In addition to growing organic vegetables and organic plant starts, we do custom mint propagation, grow camelia sinensis tea, operate a native plants nursery and grow hybrid poplars for forestry and phytoremdiation projects. See below for more information.
We grow a wide variety of natives plants for riparian and native plantings, large and small.
Contact Chris at 503.559.9681 or chris@mintogrowers.com for current availability.
Species listed below.
We specialize in large-scale contract grow outs of mostly small sized plants in ellepots or RLC7′s. However, we do have a good selection of species in one gallon sizes. We do wholesale pricing from the nursery with a $100 minimum.
Smaller quantities are available to home owners, landscape contractors or small municipality projects. From May to October these can be purchased May-October at our Farm Stand, or during April and May and the Salem Saturday Market.
Some of the groups we have worked with recently include the Underwood Conservation District, the Crooked River Watershed Council, and Oregon Trout, now part of the Freshwater Trust.
| Common Name | Latin Name |
| BULBS | |
| Western Trillium | Trillium ovatum |
| Chocolate Lily | Fritillaria lanceolata |
| FERNS | |
| Western Maidenhair | Adiatum aleuticum |
| Deer Fern | Blechnum spicant |
| Sword Fern | Polystichum munitum |
| FLOWERING PLANTS | |
| Fairy Bells | Prosartes hookeri |
| Fairy Lanterns | Prosartes smithii |
| GRASS/SEDGES | |
| Saw Beak Sedge | Carex stipata |
| Tufted Hairgrass | Deschampsia caespitosa |
| GROUNDCOVER | |
| Coast Strawberry | Fragaria chiloensis |
| Oregon Grape, creeping | Mahonia repens |
| SHRUBS | |
| Serviceberry/Saskatoon | Amelanchier alnifolia |
| Vine Maple | Acer circinatum |
| Big Leaf Maple | Acer macrophyllum |
| Red Dogwood | Cornus sericea |
| Oceanspray | Holodiscus discolor |
| Black Twinberry | Lonicera involucrata |
| Oregon Grape, tall | Mahonia aquafolium |
| Oregon Grape, creeping | Mahonia repens |
| Indian Plum | Oemleria cerasiformis |
| Mockorange | Philadelphus lewisii |
| Pacific Ninebark | Physocarpus capitatus |
| Chokecherry | Prunus virginiana |
| Red Flowering Currant | Ribes sanguineum |
| Wood’s Rose | Rosa woodsii |
| Blue Elderberry | Sambucus cerulea |
| Red Elderberry | Sambucus racemosa |
| Douglas Spirea/Hardhack | Spiraea douglasii |
| Snowberry | Symphoricarpos albus |
| TREES | |
| Red Alder | Alnus rubra |
| White Alder | Alnus sinuata |
| Oregon Ash | Fraxinus latifolia |
| Black Hawthorne | Crataegus douglasii |
| Sitka Spruce | Picea sitchensis |
| Ponderosa Pine- Valley | Pinus ponderosa |
| Douglas Fir | Pseudotsuga menziesii |
| Oregon Oak | Quercus garryana |
We harvest dormant poplars stakes and whips from perennial stoolbeds for forest products companies and landowners.
Also maintained on the farm are many research plots of both native and hybrid poplars, as well as other species like willows, alders and dogwoods planted by Mt. Jefferson Farms.
Please contact Chris at 503.559.9681 or chris@mintogrowers.com
We produce certified mint plants for Willamette Valley and Central Oregon mint growers.
Please contact Chris at 503.559.9681 or chris@mintogrowers.com
Back in 1988, Mt. Jefferson Farms (the family farm/nursery operation) partnered with a tea expert John Vendeland to research the growing and production of camellia sinensis (tea) plants in Oregon. Many people do not realize the all types of tea- black, green, oolong and white to name a few, all come from the same species- camellia sinensis. Varying levels of oxidation, and other numerous techniques (similar to the complexity of wine making) produce different types of tea. There are also many regional varieties and cultivars that add to the wide variety of teas produced all over world.
Many camellia sinensis cultivars were selected to be grown here at the Salem farm in hopes of establishing an Oregon grown tea product and researching both growing and flavor characteristics of the various varieties. The result was the Illahee Hills Tea Company, and a healthy, mature block of tea. The research and development done by the Illahee Hills Tea Company is being continued here at Minto Island Growers.
This summer we will be carefully pruning the tea block to create a consistent cutting bed for the tender young shoots that is most desirable for quality tea harvest. With a good table top hedge shape, consistent picking, and more practice processing the tea leaves, we hope to be on our way to producing a tasty, Oregon grown, tea product! And that could be just the beginning for a truly unique Oregon grown product…
More about camellia sinensis tea…