Acres & Acres

What Employees Want

Chris Beytes

It behooves you to do everything in your power to give them what they need to be happy on the job.

Columns

Creativity Killed the Crop

Chris Fifo

Over the years, I’ve come up with some very unique and creative ways to efficiently kill a crop.

Columns

Media pH: Keeping the Green in Spring

Rick Yates

Media pH is a dynamic system with several variables that need to be well managed in order to produce crops that meet their potential.

Columns

Revisiting Some History

Jennifer Zurko

This year, GrowerTalks turns 80 years old.

Cover Story

NORM (and Dana and Tal) on NORM

Chris Beytes

2017 marks GrowerTalks’ 80th year covering the North American greenhouse industry, and in that time one man has been on the cover more than anyone else: Norm White, founder of White’s Nursery & Garden Center in Chesapeake, Virginia. Norm has made the cover five times: September 1974, May 1975, June 1979, January 1985 and November 2009. Wait. Make that six times, counting this issue.

Culture Notes

Frostkiss Hellebore Production 101

April Herring-Murray

Frostkiss Hellebore are easy to grow when just a few key growing tips are followed.

Culture Notes

Reach for the Sky with First Editions Straight Talk Privet

BreAnne Nott

With the resurgence of hedging and screening plants into the marketplace, First Editions Straight Talk is a timely addition to the First Editions line.

Features

Cool Tools for the Greenhouse

Allison Westbrook

These new (and, in some cases, improved) products make production time a little easier without having to hire more help.

Features

CRFs for URCs

Christopher J. Currey & Roberto G. Lopez

A new strategy for fertilizing cuttings.

Features

It’s Never Too Late

Mark E. Battersby

Last-minute tax savings and the potential pitfalls you may face.

Features

Stay in Shape by Keeping It Clean

Dustin Meador

A refresher on sanitation practices that you can implement right now.

Features

The Making of a TC Pioneer

Chris Beytes

Occasionally, GrowerTalks likes to reveal little-known stories about the birth, growth or success of a well-known horticultural business. This month: How the loss of his mother and the affection of his friends started Ray Oglesby on the road to becoming a tissue culture pioneer.

Growers Talk Business

What’s in “Store” in 2017

Abe VanWingerden

No matter the tailwinds or headwinds, our plan for 2017 is a relentless focus on quality in everything we do.

GT in Brief

50,000 Plant Ratings Now Available in Plant Trials Database

Jennifer Zurko

The National Plant Trials Database is pleased to announce there are now over 50,000 plant ratings in this online repository of trial data.

GT in Brief

America in Bloom Contracts with New Management Company

Chris Beytes

America in Bloom will have a new management service as of January 1 and the head of that new company is AIB’s current Executive Director.

GT in Brief

Endless Summer Brand Gets New Look

Chris Beytes

At first glance, you probably wouldn’t notice that the Endless Summer Hydrangea icon has been given a “contemporary” new look.

GT in Brief

HortScholars Program Now Taking Applications

Jennifer Zurko

The AmericanHort HortScholars program is now accepting applications through March 1, 2017.

GT in Brief

Metrolina Touts Sustainable Horticulture During Farm City Week

Chris Beytes & Debbie Hamrick

In 2011, Thanksgiving week was proclaimed “Farm City Week” by President Obama, who asked Americans to “honor the individuals, families and communities who provide us the staple foods that sustain our Nation.”

GT in Brief

On the Move

Jennifer Zurko

All-America Selections; BASF; Griffin; Michell's; Pleasant View Gardens; Walters Gardens

GT in Brief

Penn State Student Named Shinoda Foundation Scholar of the Year

Jennifer Zurko

The Shinoda Foundation has awarded its highest honor, the Shinoda Scholar of the Year, to Mikaela Hermstedt, a Horticulture major at The Pennsylvania State University.

GT in Brief

Rolling with It

Jennifer Zurko

With a contraption that’s similar to the ones used to make candy like Lemon-heads and Jawbreakers, Justin Bender is working on pelleting portulaca seed in the Ball Premier Lab.

GT in Brief

Sakata Seed Joins Patent Pool

Jennifer Polanz

Sakata has joined the Vegetable International Licensing Platform, or ILP, a private association based in the Netherlands.

GT in Brief

Star Roses & Plants Announces Rebrand of BrazelBerries

Chris Beytes

The line of small fruit bushes, purchased recently by Star Roses & Plants from Fall Creek Farm & Nursery, has a new name for North America: Bushel and Berry.

New Products

New Products

Adriana Heikkila

Darwin Perennials; Oglesby Plants International; GROWinBAG; Emerald Coast Growers LLC; Philips Lighting BV; WaterPulse Inc.

Pest Management

Do-It-Yourself, Insect-killing Nematodes

John Sanderson, Tony Testa & Elson Shields

Applications of insect-killing nematodes have become increasingly popular among greenhouse growers and some have asked us about rearing their own nematodes in order to save on costs.

SAF in the Lobby

Washington: The First 100 Days

Society of American Florists

In the wake of Donald Trump’s victory, Washington is trying to make sense of a new, unexpected and unpredictable political world.

Under an Acre

Manufacturing to Microgreens

Anne-Marie Hardie

John Bolton never dreamed of leaving his long-term career to operate his own growing business. However, his life was about to go through a dramatic change.