By Duncan Allison
Tucked away in Landenberg, deep in the southern Chester County countryside can be found a remarkable example of a large farming business that has grown up in the county over the last 27 years.
North Creek Nursery was started in 1988 by Steve Castorani and Dale Hendricks and today grows 7-8 million plants which are sold each year throughout the country and in to Canada.
From the beginning the emphasis was on growing world class plants that can be used in sustainable environments. Their product guide lists a large number of perennial plants that are listed alphabetically with their particular properties.
Many of these plants are unique to North Creek and have resulted from their partnerships with plant collectors, garden enthusiasts, breeders and horticultural institutions throughout the world. They are not collected from the wild.
The plants are propagated in special structures including a new 54,720 sq.ft. growing facility with a hydronic in-slab heating system, fully automated overhead irrigation system and many other attributes which produces healthier and better quality plants. The structure also included a packing line, offices and large lunch room for employees.
North Creek has two facilities with their corporate offices and display garden in Landenberg and customer shipping facility in Oxford, both in Chester County.
North Creek supplies plugs/plants only to other nurseries to grow them on for ultimate sale in their stores or direct to landscapers for large scale plantings.
One of the many unique features of North Creek is their emphasis on research. A 3+ acres trial area (pictured above), they call their living laboratory evaluates species and cultivated varieties in a variety of environments.
The adaptability, vigor and garden worthiness of new varieties must be understood fully to ensure the ecological, functional and aesthetic characteristics of each one.
North Creek’s emphasis on sustainability is very apparent in all that they do. They are committed to giving up peat and are developing peat-free mixes for their plant production. Integrated Pest Management is also practiced so that pest control measures are taken only when monitoring and action thresholds indicate that pest control is required.
Their ecological group helps municipalities and landscape companies create environments that preserve soil, prevent runoff, require minimal maintenance and yet are still attractive and aesthetically pleasing.
They are also collaborating with a local bee keeper to find bee colonies that are winter hardy as bees are so vital for pollination.
Growing practices implemented by North Creek Nurseries are compliant with Sustainable SITES™ criteria and are incorporated into landscape designs which may go on to become LEED certified.
Steve Castorani and North Creek have gained many local, national and even international awards. The continued emphasis on sustainability, quality and research should ensure this nursery will continue to flourish and bring jobs (all year round) and value to the county.
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Duncan Allison gained degrees in horticulture and extension education in the UK and US and spent most of his career working for the DuPont Company developing and marketing crop protection chemicals. Recently he has written reports for a global ag publisher and for New Jersey-based international business consultants Kline & Co. For the last 16 years he has been heavily involved in the local farming of Chester County where he has lived with his wife and family since 1980.
