Descriptions of the 4 vendor classifications used in the analysis. See Table 2 for the number of each vendor type in the data set.
| Vendor classification | Description and characteristics |
|---|---|
| *General nursery/garden center | The typical vendors associated with plant materials. General nurseries/garden centers have space dedicated to growing and (or) storing plant stock and typically have buildings meant for public interaction and operations. Common infrastructure includes buildings, glass/greenhouses, and often tree stock. Many operations are located in urban/suburban areas, with some businesses being in rural areas but within a short distance from a town. A non-specific array of plant groups is sold here (e.g., annuals, perennials, woody shrubs, and landscaping trees). Foci include residential and commercial landscaping, hobbyist gardening, landscape and yard supplies, lawn care and hardscaping, florists, and gift stores/knick-knacks. |
| *Tree farm | Vendors that grow and specialize in woody species, typically by growing field/potted stock. Most tree farms do not have large retail infrastructures and often look like agricultural fields of row crops in rural/suburban locations. Common foci of tree farms are wholesale operations to local retailers, urban/suburban landscaping and gardening, and Christmas tree farms with landscaping stock. Rare foci include trees for conservation plantings or forestry. |
| Native nursery | Vendors that sell and explicitly emphasize native plant species. Most native nurseries have few non-natives or nativars (meaning, cultivars of native species) in their selection, and often advertise growing local ecotypes. Common foci of native plant nurseries are conservation plantings and (or) restoration, eco-friendly backyard gardening, and plant collections. |
| *Other | Vendors that do not fit into the other 3 categories. Commonly, these vendors fill some type of specific market niche and rely on long-distance sales rather than sales at a physical location. Examples include online/mail order vendors, specialty growers, edibles and agroforestry, and agricultural/heirloom seed vendors. |
↵* These vendor types were pooled and considered to be “conventional.