Author: Laura Drotleff

The Medal Of Excellence For Industry’s Choice panel members from C. Raker & Sons provide some insight on the steps Team Raker takes in preparation for attending the California Spring Trials, and what factors the team considers before adding new varieties to production.

Home improvement retailer Lowe’s companies announced April 9 that it has committed to eliminate neonicotinoid pesticides from its stores in a gradual phase-out over the next 48 months. In response, horticulture industry associations issued a statement that Lowe’s position is surprising, considering the most recent and positive reports on the state of honeybee health and recent peer reviewed research, and that this is an issue for which sound science must take priority.

Hit the California Spring Trials trail with the editors of Greenhouse Grower next week. Editor Laura Drotleff and Group Editor Carol Miller, together with Dr. Allan Armitage, will visit every stop to bring you the latest varieties and breaking news. Subscribe to Greenhouse Grower‘s Benchrunner eNewsletter to make sure you get our daily updates while in California, April 11-17.

The American Floral Endowment (AFE) is funding a new research project to examine the health of honey bees on ornamental plants following treatment with neonicotinoids and other systemic insecticides.

Nearly $58 million as been allocated by the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to support the industry’s Plant Pest and Disease Management and Disaster Prevention Program, under Farm Bill Section 10007. The program will support mitigation efforts for specialty crops, including providing research and other funding to address plant pest and disease priorities for the specialty crop industry, including floriculture and nursery crops.

Woody ornamentals serve as the foundation of many great landscapes, but beyond their traditional uses, shrubs also add color, structure, texture and interest to small gardens and even containers. Check out this slideshow to see some of the newest introductions you’ll get to see at this year’s California Spring Trials.

Honey production in 2014 from producers with five or more colonies totaled 178 million pounds, up 19 percent from 2013, according to a March 20 report from the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

Nearly 90 growers, retailers, suppliers and wholesales attended the Society of American Florists’ (SAF) 2015 Congressional Action Days March 9-10. The delegation, representing 18 states, arrived on Capitol Hill at a time when two major industry issues – immigration and healthcare reform – are especially prominent in national headlines.

The Horticultural Research Institute will grant $125,000 in financial support for four key projects as part of the Horticultural Industry Bee & Pollinator Stewardship Initiative. The Initiative has three primary goals. First, to convene a task force to develop a bee and pollinator stewardship program, including creation of best management practices for plant production. Second, to identify and fund research that will help answer key science questions and fill gaps needed to design and refine the stewardship program. Third, to seek to positively position the horticultural community and its customers by collaborating with other compatible groups interested in augmenting pollinator habitat and protection.

Blooming potted plants are perfect gift items, and they put the finishing touch on any style of home decor. So when new varieties come on the market, growers and retailers alike take note of plants they know are going to make consumers happy. Check out the slideshow to see some of the new blooming potted plants making their debut to the trade this spring.

Is your environmentally controlled greenhouse production area 500,000 square feet or larger? If so, we want to hear from you. Please take our Top 100 Growers survey to help us get an accurate picture of our industry from the perspective of our largest operations.

Perennials are hot and there are some great new perennial introductions for 2016. We contacted breeders and asked them to share images and information on some of the great new varieties they displayed at 2015 California Spring Trials. Check out the slideshow below to see 32 of the new perennials making their debut to the trade this spring.

Plant patents are under protection, and breeders are fighting for their rights to keep growers from illegally propagating protected varieties. It’s something you don’t want to take a chance on, because the risk is far higher than the reward. More than 300 inspections were carried out last year from New York to British Columbia and from Ontario to Florida to protect plant patents, Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBR) and branded programs.

California Spring Trials (CAST) is long past for 2015, but you still have the chance to see the new genetics that will be hitting the market in 2016. We asked breeders to share with us pictures and information on some of the great new annuals introductions they shared at CAST, so we could share them with you.

Poinsettia growers report a strong year in 2014, thanks to a few conditions. Growers were encouraged by high plant quality, enthusiastic shoppers and a stronger, less saturated market for poinsettias throughout the selling season. Seasonal cold at just the right time put consumers in a festive mood to buy early and often, and with no big snowstorms to hold up shipments and a reduction of supply available in the market, the season was strong from start to finish.

The annual Season Premier at Costa Farms in Miami, Fla., is the industry’s very first peek at new varieties for debut the following year, even before the California Spring Trials, heralded widely as the jumping off point for new varieties. This year’s event revealed breeders’ best and brightest new varieties for 2016, shown in field trials, landscape trials and containers at Costa Farms tropical trial gardens. Plant breeders presented their new varieties to buyers and members of Lowe’s grower panel. Growers, brokers and other allied industry members, including Home Depot growers and buyers, were also able to peruse the grounds to see how the new varieties fared in the winter trials. Later this season, the hot and humid conditions at Costa’s summer trials will help identify the true performers.

The general feeling at the Florida Nursery Growers and Landscape Association’s 2015 Tropical Industry Exhibition (TPIE) was upbeat and positive. Attendees were inspired by exciting new products and varieties, as well as creative new displays and innovative ideas and left energized for the season ahead.

Friends and colleagues are mourning the death of Joe Lutey, 32, who died January 21, 2015. Lutey’s passion for both growing and garden retail had an impact on the industry. He participated on various industry advisory boards and brought fresh ideas that improved both Wojo’s Greenhouse and the industry as a whole.

Do you have problems callusing or rooting vegetatively propagated perennials? The Purdue University Floriculture Lab would like to help you with these problems, but first the research team there needs your help.

See what growers plan to work on for their 2015 business resolutions.