Hot off the presses from Germany, the 2026 IPM Essen conference has wrapped up and the Novelty Showcase winners were announced. Breeders and nurseries from across the world submit their innovations to this showcase and this year 42 entries made the cut, with eight varieties being recognized across several categories. Among the honored was Fignomenal Fig, a release from Lloyd Traven of Peace Tree Farm, which was named Best New Novelty in the Woody Ornamental category. 

 

 

“Being selected in the woody ornamental category at IPM Essen is a tremendous honor,” said Lloyd. “Imagine my excitement discovering a branch on a fig plant that was so markedly different in habit and fruit production. It was covered with fruit from when the leaves came out in April to bearing almost 100 fruits in July in Pennsylvania. They ripen in a northern climate!”

 

 

Fignomenal Fig is a compact and productive variety, designed with modern gardens and urban areas in mind. It's perfect for small spaces and even indoor planters. A very neat fig with beautiful large fruit, the self-fertility means you only need one plant to produce fruit. And the minimal maintenance and low pest pressure makes this an easy plant to master for all experience levels. A great addition to any household, Fignomenal Fig is licensed through Concept Plants in North American and worldwide through Plantipp. They're available as tissue culture, unrooted cutting or finished liners as well. 

 

Congrats to Lloyd and Fignomenal—a great plant and great addition to the industry. 

As spring approaches, it’s only natural to turn our eyes to the garden again. If you’re like me, you might also get a bit overly excited to explore new variety releases each year. We hit shows, scour the internet and badger various sales reps for all the details on the releases each year. Isn’t it nice when they do the heavy lifting for you? Well, in just about a month, Laura Robels will hit the GrowerTalks livestream to spill the beans on all the hottest new perennials from Proven Winners. 

 

On Thursday, March 12, Laura Robels, Walters Gardens' Regional Product Manager, will review 15 of the most exciting new perennials to hit retail in 2026. With the growing interest in perennial plantings, these new varieties will be perfect to keep your clients’ landscapes the talk of the town.

 

And it doesn’t stop there—she also has some tips for growers to help elevate their perennial program. Even more exciting, she's breaking all the rules and going to share 15 more varieties that Proven Winners is planning to release in 2027! These are typically kept secret, so you're in for a real treat. 

 

The livestream is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. EST/noon CST and sponsored by Walters’ Gardens. You can register for free HERE. Are you excited for planting season? I know I am.

Weeds are everywhere and managing weeds can be one of the most time-consuming practices we face in production. That being said, there are strategies you can follow to make it a bit easier. Work smarter not harder … right? If you want to get the inside scoop on managing weeds, we need to talk to people who love them—or at least love getting rid of them. Luckily for us, there are such folks out there! 

If you’re interested in learning more, mark your calendars for Wednesday, March, 4, when Dr. Anthony Witcher of Tennessee State University is hosting a webinar to discuss “Weed Control in Propagation.” This is part of AmericanHort’s tHRIve webinar series, which means it’s absolutely free.

 

In this session, Anthony will discuss several science-based strategies to manage weeds at the beginning, when they can do the most damage. He'll discuss the use of sanitation, mulches and herbicides, so you have the tools to effectively stop weeds, regardless of your preference in actions. (I may be a bit crazy, but mulches in propagation cells sounds exciting to me.)

 

He's even going to share some secrets to cut labor and time associated with hand-weeding, and I can bet that there isn't a single person reading this who wouldn’t want that information. 

 

Make sure you register for the session HERE.

Registration is now open for the 2026 University of Florida Greenhouse Training Online program. If you aren't familiar with UF Greenhouse Training Online, it's a series of several online modules designed to train your staff on several topics that are beneficial to production horticulture. Each year, new courses are added. If you have a team member that wants to invest more time into training, they can take several courses and pursue one of three different certifications, all designed to ensure they're up to speed and a master of their environment. 

 

Most classes last about four weeks and can be completed asynchronously, meaning they can be completed at your own pace and in your free time, so as not to interfere with rigorous production schedules. The award-winning program offered through the University of Florida IFAS Extension is available in both English and Spanish, and has helped over 6,800 greenhouse and nursery growers from across the world. 

 

This year there are several new initiatives, including: 

 

• New courses on Plant Growth Regulators by Dr. Garrett Owen (The Ohio State University), and Cuttings and Stock Plant Management by Dr. Jim Faust (Clemson University) and Dr. John Dole (North Carolina State University)

 

• Greenhouse 101 is now Greenhouse & Nursery 101, adding new material on container nursery production with Dr. Jeb Fields (me!) from the University of Florida; based on your feedback with this popular course, we'll now start offering it twice a year (in May-June 2026 and Jan-Feb 2027)

 

• A new Elite Grower program where you can take a bundle of five courses from Greenhouse & Nursery 101, Climate Management, Costing & Profitability, Cuttings & Stock Plant Management, Greenhouse and Horticultural Lighting (offered through MSU College of Knowledge), Plant Growth Regulators, and Success with your Latino Workforce (the Elite Grower program is in addition to our existing Root Zone Expert and Plant Health Professional programs)

 

• Because we now have 15 courses, we're spreading them out over the year starting with Nutrient Management 1 (Intro) on March 2 through to December in addition to Greenhouse & Nursery 101 in Jan 2027

 

The image below has a full list of the courses available. I'll try and promote individual courses as they approach, but this is a comprehensive list. I highly recommend the Substrates for Container-Grown Plants.

 

Check out the Greenhouse Training Online website to get all the information you need to get started.