Natives, drought tolerance and organic practices the theme at
Plant Station
A nursery tucked away on just less than an acre off San Miguel
Canyon Road in Prunedale is aiming to change the landscape of the
Central Coast, one plant at a time.
Natives, drought tolerance and organic practices the theme at Plant Station
A nursery tucked away on just less than an acre off San Miguel Canyon Road in Prunedale is aiming to change the landscape of the Central Coast, one plant at a time.
The Plant Station is a verdant palette of vegetation that emphasizes natives and water-conserving landscape plants. A small gift shop adjoins the growing area, but – true to its name – the Plant Station is about plants, not garden statuary or accessories.
On a recent stroll through the nursery at 2299 San Miguel Canyon, general manager Steven Popp talked about his lifelong passion for growing things, and the philosophy that caused him and owner Indria Aslan to launch the business.
“The natural state of our clime is drought,” Popp said. “Tree ring studies reveal a 70-year drought.”
Much of the stock is sourced from a nearby wholesale nursery that Aslan and Popp operate, and what they don’t produce themselves, they seek to purchase from nearby producers.
“I believe locally-sourced plants are better acclimated,” Popp explained.
Popp himself lives on three acres near the nursery, on a property he describes as “kind of a jungle.”
Walking around the nursery, hummingbirds zing around a block of salvias – the Plant Station carries 28 different sage species.
Given the nursery’s mission, Popp can indulge his own interest in native plants. He estimated about 25 percent of what the Plant Station carries is native, and he hopes to get to 50 percent in time.
Near the front of the nursery, potted plants are placed almost like a floral arrangement in a grouping of wildlife friendly plants. Hard-to-find native oaks await buyers.
More unusual plants – native and exotic – emphasize scent. Popp showed off bronzy willows with a sharp peppermint scent, a lemon-perfumed eucalyptus and yerba buena, a native relative of mint with a clean, fresh fragrance.
Popp comes to the business after spending most of his life learning about plants. He worked as a research assistant with the University of California Cooperative Extension, has done work for area cities and, thanks to early experience as a U.S. Forest Service firefighter, can give advice for fire-safe landscaping to rural property owners.
As the scientific names of the plants he nurtures roll off his tongue, Popp said he and Aslan hope to use the gift shop and growing area as a living classroom for local students. Popp already has worked for the last two years for an adult gardening program nearby.
The nursery is a logical outgrowth of the nearby wholesale production gardens, which Aslan said she established in part to ensure that agricultural chemicals did not run off her property, “since the runoff feeds into a major tributary to Elkhorn Slough.”
A planned construction project revealed that Monterey County requires submittal of a landscape plan that is 80 percent drought tolerant, so the direction of the nursery was determined. About three-fourths of the plants available at the Plant Station are classed as drought resistant.
While the nursery is not certified as organic, its products, planting mediums and management practices emphasize organic. Watching the results emerge has been interesting, Popp said. He’s noticed that his plants seem to resist cold better than plants pushed into rapid growth with heavy shots of chemical fertilizers.
“At the end of the day, no matter what I do, well you don’t do it if you don’t dig it,” Popp said. “I know my product ends up not hurting the environment but helping it and, hopefully, putting a smile on someone’s face.”
The Plant Station is located at 2299 San Miguel Canyon Road in Prunedale. Phone number is 663-9939.
