A Nurseryman by trade and a History buff at heart is doing something “very unique’ in developing new species of trees in Manitowoc. Jeff Edgar is the owner of his family business, Silver Creek Nurseries. He spoke about ‘First-Down-For-Trees’, a collaborative effort including Wisconsin Public Service, the Green Bay Packers and the Department of Natural Resources.
Edgar explains that when the First Down for Trees was initially discussed, he thought, “what could he do to develop a signature tree?”
‘The Leap” is a shade tree that grows to 30-feet tall at maturity and it’ll be for sale to the general public. Due to trademark issues specific teams can’t be mentioned…but Edgar DID say he’s also going to reproduce ‘other’ sports teams colors such as blue & gold and purple & gold in trees.
The Manitowoc man is also “the only producer of Johnny Appleseed Apple trees for the Johnny Appleseed Museum in Urbana, Ohio and is also growing Apple trees from the University of Wisconsin that are traced back to Sir Isaac Newton in England.”
Edgar says the grafting process is a skill he learned while working at a nursery in Oregon in the mid 1970’s. He adds, “Once you have the skill and can identify plants that can grow together, the world is your oyster.”