Top stories from Greenhouse Management's website

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Here are some of the top headlines you might have missed.

Image courtesy of Michigan State
Department of Horticulture

The Michigan State University Department of Horticulture hired a new assistant professor specializing in weed science in ornamental crop production. Debalina Saha joined the department in July of 2019 and is serving the landscape, nursery, greenhouse and Christmas tree industries. She has a 50% extension, 35% research and 15% teaching appointment.

Prior to joining the department, she earned her bachelor’s and Master of Science degrees at University of Calcutta in India with a major in botany. Saha earned her doctorate at University of Florida in May 2019.

Read the full story here.

2019’s top plant performers

For Greenhouse Management’s 2019 compilation of trial garden results, managers from across the U.S. submitted what performed best in their region in the following eight categories: drought-tolerant annual; drought-tolerant perennial; pollinator-friendly annual; pollinator-friendly; heat-tolerant annual; heat-tolerant perennial; overall performance: annual; overall performance: perennial. Here are a few of the plants recognized:

• Best overall annual: Caladium Bottle Rocket, Classic Caladiums, Young’s Plant Farm
• Best heat-tolerant annual: Vinca ‘Soiree Kawaii Coral,’ Suntory, Colorado State University
• Best pollinator-friendly perennial: Caryopteris ‘Gold Crest,’ Darwin Perennials, the University of Georgia

To see the full list of winners in the six different categories, click here.

Danziger becomes exclusive distributor of Montiplanta Gerbera varieties

According to a press release, Danziger has become a worldwide distributor of Montiplanta Gerbera varieties and the supplier of plant material worldwide.

The agreement was signed between Danziger and Rise and Shine, an Indian Biotech company that acquired Montiplanta’s genetics as a part of its floriculture activities. Montiplanta was established 27 years ago in Portugal and focuses on breeding of various Gerbera varieties.

“We believe that this collaboration and the addition of world-class Gerbera genetics by Montiplanta will enable us to provide our customers with a complete assortment and will benefit all of our growers with new, high-quality Gerbera’s assortment,” says Gaby Danziger, Danziger’s CEO and co-owner.

Read the full story here.