GrowerTalks

July 2019 Issue

Vol. 83 No. 3

See the Digital Edition

This Month ...

The Forces That Brought Down Color Spot

by Barry Sturdivant, with Jerry Halamuda

Nominate a Young Grower Today!

Congrats to the 2019 GrowerTalks/Nexus Young Grower Award Winner, John Terhesh from Willoway Nurseries, Inc., Avon, Ohio!

Do you know of an excellent, hard-working professional under the age of 35? You should nominate them for the 2020 GrowerTalks/Nexus Young Grower Award! For the last 16 years, we’ve recognized young horticulturists for standing out from the crowd in this tough business, who—for whatever noble reasons—have chosen to have a career in this industry.

After three finalists are chosen, each is asked to write guest editorials for the June issue of GrowerTalks, gets a free trip to Cultivate’20 and, while they’re in Columbus, attend a special dinner with Anna Ball and other industry luminaries. The winner is announced at the Unplugged event during Cultivate’20, will be the subject of our September issue cover story and serve as one of our judges for next year’s award.

An extra special thanks goes to Nexus and AmericanHort for sponsoring this year’s award!

VIDEOS

Watch More

Darwin Perennials Day 2019

Darwin Perennials Day 2019

Perennials: In or Out?

Jen Zurko Makes a Staghorn Fern Plank

Spring Trials 2019: Florist

Spring Trials 2019: Syngenta Drum Off

Spring Trials 2019: Proven Winners Annuals

Spring Trials 2019: Proven Winners Perennials & Shrubs

Bobblehead Bloopers 2019

2019 Spring Trials: PanAmerican Seed

2019 Spring Trials: Burpee

Spring Trials 2019: Ball Ingenuity

Spring Trials 2019: Ball FloraPlant

2019 Spring Trials: Darwin Perennials

Spring Trials 2019: Westhoff

Spring Trials 2019: Green Fuse

The new IDM-resistant impatiens

Introducing the Francis Kwong Center for seed processing

PanAmerican Seed's New Greenhouses

Heimos Poinsettia Trial 2018

NEWSLETTERS

Read and subscribe to a variety of Newsletters tailored to your industry interests.

COVER STORY

The Forces That Brought Down Color Spot

Barry Sturdivant, with Jerry Halamuda

A banker tells us how industry conditions, lending policies and bad financial decisions led Color Spot, once the nation’s largest nursery operation, into bankruptcy.

FEATURES

30 Years of DIF

Julie Martens Forney

It’s been 30-plus years since researchers at Michigan State University discovered and developed DIF to control plant height. That research changed how growers raise crops— and the American Floral Endowment helped fund the work. Learn more about how DIF can help you grow your best crops ever.

A Club Worth Joining

One of the industry’s young professionals explains why it’s important for everyone in horticulture, regardless of where you are in your career, to take advantage of all that AmericanHort has to offer.

A Quiet Year in Cali

Jennifer Zurko, Ellen C. Wells & Chris Beytes

At this year’s California Spring Trials, there were some new color additions and new series, but overall, it was one of those quiet introduction years.

Lock Drives: 175 Years of Making Greenhouse Life Easier

It’s safe to say that growers would probably say they’re happy that Lock Drives gave them their weekends back.

CULTURE NOTES

Growing With Griffin

Feed Me, Seymour!

Virginia Brubaker

A modern guide to garden mum nutrition.

Growers Talk Production

Embracing Change

Roger McGaughey

This spring at Pioneer, we’re involved in some major change.

PEST MANAGEMENT

Important Considerations to Deliver Healthy Plants

Dr. Aaron Palmateer

Plant protection products are critical to help growers succeed in growing healthy, beautiful plants.

Whiteflies: A Major Problem That Just Doesn’t Go Away

Stanton Gill, Brian Kunkel, Suzanne Klick, Rachel Ross & Clarissa Hardcastle

Whiteflies are like a boxer who keeps getting knocked down with brutal head and torso punches, but comes back up for one more round and wins in the end.

COLUMNS

When the Music Gets Real

We want to KNOW what’s going on all the time—especially when you hear something tragic or upsetting, the first thing you want to know is “why.”

Hemp: Cash Crop/Season Extender/Exit Strategy

Somebody needs to supply all the hemp young plants that will produce all that oil for all those products. Why not us?

Corr on Cannabis

Wacky Words for Wine & Weed

Over the years, I’ve contributed to naming a few plants and writing catalog descriptions of them, but I never came close to the creativity (or wackiness?) found in cannabis and wine.

Growers Talk Business

Supply vs. Demand

Even a small decrease in supply can have a huge impact on demand.

IN THIS ISSUE

Dream Act and TPS Bills Advance in the House

On May 22, the House Judiciary Committee approved the “Dream Act of 2019” (H.R. 2820).

Creating a Space for Plant Enthusiasts

Anne-Marie Hardie

Led by Steve and Ruth Owens, Bustani Plant Farm is a space that shares information, encourages exploration and brings passionate individuals together to share their common love of plants.

GT IN BRIEF

Ball Partners with AGA Agro for Southeast Asia

FTD Files Chapter 11

HRI Scholarships Available—Deadline September 13!

Meet AmericanHort’s New Officers & Board Members

RIP Jerry Montgomery

Syngenta Licenses Lazzeri Poinsettias and Royal Van Zanten Pot Mums

This Story is About Hemp

COLUMNISTS

Heather Hydoski

Roger McGaughey

Abe VanWingerden

NEW PRODUCTS

Lambert Peat Moss Inc.
EPM-20 & EPM-40 Mixes

Star Roses and Plants
Bloomables Collection

Mycorrhizal Applications LLC
MycoApply Injector Endo

American Coolair Corporation
AL Aluminum fans

Van Belle Nursery Inc.
Thunderbolt Box Honeysuckle

PanAmerican Seed
25 Years of Wave