Cedar Ridge Nurseries

Walter L Greenwood (wlg1+@pitt.edu)
Mon, 23 May 1994 12:25:29 -0400 (EDT)

Alex, (AKA RS6111A@american.edu) posted this question:

> Does anyone know whatever happened to Cedar Ridge Nursery?

I have been waiting for someone to ask. Guess its time for my intro.

My name is Walter Greenwood.

I am the one who founded Cedar Ridge Nurseries, built it into a
halfway respectable business, drove it into the ground, and lay
sobbing in its burning wreckage for two years before coming more-
or-less to my senses. That's about it. I have been out of the
business for quite a few years now, and it still hurts. I commited
my time, energy, and life savings to what I thought would be my
life's work, and I lost it all. I came pretty close to losing my
family as well. I was distributing plants in the states for Rob
Cantley, who rooted the cuttings in Brunei and shipped them to me
several hundred to several thousand at a time.

Before I started, Bob Hanrahan (remember WIP?) told me it wouldn't
work, and I guess I should have believed him. After all, he had been
doing it for many years already, and had calculated that at the very
height of his success, he made less than minimum wage from the plant
business. But I just had to try it myself anyway.

I extend my congratulations and best wishes to all of those who
are actually suceeding in the CP business. Somehow I still know that
with the right plan and the right preparation, it CAN be done. I'm just
not the right person to do it - not hard-nosed enough, I guess.

I still get mail almost every day requesting catalogs. Unfortunately,
I don't have time to reply to it. Perhaps posting to the list will
help to clear up the confusion. Thanks for asking.

Incidentally, my son's latest issue of 3-2-1 CONTACT (a kid's magazine)
has a big story on CP, including several photos of Pete D'Amato. I also
saw (and purchased) two CDs with CP photos on the covers (cephalotus
and dionaea). After I get a chance to listen to them, I'll report back
with a review.

- Walter