Pinelands Nursery & Supply specializes in environmental restorations throughout the Mid-Atlantic

Don and Suzanne Knezick are proliferating their green beliefs through the sale of native plants and involvement in environmental restoration.

“Our goal is to be a major source of plants and products for storm water management projects. Storm water management is a growing trend from rain gardens to retrofitting projects to new green basins,” Don said.

Pinelands specializes in wetland mitigation, coastal plant restoration, stream bank stabilization, storm water basins and erosion-control products.

Originally, the nursery marketed container-grown blueberries, raspberries and grapes to garden centers in the Mid-Atlantic.

“While that business proved to be very successful, our interest was really in the propagation of native species. With the adoption of federal and state environmental legislation, such as the Pinelands Protection Act, the Clean Water Act and most recently, NPDES [National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System] Phase II storm water regulations, we were able to completely shift the focus of Pinelands Nursery to the production of indigenous trees, shrubs and herbs,” Don said.

Pinelands grows container native trees, shrubs, ferns, vines, grasses, sedges and rush forbs.

“With operations in New Jersey, Virginia and New York, we are proud to be able to propagate plants from regional seed sources that are genetically adapted to local conditions,” he said.

Acclimated plants

The nursery provides plants for different needs from dry to wet and salt-tolerant plants.

“A significant portion of our production is dedicated toward growing herbaceous, brackish water plants,” Don said. “Many of these species need to be salt acclimated prior to being installed on the job site. Failure to do so will result in dieback or mortality.”

Typically the brackish plants are grown in lined “wet frames” in standing water.

“We spend a considerable amount of time adjusting the salinity in the wet frames to match the salinity at the job site. This takes constant attention as the salinity fluctuates widely due to transpiration, irrigation and natural rainfall,” he said.

Brackish water plants include Distichlis spicata, Ilex glabra, Spartina alterniflora and Amelanchier canadensis.

Lead by example

Pinelands Nursery & Supply recycles its irrigation water. All irrigation runoff is “scrubbed” before it is discharged into a creek or reused for irrigation. The runoff flows through a biofilter which removes sediment and nutrients. The cleaner water flows through a series of vegetated ponds, which remove additional nutrients.

“By the time the water is discharged or reused, it is significantly cleaner than when it entered the system. The biofilters and ponds also serve as seed production areas for our wetland plants,” he said.

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Not just plants

In the late 1980s, Pinelands Nursery started supplying coir logs and mats for stream bank stabilization and bio-engineering projects. The nursery now sells a full line of erosion-control blankets, hydro-mulches, geotextiles and silt fence, which prompted the name change to Pinelands Nursery & Supply.

In 2006, Pinelands introduced its own custom-blended seed mixes for storm water management basins and construction sites.

Pinelands Nursery & Supply

Founded: In 1983 by Don and Suzanne Knezick.

Locations: Columbus, N.J., Toano, Va., and Gloversville, N.Y.

Crops: Container-grown native trees, shrubs, ferns, vines, grasses, sedges and rush forbs.

Production space: 30 acres.

Market: Pinelands sells to landscape contractors, municipalities and rewholesalers throughout the Northeast.

Specialties: Wetland mitigation, coastal plant restoration, stream bank stabilization, storm water basins and erosion-control products.

For more: Pinelands Nursery & Supply, (609) 291-9486; www.pinelandsnursery.com.

- Kelli Rodda

August 2008