Page 14 - Free State Summer 2022

IT'S TIME FOR SHARING (Continued)

What Can Go Wrong During Nursery Plant “We try to minimize the number
Transport?
of times we handle or move a plant
Once a plant has been harvested, it will be moved
from the field to the staging area, loaded onto a truck, once we have harvested it. And
transported to the delivery site, and finally unloaded. This
process provides multiple opportunities for things to go we take the time to make sure all
wrong such as:
plants are protected and securely
Shifting Load: If plants are not loaded properly to
minimize movement and prevent load shifting, we could loaded.”
end up with a mis-shapen root ball or broken branches on
delivery. We try to minimize the number of times we handle or
Wrapping Delicate Plants: There are certain plants move a plant once we have harvested it. And we take the
that are more damage-prone than others. In these time to make sure all plants are protected and securely
cases, extra care must be taken at the nursery. Redbud loaded. We are famously slow at loading, but our guys
(Cercis canadensis) and Weeping Japanese maples (Acer get it right. Our truckers acknowledge that it makes a
palmatum var. dissectum) have branches that are stiff difference at the delivery end (even if they hate waiting
and easily snapped. This makes them difficult to wrap – around for us to finish).
especially the maples because they can reach 12 feet wide Plant Preparation and Protection:
but must be contained to an 8 foot area. From Field to Job Site

Offloading: Often branch breakage occurs during There is a system for getting plants from the field into
offloading when a forklift is used to move plants. If care your customer’s back yard. It isn’t fail-proof, nothing is,
isn’t taken at this final step, it doesn’t matter how well but it goes a long way to ensuring the plants that arrive
the transport went. Poor crew handling can really do a on delivery day look just like the ones you tagged days or
number on plants. weeks before.

14 SUMMER 2022 • Free State News