That’s how FNGLA CEO Ben Bolusky described the near-miss by Hurricane Dorian. I checked in with him to see what, if any, damage had occurred. He was happy to say that no industry damage occurred. Whew! “Many are saying Florida dodged a big bullet,” Ben wrote, “yet we believe it’s more apt to say Florida dodged a fistful of big hand grenades!”

What’s super important, though, is that organizations such as FNGLA, the Florida State Emergency Response Team and a whole bunch of others were quick to get information out to growers and the public about storm preparedness, shelters and so on. “Growers invested a lot of costly time to prep their greenhouses, shadehouses and nurseries as they know it’s best to be prepared than surprised,” Ben wrote. So true. I figure that each time an operation goes through the procedure, they learn how to prepare faster and more efficiently. The storm may have been a blessed bust, but I am sure growers who battened down the hatches learned a thing or two from the exercise.

Other than Dorian on the Carolina coast, a quick look at the Atlantic shows little storm formation. If you haven’t already, bookmark THIS NOAA LINK to keep an eye on developing storms.

Pest and various pathological problems getting you down? Or I should say, throwing off your production schedule? Ball Publishing has just the thing—the brand-spanking new 2020 GrowerTalks Insecticide, Miticide and Fungicide Guide, known lovingly in-house at the IMF Guide.

Brought to you by the good folks at BASF, this guide is updated each and every year with the latest chemicals (all of them, not just BASF products!) on the horticultural market and what they are used for. And it has actual editorial content, too, from the likes of Dr. Ray Cloyd, Dr. JC Chong, Paul Pilon and BASF’s Jen Browning.

If you’re growing, you’re gonna need the IMF Guide. How to get it? Growers will get a free print copy in with the September issue of GrowerTalks, or you can find the digital version HERE. If you have a need for multiple copies (maybe you have multiple chemical-applying people on staff), contact colleague Allison Westbrook and she’ll send you some for a nominal fee.  

It’s good to see that even at a shrub/nursery/landscape-heavy show such as the Farwest Show in Portland, Oregon, houseplants are catching the eye of retailers. The show, which happened last month, produced two Retailers’ Choice Award winners that happily fall into the houseplant category. Good news for you! And as Retailers’ Choice Award winners, you can bet retailers are going to want them! Here they are, so you can ramp up production:

Pteris cretica Cretan Brake Albolineata fern. Ferns are back in style, thanks to the indoor plant craze. This fern—a variegated variety with a cream-white center and white lateral veins radiating into dark green fronds—can be used as a table fern and in European dish gardens, and it can also be used as an annual in the landscape. www.casaflora.com

Pilea microphylla Variegata. Another fern! Well, it’s commonly called the Tricolor Artillery Fern, and this one is unusual for its very tiny leaves that are green and white with a hint of pink. It’s a mounder and is great for indoors, as a patio plant or even in the garden. Grows 3-6 in. and spreads a foot. www.littleprinceoforegonnursery.com

NOTE: This pilea was featured earlier in my Buzz! e-newsletter and I have since heard that it’s not available from this nursery. Anyone have any source suggestions? I’ve already had several inquiries.  

Heather Drysdale, parks greenhouse supervisor for the city of Saskatoon, wrote in looking for sources for new and interesting tropicals to expand the collection in their civic greenhouse. She’s looking for plants that might take longer to get to “useable” size in their northern climate.

Heather writes, “[Your] e-newsletter highlights many American growers, greenhouses and nurseries who have impressive varieties; however, cross-border ordering for plants can be tedious, time-consuming and expensive for a smaller greenhouse like ours, not to mention possibly damaging for the plants due to longer transit times and border delays.”

Any suggestions? Maybe you can hook Heather up with your own supply, or let her know who you use. In either case, she would be grateful for the information! You can get to her through me—drop me a line about it at ewells@ballpublishing.com.  

National Indoor Plant Week is coming up September 15-21. What are you doing to promote indoor plants—above and beyond what you do everday, of course abo? Looking for an idea of what can be done? Well, the Houseplant Guru and horticultural author Lisa Eldred Steinkopf will be partnering with Costa Farms, I believe, to have a giveaway each of those days. The items up for grabs are copies of her books and some houseplants! It’ll all be done via social media channels (here’s her Facebook feed for starters).

Give you any ideas? What do you plan on doing? Want to partner with someone? Jot me a NOTE about it and I’ll get it in my next Buzz! newsletter to let the retailers know all about it.