We are often asked at Alameda Wholesale Nursery, “What do you all do in the wintertime?” and people are often quite surprised at how much work needs to be accomplished during these “slower” winter months. Not only do many of these tasks keep our employees busy and engaged in the nursery operations, but it is also crucial to a successful spring season when customer service and the selling of plant material is top priority.
Sales Office Staff
As the busy season starts to subside in late September, managers begin their quest to secure plant material for the upcoming season. As part of the sales office staff, we help with data entry and multiple additional tasks which include pricing and researching botanical information on new plants and trees. Additionally, we:
- Prepare the catalog, write new plant descriptions, and enter all the pricing for the new season.
- Update office official documents, licenses, required posted documentation, etc.
- Clean everything! All storage areas and office cabinets are organized and cleaned out and the sales office is painted, as needed. All windows are washed and the outside of the office building is cleaned. We have done some remodeling over the years to enhance the sales office flow for customers and employees. We have removed old wallpaper, moved interior walls, replaced the carpeting, done plumbing work, and more.
Assigning small winter projects keeps employees busy, provides a sense of accomplishment and provides the opportunity to work together as a team.
Delivery Crew
The delivery crew works on maintaining and upgrading our fleet of over 14 delivery trucks. These projects range from new truck customized construction to performing routine maintenance. Our employees possess exceptional skills including welding, engine rebuild, car restoration, metal work, etc. and we assign projects that engage and use their skill set to accomplish the most needed projects. Winter projects include:
- Thoroughly cleaning all delivery trucks, repairing damage and repainting; performing all routine maintenance and updating all insurance and vehicle registrations; and applying new CDOT decals and logo signage.
- Repairing and repainting all shelves and plant cargo areas on all delivery trucks.
- Performing all DOT required annual inspections.
Production Crews
The container production crew is always busy. A nursery is like a large farm – there is always something to do! Much of the work at your local nursery is performed during the “slow time.” The crews prepare for the nearly 31,000 bare root shrubs, roses, and small fruit trees to arrive February through April. Cold storage areas are cleaned and made ready for their arrival. Trimming and potting begins as early as mid to late January.
The B&B tree production crews also remain busy throughout the winter months. B&B receiving begins as early as February and the yard must be prepped for their arrival. Yard layout is redesigned every year, depending on tree availability. We receive approximately 16,000 B&B trees every year in both spring and fall so we are nearly always moving trees. Our customer service staff not only loads and serves our customers all year, but also assists the production crews in receiving, inventorying, and heeling in the new stock.
Perennials Crew
The perennials crew is very busy potting perennials in preparation for the upcoming season. This work continues year-round without fail. Perennials are overwintered in the poly houses and are trimmed and cared for to be ready for sale in the spring. This very self-sufficient crew also builds and welds new carts, tables, potting benches, poly house supports, ball carts, etc.
Fresh Ideas and Education
On the lighter side of winter nursery operations, together we enjoy brainstorming new ideas to improve our nursery. For example, last winter we converted our container tree rows to a new large dedicated receiving area and constructed a new receiving gate. This has improved traffic flow, employee and customer safety, and efficiency when receiving nursery stock. All this important work was accomplished by our dedicated and hard-working employees. Finally, we strongly encourage our employees to attend horticultural classes and continuing education events. The winter months are a great time to enhance our plant knowledge, learn about plants we aren’t so familiar with, and share the knowledge with colleagues. We encourage employees of industry companies to attend the ProGreen EXPO in February, an event with wonderful opportunities to visit with landscape professionals from all aspects of our industry. The classes and surrounding events are invaluable to all of us and fellowship is the glue that holds us all together.
