the Prairie Hardy story
We acknowledge that Prairie Hardy Nursery is located on Treaty 6 territory, a traditional meeting ground, gathering place and travelling route for Indigenous Peoples, including the Cree, Saulteaux, Blackfoot, Dene and Nakota Sioux. We are grateful to live, work and grow on these lands, and honour the First Nations, Métis and Inuit Peoples who have cared for them for generations.
We are a unique nursery, in operation since 2017. We specialize in delicious (truly!) hardy and unique trees for our cold Canadian climate. Our focus is simple: finding, growing and sharing Prairie Hardy trees that can thrive in our challenging climate.
We are an independent, artisan nursery owned and operated by nutty duo Kurt and Kristel. For nearly a decade now, we have been building a unique collection of hardy and unusual cultivars for gardeners, orchardists, homesteaders and fruit enthusiasts across Canada. You could say that we are quite the collectors!
Each spring we ship trees and shrubs all over Canada. Our trees are sought after by passionate fruit and nut tree enthusiasts from coast to coast.
But Prairie Hardy Nursery is so much more than simply growing trees! So grab a warm bevy, we would love to share our story with you.
Like a little walnut, Prairie Hardy Nursery sprouted
Everything started with a deep desire for growing our own hardy orchard and food forest in Two Hills County, Alberta, in Canadian Hardiness Zone 3.
As we searched for trees suited to our climate, we discovered how difficult it could be to find reliable advice, as information from milder growing regions didn't necessarily reflect prairie conditions. We wanted answers we could trust, so we turned to experienced local experts, immersed ourselves in the world of hardy fruit and nut trees, and other unique cultivars.
Prairie Hardy Nursery took root in 2017, and the hardy walnut became our logo, a fitting symbol of the passion and cold hardy grit it takes to run our nursery.
Unique and rare trees
Over the years, we have sought out rare cultivars and unique genetics from across Canada and beyond. We are incredibly proud to have commercially introduced many rare and unique cultivars to the Canadian market that were previously unavailable here, and we have become known for bringing unusual and hard-to-find fruit and nut varieties to Canadian gardeners.
We ensure trees are true to type and we research whether information published online reflects the actual experience of local growers. We log what we learn, update our information and we do our best to bring true and honest, lived experience to Canadian growers.
A love for trees
We travel throughout the Prairies to discover unusual and exceptional trees. We seek out old and rare specimens, talk to the people who know their history, taste their fruit and evaluate their health, productivity and potential. When we find genetics worth preserving, we collect scionwood or seed and bring that material into our growing program for propagation and evaluation.
For nut trees, we personally seek out healthy, productive mother trees and collect seed from carefully selected sources. We are interested in preserving genetics from trees that have already demonstrated their ability to grow and produce in prairie conditions.
This kind of exploration is a big part of what makes Prairie Hardy Nursery unique. We are incredibly grateful to the wonderful folks who have contacted us with information about rare and delicious species, and whose trees we gratefully collect from. We are always interested in helping to preserve old and unusual varieties and, where possible, saving them from extinction.
Experimental Orchards
We maintain experimental orchards and growing areas where we trial cultivars and observe how they perform in our climate.
Hardiness is important, but it is only part of the picture. We also want to know about fruit quality, flavour, productivity, ripening time, disease resistance and overall performance.
Our goal is not simply to find plants that survive. We want to find plants that are worth growing.
We also travel to visit special trees and their often even more interesting growers. Growing trees is a slow process and we learn best from each other.
Growing in Zone 3 is not for the faint of heart
It takes true grit and patience. It takes planning and shared knowledge from local experts.
There is an important distinction between selling a plant that is rated for Zone 3 and actually growing that plant in Zone 3. There are so many nuances that nurseries in warmer climates simply do not experience. This is what makes us unique: our lived experience.
Our trees and shrubs are grown in our prairie climate, where they experience our cold winters, short growing seasons, prairie winds and unpredictable weather.
We believe that growing plants in the same conditions as the people who will ultimately plant them is a great benefit, even though operating a nursery in our climate is not an easy choice. We would not be where we are today without dedication, patience, grit and, above all, true passion.
We take the information behind our catalogue seriously
Our cultivar descriptions are written by us, based on extensive research and our own observations.
We also take all of our own cultivar photographs. Kristel photographs our trees, flowers and fruit so that customers can see the actual cultivars we grow rather than relying on generic stock photography or AI slop.
Please note that all of our original photographs and written content are protected by copyright.
A great deal of work goes into every cultivar we offer, long before it appears on our website. We try to go above and beyond, fuelled by our passion for delicious fruit, healthy crops and vigorous roots.
Grateful for our mentors...
We have had the privilege of learning from many knowledgeable people along the way. Horticultural experts, researchers, breeders, growers, homesteaders and enthusiastic fruit growers from across the Canadian Prairies and beyond have shared their knowledge, experience, genetics and advice with us over the years.
Some have introduced us to cultivars we would never otherwise have encountered. Others have shared observations from their own growing experiences or helped us understand the history and potential of a particular plant.
We are proud of what we have learned, and we are equally proud of the people who have helped us learn it. We would not be where we are today without them.
& our wonderful team
Prairie Hardy Nursery has grown over the years, and today we are fortunate to have a wonderful team working alongside us.
There is a tremendous amount of work that goes into grafting, growing, preparing and shipping thousands of bareroot trees each spring, and we could not do it without them.
We are incredibly grateful not only for their hard work, but also for the laughter, camaraderie and good humour they bring to the nursery. They keep us in check, keep things moving and make the long days so enjoyable.
We truly could not do this without our tree-loving team!
Respect for the land
Prairie Hardy Nursery is located on our family farm in Two Hills County, Alberta. Our orchards and growing areas are surrounded by rewilded land and native vegetation that provides habitat for pollinators, birds and other wildlife.
We grow using organic practices and incorporate permaculture and old-world growing techniques into our work.
Our goal is to grow productive, healthy plants while building and maintaining a diverse, living landscape around them.
We are dedicated to use local and eco-friendly products, re-use everything we can, try to keep things out of the landfills. Even your tree package may have recycled fillers in them when needed.
Grown with curiosity
After nearly a decade, we are still looking.
There are always more cultivars to investigate, more old trees to find, more genetics to preserve and more questions to answer.
That curiosity is a big part of who we are.
We are serious about our plants and the information we provide, but we also have a lot of fun doing what we do. We enjoy discovering something new, sharing it with other plant enthusiasts and watching a cultivar we've been working with for years finally produce its first crop.
That is what keeps this work interesting.
Why Prairie Hardy Nursery?
We are proud to be a Prairie-based Canadian nursery pushing the boundaries of what can be grown here, and helping gardeners discover just how much is possible.
Thank you for supporting our little corner of the Canadian fruit-growing community.
We're so glad you're here. Kristel, Kurt and our most wonderful Prairie Hardy Team!
If you have any questions, please reach out!
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