Managing a nursery business is no bed of roses

Starting with the family patriarch in Denmark and extending to a 9-year-old who pitches in today, the Petersen family of Petersen”™s Patterson Greenhouses boasts five generations of growers.

The current president, Erik Petersen Jr., grew up in the nursery business and can look both at industry changes and anticipate likely new developments. His operation includes sale of trees and plants, as well as a flower shop providing wedding and funeral bouquets and grave covers.

“Deer impact sales locally,” Petersen said, noting that boxwood and andromeda have no appeal to the deer population, offering great appeal to consumers.

Of cut flowers, the nurseryman notes that carnations used to be favorites, “but now people look for exotics, and we are getting flowers from all over the world.”

Disease remains a concern with nurserymen, Petersen said. “An ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure,” he said, as he set out on rounds to inspect for bugs and disease. “If caught in time, your stock can go on and flourish; if not, you lose your crop.”

Petersen is the son of Danish-born parents. His father, Erik Sr., was the son of Gregers Petersen, a major Copenhagen grower. Erik Sr. emigrated to the United States, where Erik Jr. was born. The family returned to Denmark for two years. The junior Petersen today understands Danish, but no longer speaks it fluently.

After serving as manager since l937, the senior Petersen purchased the Scarsdale Nursery in Patterson in l943. It had been a venture of Matthew Conlin, a bank president and owner of a Tuckahoe lumber/hardware business.

“Back then we were primarily growers,” the current president recalled. “My father grew carnations and chrysanthemums, as well as vegetables. My mother, Grethe, was the artistic designer. She was known for her fantastic wedding and funeral arrangements.”

The gladiolus used to be the favorite for funeral arrangements, Petersen said. “They came in a wide variety of colors and made a good showing at a moderate price. But, they were overused, and people tired of them.”

Wedding bouquets are subject to trends he said: Elaborate bouquets eventually give way to simple arrangements and then revert again to showy flowers.

Today, the nursery features bushes and trees, brought in from other sections of the country and abroad. “The Japanese maple, grown natively in the Northwest, translates well to our climate here,” Petersen said.

With condo living on the increase, the greenhouse president has advice for senior citizens looking for plantings that require minimum space and maintenance. “Small low bushes such as junipers and little princess spirea weather the winter well.” With arrival of spring, to add color he recommends petunias, impatiens and begonias.

Petersen”™s remains very much a family 12-month-a-year operation, with staggered vacations planned for August, the slowest month. The president”™s wife, Rose, is regarded as “Jill of all trades.” Their daughter, Madeline Hyatt, has assumed her grandmother”™s role in creating floral arrangements. Her brother, Carl, is vice president. Another brother, Erik, does the off-premises work.

Carl”™s 9-year-old Hans loves accompanying his uncle Erik on delivery and planting excursions and, back in Patterson, operating a skid-stear New Holland LX885 truck forÂ loading soils and mulches.

The yule holidays, Petersen admits, put a strain on family relationships as family members scramble for phones to take orders and occasionally have to deal with a delivery gone astray. Voices are raised. “It”™s a roller coaster of emotions. But family solidarity triumphs, and there is peace at the day”™s end,” Petersen said.

Operating a nursery business is no bed of roses during an oil shortage, the Petersens found when faced with heating greenhouses throughout the winter. With the price of oil soaring, the family turned to wood burning furnaces to supplement oil heat.

The nursery operates adjacent to Petersen Landscaping, which specializes in large trees and is run by Petersen”™s brother, Gregers, and his son, Gunner.

Challenging Careers focuses on the exciting and unusual business lives of Hudson Valley residents. Comments or suggestions may be emailed to Catherine Portman-Laux at cplaux@optonline.net.