Free State Summer 2018

Free State

Summer 2018 Vol. XLV No. 2

NURSERY, LANDSCAPE AND GREENHOUSE NEWS

CATch up Day Hedges for all Seasons The Dilemma with Ginkgo

Five Decades of Preventing and Solving Landscape Problems

Hazards of Biting Critters MNLGA Field Day Recap P.O. Box 726 Brooklandville, MD 21022

N URSERY, L ANDSCAPE AND G REENHOUSE A S S O C I AT I O N , I N C .

MARYLAND

Presorted Standard U.S. Postage PAID Baltimore, MD Permit No. 269

Babikow Since 1875

7838 Babikow Rd. Baltimore, MD 21237 Tel: 410.391.4200 Toll-Free: 800.835.7617 Fax: 410.574.7582 Email: Babikow@Babikow.com Web: www.Babikow.com

Fungicid e

Shift to a better fungicide Controls Pythium, Phytophthora, and Downy Mildew

#segway_o @OHPSolutions ohp.com (800) 356-4647

INSECTICIDES FUNGICIDES MITICIDES PGRS HERBICIDES

Unique class of chemistry, no cross resistance Spray or drench applications Convenient 16 fl. oz. container size

© 2018 OHP, Inc. Segway is a registered trademark of Ishihara Sangyo Kaisha, Ltd.

President’s Message Maryland Nursery, Landscape and Greenhouse Association Officers 2018 President Jessica Todd Clear Ridge Nursery, Inc. 888-226-9226 1st Vice President Larry Hemming Eastern Shore Nurseries 410-822-1320 2nd Vice President John Murphy Murphy John’s, Inc. 410-928-3029 Secretary Heather Wheatley Homestead Gardens 443-643-5073 Treasurer Carrie Engel Valley View Farms 410-527-0700 Director-at-Large Steve Black Raemelton Farm 240-416-0714 Executive Director Vanessa Akehurst Finney Quercus Management MNLGA Contact Info: P.O. Box 726 Brooklandville, Maryland 21022 Phone: 410-823-8684 Fax: 410-296-8288 E-mail: office@mnlga.org Free State E-mail: freestate@mnlga.org Website: mnlga.org

MARYLAND N URSERY, L ANDSCAPE AND G REENHOUSE A S S O C I A T I O N , I N C.

Partnership is a very important part of an economy, therefore a very important part of our industry. Our horticulture industry has partnerships with many different organizations. One that I would like to focus on is our partnership with Future Farmers of America (FFA). Clear Ridge Nursery and MNLGA have been supporters of MD FFA for several years now. As a supporter we are always asked to attend a dinner with presentations by the Jessica Todd students showcasing their projects. I was always look forward to attending this event. There is always a wide range of projects to see from horse, dairy, machinery, archery, and of course greenhouse. The sad thing is there aren’t always greenhouse projects to see, because not all schools have greenhouses. And even some that do have greenhouses may not have students interested enough to put time into presenting a project on the subject.

Maryland FFA membership for 2017-2018 is 2,400 members, with 50 chapters across the state. Somerset and Howard will have programs beginning the new school year in Fall 2018. Allegany is the only county in the state without an FFA program currently in place. We also host Career Development Event (CDE) tests at our nursery in April and there might be 20-30 students that participate from across the state. Out of that 20-30 students there might be 3-5 that have plans to go on and study or work in horticulture.

How can that be? Our state has a huge horticulture industry! Data collected from our 2012 Economic Survey estimated gross receipts at $1.19 billion and Maryland growers (wholesale and retail) generated $773 million. So why does there appear to be so little interest at the high school level for the green industry? I must confess as a high school student I was not part of FFA and I was working at my family’s nursery.

I was busy working and playing sports, but I was lucky. I already had my foot in the door, so to speak.

How do we as an industry draw interest from the next generation and make them look up from their phones and look past the day-to-day and look towards their future? One thing we have been working on when we have the FFA students come in April is to talk more about what we do at the nursery. It is always a difficult challenge to fit much in because they are always pressed for time. Plus, it is always the first weekend of April and as most of you know spring weather is very unpredictable. I am a big believer on visual learning. So, having them come to take the test and physically see the plant material and tools I believe helps enhance the overall experience and gives the students a better opportunity to perform well on their exam. I also think it helps show the students that the green industry is a place to have a career.

