January 2024 - 43

BIG GROWER
" In the marketplace where we
saw ourselves, there wasn't really
a market established or a strong
consciousness of native plants,
ecological landscapes or ecosystem
services, " Castorani said. " Along
with that, we started to explore
new markets. We worked with
engineers and landscape architects
who had a different vision of
corporate landscapes. "
For example, one of North Creek's
North Creek Nurseries employs approximately 90 full-time employees
and operates on two farms in Pennsylvania, one in Landenberg and the
other in Oxford.
first projects was to work on the
restoration of the Richmond National
Battlefield Park in Richmond, Virginia.
" We were hired to custom grow
native grasses to revegetate that
landscape, " Castorani said.
During those first years, North
Creek didn't just grow native
plants, they also grew superior
horticultural selections, and over
time, they were persistent and
convinced customers that these
high-quality plants were also very
aesthetically pleasing and could be
grown by the nursery industry.
" Even today, about 70% of
our customer base are wholesale
nurseries who take our plants and pop
them up, finish them to larger sizes,
and sell them, " Castorani said. " The
other 30% will be used to establish
ecological landscapes with plants
planted directly into the ground. "
The partners were fairly
ecologically conscious folks and
started to build a plant palette
to propagate. They focused on
perennials and grasses, later mixing
in ferns, vines and a few shrubs.
IN THE BEGINNING
When the business first began,
there were several challenges,
especially since the partners started
the nursery pretty much from scratch.
" We purchased the property from a
shuttered former mushroom-growing
facility, so it wasn't a nursery, "
Castorani said. " We started in my
backyard in Hockessin, Delaware,
with a small greenhouse and some
outdoor space. Dale brought his
plant inventory and we worked
there until we could build
infrastructure out at the farm
in Landenberg, Pennsylvania. "
Those early days included working
with people they knew in the industry
and had previous relationships with
such as other nurseries, contractors
and landscape architects who were
buying inputs. The duo began to
develop their business plan.
CONTINUING TO EVOLVE
The company's mission statement
is to propagate and market plants
that develop the relationship between
people and sustainable outdoor
environments, with a vision to be,
in its customers' judgment, a leader
in the development and practice of
sustainable horticultural systems,
producing world-class plant material.
In 2001, North Creek did some
research and tested a market for a
product that they eventually called
Landscape Plugs.
" Those are plants that we still
grow and that's been a robust market
JANUARY 2024 BIG GROWER 43

January 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2024

Table of Contents
Editor's Report | Guess Who's Back?!
AmericanHort | Resolve to Drive Your Business Forward in 2024
Forty Under 40 Perspectives | Invest in the Community
Dr. Bugs | Can Plants Influence Susceptibility to Insecticides?
SGAFT | Energy Curtain Performance
Varieties | Winners' Circle
Technology | Shaping the Future
Intern of the Year | Ian Kelly
PGRs | Annuals and Perennials — Part 2
Big Grower | North Creek Nurseries
Big Grower | Product Showcase
Culture Report | Centaurea 'Silver Swirl'
Research | Thrips & Botrytis Online Resource Library
Product Marketplace
Classifieds/Ad Index
January 2024 - 1
January 2024 - 2
January 2024 - Table of Contents
January 2024 - Editor's Report | Guess Who's Back?!
January 2024 - 5
January 2024 - AmericanHort | Resolve to Drive Your Business Forward in 2024
January 2024 - 7
January 2024 - Forty Under 40 Perspectives | Invest in the Community
January 2024 - 9
January 2024 - 10
January 2024 - 11
January 2024 - Dr. Bugs | Can Plants Influence Susceptibility to Insecticides?
January 2024 - 13
January 2024 - 14
January 2024 - 15
January 2024 - SGAFT | Energy Curtain Performance
January 2024 - 17
January 2024 - 18
January 2024 - 19
January 2024 - Varieties | Winners' Circle
January 2024 - 21
January 2024 - 22
January 2024 - 23
January 2024 - 24
January 2024 - 25
January 2024 - Technology | Shaping the Future
January 2024 - 27
January 2024 - 28
January 2024 - 29
January 2024 - 30
January 2024 - 31
January 2024 - 32
January 2024 - 33
January 2024 - Intern of the Year | Ian Kelly
January 2024 - 35
January 2024 - PGRs | Annuals and Perennials — Part 2
January 2024 - 37
January 2024 - 38
January 2024 - 39
January 2024 - 40
January 2024 - 41
January 2024 - Big Grower | North Creek Nurseries
January 2024 - 43
January 2024 - 44
January 2024 - 45
January 2024 - 46
January 2024 - Big Grower | Product Showcase
January 2024 - Culture Report | Centaurea 'Silver Swirl'
January 2024 - 49
January 2024 - 50
January 2024 - 51
January 2024 - 52
January 2024 - 53
January 2024 - Research | Thrips & Botrytis Online Resource Library
January 2024 - 55
January 2024 - 56
January 2024 - 57
January 2024 - Product Marketplace
January 2024 - 59
January 2024 - 60
January 2024 - 61
January 2024 - 62
January 2024 - 63
January 2024 - 64
January 2024 - 65
January 2024 - Classifieds/Ad Index
January 2024 - 67
January 2024 - 68
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