Nuccios Nurseries to close (eventually)

[Tums]

I just randomly heard about this on Facebook but haven't seen it posted on here yet. It looks like the land will be sold to a nearby school but the timeline is uncertain. I know the title wording sounds like they could be open until the heat death of the universe, but if the deal goes through, they'll have to wind everything down within a year of that.

https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/s...s-plant-tastes-are-changing-nuccios-nurseries

 

[Michigan Tree Murderer]

I just randomly heard about this on Facebook but haven't seen it posted on here yet. It looks like the land will be sold to a nearby school but the timeline is uncertain. I know the title wording sounds like they could be open until the heat death of the universe, but if the deal goes through, they'll have to wind everything down within a year of that.

https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/s...s-plant-tastes-are-changing-nuccios-nurseries

That sucks. I was just recently introduced to Nuccios, and got some cool azaleas from them this year.

 

[Time Wizard]

I stopped by Nuccio's last week to grab some satsukis. While I was there I asked Jim when they plan on closing down and he said they'd be around for at least a few more years, mostly due to the money getting caught up in escrow.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

America’s largest assortment of Satsuki (and likely Camellias) … likely the largest propagator and breeder of multiple satsuki etc cultivars….and with single trunks.

Better buy them while they are still in business!

It will be the end of a fabulous era.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[Glaucus]

Sad to hear but understandable that maybe the next generation is more interested in the money that land is worth now than wanting to grow plants there for the next 30 years.
Typical that the neighbors are opposed to a school opening there. Come on! Some cranky old people being mad that their day gets interrupted by cheerful screams of children playing...
Sounds like Tom and Jim are happy that some of their very old azalea and camellia will be part of a children's playground for decades.

It just goes to show that hobbyists will have to take over and propagate rare cultivars for themselves now. The mainstream big box garden centers aren't going to be doing it.
So one issue will be to save all the cultivar they developed in some garden. I know that the ASA in North East America is very keen on this.
And then from that amateurs will just have to propagate a bunch of varieties of these for whoever is interested.

In Europe, it is a big of the same with a bunch of specialty family businesses. And it could affect things like maples as well.
Only people very passionate about a specific plants can run such a business. And you can't really start one from scratch. And to be that passionate about them while your uncle or something owns a family business for them, that's kinda rare.