CNGA Board President Matt Edmundson, CGG
It is often been said that the only constant is change. We can easily see that everything is changing. With no exception, none of our members has ever gone through a season like we had this spring and early summer—more moisture than at any time in the last 150 years! Whether it is the...
Mike Schleining, CCNP, Arbor Valley Nursery
We’re right in the thick of the season and although we can get caught up in the day-to-day, it’s never a bad time to be thinking about the future of the industry and the future of your business.
CHREF is committed to driving research and education in Colorado and has brought on a fundraising consultant...
For many, boxwoods are synonymous with hedging and parterres of many European landscapes. Generally boxwoods prefer more loam, well-drained soils and often thought to be not the best woody plants for the Rocky Mountain/High Plains region. Root systems are near the surface and should not be disturbed. They prefer full sun to partial shade and display good deer resistance....
The First Regular Session of the 74th General Assembly adjourned on May 8th. A full detailed report by Hicks & Associates on the activities of the legislature in 2023 can be viewed here. This article is a brief summary specifically pointing to legislation important to CNGA members.
The 2023 session convened on January 9th and there were many new faces...
The pine wilt nematode is not something most of us in the Mountain West have heard of before. I personally came to learn about it after witnessing its effects in my landscape and in surrounding communities. You may have noticed mature and established pines decline rapidly and die for no apparent reason. One possible cause of these tree deaths...
Yearly, researchers at Colorado State University (CSU) evaluate over 1,300 taxa of woody plants for adaptability, ornamental flowers, fruit, fall color and pest problems. Environmental Horticulture students help maintain the test sites with support from Colorado Horticulture Research and Education Foundation (CHREF), J. Frank Schmidt Charitable Trust, Bailey Nursery Inc., Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station and numerous national and local...
Kathleen McGuar, Meadowlark Ornamentals
With rising costs and continuing labor shortages, efficiency and resource utilization have become even more imperative. While the Lean principles were born from manufacturing practices, their basic tenets can be applied to the nursery industry to increase efficiency and profitability while decreasing waste. Womack and Jones defined the five principles of Lean manufacturing in their book,...
Jeremy Friedman
In 2008-09, when the market for new home construction declined rapidly during the Great Recession, Jeremy Friedman had been a general contractor with a luxury homebuilder in Denver. He knew he had to look elsewhere for a new career, and he wanted to run his own business this time. “I got lucky,” he admits. He and his business...
Glenda Mostek
CNGA Executive Director
We hear repeatedly that one of the biggest challenges members face is finding and hiring qualified employees. CNGA and CHREF are working to help with this challenge in numerous ways, starting with reaching out through CSU and FFA outreach, to students who have not yet set a career direction.
While this outreach allows us to talk to...
Heidrich’s Colorado Tree Farm Nursery7440 Templeton Gap RoadColorado Springs, CO 80923Phone: 719-598-TREE (8733)https://www.coloradotreefarmnursery.com/
Interview with Levi Heidrich, Managing Partner
Aerial view of nursery in 2019
What is your company’s history?
My family has been in business for nearly 50 years in Colorado and four generations have been involved. Colorado Tree Farm (CTF) started out as Cattle, Trees, and Firewood and as my parents...
