Building A Tree Nursery Business From the Ground Up

by Stephen Kelly, regional editor

Once upon a time, an enterprising Floridian, one George Nottingham, worked as a purchasing agent for a busy landscape contractor in Palm Beach County, Fla. He had the savvy to develop an understanding of the Florida nursery market and its customer-supplier network.

A massive stock of Phoenix dactylifera, long farmed for their dates, are produced for ornamental use. There are many varieties of P. Dactylifera grown in the U.S., but only three are for ornamental applications: ?EUR??,,????'??Deglet Noor,?EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'??Medjool?EUR??,,????'???and ?EUR??,,????'??Zahidi.?EUR??,,????'???

One typically sunny day in 1986, he came across a 20-acre field gone to weed. On closer inspection, he discovered it also contained high-quality nursery stock. He tracked down the owner and offered him a proposition he could hardly refuse. In exchange for a lease on the land for a mere one dollar per year, he would revitalize and market the inventory and compensate the owner at a favorable rate. The owner had nothing to lose, but Nottingham had to leave the security of his job to pursue this opportunity.

With his meager cash reserves, he hired labor to help him clear the weeds, put up a sign and generally made the place look like a viable nursery. Now to strike the first deal! Nottingham knew a local landscape contractor who needed to fill a contract for 200 oaks. Well, his nursery could meet that need. With a deposit for the order, Nottingham made the down payment on a tractor to harvest and load the order.

The company operates three of these big Cats every day. Cranes and multiwheeled flatbed haulers are also integral parts of the arsenal.

The nursery was incorporated in June of 1986 in West Palm Beach as Groundworks and began generating a nice cash flow. Soon, Nottingham, with his network of contacts from his years as a purchasing agent, began accepting orders for plant materials not grown at his nursery. It soon became obvious that a big part of Groundworks?EUR??,,????'??? business would involve brokering nursery stock of other growers. In late 1987, Nottingham created Groundwork’s Tree Center, which gained market recognition and turned a small but respectable profit in its first two years.

The hole is prepared to receive a large Canary Island date palm (Phoenix canariensis).

Clear and lift! The Canary palm is identified by its thick, pineapple-like nut comprised of cut frond stems just under the fronds and a heavy trunk, usually 28-in. plus.

The crew puts the palm ?EUR??,,????'??to bed.?EUR??,,????'??

By late 1988, Nottingham foresaw the strong construction market that fueled his nursery business would not continue at the same pace, nor would the brokerage side of the business. Nottingham began concentrating his efforts in the highly specialized field of specimen Phoenix genus palms. At that time, the specimen palm market was not saturated and the potential to develop a market niche seemed promising.

Specimen palms, Nottingham explains, are ?EUR??,,????'??collected?EUR??,,????'?? from mature landscapes and resold for high prices. Such an operation does, however, require specialized skills and equipment. In the late ?EUR??,,????'???80s, the primary emphasis was directed at Canary Island date palms (Phoenix canariensis), a large palm often specified by landscape architects in Florida. The company began to develop a strong customer base for P. canariensis Nottingham initiated training programs for his field employees to deal with problems associated with the relocation of these palms. The training, Nottingham says, set his company apart from other providers of specimen Phoenix genus palms and led to the development of a palm maintenance division and increased their reputation as knowledgeable suppliers.

The petiole layer is removed by hand, referred to as the "classic cut" harvesting method, which leaves a distinctive raised diamond-shaped trunk for the Medjool palms.

Although the company warranteed the transplanted P. canariensis and came back to the job sites to service the trees through the entire year of the warranty, Nottingham estimated the loss rate at transplant for mature P. canariensis at about 35 percent?EUR??,,????'??+under ideal conditions! Between late 1988 and mid-1990, Nottingham explored ways to reduce the losses. Research and experience led to setting postinstallation treatment procedures for the maintenance division that significantly reduced the losses.

George Nottingham, president of Groundworks Inc. of Palm Beach County, Fla. (front, 2nd from right) with the foreman and crew. The company, in business since 1986, sells, installs and maintains specimen palms in the southern U.S., and is responsible for introducing subvarieties of the date palm Phoenix canariensis (?EUR??,,????'??Medjool?EUR??,,????'??? and ?EUR??,,????'??Zahidi?EUR??,,????'???) to South Florida. The company has 50 employees, with two Florida locations, Boynton Beach (in the south) and Callahan (in the north) and one location in Alvin, Texas. 2005 gross revenues are expected to exceed $20 million.

