The PEN

People, Events & News from the industry

OASIS Grower Solutions launches new corporate website

OASIS Grower Solutions (OGS) wants to up its online presence, and in turn has re-launched its corporate website. The site’s new look, which was inspired by new branding initiatives, was created to provide a friendly but informative site that delivers product information in a simple-to-navigate format. Drop-down menus allow visitors to select from propagation media, hydration products, greenhouse cleaners and postharvest items. Once a page is selected, growers can zoom in and out on product images to get a closer look at, for example, the industry-standard OASIS WEDGE and WEDGE Plus products. The site’s comprehensive Info Center also offers answers to frequently asked propagation questions, while providing a library full of product spec sheets, research updates and product label information. Other information available on the site includes a summary of trade events that OGS is attending, news items and a state-by-state reference of distributors carrying OASIS Grower media.

Future plans for the new site include a “How to Choose” section to assist professionals with the identification and selection of the right OASIS Grower product for their needs. In addition, application videos will also be added to appeal to growers more interested in visual demonstrations, explanations and information.

For more: www.oasisgrower.com
 



New brand and pot from Conard-Pyle

Conard-Pyle has unveiled a new brand and a new pot. Star Roses and Plants, which debuted at the OFA Short Course in Columbus, Ohio, will showcase all of its products. The new house brand will be home to Conard-Pyle’s roses and will also include perennials and shrubs. Plants will be displayed in a newly designed pot, featuring the chartreuse color that the company uses in all of its marketing and branding efforts.

The redesigned pot will first be seen on the Knock Out and Drift rose lines.

The new brand is being rolled out to trade partners this summer and fall. Garden enthusiasts will see the new marketing materials in 2013.

For more: www.conard-pyle.com
 



Ecke Ranch joins Agribio Group

Ecke Ranch announces that it is joining the Dutch-based Agribio Group. Ecke says that the addition of its company will provide Agribio Group a platform to enhance innovation as well as grower and retail solutions across a broad array of products, customers and markets. The transaction is expected to close by mid-September of this year.

For almost 100 years, Ecke Ranch has led the horticulture industry in the breeding and distribution of poinsettias. The company intends to continue this leadership position and further leverage its extensive gene pool, focusing on value creation for the entire supply chain.

For the 2012–2013 sales season, sales and marketing programs will remain as published. Ecke Ranch will continue with a “business as usual” approach to support brokers and customers following the closing. Ecke Ranch’s technical support network will continue providing after-sales support to foster customer success.

For more: www.ecke.com or www.agribiogroup.com

 

People

Keelan Pulliam, head of Syngenta Flowers, Home and Garden North America, will retire at the end of 2012. He has held this position for the past two years, overseeing the company’s genetics breeding and distribution divisions. Pulliam first joined Syngenta as a territory sales representative for ICI Americas in 1979 and was promoted to other leadership roles such as head of Turf and Landscape in North America and president of Conrad Fafard Inc. Scott Valentine will serve as the new head of Syngenta Flowers, Home and Garden North America, effective immediately. Valentine has been with Syngenta for almost 15 years and was recently the head of Marketing Services for Lawn and Garden North America. Prior to his current position, he was the marketing and program manager for Syngenta Turf and Landscape North America.

Edwin den Breejen was appointed sales director of Northern and Western Europe for the Grodan Group. den Breejen began his new position on Aug. 13 and is part of the Grodan Management Team. He has more than 20 years of commercial experience and previously held the position of sales director of Northern Europe for Armstrong Building products.

Harold Van Gool was also appointed sales director of North America for the Grodan Group, succeeding Chris Marshall who has accepted the position of sales director North America for the Rockfon Group. Van Gool has more than 25 years of business development and management experiences. His previous positions were vice president business development and vice president sales and marketing for Plant Products Co. Ltd.

 

Plants Nouveau launches mobile website

Plants Nouveau has launched its mobile website. The site was designed for both consumers and growers, offering plenty of photos, and a page for each plant in the Plants Nouveau lineup that contains general facts and information for gardeners, as well as technical information for growers. Plants Nouveau also has a QR code on the back of every plant tag, so a consumer or grower can be taken straight to the page about that specific plant.

