Garden Center success MOANA NURSERY Making it work in the high desert Reno, Nevada, has little rainfall, no humidity, high winds and poor soil, but Moana Nursery is up to the challenge Bruce and Christie Gescheider By Michelle Simakis W 54 GARDEN CENTER April/May 2014 www.gardencentermag.com like a weed. But seven years ago we got hit really hard with the economic downturn,” he says. “We went from a sleepy little town to really booming, with national builders and the whole bit. Then it just dried up. This year we’re finally seeing some building again, but it’s only a miniscule amount. It’s been a really tough seven years.” Nevada is one of the slow- est states in terms of recovery, Gescheider says, as it has the second highest unemploy- ment rate in the nation, at 8.5 percent, according to March 2014 numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But Gescheider remains optimistic. He opened the third store in Sparks, Nevada, an area that’s poised to expand with stalled construction projects, but hasn’t taken off yet. The company has varied its departments and services to combat the seasonality, offering commerical landscape services and erosion control, holiday lighting installation, container planting, horticul- ture consultation and more. They also work with mining companies to re-vegetate work areas. “Services are going to be the competitive advantage of the future,” he says. “As the population gets older, and the population that’s not older with disposable incomes has jobs and time pressures with families, this is going to give us an opportunity to provide those services for them.” COURTESY OF MOANA NURSERY hen Bruce “The people who have moved into this area are used to Gescheider talks throwing seeds on the ground business, he first and things just starting to grow. talks weather. That just doesn’t happen here,” The independent garden center he says. “We have plenty of industry is seasonal for most, big box stores. Customers buy but this is especially true for the plant, they try to grow it, Gescheider, who owns Moana and then they realize they need Nursery in Reno, Nevada. more than just a plant. They “We have fairly severe need the right winters with tre- plant. They mendous winds and need the right very hot summers FAST FACTS soil amend- with no humid- ments. They ity, so weather Year founded: 1967 need the right dominates our plant advice.” selection decisions,” 2013 sales Gescheider says Gescheider, volume: and his wife, who is president of $9.6 million Christie, the business that’s Retail locations: operate three located in the high 3 locations in the desert and rests near area and grow- the Sierra Nevada Number of years ing grounds in Mountains. “We Gescheiders have Oregon, each grow only high-des- run business: 13 with its own ert select varieties.” specialty, and Winds reached bought the 100 miles per hour business in 2001. Gescheider a handful of times this winter. He calls the soil “awful.” All the had experience running busi- nesses in a variety of industries trees and shrubs are brought and Christie worked at the in — none are native to the Chicago Botanic Gardens and area. After a few years with has a degree in horticulture. above average rainfall, this year Before 2008, trees, shrubs was dry again, averaging about and new construction projects 7 inches of rain. But like most fueled the business. independents in the industry, “We used to be growing their expertise sets them apart.