Still, P. canariensis was hardly an ideal tree for transplant and in late 1989 Nottingham began investigating if there were another type of Phoenix genus specimen palm to withstand the rigors of transplantation. He was informed that all other single-stem Phoenix genus palms that could be used in Florida’s subtropical environment were already being planted. Accepting that reality, he focused on working better with canariensis, but in October of 1989, serendipity struck again. While shopping at the health food store, Nottingham noticed there were three types of dates displayed. The horticulturist in him knew that of the Phoenix genus palms only the dactylifera produced edible dates. He investigated further and discovered what apparently was a little know fact in the Florida landscape industry?EUR??,,????'??+that Phoenix dactylifera was the only species of the genus that had true subvarieties, meaning there were alternatives to P. canariensis A subvariety carries different characteristics as a result of hybridization. One variety of a species may not be suitable for a specific environmental condition, while another might. But were there subvarieties of dactylifera that would perform well under Florida?EUR??,,????'???s wet conditions? Too much water for palms, Nottingham knew, promoted root disease and rotted the exterior wood. Still, if there were a dactylifera variety that took to the Florida weather and if it were available in sufficient quantities?EUR??,,????'??+it was an exciting possibility.

The loss rate at transplant for mature P. Canariensis (Canary Island date palm) is 35% under ideal conditions, says George Nottingham, owner of Groundworks of West Palm Beach County, Fla. ?EUR??,,????'??Be sure the warranty you get is clearly stated and in writing,?EUR??,,????'?? he advises. These palms should be planted in locations easily accessible for large equipment in case the tree needs replacement. Nottingham is developing a remote delivery system that his techs can temporarily leave attached to a sick palm that allows for the introduction of disease control/eradication agents and different types of premetabolized fertilizers and hormones directly into the root-trunk interface, bypassing the root system.

Dactylifera, he learned, had been experimented with in Florida during the early ?EUR??,,????'???70s, but, as he feared, the species had not acclimated to the high moisture and humidity. For that reason, no one was specifying P. canariensis. Most would have given up at this point, but, Nottingham dug deeper and discovered the dactylifera subvariety experimented with in the ?EUR??,,????'???70s was Phoenix ?EUR??,,????'??Deglett Noor,?EUR??,,????'??? a palm native to the desert. It was no surprise that it had done poorly. ?EUR??,,????'??What about the other dactylifera subvarieties??EUR??,,????'?? Nottingham wondered. Those obscure subvarieties, he learned, were the ?EUR??,,????'??Medjool?EUR??,,????'??? and ?EUR??,,????'??Zahidi?EUR??,,????'??? and had been ignored in Florida. Nottingham began experimenting with them and proved to himself that these species would acclimate?EUR??,,????'??+and could become a huge market. During 1991 and 1992, Groundworks spent tens of thousands of dollars on marketing and research. Almost daily, Nottingham found himself arguing with landscape architects whom insisted that ?EUR??,,????'??Dactylifera palms had not worked then and wouldn?EUR??,,????'???t work now.?EUR??,,????'??

These tall Medjools are ready for delivery. Palms can be measured via, measured from the base of the nut or bell?EUR??,,????'??+the natural appearing section at the top of the trunk just below the fronds?EUR??,,????'??+to ground level (the clear wood method), or via the clear trunk method?EUR??,,????'??+measurement from the base of the live fronds to ground level. Groundworks uses the clear trunk measurement.

The effort to ?EUR??,,????'??sell?EUR??,,????'?? the Medjool to the landscape industry in the southeast nearly broke the company, Nottingham admits. As it turns out, the trip to the health food store has, in Nottingham?EUR??,,????'???s words, ?EUR??,,????'??changed the face of landscape architecture in the southeastern United States and the Caribbean ?EUR??,,????'??? because it led to a new staple in the specimen palm market.?EUR??,,????'?? He reports that by mid-1992, from Louisiana to the Virgin Islands, landscape architects had begun specifying the ?EUR??,,????'??new?EUR??,,????'?? specimen palms called Phoenix dactylifera ?EUR??,,????'??Medjool?EUR??,,????'??? and ?EUR??,,????'??Zahidi.?EUR??,,????'???

A crew member does maintenance (clean up) on P. dactylifera ?EUR??,,????'??Zahidi.?EUR??,,????'??? The Zahidi?EUR??,,????'???s trunk tends to be the thickest of the dactylifera. Both the Medjools and Zahidis have dense, silvery-green canopies. With a modest amount of postinstallation care these two varieties are excellent performers, says Nottingham. The dates of the Medjool are large and plump, the Zahidi?EUR??,,????'???s smaller and rounder.

?EUR??,,????'??We succeeded in lighting a fire that has spread across five states and the Caribbean and which has established us firmly as the absolute leader in our field in the southeast,?EUR??,,????'?? asserts Nottingham.

The market for Medjools in the past year in the southeast is close to 20 million, Nottingham estimates. This year Groundworks expects to gross $20 million in revenues, mostly derived from Medjool sales.