So, what can we do to strengthen the partnership with FFA? I would like to start with organizing more tours of our green industry. I always learn so much information by visiting the different operations across our state at Field Day. It is a perfect opportunity to see advancements in the industry. We have made great improvements by taking what we have learned and modifying it to fit our operation. What better way to showcase our industry and the amazing advancements then a tour. (continued on page 27)

2 • Summer 2018

9

Contents Features

Departments

5 This Business of Ours

CATch up Day

– Mike Hemming

2 From the President

9 It’s Time for Sharing

Hazards of Biting Critters

– Jerry Faulring

2 Association Officers 4 Executive Director Report 4 MNLGA Board of Directors 20 New Members

21 Commentary 14 Special Report

Five Decades of Preventing and 30 Student Award Solving Landscape Problems 40 Industry Calendar

– Francis R. Gouin

24 Field Day Recap 32 Featured Member

Murphy John's, Inc

46 Affinity Programs

14

49 Press Releases 58 Directory of Advertisers 59 MNLGA Mission Statement

43 Growing with Education 60 MNLGA Chairs and Hedges for all Seasons Making

Committees Great Sound and Wind Barriers

– Ginny Rosenkranz 54 Total Plant Management

The Dilemma with Ginkgo

– Stanton Gill

54

24 32

Executive Director: Vanessa A. Finney Quercus Management Staff: E. Kelly Finney, Michelle Mount, and Victoria Perouty.

Phone: 410-823-8684 | Fax: 410-296-8288 E-mail: office@mnlga.org | Web: mnlga.org Free State e-mail: freestate@mnlga.org Design: Gregory J. Cannizzaro Graphic Design (contact information page 60) Cover Photo: Gregory J. Cannizzaro © 2018 Maryland Nursery, Landscape, and Greenhouse Association, Inc.

43

Free State • 3

Director’s Message

MARYLAND N URSERY, L ANDSCAPE AND G REENHOUSE A S S O C I A T I O N , I N C.

Maryland Nursery, Landscape and Greenhouse Association Board of Directors Terms Expiring 2020 Richard Buller Patuxent Nursery/ Complete Landscaping Service 240-691-3438 Brent Cassell Leyland Landscaping, Inc. 410-526-4449 Ronda Roemmelt Ruppert Nurseries 301-482-2009

One of the benefits of membership in a professional association, such as the MNLGA, is the opportunity to network, socialize, and learn the trials and tribulations of industry management directly from your peers. One can be a neophyte, seasoned professional, or enjoying the (presumed) slower pace of retirement to take advantage of the community that a professional association provides. The MNLGA provides many opportunities every year Vanessa Finney for members along the career spectrum to engage with other members, in the spirit of continued learning and fellowship.

One of the MNLGA’s flagship events, networking and educational opportunities is Field Day. I extend a huge thank you to Greg Langeler and John Marshall, as well as their staff and families for hosting us. We welcomed 175 horticulture professionals to Chesapeake Nurseries and Marshalls’ Riverbank Nurseries, in Salisbury. Please see the photo spread and a recap of the event on pages 24 and 25.

A few weeks after Field Day, in early July, immediate past president, Steve Black, hosted the MNLGA’s biennial Past President’s lunch. The event was held at the William Paca House and Gardens in Annapolis. Nine past presidents, and current president, Jessica Todd attended. The attendees took advantage of the afternoon to reconnect and catch up with the goings on of businesses and families. We also enjoyed a tour of the historic home and gardens.

Tiffany Shorten Waverly Farm 301-874-8300 Terms Expiring 2019 Ted Carter Pinehurst Landscape Company 410-592-5030 Ferenc Kiss Cavano’s Perennials 410-592-8077 Brian Mitchell Manor View Farm 410-771-4700 Andrew Thompson Foxborough Nursery, Inc. 410-836-7023

The Free State News is published for the membership of the Maryland Nursery, Landscape and Greenhouse Association (MNLGA.org).

For more information, e-mail: freestate@mnlga.org

Our next educational event will be a New Plants conference, scheduled for October 25th. MNLGA is planning and sponsoring this event with UME; Country Springs Wholesale Nursery in Woodbine has graciously agreed to host us. For now – save the date – and we’ll get more information out to you as soon as it is available.

