People often ask if we are related to the old Forest Service Bend Pine Nursery, and the answer is yes. The old Bend Pine Nursery used to be a tree farm and seed bank for ponderosa pine, our native pine tree. They used to sell bare-root pine seedlings to the public. When the Forest Service closed down the operation my partner Fred Swisher bought out the remaining 30,000 pine seedlings and grew the up and sold them. We also bought the name and became the commercial version of Bend Pine Nursery.
We have carried on the tradition of selling native Ponderosa Pine Seedlings with one important innovation; we do not do bare-root seedlings we make sure they are fully rooted in pots. The survival rate for rooted vs. bare-root trees is about 90 to 1 in favor of fully rooted trees. We grow 1-2000 Ponderosa pine seedlings a year. At Bend Pine Nursery we want our clients to be successful with what they plant.
This year we are celebrating our 20th anniversary in the Nursery Business here in Bend. Bend Pine Nursery is unique because we stay with our trees from beginning to end. Every year our Nursery Manager; Sarah spends several days touring nurseries looking for the best trees for central Oregon. Then she goes directly to the grower and hand selects the trees and shrubs she wants for Bend Pine Nursery, and brings them back to Bend. She cares for them in our nursery and then delivers and plants them for our clients. If a client wishes to do his own planting, Sarah coaches him on the best methods, supplies him with compost and supplements, and answers all questions and concerns to make sure the client will be successful.
Bend Pine Nursery is a resource for clients landscaping needs. Whether it is creating a tree hedge to screen unwanted views or create privacy from the neighbors, the need for shade, desire for color and seasonal interest, we provide consultation and work with our clients to customize solutions to fulfill their planting needs and desires. With our partner company Sculptural Landscapes we also provide full service landscaping, from custom design to installation. We do rock work, water features, paver patios, drip and other irrigation to make sure our trees and plants grow and thrive in our client’s landscapes. We can take your yard from bare dirt to a beautiful, livable landscape with nothing lost in translation from design to completion, because we are there with our clients every step of the way.
Education is an important part of what we do at Bend Pine Nursery, not only for our clients but continuing to educate ourselves. We regularly attend trade shows, industry conferences and seminars to keep up with the latest information and technology to improve our planting and landscaping skills, we read and research and share our knowledge with our clients. To this end, we have written the only two local landscaping books “55 Myths, Tips and Secrets- Bend’s Essential Guide to Landscaping”, and “The Ultimate Simple Landscaping Book”. Both are a resource for our clients to aid them in achieving success with their landscape goals.
Over the years we have planted over thousands of trees and built many beautiful and thriving landscapes, I love to drive around town and see the trees I have planted growing tall and strong. We also take our client on tours of these landscapes, whether we built or simply planted 10, even 20 years ago, they still look great and work well for the clients. I am proud of the work we do at Bend Pine Nursery; beautifying the community, helping the environment, bringing the joy of a great landscape to live in to our clients.
