Brent Markus 
At just fourteen years old, Brent began his life as a landscape designer with a distinct interest in dwarf conifers and Japanese maples.  His parents let him renovate their gardens which after three years (at age 17) would go on to win the Chicago Tribune Garden Contest Best Collectors Garden.  Brent pursued his passion and attended Cornell University to study landscape architecture and horticulture.  He continued at Cornell in the Urban Horticulture Institute studying under renowned professor, Dr. Nina Bassuk.  Brent's research for his Masters focused on influencing low temperatures in the root zone of containers with media type, saturation, and insulation.  His Ph.D. research expanded on the container environment by investigating root freezing tolerance of several ornamental trees and shrubs.  Additionally, he investigated the influence of drought, pre-freezing temperaures, and application of stress hormones on root freezing tolerance.

At present, Brent manages Conifer Kingdom, Rare Tree Nursery, and Markus Specimen Trees, Inc.  He is as passionate about landscape design as he is about finding new plants.  In his free time, Brent loves to travel and is a major grilling enthusiast.

Dick Haslebacher
With 30+ years in forestry, nursery management and landscaping, Dick brings a lot of experience to the table!  When he is not managing Conifer Kingdom (and Rare Tree Nursery), Dick maintains landscapes throughout the greater Salem area through his company Woods Creek Horticultural.  Dick previously grew 15+ acres of grafted conifers in the Salem area.  In his free time, Dick enjoys hiking and a great micro brew.

Angel Garcia
Having worked at some of the largest dwarf conifer nurseries in the state, Angel has spent 30+ years doing everything from hand lacing acres of balled and burlapped trees to fertilizing, cutting scion wood, loading trucks, and constructing irrigation.  Angel has an incredible appetite and enjoys spending time on his strawberry farm with his wife and large family.

Codey Toquero
After leaving a career of landscape maintenance, Codey was eager to get back to working outdoors.  He joined the team in early 2012.  Codey can tackle complex building projects and constructing Brent's crazy ideas without hesitation.  Codey is the engineer of the nursery who keeps all our equipment working and organized.  When your order ships, it is the same attention to detail he uses in construction that he uses in packing your order.  If there would a plant packing competition, we would not hesitate to nominate Codey.  In is free time, Codey enjoys skiing, spending time with his family, and grilling.  
 
Sam Pratt
Sam joined the team in January 2013.  His passion for dwarf conifers and photography from the bright age of 13, led us to recruit him from Bremerton, WA when he was just 19!  Sam is currently enrolled in horticulture classes at Chemeketa to expand on his associates degrees.  You would never know this, though because he's still at the nursery full time.  Sam loves everything about plants, and in his free time, you guessed it, he's searching for witches brooms, photographing plants and landscapes, and contributing to the GardenWeb conifer forum.  Sam coordinates special projects at the nursery including plant evaluations, record keeping, labels, photography, and much more.  Sam handles most customer support including taking orders over the phone, responding to emails, and touring customers around the nursery.

Candida Garcia
With 25 years of nursery experience, Candida is responsible for the sensitive tasks of fertilizing, rooting cuttings and handling young seedlings.  After rooting about 1,000,000 cuttings in her life time, her hands work with robotic accuracy, but a gentle touch.  Candida enjoys spending time with her husband, Angel, and their large family.