Jeffries leads the way in new plants Portage La Prairie Nursery carries on Manitoba tradition of innovation
Queen Elizabeth II plants a Jubilee ninebark from Jeffries Nurs- eries. His honour, Lt. Govenor Philip Lee in the background.
J
effries Nurseries of Portage la Prairie, has developed from a small retail outlet servicing central Manitoba to one of the largest wholesale nurseries in the prairie provinces. Jeffries was founded in 1978 by the late Ernie Jeffries and his wife Edith. Three years after opening, Mr. Jeffries became very ill and approached Wilbert and Sharon Ronald with an invitation to purchase his nursery. At that time Wilbert was the lead researcher in the woody ornamentals division of the Agriculture Canada Research Station in Morden. The offer fired his imagination and the family moved to Portage la Prairie in 1982 to take over the firm.
Their son, Philip, todays manager of Jeffries research and marketing programs, remembers the very different operation that existed at the little nursery in his childhood. “There were no gutter-connected green- houses, no plastic pots, no migrant work- ers, no electronic cash register. Plants were sold as bare-root stock during a very small window in spring and early summer. My two siblings and I were conscripted whenever possible to assist with an assortment of jobs including weeding, budding (grafting) and seed collection.
“Somewhere in those early years of sweat
and tears,” he recalls, “my parents, Wilbert and Sharon Ronald, charted a course that would take Jeffries Nurseries to the prosper- ous company it is today.”
The decision to move from a stand- alone retail garden centre to a wholesale production nursery was perhaps the most fundamental shift. That move was facilitated by improvements in long distance truck shipping methods, which enabled Jeffries to transport quality nursery stock across the prairie provinces, and well beyond. Philip goes out of his way to credit dedi-
70 • Fall 2016
Today, Jeffries services over 400 garden centres, landscapers, cities and conserva- tion districts from Yellowknife to Chicago, selling in seven provinces and three U.S. states.
cated staff members with making “enormous contributions” which helped build the com- pany that exists today. He pays tribute to long-time workers – breeder Rick Durand, who has since left the company, Michel Touchette and Shawna Bell, his sister – for their work.
Jeffries headquarters, six miles east of Por- tage la Prairie, includes 30,000 square-feet of greenhouse growing space and 20 irrigated acres of container-grown trees and shrubs. Approximately 200 acres, with a variety of rich soils, is in field production, growing a wide range of plants (including 100 acres of wire-basketed caliper trees widely used on city boulevards and parks.) Full-time staff members range from 40 in spring to 10 or more in December and January. The company grows a complete selec- tion of hardy nursery stock, totalling over 500,000 plants. Its product line, branded the Northern Garden Collection, includes 800 varieties of trees, shrubs, evergreens, roses and herbaceous perennial, produced from cuttings, bud grafts and seeds. Other growers, in more favoured growing regions, contract to propagate plants for the compa- ny, giving it a continuous supply in growing season. Jeffries also purchases plants from a number of major production nurseries in North America. Over its history, Jeffries Nurseries has be- come renowned for new plant introductions. The company has introduced more than 20 woody and herbaceous cultivars for the Canadian prairies and has many more in the works. It has partnered with the University of Manitoba to promote the worldwide com- mercialization of ‘Pink Beauty’ and ‘Mango Tango’ potentilla. In its own greenhouses, researcher-breeder Rick Durand developed the house Firecracker chrysanthemums
which are lighting up landscapes across the prairies.
A plant that’s a candidate for “introduc-
tion” as a new cultivar is first evaluated for its novel characteristics and ability to displace other cultivars in the marketplace. New cul- tivars are usually protected with a Canadian Trademark and registered with the Canadian Ornamental Plant Foundation. The genet- ics of unique cultivars with standout quali- ties may be protected with Canadian Plant Breeders Rights. Other nursery growers may be sublicensed to propagate and distribute stock of new cultivars.
By making new plant development a prior- ity, Jeffries Nurseries has established its status as a leader in the industry. More, as a major producer of nursery stock, the company is able to get its new varieties quickly into the marketplace, again signalling its leadership status.
Through its research and development program, Jeffries has also been building key relationships with industry partners. It has assisted nurseries and universities in the United States in protecting their new culti- vars in Canada. It plays an important role in evaluating new germ plasm (reproductive cells), including work connected with the Canadian Artists roses series and Morden monarda from Agriculture Canada. It has recently developed cold-climate testing methods for new cultivars.
The nursery industry in Canada has been consolidating at a steady pace over the past fifteen years, with fewer, larger players in the marketplace, and Jeffries has steadily strengthened its position in the industry, building an impressive base with a solid infrastructure and exciting research and de- velopment program.
It bodes well for the future. x
localgardener.net
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80