NATS Nursery Ltd. - Native Plants

I thought I would pass on that a planting foreman who was on the crew planting the trees on site this summer told us that the conifer seedlings were the best looking seedlings they had planted all season. Some of those Interior Douglas-fir seedlings were tall! 😊

“The Sword Ferns and Red-Flowering Currant are fantastic. I have been promoting NATS and the wonderful work you do and what wonderful people you are! Thanks so much for always providing such great service and for your amazing growing skills.”

Kristen Miskelly

Satinflower Nurseries

“Our LiveRoof is doing so well in its third year. A marvelous treat from our deck here. Thanks to NATS!”

“We had five suppliers for this job and NATS Nursery plants were consistently the best quality.  As one of the WSDOT inspectors said, “We like NATS plants.” Thanks so much for all your hard work and dilligence on this job!”

Working closely with the architect, we chose LiveRoof for a difficult shaped roof in Whistler for a variety of reasons. Firstly, as the person ultimately responsible for the roof’s performance, the removable modules for any maintenance down the road was paramount to the decision to use LiveRoof. Our severe wind and rain conditions on this site made a pre-grown plant surface appealing because the risk of soil erosion on the sloped roofs was of particular concern if using a system where the plants mature on the roof. I was unsure about the difficulty of fitting rectangular planted modules onto the curved portions of this roof. That proved not to be a problem using a typical masonry cut off saw to shape the LiveRoof modules.

Installed late in the fall, we have had no issue with winter-kill and all areas have come back with full healthy growth in the spring. I believe having fully mature, healthy plants with undisturbed roots had everything to do with a winter resistant green roof. NATS Nursery was professional with excellent quality plants and an easy to move delivery system. They followed up with a visit this spring to check on the plants and have been helpful throughout the process. The result has been simply the best looking green roof in Whistler, in one of the most difficult locations to plant.

In future, I would recommend to any client thinking of a green roof use a LiveRoof system.

“We have been a customer of NATS Nursery for more than ten years and have relied on them for their high quality native plant material and groundcovers for many of our landscape projects. We have selected NATS Nursery as a supplier for some of our largest projects, including an 84 acre wetland mitigation project which was constructed over a period of two years.  NATS has also supplied many of our smaller projects. Their regularly scheduled delivery trucks to our area make it convenient for small quantities of material to be shipped directly to the jobsite.

NATS Nursery excels in customer service – I give them top marks for this. NATS handles all the inspections, customs paperwork, and trucking to make shipping plants across the border into the US a breeze. Communication with the NATS sales team regarding scheduling, shipping and quality control has always been outstanding. It is always my pleasure to work with NATS Nursery.  I know I can rely on them to get the good quality plants I need to the job when I need them.” 

“Our group really appreciated how helpful and knowledgeable you and your staff were.  Your attention to detail is evident from the quality of your plants. The photos your deliveryman took of the newly delivered plants, and shared with our group, were a welcomed surprise. We did not take any photos before we distributed the plants around the project area. We have recommended NATS Nursery to other groups we network with and we will order plants from NATS Nursery again this year.”

“The school in Inuvik was under construction when the architects and landscape architects learned about climate change affecting wind patterns and snow drifting which necessitated the planting of a shelterbelt with native trees from the area and under-story  plants, especially edibles. Thus  NATS Nursery was chosen to collect the seeds and cuttings of the plants needed  because of their outstanding propagation facilities and knowledge of native plants. The seeds were collected from Inuvik (with Angela and Haley from NATS making a trip to Inuvik for this) and brought back to Vancouver to be grown into 6 inch short pots over 2 years. This Summer the plants were returned to the site and planted in the location as per the landscaper plan. The photos show the landscape around the school a few weeks after planting.”

“Successful tree and shrub planting programs require the rigorous application of our knowledge regarding species selection and seedling physiology. The components of the process are linked together like a chain and failure to provide sufficient focus to all components could result in the chain breaking (DeYoe and Cleary: 1983). Attention to detail is is particularly important when dealing with the difficult sites commonly associated with mine reclamation projects. 

One of the critical links in the chain is the availability of high quality planting stock. I have worked with NATS Nursery since 2009 and have been impressed by their professional approach to seedling production. Their desire to adapt, continuously improve seedling quality and expand the list of species that they are able to produce consistently makes them a clear choice for any reclamation team.”

References: DeYoe, David R and Brian D. Cleary. 1983. Reforestation planning guide: helping ensure reforestation success for woodland owners. Oregon State University Exetension Service, EM 8241, p.89 .