Facts & Operation

420,000 square feet

Heated GreenHouse

300 acres

Land in use

Quonset Polyhouses

137 heated (634,424 ft.2), 125 unheated (312,624 ft.2)

Introduction

Sawyer Nursery, Inc. is located in Hudsonville, Michigan. We have been in the perennial business for over 60 years. We started out as a part-time business in 1956 and went to full-time in 1965. We are now a leading producer of perennials in a wide variety of sizes.

Acreage

Land in use: 300 acres
Greenhouse (heated): 420,000 square feet
Quonset Polyhouses: 137 heated (634,424 ft.2), 125 unheated (312,624 ft.2)

Employees

We employ approximately 50 full-time people during off-season winter months, expanding to 150-200 seasonal workers in spring and summer. Training is provided on the job.

Products

Sawyer Nursery exclusively grows whole perennial containers for big box stores. New products are developed through research and consumer request, or tailored in as market demand increases. Value is added to the products with high standards of quality control and informational tags. We promote quality along with excellent service.

Services

Sales services are provided by sales agents along with in-house customer service. Our service staff have formal education and several years of direct experience in the horticulture industry.

Pricing

Prices are determined by adding the price of hard goods used and the cost of production with an added profit margin. Prices are market-driven, and may fluctuate with market demands.

Cultural

Sawyer Nursery uses a variety of products and methods to culture our products. Every effort is made to put quality first. We work towards continuously improving our methods through research and discovery.

Propagation

Division: Field grown plants are divided and put into a cooler for storage or container needs. Seed: The seeds are sown and placed into a germination chamber. They are then finished on rolling benches in the greehouses. Cuttings: Stock plants are forced in early December for plant material. We now purchase most of our cuts.

Cultural Methods

Insect & Disease Control

Preventative programs for Rusts, Mildews, Botrytis & Phythium, Mites, and Aphids. Additional control measures are implemented as needed.

Overwintering

Plants are trimmed back in the fall, grouped together, and covered with a white cloth for better heat retention. The coldframes are also covered with two layers of poly, clear or white.

Temperature & Light Controls

Two-thirds of our production square-footage have Modine heaters for supplemental heat to provide for early spring sales. In the greenhouses, we use an environmental computer control system that tracks humidity and temperature. Artificial light is provided on an as-needed basis with HID lights (PNL Lighting).

Growth Regulators

Plant growth regulators are applied as needed to reduce plant height and improve overall quality.

Media

Containers: Sungrow 650 Renewed Earth.

Irrigation

Greenhouse: Perfect Rain Automated Computer System, ground sprinkling systems, and two boom systems (GTI and Growing Systems, Inc)
Coldframes: Overhead Hunter and Rainbird heads.

Fertility

Plugs: Liquid feed (Anderson injectors) single element feed as needed.
Container: Time-release fertilizer; plants are supplemented with a liquid fertilizer as needed

Weed Control

Mainly physical, but a preventative application of pre-emergent herbicide is applied to the floor beds of the coldframes before plant material is put down.

Shade

Shade cloth is used on both the greenhouses and coldframes during summer months.