Tiedemann Nurseries, LLC
4707 Cherryvale Avenue
P.O. Box 926
Soquel, CA 95073

831.475.5163 (ph)
831.475.4067 (fax)

 

Born October 25, 1919, in Hartford, Connecticut, and raised in suburban Bloomfield as one of seven children, Mr. Ostapkevich had a distinguished life.

His high school career was memorable as a honor student with all-state honors in basketball. After graduation, his interest in horticulture started as a result of working for a retail nursery in his hometown.

This fledging career was interrupted by WWII with his joining the U.S. Army Air Corps, 14 September 1942. Upon graduation from gunnery school, advanced training in parachuting and instructing a glider troop transport school, he was assigned to overseas duty as a tail gunner in a B-17 squadron stationed in England. During his first bombing raid over Germany, he was shot down behind enemy lines. Wounded with anti-aircraft shrapnel he carried with him until his death, he parachuted from his badly damaged B-17 and, upon reaching ground, avoided detection and capture for 30 hours before being handed over to the Nazi forces. The next 2 months saw him being moved from the German countryside to rail boxcars containing other Prisoners of War for transport to a series of German prisons. 5 months after his capture, he escaped and avoided recapture for over 3 months. He was assisted by Germans who opposed Hitler and stayed in rural farming communities during his attempt to escape Nazi-occupied territory. Ultimately, he was reported by a villager loyal to Hitler’s forces and recaptured. Nick was liberated by American forces in early 1945 and, after medical treatment in England and the United States, was discharged 26 November 1945 with numerous awards and medals, including the Good Service Award, Prisoner of War Medal and the Purple Heart. After returning home, he traveled extensively in his own car and hitch-hiking coast to coast.

Again working at a hometown nursery, his interest in horticulture was rekindled. He moved to Southern California and worked in propagation at Monrovia Nursery. After receiving solid training in plant propagation at Monrovia, Nick moved north to the San Francisco Bay area and worked at prestigious East Bay Nursery until1953. Having prepared himself well, Nick started Nix Nursery in San Leandro, then in Castro Valley, and, finally, moved to Soquel in 1960.

Nick’s main interest was in producing high quality starter plants for the emerging nursery industry in California. He specialized in Pelargoniums (Martha Washington Geraniums), Fuchsias, Poinsettias and many other flowering perennials. Many of his introductions are still grown commercially throughout the world: most notably, the pelargonium selections of “Harvest Moon”, “Anastasia”, “ Virginia” and “Long Shot.” He was an active member of numerous organizations including: California Association of Nurserymen; Plant Propagator’s Society; American Fuchsia Society; Founding Member American Air Museum; Caterpillar Club; Air Force Association; American Legion; and, the American Red Cross.

Nick was always ready and willing to share his vast experience with anyone who asked. He was a very private man, living simply on his nursery property, yet he enjoyed the many friends who visited.