from this 3.5 million-gallon pond. The pond is supplied with water from Crosswick Creek, which flows through the Princeton Nursery property. Water is pumped from the pond with a 150-hp pump. A chlorinating and filtration system is used to provide the water quality required for distribution through the small tubes involved in the drip irrigation system. The complex drip and conventional irrigation systems are activated automatically from a central control station.
Because of the huge volume of plant material needed in early spring a great deal of the field grown stock is dug in the fall and early winter and stored in the 2-acre greenhouse shown in the photograph. This greenhouse is used during the summer for holding the container grown perennials shown here The plastic covered walls and roof of this greenhouse can be opened or closed by mechanical means. The structure is not heated. Other field grown nursery stock is held during the winter months in storage buildings.
A small portion of the balled stock of one species of evergreens is shown in the photograph below where it is being held in the shipping yard. The plants are stored on pallets to facilitate movement with mechanical loaders. The plants are watered regularly as needed to keep the balls of soil moist. Nursery stock can be held safely in this manner for several weeks.
Large customer orders are shipped in truckload lots while small orders must be picked up at the nursery The two trailer loads of nursery stock shown here represent a single shipment. Shipments such as this may be destined to customers anywhere east of the Mississippi River.
A small portion of the storage area for container grown plants for sale to landscape companies in small lots. Some stock in this area has been purchased from other wholesale nurseries in order to have species for which the demand is too limited to warrant local production.
Workers shown here are assembling a customer's order. The different species required are collected from different parts of the holding area and assembled on pallets using a front-end loader.
After orders have been assembled on pallets they are stored in a special portion of the shipping yard for pickup by the customer. During the growing and harvesting seasons the plants are subjected to rigid insect and disease control programs and inspected as required by both state and federal nursery control programs.
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