Field Nursery Production

Field nurseries are most often soil-based (as shown at right) but can be containerized in the form of pot-in-pot systems. They are typically more intensive than orchard-type production systems, because of plant density and they are often drip-irrigated, to maximize fertility control and minimize production times.

Most field nurseries are producing shrubs and trees in a one to four year production cycle, although specialist tree operations can produce much larger trees that take many years to reach a saleable size.

These nursery production systems are management and labor intensive, particularly with regard to pruning, weeding and irrigation.