One more event in the planning for this fall is a day of tours, including Dumbarton Oaks and the United States Arboretum. Dumbarton Oaks has recently undergone renovation and restoration of its gardens and there is always something new to be seen at the US Arboretum. The education committee has talked for years about (continued on page 29)

4 • Summer 2018

This Business

of

Ours

CATch up Day Mike Hemming

T

oday was what I call “Catch up Day.” It’s that day because it hasn’t rained enough for a while and plants in the dry spots wilt just a bit. I noticed this when I went to get some #1 containers of Pee Gee Hydrangea to step up into #3s.

I went ahead and moved them up knowing I would spend the rest of the day dragging hoses and finding sprinkler stands, hose washers, and unclogging sprinkler heads. It is just one area that this must be done in, as I made the area just a bit too wide. Other so-called dry spots can be taken care of by being irrigated for twenty extra minutes every three or four days or so. Most of the time I irrigate for two times for twenty minutes with an hour gap between times. But when it’s hot, windy and or rainless an extra 20-minute run becomes necessary.

This last fall I sowed Magnolia grandiflora, M virginiana, Quercus palustris, and Q. rubra. Shelly also did some Mimosa and Sassafras.

Total seeds in 25 flats were approximately 1200. Results with the super cold week were

one M. virginiana, six Mimosa, and seven Sassafras that germinated. Usually I get 75% with acorns and over 50% with Magnolia.

I had the flats on a rack

suspended in mid air instead of on the floor of the greenhouse to keep the mice out of them. I do dislike using mouse poison because of the nursery cats. Back to the drawing board!

A note on nursery cats - back when we were a landscape nursery, the crews had tame and semi(continued on page 6)

Free State • 5

(continued from page 5)

tame cats around because they fed them all the time. The men named them using their wives’ names.

One mostly grey calico, named Sally, lived to almost 20 years. A suburb mouser, she fed the other cats during the winter. I saw her catch and bring back to the potting shed three to five mice in a fourhour period, time after time. Since then we allowed the cat population to drop to zero because of the problem of vaccinating against rabies. But our present foreperson, Shelly, wanted cats around and got two from the Humane Society about ten years ago. Patches and Skittles, two calicos, have been very popular with customers as well. Skittles passed away last year, sadly, but before then became a well traveled cat. Having learned that food could often be found in cars and trucks, she would climb in. More than once a car would leave and a few minutes later return, stop, and push her back out. If she got in a truck, she wasn’t

6 • Summer 2018

“

found until the next destination.

Her two record trips were 25 miles and the longest of 150 miles to Pennsylvania. Shelly had to go pick her up both times.

I’m reminded that Dad wrote a column for American Nurseryman for over 40 years. In all those years he only had one rejected, which was a humorous one about our nursery cats. I do wish I could find a copy of it, but I’m sure its long gone.

Some great news! I’m a great granddad. Rosalie, Larry’s daughter, had a daughter - Everly Elizabeth, in early June. So, a 6th generation has been born to the Eastern Shore Nurseries family. It would be nice to see if I will see her work here, at least as a kid. Running any business past three generations is not easy, and I think that a nursery is even harder to do that.

We are in a viable and expanding agricultural industry, in fact we seem to be the only part that is growing. In ones like dairy farms, the number is contracting every year. Ones like grain farms are getting bigger with fewer farmers doing all the work. A class mate of mine who just retired last year, ran over 1200 acres with just his wife and him. The farmer that now tills his land tills over four times that with what looked like no more than five people, when he planted corn and soybeans on the land across from us.

The other night I saw on the CBS internet news that some 30 Giant Hogweed, Hercleum mantegazzianum, had been found in Clarke County, VA by researchers from Virginia Tech. Now there is an invasive species that we should all agree to eradicate ruthlessly.

We got two cats... Patches and Skittles, two calicos, have been very popular with customers as well.

Skittles, became a well traveled cat. Having learned that food could often be found in cars and trucks, she would climb in.

”

It causes burns to the skin and blindness if the eyes are exposed to its sap. I’m sure that this infestation will be eradicated by professionals as it should be.

Speaking of invasive species and the signage now required here in Maryland, I carefully downloaded to my computer the required sign, so I could print some out. The signs were, of course, the required size 5x7 inches and, of course, printed out that way. Ooops - here comes the problem - printed on card stock they need to be laminated to last more than a week. And the lamination needs to overlap front and back or rain or irrigation water will seep in and ruin the sign in a short time. So, if the extra lamination overlaps, the result is now too big for the sign holder.

