Marketplace News

ANLA cancels Retail Roadshow for 2010, will return in 2011
American Nursery & Landscape Association will not hold its annual garden-retail tour, ANLA Retail Roadshow, in 2010. According to a statement issued by the association, the event has been deferred to 2011.

This past fall, ANLA members received a letter from association president Tom Courtright, Orchard Nursery and Florist, Calif. The letter shared several decisions that were made at the board’s fall meeting. Two decisions—to reduce the association’s inventory of travel-based programming and to increase Internet accessible resources—were based on a consensus that the impacts of the economic downturn would continue to be felt throughout 2010. According to President Courtright, “It’s the same thing we are doing in our garden center right now. We’re bringing in less inventory and increasing those items that our customers can easily splurge on.”

Garden Media Group issues 2010 trend report
Main Street America is back, according to the 2010 trend report from Garden Media Group (GMG), a consulting and public relations firm based in Kennett Square, Pa. Now, along with belt-tightening and downsizing there’s a welcome trend emerging: a return to Main Street American values. “Just look around you,” said Susan McCoy, GMG’s trend spotter and outdoor living expert. “Our relationship with money has changed. Hard work, common sense and a return to small-town values are causing a shift in priorities from boardrooms to backyards.”

Here is a glimpse of what McCoy and her team of trend spotters see for 2010.

• Main Street is in. Wall Street is out. There’s a shift of priorities between balancing practicality with comfort and fulfillment.
• Edible gardens are in. Lawns are out. Growing your own groceries is hotter than ever.
• Slow gardening is in. Instant gratification is out. People young and old are returning to a simpler life of cooking, gardening and even raising chickens.
• Eco-boosting is in. Chemical-dependent gardens are out. Green is the new black as consumers seek products that work with nature, not against it.
• Multi-tasking is in. Single-purpose gardening is out. Rain barrels and rain gardens continue to be popular as people seek ways to conserve water and reuse and recycle.
• Perennials and shrubs are in. Divas are out. Sustainable landscapes, water conservation, perennials and small edible shrubs are hot as gardening with natives attracts pollinators and birds, critical for the balance of nature.

Missouri Botanical Garden saves over 130,000 pounds of horticultural waste from landfills
The Missouri Botanical Garden’s residential garden recycling program collected 130,000 pounds of horticultural waste in 2009. The garden’s plastic pot recycling program has saved over 800,000 pounds (400 tons) of plastic garden pots, cell packs and trays from landfills to date. The yearly public collection of plastic garden pots, polystyrene cell packs and trays was started in 1998. The Missouri Botanical Garden serves as the central collection site. Ten garden centers throughout St. Louis participate as satellite collection sites. In 2009, these included Greenscape Gardens, Crabapple Cove Nursery, SummerWinds at Timber Creek, Garden Heights Nursery, Rolling Ridge Garden Center, Bowood Farms, Hartke Nursery, Thies Farm and Greenhouse, Sunset Plantland Nursery and University Gardens.

Baptisia australis selected as 2010 Perennial Plant of the Year
Baptisia australis is the Perennial Plant Association’s (PPA) 2010 Perennial Plant of the Year. B. australis is also known by the common names blue false indigo, wild indigo and baptisia.

B. australis is an excellent plant to anchor the back of the border. It is also valuable for cottage gardens and native plant gardens, and native areas of prairies or meadows. It is best as a specimen or planted in small groups. Plants thrive in full sun. If grown in partial shade, they may require staking. B. australis is hardy to USDA Hardiness Zones 3-9.

For more information, visit the Perennial Plant Association’s website:perennialplant.org.

Petunias should join ranks of carnivorous plants
Scientists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Natural History Museum believe that carnivorous behavior in plants is far more widespread than previously thought, with many commonly grown plants —such as petunias—at least part way to being “meat eaters,” ScienceDaily reported. Plants like petunias and potatoes have sticky hairs that trap insects, and some species of campion have the common name catchfly for the same reason. However, some of the commonly accepted plant carnivores have not demonstated the ability to digest the insects they trap or to absorb the breakdown products.

WHO’S NEWS?

New positions
Mark Birmingham to CEO, Stein Gardens & Gifts, Milwaukee.

Tom Johnston to Chief Financial Officer and Controller; Phil Hart to nursery grower/trees and shrubs, Denison Landscaping & Nursery, Fort Washington, Md.

Graham Anderson to Vice-President/General Manager, Surface Nursery, Gresham, Ore.

Jessica Brophy to tree care and maintenance sales representative, Hawks Nursery, Wauwatosa, Wis.

Kim Daum to nursery specialist, Target Specialty Products, Santa Fe Springs, Calif.

Morgan Martinez to nursery department assistant manager; Christa Jennings, edible gardening specialist, awarded a certificate as a master fruit taster, McShane’s Nursery & Landscape Supply.

Terry Berger to sales representative for Washington, Oregon and British Columbia, Aris Horticultural Services, Barberton, Ohio.

Stephanie Whitehouse to sales and marketing manager, Peace Tree Farms, Kintnersville, Pa.

Sean Sheridan to territory manager—Northern California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Colorado and Utah; Phil Pursel to territory manager, Central California, Dave Wilson Nursery, Hickman, Calif.

Shannon Ortigosa to territory manager for southeastern Florida; Robbie Abillama to territory manager for east, south and central Texas; Sharon Gravitt-Warschauer to territory manager for Pennsylvania and New Jersey; Ward Gunter to specialty agricultural sales agronomist, Scotts Professional Products, Marysville, Ohio.

Associations
Julie Douglas, Lafayette, Ind., to director of communications, American Seed Trade Association, Alexandria, Va.
Frederic Contino, Midwest-CBK, Cannon Falls, Minn., to board of directors, Gift and Home Trade Association, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Business changes
Quali-Pro, Raleigh, N.C. has acquired Bold Formulators, Tifton, Ga. Quali-Pro offers fungicides, herbicides, insecticides and plant growth regulators in commercial ornamental and turf markets; Bold Formulators specializes in liquid and dry agrichemical formulations, providing all phases of product development and manufacturing.

Carico Systems, Fort Wayne, Ind., and Cowin Global, China, have combined expertise and resources to establish Carico Cowin Global. The new company will offer material handling wire roll carts and containers, as well as produce other low-cost, high-quality steel wire mesh products.

Ashdown Roses, Landrum, S.C., has changed its name to Paul Zimmerman Roses. The company also launched a new website at www.paulzimmermanroses.com.

Honors
ValleyCrest Landscape Companies, Calabasas, Calif., was honored with 14 landscape awards at the 40th annual PLANET Green Industry Conference in Louisville, Ky.

Chalet’s Landscape Division, Wilmette, Ill., received the Judges Award from PLANET (Professional Landcare Network) for its residential design/construction of a home in Lake Forest, Ill. Chalet also received a Grand Award and a Merit Environmental Improvement Award.

Liquid Fence, Brodheadsville, Pa., was awarded the ARS Endorsement Seal of Approval for its Liquid Fence Deer & Rabbit Repellent.

F&B Farms and Nursery, Woodburn, Ore., achieved Veriflora Sustainably Grown certification for all its production.
Garden Centers of America, LaGrange, Ga., recognized Independent Garden Center Show as the newest member of its President’s Roundtable.