294 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
A Nurseryman’s Relation With His Customers 
Written for the Butte tin of the Garden Club of America by J. Edward Moon 
II seems to me there is only one way to view this siib- 
jeet^—if a nurseryman is expeeting to hnild an enduring 
and profitable business—and that is to look at our rela¬ 
tions in the light of the Golden Rule, which is to “Do 
unto others as you would that they should do unto you.” 
Most nurserymen, despite criticism sometimes aimed 
at them, do try to do this. Perhaps they fall short of this 
ideal relationship with their customers most, because 
they are judged in comparison with the relationship of 
department stores or mercantile establishments and their 
customers. The complete satisfaction of such relation¬ 
ships is impossible in the nursery business, for weather 
conditions interfere, the protection of standards and qual¬ 
ity of brands by copyright or patent is not given the 
grower, and, besides, his product is perishable—hence 
the uniformity in manufacturing processes is not pos¬ 
sible. 
Consider the elements in the production of nursery 
stock—soil, time, weather, and labor. 
Soil affects vitality. With scientific analysis it is 
largely amendable to a plant’s requirements, when prop¬ 
erly fertilized, drained, or cultivated. 
Time, that element in the production of nursery stock 
calling for a sense of prophecy—that two, five, ten, or 
even twenty years hence, the plant propagated and grown 
will be wanted, and in the quantity produced. Time is 
the element a nurseryman must have to produce Box¬ 
wood, Rhododendron, and other slow growing plants that 
have, prior to the promulgation of Quarantine Order No. 
37, come from abroad. Time is a nurseryman’s legiti¬ 
mate excuse for not having in supply the rare and inter¬ 
esting plants your garden magazines proclaim from the 
Orient, or elsewhere. He must first have time for the 
plant to prove its hardihood and characteristics in the 
land of its adoption, and until these are proven a nur¬ 
seryman is not justified in investing his money in its 
production. The ability later to supply the plant depends 
on the ease with which it is reproduced and grown. Thus 
it is apparent that no such sudden production of new or 
unusual nursery products is possible now to fill the void 
left by the plant exclusion act, as was possible in the 
prompt manufacture of new or unusual articles—such 
as dyes—during the recent war-time. 
Weatlier is an element which, if favorable, shortens 
the time required for production. R is a variable ele¬ 
ment that makes uniform quality impossible. 
Labor is the most costly of all the requirements in the 
production of nursery stock. Those employed in the nur¬ 
sery industry are as efficient, or as inefficient, as those to 
be found anywhere. Assuming proper management, the 
efficiency of labor is responsible for much that makes a 
nurseryman’s relationships with his customers satisfac¬ 
tory—such as the digging of the plants with good root 
systems, packing them carefully, etc. This labor is 
rightly b(*ing paid today commensurately with wages in 
other industries, and the reflection of such wages will be 
felt in the price o fnursery stock for some time to come. It 
is labor that often carelessly, or unknowingly, confuses or 
ignores labels and mixes names, which results in untrue 
varieties. This has probably brought more ill repute 
upon nurserymen than any other fault with which we are 
accused. The accusation is rightly brought, for such 
errors are due to human fallibility, against which every 
precaution should be taken, and which can not be at¬ 
tributed entirely to causes beyond control, as the ele¬ 
ments of time or weather. The unscrupulous practices 
of any nursery agent are e({ually harmful, and equally 
defenseless. The customer has a right to expect his nur¬ 
seryman’s protection against any such misrepresenta¬ 
tion on his own, or laborer’s ])art, regardless of whether 
employed in the field or on the sales force. 
A knowledge of these problems of the nurseryman on 
the part of his customers will help to better relationships. 
Conversely, an ecjually clear understanding of the cus¬ 
tomer’s problems will help the nurseryman to give satis¬ 
faction. 
The planter who tells his nurseryman fully of his re- 
(luirements—as he would tell his lawyer or architect— 
can, from the right kind of nurseryman, get expert 
opinions upon what to plant, and how to plant and care 
for it. Many nurseries have seiwice departments in 
w hich are experts on fruit culture, or landscape garden¬ 
ing. These men go exhaustively into a customer’s plant¬ 
ing problems and helpful, reliable assistance is given 
generously. Such personal sendee to a customer’s re¬ 
quirements costs nurserymen money, and the sales costs 
of growers uneqiupped to render this assistance are na¬ 
turally less, which difference is, of course, reflected in 
the prices. 
The lamentable lack of sufficient gardening knowledge 
on the part of many buyers leads them to the snare of 
“cheapness of price,” hence nurserymen seeking to pro¬ 
vide the reliable senice planters need, find all too fre¬ 
quently that advantage is taken of their ability and will¬ 
ingness to supply this reliable assistance, after which the 
stock is purchased from a “cheaper price” nursery, 
w hich carried no burden for service rendered. It is be¬ 
cause customers fail to support adequately wdth their 
patronage the grower wdio provides such service, that 
there are not more firms so equipped. Insane competi¬ 
tion that results in underselling, and the buyers relish 
for a “bargain” are always tendng to eliminate the cour¬ 
tesies and service many wish to give, for, contrary to 
popular opinion, service is not something given for noth¬ 
ing, but prompt, intelligent attention to a customer’s re¬ 
quirements, wbich only a contented, w^ell paid organi¬ 
zation can provide. 
Guaranteeing nursery stock to giwv is a factor in re¬ 
lations w ith a customer upon which w^e do not all agree. 
There are nurserymen w ho w ill assume no responsibility 
at all. There ai’e others wdio will supply new plants to 
take the place of those wdiich die. Between these ex¬ 
tremes is a middle course, probably more equitable to 
both buyer and seller. This is the policy of replacing 
trees that fail to grow at one-half the price originally 
paid. Why should a nurseryman do more? Planting, 
