Day one of California Spring Trials for the Greenhouse Grower team started off in Santa Paula, where Green Fuse Botanicals revealed its biggest new offering – programmable perennial combinations. Starting off with four named mixes, including Peach Cobbler, Bottle Rockets, Butterfly Alert and Mountain Sun, Green Fuse has taken all the guesswork out of which perennials will finish together to create high-value, high-margin perennial combos.

Dr. Allan Armitage talks about his favorite finds among the many new introductions he saw at Green Fuse Botanicals, Suntory and Ball Horticulture. He saw a couple of not-so-new plants that he loves, too.

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.

The ongoing drought has resulted in disaster area designations in counties across nine Western and Southwestern states, including Texas, where some reservoirs are at or near historically low levels.

Dümmen group recently announced the addition of Jim Devereux and Andrew Konicki to its team. They are the newest members of the Key Account and Broker Support team for Dümmen, and will be responsible for building, developing and maintaining current broker and grower customer relationships.

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.

California Gov. Jerry Brown announced April 1 that, for the first time in state history, action will be taken to implement mandatory water restrictions, with the ultimate goal of reducing water usage by 25 percent. As Californians are pushed to conserve more, growers will need to think about how demand for products will be affected.

The Horticultural Research Institute (HRI) is offering seven scholarships for the 2015-2016 school year, totaling $20,000. Applications will be accepted through May 31.

AmericanHort, along with roughly two dozen other state association partners, joined nearly 140 organizations in a letter to the House of Representatives responding to the Legal Workforce Act (H.R.1147), which is being voted on without provisions that would ensure legal workforce options for agricultural and seasonal employers. H.R.1147 would mandate that all U.S. employers use the federal E-Verify program.

Vegetable breeding companies will come together this August to host the Summer Vegetable Trials in California. Like the long-standing California Spring Trials that are held annually in California, attendees will have the opportunity to visit breeding companies’ trial sites in seven locations throughout the state, from August 20-21, 2015. National Garden Bureau (NGB), the non-profit organization promoting gardening on behalf of the horticulture industry, is organizing and publicizing this event on behalf of its members.

DNA Green Group and Riknplant have finalized DNA Green Group’s acquisition of Rijnplant, meaning that the breeding and propagation activities in pot and cut anthurium, bougainvillea and heliconia will transfer to DNA Green Group.

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.

Apply now for American Floral Endowment (AFE) scholarships or educational grants. Applications can be found online. For educational grants for 2015-2016, applications must be submitted no later than June 1. Scholarship applications are due May 1. AFE will award $40,000 in scholarships for 2015.