So, the sign needs to be shrunk by at least 1/4 to 3/8ths of an inch to get a good overlapping seal. Let’s

hope the inspectors will not measure the signs to an exact size. This is just another example of you can’t remember all practicalities when writing a law.

Earlier this spring we had, as you remember, a week to ten days where it rained far too much. The numbers reported ranged from 10 to 18 inches of rain in many areas.

Aside from the customers dropping off for that period, which was right smack in the middle of the busiest part of our spring, it drowned the flats of Vinca minor we had gotten in just before the rain started. The Pachysandra and Ajuga didn’t suffer anywhere near what the Vinca did.

These minor setbacks and mistakes just become so annoying after a while.

If you missed the MNLGA Field Day on June 27 at Chesapeake Nursery and Marshalls’ Riverbank Nursery near Salisbury, MD, you missed the usual outstanding field day. The number of people attending from Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and even North Carolina, shows how important and the quality of the hosts and attendees are. It makes me proud to be a small part of this industry. The viability, innovation and willingness to expand shown by those two nurseries was so important. Seeing practical problem solving applied to reduce the work load on employees while continuing to grow the highest quality plants was so impressive.

Again, the willingness of small and medium sized operations to share ideas, help in time of need, and cooperate with customers and competitors alike is one of the things that makes us so great. ❦ Mike Hemming Eastern Shore Nurseries Free State • 7

It’s Time

for

Sharing

Hazards of

Biting Critters Jerry Faulring

O

n June 4, 2017 one of our field staff, an H2A worker, was bitten by what we believe to be a spider or insect.

The photo above shows the damage on June 21, 2017.

When he was bitten he just brushed off the predator without time to identify it. It fell back into a patch of weeds. He was wearing a long sleeve shirt and working with a string trimmer. I know, it’s my fault we have weeds.

I have searched the internet and the damage is similar to that of a Brown Recluse Spider even though they are out of their natural range in Maryland and reportedly cannot survive our winters outdoors.

Brown Recluse spiders have been known to appear out of their natural geographic range as hitch hikers in boxes or other moving items. I have been told they have been seen in Maryland.

However, and without any proof, the injury may be Necrotizing Fasciitis (Flesh-Eating Bacteria). https://www.webmd.com/ skin-problems-and-treatments/

Brown Recluse Spider

(continued on page 10) Free State • 9

(continued from page 9)

necrotizing-fasciitis-flesh-eatingbacteria#1 This is a rare condition caused by an injury such as a cut, abrasion or insect/spider bite. The infection may be the result of group A Streptococcus (GAS) bacteria found on the skin of almost everyone.

It is the same group of bacteria that can cause strep throat. This is a serious infection that can be life -threatening if not treated promptly.

The doctors managing the matter have suggested the incident could be the result of an in-grown hair, although our worker insists there was a bite in the location of the wound. Thus, we are dealing with a mystery but still of importance

to anyone who may incur a bite or wound.

Since the incident, he has been seeing a doctor several times a week. Treatment has been antibiotics including cords with antibiotics inserted into the wound.

One of the antibiotics causes severe sunburn so he was not allowed to work during the dosing.

Eventually he was cleared to work, but we found indoor work for him.

Initially, I thought this was not something to be overly concerned about and simply paid for the first doctor’s visit. When I learned of the pain and discomfort incurred and did a little research I knew this was not a simple medical issue and turned it into a workman’s compensation claim; our third

claim since I started in the nursery business.

Assuming the injury was caused by a bite, I think it is important to review the potential for poisonous bites for those of us working in an environment where the potential exists.

Spiders are not insects but rather arachnids. Insects have six legs and three body parts. Arachnids have eight legs and two body parts.

Here is my advice if someone is bitten by a poisonous critter. See a doctor immediately. The potential for infection and tissue necrosis, as seen above, can lead to serious health issues.

Symptoms of a poisonous bite can include pain, nausea, burning, and swelling. The initial bite will not seem significant.

Other potential bite concerns in Maryland can include: Black Widow Spiders, again out of their natural range, but they are in Maryland. Tiffany has a photo of a Black Widow spider she found in the field this spring here at the farm. Their venom is 17 times more potent than rattlesnakes, but the volume of venom is much less.

