Pan American Nursery Products Inc.

From the August 2019 issue of Nursery Management Magazine

Pan American Nursery Products maintains crop production with Lambert Peat Moss.

For three generations, the family owned and operated company, Pan American Nursery Products, has supplied nurseries and landscapers with roses, perennials, shrubs, vines and fruit. With three locations — Surry, British Columbia; Millgrove, Ontario; and Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario — Pan American Nursery has grown into one of Canada’s leading wholesale nurseries. One way the company continues to thrive is by using products from The Lambert Peat Moss Company, which has been a resource for the industry since 1928. Originally providing screened and bagged peat moss to horticulturists and professional growers, Lambert Peat Moss now offers a diverse line of select types of premium peat moss, growing mixes and retail potting mixes. “There’s a couple of products that we use,” says Alexander Van Barneveld, nursery manager for the Niagara-on-the-Lake location, as well as U.S. corporate account manager.

“The EPM-40 [High Porosity Mix], we use for our bud and bloom roses, the EPM-20 [All Purpose Mix], we use for the clematis and some of the other things, and for shrubs we use EPM-20.”

The EPM-20 All Purpose Mix provides the ideal general-purpose combination, while the EPM-40 High Porosity Mix enhances drainage. Both mixes, however, have the same ingredient — EcoPeat, a natural wood fiber that is exclusive to Lambert Peat Moss. Products from the EPM line are created with a base blend of Canadian sphagnum peat moss and EcoPeat and can include a different amount of perlite that’s needed based off mix needs, which Van Barneveld finds helpful. “You can almost hone in on the product you’re growing and be more precise,” he says. Along with shrubs, Van Barneveld uses the EPM-20 on their 2-gallon roses, “which has been very successful,” he says. For their blueberries, he uses Lambert RA1 which he says allows him to provide a lower pH, just like the EPM-20 allows him to grow the clematis at a higher pH. “Both have responded phenomenally,” he says.

Due to uncontrollable issues, a new facility was built at Pan American Nursery that enhanced growing conditions overall, but Van Barneveld still credits Lambert Peat Moss for their success.

“We have better growing conditions, but we’ve also never had crops that looked this good,” he says. “We had a 100% take on our rose bushes, both in the dormant and 2-gallon bud and bloom. We are very pleased with the products.”

The Niagara-on-the-Lake location has about 250,000 square feet for production space and fulfills shipments as far as east of the Mississippi River. With Lambert Peat Moss, growing consumer-worthy products is easier and recommended by Van Barneveld. One reason he recommends Lambert Peat Moss products is because of its root growth, especially on rose bushes, which are their main product. “We’ve had so much success,” he says. “When I take a look at the rose crop, I’ve found that the roots grew right away, and the plants didn’t have to adjust to the product. It’s almost like they grabbed onto the fibers and started working. I’ve never had that much root growth before using this product.”

Photos from Pan American Nursery Products. From left to right: Rod Thompson et Alexander Van Barneveld

Pan American Nursery Products 
Founded: 1960
Place: Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada
Products: Roses, perennials, shrubs and trees
www.panamnursery.com