People, Events & News

Farm Bill discussion continues

On Oct. 12, House leadership appointed conferees for the upcoming formal discussions that will attempt to work out the differences between the House and Senate versions of the Farm Bill.

Informal staff discussions have been going on, but the major differences between the two bills, especially on the nutrition programs, mean that discussions are likely to be lengthy.

ANLA’s Joe Bischoff says the most significant among the challenges are the $36 billion difference in funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as “food stamps,” and the disjointed allocation timelines for the agriculture provisions and the nutrition programs. The House version cuts approximately $40 billion from SNAP, which is ten-times the cuts proposed in the Senate version.

The American Farm Bureau has walked away from a carefully crafted compromise linking two major programs (conservation compliance and crop insurance) — a decision which likely further impact negotiations between the House and Senate, although the action does not significantly impact the specialty crops provision of the bill which are important to the floral industry.

The Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance (SCFBA) commended the House and Senate Agriculture Committee leaders on their work creating bills that build on the strategic funding and policy direction the Alliance has pursued since the 2008 Farm Bill.

SCFBA agreed that both of the Farm Bills that were passed over the summer will enhance the competitive position of specialty crop growers across the country.
 

Rough Bros exec Al Reilly dies

Longtime Rough Brothers executive and greenhouse industry leader Albert (“Al”) Reilly died Thursday, Oct. 17.

Al Reilly was a key figure in the greenhouse and garden center industry for more than three decades, leading Rough Brothers from a small greenhouse structure repair company to the largest greenhouse manufacturer in North America. In addition to commercial greenhouses, under Reilly’s leadership, Rough Brothers also expanded into projects for schools and universities; retail garden centers; and large-scale public and private conservatories, completing such notable projects as the restoration of the United States Botanic Garden on the Mall in Washington, D.C. Other projects of note include the New York Botanical Garden, Longwood Gardens, the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. and the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens. He also helped pioneer the development of movable greenhouse benches, under-bench heating systems and double-poly greenhouses.

Al’s son Richard was named president of Rough Brothers in 2004 and continues in the business today.

Al Reilly is survived by his wife, Pam, daughter Sarah and son Richard.
 

Research explores bioplastic for crop containers

From The Iowa State Daily: A research program to better the environment and create a more sustainable use for crop containers is underway at Iowa State.

The program is being used to study sustainable bioplastic containers for crops and plants to be sold in for commercial uses to consumers. This program is in its third year of a five year study.

The main purpose of the program is to make container crops horticulture more sustainable.

The containers give off a fertilizer effect while the crops or plants are growing. As the crop or plant grows inside the container, the container loses coloring on the outside due to the crop or plant taking away the fertilizer and nutrients. The container also then begins to degrade.

Read more: bit.ly/bioplasticcrops
 

MSU names top picks from 2014 trials

Michigan State University has released its list of top performers from its annual trials. MSU’s Horticulture Demonstration Gardens list of the top performing annuals can give greenhouse growers, landscapers and gardeners some great performing plants to choose from in 2014.

Twelve plants had an average rating of 5.0 (a perfect score) for the entire 2013 season. The 2013 top winners included an angelonia, four begonias, a calibrachoa, five coleus and a pennisetum.

For photos and descriptions of the winners, go to bit.ly/MSU2013trials.
 

Armitage adds garden centers to app

ALLAN ARMITAGE is launching a new addition to his popular mobile app, “Armitage’s Greatest Perennials and Annuals” that aims to market the best independent garden centers.

The app is available on most smartphones and tablets. Just go to your device’s app store and search for “Armitage.” The price of the app is $4.99.
 

NGB provides info for 2014 Year of the Cucumber, Echinacea and Petunia

National Garden Bureau, the non-profit organization promoting gardening on behalf of the horticulture industry, has announced the three crops that will be featured in its 2014 “Year of the” program.

As always, NGB selects one annual, one perennial and one edible that are easy to grow, genetically diverse with a lot of new varieties to choose from. For 2014, it is the cucumber, echinacea and petunia.

NGB has provided fact sheets, photos and more information about the 2014 featured crops on its web site to help the industry promote the program and these plants.

For more: www.ngb.org.

