Gardening expert had a way with plants and people

Dan Pratt, a Sacramento nurseryman who dispensed popular gardening tips as a longtime Bee columnist and media personality, died Dec. 25 of injuries from a recent fall. He was 78.
A California certified nurseryman, Mr. Pratt was a respected authority on horticulture. He spent 24 years helping customers with gardening problems as a resident expert at Capital Nursery on Freeport Boulevard. On many spring weekends, the doors opened to a line of people carrying dying plants and seeking his opinion for a cure.
He was a past president and board member of the local chapter of California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers. He taught adult classes on landscaping for the Sacramento City Unified School District, led clinics on pruning trees at Capital Nursery and promoted horticulture at trade show appearances.
"One of his best skills was telling stories," said his son, Mark. "If somebody had a problem with a plant, he could always pull from his repertoire a story about a similar experience."
Mr. Pratt's engaging personality and easy-to-follow advice won him many fans. He dispensed advice as the "Garden Doctor" on KFBK radio for 19 years and wrote a weekly Bee column, "What's Bugging You?", from 1979 to 2003. He appeared in gardening stories on local TV shows.
He was a regular speaker at garden clubs, where audiences groaned at his signature bad puns. He led garden tours in Great Britain and published an annual calendar that was sold at many Northern California nurseries.
"Dan had a particularly good way of explaining things simply," said Don Shor of Redwood Barn Nursery in Davis. "He kept up with all the science but could talk about it in a way that was easy for people to understand."
Daniel Henry Pratt was born in 1932 in Vallejo, where his parents owned a nursery started by his grandfather.
He worked in the family business, served two years in the Army and settled in Sacramento in the 1960s. He earned a teaching credential at UC Berkeley and was active in Rotary Club activities in Sacramento.
He married and divorced three times and had two children. A railroading enthusiast, he enjoyed touring train displays.
Mr. Pratt retired from an active role in the nursery industry several years ago. He split his time between Sacramento and a family home in Napa before moving permanently to Napa about two years ago.
He loved sharing his knowledge of gardening -- which he said does not require a green thumb for success.
"Just be observant," he told The Bee in 1985. "There are a lot of people who talk to their plants but few who listen.
"If this morning two of your fingers fell off, it would arouse some curiosity. Yet, when six leaves are lying on the carpet, many people don't even wonder what's wrong with their plant."