To Carlton Davidson, working with plants requires a certain kind of care. “I’ve always preached to my kids that it’s important to be the steward of your land,” he said. “If you take things away from the land, you can put something back in its place or improve it or sustain it for future generations.”

Davidson instills this appreciation for the environment not just at home, but also at Bailey Nurseries in Dayton, where he is the scheduling and operations planning manager.

“We’ve always been very conscious of sustainability,” he said of the more than 100-year-old business. “If you want to be productive in growing trees and shrubs, you have to respect the land and respect its resources.”

Bailey Nurseries is a fifth-generation, family-owned company that was established in Minnesota and has operations in Oregon. In late 2018, Bailey purchased Dayton-based Carlton Plants – no relation to Carlton Davidson – and brought the local business into its larger operations. Carlton specialized in bare-root trees, shrubs, and vines — perennial plants with roots attached that can be easily transplanted. It was a good fit with Bailey, which had growing operations in five states and offered similar plant products.