After 80 years spent supplying and supporting the growth of the tree fruit industry, Van Well Nursery announced it will cease operations this summer.

“It’s bittersweet because our growers are fantastic, our employees are fantastic,” said Pete Van Well, president of the business based in Wenatchee, Washington. “We were a third generation reaching retirement age, and we didn’t have anyone who wanted to take over this family business, and as the down cycle lingered, we decided maybe we should go ahead and leave now. We’d rather go out with a quality product than try to cut corners and stretch.” 

His grandfather, Peter Van Well, started the nursery with his sons in 1946, after working as a production supervisor for C&O Nursery. The Washington nursery industry has been defined by friendly cooperation among competitors for generations, Van Well said. 

“We sprang from them and are still very good friends with the Snyders,” Van Well said, referring to the family that owned C&O Nursery of Wenatchee, which closed in 2023. “When we first started, the Richared from C&O was the dominant apple variety, so we sold more peaches than apples in the 1950s.”

As the tree fruit industry grew and the apple industry moved into high-density plantings, it was a boon for nurseries. In that heyday, the Van Wells made over 1.7 million trees each year.

“But we never sold that many. My grandfather always said you have to burn 10 percent, or you won’t have enough of something,” he said.

Of course, there were ups and downs over the decades, but nothing compares to the present downturn, now heading into its fifth or sixth year, Van Well said. 

After years of big plantings, the industry’s struggle with apple prices and the rising cost of labor has drastically cut growers’ demand for trees. Labor costs put a squeeze on nurseries as well. 

“Probably the biggest challenge is that to grow a quality nursery tree, you have to have a lot of hands on that tree,” Van Well said. “To do it right takes a lot, and we had pushed the price as high as it could go, but it wasn’t where we needed it to be.”

Looking at those facts, Van Well and his cousins — Christina, Ric and Suzanne — and his uncle, Pete, decided to wind down operations for a final delivery in 2026. Pete Van Well II, now 93, continues to come to the office every day where he spent his career working with his brothers, Jack, Joe, Dick and Tom. 

“Our grandfather and our fathers built a very good company,” Pete Van Well said. “They really did a good job and left us with something really nice to build a life and a career around.”

He credits the relationships built with longstanding customers and longtime employees for the nursery’s success over the years. And he cited the relationship with Good Fruit Grower, which was also founded in 1946.

For 40 years, a Van Well Nursery advertisement held the premier position on the back cover of nearly every issue — a tradition that often led people to ask Van Well staff how to subscribe to “our magazine,” Van Well recalled with a laugh. 

“I know for me and my cousins, it’s really a bittersweet year, because it’s our 80th year of operations,” he said. “We’ve been really blessed to have good employees as we’ve wound down, and now that the shipping season is over, it’s winding down fast.” •