Richard John Stewart arrived in the Okanagan Valley, from County Kildare, Ireland, in the spring of 1908. Richard joined up with his brother William, who had emigrated two years prior to Richard’s arrival. The two brothers worked at various orchards and farms up and down the Okanagan Valley to save money for a nursery of their own.
In 1911 the Stewart brothers, Richard and William, started up Stewart Brothers Nurseries Ltd. After a number of years, William moved to Australia while Richard continued the journey and vision of expanding his nursery. Stewart Brothers Nurseries Ltd. was the prime supplier of fruit trees in the Okanagan Valley, as well as, an exporter of trees to China and Australia before the Second World War.
After the Second World War, the nursery became a large supplier of fruit trees to Washington State and exported trees to Europe and South America. In the early 1950’s, the nursery expanded and began growing shade trees. At the same time, ownership of the nursery passed on to Richard’s eldest son, Bill, who became the sole owner in the 1960’s. In the mid 1970’s, the nursery discontinued growing fruit trees altogether, while concentrating solely on shade trees.
Today, with growing fields in Midway, Grand Forks, and South Kelowna, Stewart Brothers Nurseries Ltd. provides shade trees for retail nurseries, garden centers, wholesale nurseries, commercial and residential landscapers, golf courses, contractors, developers, municipalities, cities and towns throughout Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, the northern United States including Alaska, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. Today Stewart Brothers Nurseries Ltd. is one of the oldest operating nurseries in all of Canada.
The Stewart and Jhaj families are proud that in 2014 two long term employees and brothers, Avtar and Kal Jhaj, who have been involved in the day to day operations of the Nursery with a combined total of over 80 years have purchased the company.
We have an extremely knowledgeable and dedicated team of employees working with us. Some of our most valued employees have worked diligently with us for over 43 years. The whole team is dedicated to growing premium quality, hardy and caliper trees to provide to you, the customer.