Irvin Burchell
From 10,000 trees to 3 million
From 1-1/2 acres to more than 1,000
From 5,000 square feet of greenhouse space
to 130,000
From founding father to son to grandson
Burchell Nursery has known no bounds
It all began in 1942 with one man, a small patch of land and a very big belief.
“Plant good trees on good land. Take care of them and they will take care of you.”
Irvin Burchell started with an acre and a half of good, Central Valley land, on the outskirts of Modesto, California. He put his UC Berkley degree in Pomology—the science and culture of fruits—to work growing peach trees. His philosophy of growing trees of the highest quality, sold with the highest integrity and represented honestly did the rest.
Bill Burchell
Today, Burchell Nursery grows more than three hundred varieties of peach,
nectarine, cherry, apricot, plum, prune, apple, almond and walnut trees.
We have patented more than 80 of them. We also grow pomegranate, citrus and olive trees. And we stand behind every one of them.
Irvin’s focus on quality led to the development of the state of California’s own
tree certification program. Beginning in the 1960s, Burchell Nursery worked
to eliminate viruses from commercial tree varieties and establish clean
sources of bud wood. Our ongoing sampling process to ensure virus-free
trees became the model that is now used by the state. Our certified and
virus-free selections are now known as Healthy Start Trees.™
The second generation of leadership
In 1970—the year the first Earth Day was celebrated—Irvin’s son Bill Burchell
took over as leader. Under Bill’s guidance, Burchell Nursery grew dramatically.
By 1975, we had added 700 acres in Oakdale, and continued to farm the original land around Modesto.
Bill continued to expand Burchell Nursery throughout the next decade, opening our Fresno branch in 1983. With the coming of the year 2000, the first greenhouse became part of the business.