AFE memorial tribute established for Ed and Dorothy Niklas

Past American Floral Endowment Trustee David Niklas and wife Zoe Niklas established a memorial tribute honoring David’s parents, Edmund (“Ed” or “Nick”) Robert Niklas and Dorothy (“Dot”) Niklas. Ed died Sept. 16 at age 93, and Dorothy died Nov. 20, 2008.

Ed, former president of Clackamas Greenhouses. in Oregon, was a strong supporter of AFE since its inception through generous donations and as a host of numerous AFE Vic and Margaret Ball and Mosmiller interns.

Donations are accepted online at www.endowment.org/donate, or mail to:
American Floral Endowment
c/o Ed and Dorothy Niklas Memorial
Tribute; 1601 Duke St.,
Alexandria, VA 22314
 

Pest alert: European pepper moth

The European pepper moth (EPM), Duponchelia fovealis (Zeller), a relatively new invasive species, has been confirmed in a Maryland greenhouse operation. Greenhouse managers and people working with them should be alert and monitor for this new pest.

In the U.S., the moth was first detected on begonia in San Diego County, Calif., in 2004. By September 2011 it had been detected in 17 counties in California. It has also been detected in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Washington. EPM has also been recorded as a problem in greenhouse-grown chrysanthemums and other cut flower species in Ontario. It is not known whether this pest is mainly a greenhouse problem or whether it could cause damage in field and landscape plantings.

It might be that the insect is adapted to the close growing conditions in a greenhouse environment and not suited for most field production situations. In the greenhouse, the foliage touching the substrate surface may make ideal conditions for this moisture-loving pest.

Because this pest has rapidly spread across the United States and Canada, traditional containment through quarantine, has been discarded as impractical. The University of Maryland Extension is working with growers to bring this infestation under control.

For more: http://bit.ly/PepperMoth
 

Plants used instead of paint for art competition

Artists have their favorite mediums, be it paint, textiles, metals, wood, clay and others. Michigan horticulturalist Dave MacKenzie’s unconventional chosen medium is living plants. MacKenzie has a vision of a “gray to green” Eden-like future, in which buildings, homes, bridges, parking lots and roadways are clothed in greenery, where plants play a vital role in the ecological health of the planet. That philosophy served as inspiration for his ambitious 2013 installation, “Back to Eden,” which has been placed in the Top 25 by public vote in ArtPrize, the competition with the world’s largest art prize.

The project, located in downtown Grand Rapids, is a multi-dimensional visual expression of horticulture comprising 60 varieties of 2,500 perennial, annual and edible plants. Highlights include hot pink New Guinea impatiens, red double-begonias, pineapple coleus and even ripe strawberries and green peppers. Various colors and textures are tied together with a tendril of purple vining through the 11-foot by 130-foot canvas.

“Using plants as a medium for an actual work of art is very unusual,” said MacKenzie, who is president of Hortech, a plant wholesaler that designs and manufactures LiveWall and LiveRoof systems. “Landscaping is, of course, an art form in and of itself, and there are competitions that address that. But using plants on a vertical canvas as an actual medium and in such a major work as ‘Back to Eden,’ entered in the world’s largest art competition, well that is rare indeed and could be a first.”

For more: www.livewall.com/backtoeden
 

America in Bloom announces 2013 winners

The 2013 America in Bloom national award winners were revealed.

• Under 4,000 population: Echo, Ore.
• 4,001 to 7,000 pop.: Estes Park, Colo.
• 7,001 to 12,000 pop.: Demopolis, Ala.
• 12,001 to 18,000 pop.: Holliston, Mass.
• 25,001 to 30,000 pop. Winter Park, Fla.
• 30,001 to 50,000 pop.: Holland, Mich.
• Over 50,000 pop. Greater Racine area

For more: www.americainbloom.org.
 

All-America Selections adds regional winners

Starting this November, All-America Selections will begin rewarding entries that have superior regional performance. The AAS website will be completely revised by Nov. 10 to accommodate the lists and designations of Regional Winners as well as the traditional National Winners.

AAS divided North America into six regions: Northeast, Southeast, Great Lakes, Heartland, Mountain/Southwest and West/Northwest. The 2010, 2011 and 2012 trials were analyzed to determine which entries could have been a winner from each region. The first of those Regional Winners will be announced in November, along with the standard November announcement of new national AAS Winners.

The AAS trialing process has not changed because each entry will still be grown and judged based on noted characteristics of how they compare to similar varieties that are grown side by side.

For more: www.all-americaselections.org.