For more: www.planstnouveau.com
 



Total Energy Group and De Gier Drive Systems sign exclusive distribution agreement

Total Energy Group Inc. of Summerland, Calif., and De Gier Drive Systems BV of Westland, the Netherlands, signed an exclusive distribution agreement at the 2012 Ohio Short Course.

De Gier Drive Systems is a family owned manufacturer of Motor Gearboxes and Rack & Pinions for the greenhouse industry. Located in the center of Dutch horticulture, De Gier has been in business since 1954, producing drive equipment for greenhouse ventilation, hoisting and screening systems. Operating from two locations in the U.S. — Summerland, Calif., and Kalamazoo, Mich. — Total Energy Group will service and supply the greenhouse manufacturers and distributors of Canada and the U.S.

For more: www.totalenergygroup.com
 



Danziger to showcase at 30th Plantarium exhibition

Danziger “Dan” Flower Farm showcased its newest perennial varieties at the 30th Plantarium exhibition, which took place on Aug. 22-25 in Boskoop, the Netherlands.

One of the varieties that was presented was the Gaillardia Gayla series. Chanochi Zaks, vice president of marketing for Danziger, stated in a recent press release that the Gayla series is of particular interest because it recently earned awards from the Dallas Arboretum, including the Rising Star and FlameProof Plant awards.

The Galya series features three different flower forms: single, double and trumpet.

In addition to the Galya series, Danziger featured its Salvia, S. coccinea Sallynia, S. greggii SallyG, S. nemorosa Sallyrosa and S. farinacea Sallyfun; Coreopsis Solanna; and Heuchera Kira.

For more: www.danziger.co.il
 



Auction to name new Iris species

Fauna & Flora International and the Overberg Lowlands Conservation Trust are running an auction to name a newly discovered Iris species. In November 2011, the species was discovered by scientists from the Overberg Lowlands Conservation Trust 1, who were visiting two farms on South Africa’s Western Cape. The area is home to some of the last remaining patches of lowland renosterveld, a unique ecosystem with the highest diversity of bulbous plants in the world, along with hundreds of species found nowhere else on earth.

The highest bidder will have the right to name the species and will also receive a painting and bronze casting of the flower. Proceeds from the auction will go to supporting the conservation of lowland renosterveld, which is now an endangered ecosystem.

The auction is currently open and will close at Fauna & Flora International’s annual general meeting at the Royal Geographical Society in London on Oct. 31. Those interested in bidding may do so at the website.

For more: www.irisauction.com

Iris photo: © Odette Curtis/Overberg Lowlands Conservation Trust
 



Dianthus series marketed for sales from Christmas through late spring

PlantHaven announced that the Early Bird series of dianthus can be marketed as a 4-inch, flowering program for sales from Christmas through late spring. A well-matched group, Early Bird has fringed, double flowers that offer a spicy scent and comes in five colors: Chili is red-orange, Fizzy is lavender-pink, Frosty is white, Radiance is a deep, holiday-red, and Sherbet is magenta. The group comes into bloom within a two-week window and can be timed to market successfully as a flower pot or garden crop. Early Bird has a hardiness of Zone 5 and can be enjoyed on the table top and then in the garden throughout much of North America.

A sturdy garden performer, Early Bird bears blue-green foliage in a tidy, bun-shaped mound. Flowers unfurl in succession over the course of the season. PlantHaven says that with a little dead-heading and a boost of fertilizer after the first heavy flush, the group will keep its color from spring through summer.

For more: www.planthaven.com

 

Celendar

October
1-3, Washington Public Policy Conference, Washington, D.C.,
bit.ly/P30NYl

3, Growers Supply Hydroponics Workshop, Dyersville, Iowa,
bit.ly/QulNrd

3-4, Canadian Greenhouse Conference, Niagara Falls, Ontario, www.canadiangreenhouseconference.com

4, Ornamental Horticulture Field Day, Poplarville, Miss.,
www.msnla.org

25, Invasive Plant Symposium, Storrs, Conn.,
www.hort.uconn.edu/cipwg

25, Nursery/Floriculture Disease Management Symposium, Watsonville, Calif.,
bit.ly/NiPsci

26-28, PMA’s Fresh Summit Convention and Expo, Anaheim, Calif.,
www.freshsummit.com


November
7-8, Northeast Greenhouse Conference and Expo, Worcester, Maine,
www.negreenhouse.org


Do you have an event to list in the calendar?
Contact us at lallen@gie.net.

October 2012
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