Published 7:00 am Thursday, August 10, 2023
Nathan Melad grew up in Nampa, Idaho, earned a degree in horticulture from Boise State University and started Melad Tree Farm LLC in 1992.
Then the market for trees plummeted during the recession that hit in 2008. “Our trees got really big, up to 6- and 7-inch caliper and 20 to 30 feet tall,” he said.
In 2013 he hired a man in Sun Valley with a big tree spade to dig and transplant a few big trees. A few years later Melad bought his own tree spade truck.
Now he has three 90-inch Big John tree spades mounted on semi-trucks, and two 45-inch Big John tree spades on Ford 550 chassis. He is now the largest-specimen tree grower and transplanter in the Northwest, selling about 300 big trees each year and transplanting about 200 big trees for landscapers.
“It is a specialty, selling big trees and a big investment for people to buy a full-grown tree. We first go to the client’s home to see if we can get a big 10-wheeler truck into their yard,” he said.
“We have special construction drive mats—rated for 200,000 pounds — we lay down over lawns, brick patios, etc., to get a big truck into someone’s yard without damaging their landscape,” he said. “We dig the hole with the spade truck, and pull out the plug of dirt. If it’s good soil we bring it back to the farm, and if it’s poor we take it to the gravel pit. Then we prep the tree, transport it with the spade truck and set it in the hole.”
Trees being transplanted are 20-plus years old. Most are deciduous — maples, honey locusts, ornamental trees like flowering pear and flowering crab apples. Many people are looking for shade, and something with eye appeal. With this process they have it instantly and don’t have to wait 20 years for a tree to grow.
“We have about 6,000 trees and are still planting baby trees every year. They will be ready 15 to 20 years from now,” he said. “Our specialty is 6- to 10-inch caliper (diameter across the base).
“We have evergreens 20 to 30 feet tall, such as Norway spruce, Colorado spruce and eastern white pine but 90% of our customers want a deciduous tree,” he said.
“We do transplanting for the park system and the city of Meridian and their park, and some for Boise when they need trees relocated within their park,” he said.
Many older homes in the valley are being torn down, with new subdivisions going in, or streets widened, and sometimes a tree needs to be removed or relocated, Melad said.
“We move a lot of trees to accommodate remodel projects or if people are adding a swimming pool to their yard. If they have trees where they want a pool, instead of cutting those down we can transplant them to a different location,” Melad said.
The relocation part of the business is expanding, in addition to sales from the farm.
This is a family business and his son, Geoff, works for him.
“We have 5 to 7 employees most of the year. We move trees when they are dormant, so it’s a big push between October and April-May. We transplant trees all winter if the ground isn’t frozen or too muddy to get the big truck around,” Melad said.
“We only move 2 to 3 trees each day; it takes time to tie them up and get them moved and transplanted.”
The root balls are 6 feet deep and 8 feet across when the tree is dug up. The average tree weighs about 15,000 pounds.
“Many people don’t know that you can move a big tree and that we can do that service,” he said. “It’s been two businesses — the farming side, growing trees and taking care of a crop every day, and the contracting side, putting trees in and taking care of equipment.”
The trucks are expensive and require a lot of maintenance.
“I love what I do and I love my customers. Every job is different and it’s fun to meet new people every day and provide them with something that brings them happiness.”
Trees are a part of nature that enrich people’s lives.
“I have a passion for trees. We’ve shipped trees to Sun Valley, Park City, Utah, and many areas around here. Most of our trees go to homeowners,” he said.
The homeowner is making an investment in their property and quality of life.
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