Nick Botner died on February 13. He was at home in Yoncalla, OR surrounded by family. RIP to the great yet humble man. There is no doubt the world is a better place for his having graced it.
I enjoyed his presence at the HOS Fruit Propagation Fair. I loved that he never lost his thirst for new varieties. Thank you Nick. You will be missed by many.
I never knew him personally but his collection of fruits was second to no one private collection. He did a great deal to preserve unusual varities. There are many types completely unknown outside his collection. Much was done to preserve his work Botner | Temperate Orchard Conservancy . A great orchadist was lost.
No telling how many varieties he saved from extinction! Sad news indeed, RIP Nick!
A real loss indeed. Several varieties on my trees are from his orchard, and I still have some of his lists. He made a real contribution.
I had the pleasure of doing several trades with Nick. Even at
his advanced age, he was still sharp as a tack. He was a one
of a kind, and we all owe him a lot.
Those are extremely rare, especially nowadays, hard to describe a lost like him. He is a sample what make this a better world.
I spoke over the phone with him a couple times, doing business for scions. His lists have been source material when I’ve looked for what is available on this continent - a huge representation!
May God comfort all who mourn his death.
Nick Botner was a giant. It is hard to imagine that there will ever be another orchard like his. He was also helpful to others and cooperative. He helped the Home Orchard Society a lot and mentored people in growing fruit. He was very helpful to Joanie Cooper and others in setting up the Temperate Orchard Conservancy so that many of his varieties can be saved. It is our fruit heritage and he has been instrumental in saving a huge part of it.
John S
PDX OR
Indeed, he was unique. For me personally I probably got 200 or more varieties from him, including several ones which are my favorites today. He was mainly known for his apples but there were also many pears, grapes, plums, etc that you could only get through Nick.