About Salish Trees Nursery

We founded Salish Trees Nursery on the Kitsap Peninsula in 2022 to grow and supply native trees, shrubs and perennials. Most of our native plant species derive from plant stock from the southern Salish Sea region, aka Puget Sound, with some coming from plants here in Kitsap. Homeowners, landscapers, businesses and restoration specialists can incorporate beautiful and coveted native plant species of the Pacific Northwest into their landscapes, creating high-functioning ecosystems.

Why we’re excited about a native plant nursery on the Kitsap peninsula

The Kitsap region is known for its variety of native plants which in part mirror the range of microclimates and soil types. The Kitsap peninsula has complex and interesting topography with a proportionally large area of shoreline with about 216 miles of marine shoreline and about 54 miles of freshwater shoreline, which influences the microclimates and associated native plants that live there.

The Kitsap peninsula is known for its impressive stands of native plant species, including, but certainly not limited to:

Evergreen huckleberry, Vaccinium ovatum

Garry oak, Quercus garryana

Kinnikinnick, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi

Hairy manzanita, Arctostaphylos columbiana

Media manzanita, Arctostaphylos x media

Low Oregon grape, Mahonia nervosa

Pacific madrone, Arbutus menziesii

Pacific rhododendron, Rhododendron macrophyllum

Salal, Gaultheria shallon

Trumpet honeysuckle, Lonicera ciliosa

In the Kitsap community, as elsewhere, there is growing interest in, and enthusiasm for, learning about native plants—including the biology, ecology, ethnobotany and horticulture uses. Our region uniquely provides the privilege and opportunity to learn from the ancient knowledge of coast Salish tribes about the many beneficial uses of these beautiful native plants all around us.

About our owner

Salish Trees Nursery owner, Mike Winningham grew up in Washington State where he spent much of his free time hiking with his family in the Olympic and Cascade Mountains. Summers were spent beside the Hood Canal near Poulsbo, where his father taught him about native plants. Their family practiced gardening with native and non-native species.

Following his passion for science, Mike pursued a bachelor's degree from Northwestern University and doctorate from Cornell University in chemistry, with a focus on bio-inspired materials. He launched a career at Corning Incorporated, where he focused on material science research, product development, and early-stage new business development. During his tenure in Corning, NY he was the Director of the Organic and Biochemical Technologies research group. Subsequently, Mike and his family moved back to Washington where he directed Corning’s Research Collaborations group.

Mike retired from Corning to pursue his passion for horticulture, quickly realizing that there was a growing need for nursery-grown native plants for landscapes and restoration efforts. To help address this critical demand, he opened Salish Trees Nursery.