Black Widow Spiders Some Wolf Spiders are native to Maryland. There are many genera of wolf spider, the photo on the right is typical. They have eight eyes arranged in three rows.

Wolf Spiders

10 • Summer 2018

Assassin Bugs-We think of them as wonderful predators but if provoked they will bite. Who knew – Stanton told me of this feature.

The weekly IPM Report also regularly warns us of stinging caterpillars each year which actually don’t sting but transmit their poison via their hairs that become detached if we touch them.

Included are the saddleback caterpillar, puss caterpillar, and Io moth caterpillar. To see photos: https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/ stinging-caterpillars

Assassin Bugs Puss caterpillars or Puss moth caterpillars are seen mostly in Southern Maryland and further south. Many years ago, staff called me to a block of hollies they were pruning to see an ‘insect’ they had never seen before. It was feeding on a few plants. I picked one out of the plant and called Stanton for an ID. He told me what it was and said “do not touch it as they are poisonous”. I was lucky. We have never seen them again. ❦

▲

Puss Moth Caterpillar before molting

▲

Puss Moth Caterpillars

Puss Moth Caterpillar after molting

I received much help for this article from: Paula Shrewsbury, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Extension Specialist in Ornamental and Turf IPM Jerry Faulring Waverly Farm 1931 Greenfield Road Adamstown, MD 21710 310-874-8300 Free State • 11

The Perennial Farm Phone: 410-592-6106 - eFax 410-558-6659 www.PerennialFarm.com Celebra�ng 38 years in business

Over 2000 Varie�es available

Perennials - Ornamental Grasses Hardy Ferns - Na�ve Plants

Roses - Flowering Shrubs - Flowering Vines - Ground Covers Succulents - Tropicals - Pansies, Viola, Cabbage & Kale

I’m Certified...

Are You?

“

I feel CPH certification is important for all people working in the nursery industry. It gives you recognition as a professional in your field and distinguishes you from the questionably skilled segment working in our industry.

”

Bernie Kohl, Jr. Angelica Nurseries, Inc.

Certified Professional Horticulturists (CPH) provide either “do-it-yourself” or professional landscape installation and maintenance advice.

For more information contact the Maryland Nursery, Landscape and Greenhouse Association 410-823-8684 or visit mnlga.org

You only grow the best.

Why not offer your customers the best in advice, too!

Maryland Certified Professional Horticulturist Program

Special Report

Dr. Francis R. Gouin

Five Decades of Preventing and Solving Landscape Problems

(This article contains two parts of a four-part series. Parts three and four will run in the Winter 2018 issue of Free State.)

F

or the past five decades, I have served the nursery, landscape contracting, landscape maintenance industries as well as landscape architects in recommending good horticultural practices and in solving problems.

During those fifty-plus years, I have traveled the state of Maryland from Garret County to Snow Hill on the Eastern Shore to Point Lookout in St. Mary’s County. The land in the state of Maryland changes from coastal plains well into the Piedmont region and also crosses three climatic zones. The soils of Maryland vary from loamy sands to clay loams. Two of our counties also have limestone outcrops creating high pH problems when trying to grow certain ornamental species. There are areas in our state that have pyretic soils creating such acid soil conditions that nothing will grow.

The ornamental horticulture industry is the only agricultural industry that grows hundreds of species of plants with many species having special soil and nutrient needs. Ours is the only industry that must not only satisfy the desires of customers but also the needs of plants. Ours is the only agricultural industry that has survived and thrived with

14 • Summer 2018

the minimum research support from government sponsored institutions. This is despite the fact that ornamental horticulture is the second largest income producing agricultural industry in Maryland.

In this series I will share experiences and solutions that have been successful in establishing lasting landscapes.

Unlike most of the crops grown in Maryland, landscapes are permanent and are expected to increase in value with time. Failures in meeting the growing needs of plants prior to and in planting can result in poor results, costly replacement and dissatisfied customers.

Part I: Establishing Landscapes A. Soil compaction is THE most common problem Soil compaction is the major cause for landscape failures. If a jack hammer, pick, or crowbar is needed to dig holes, don’t expect plants to survive or thrive. It is important to understand that roots cannot penetrate soils with 85% compaction. The least amount of compaction the better. Also, being able to dig a hole with a shovel is no guarantee the soil will drain.

Some rely on digging a few test pits and filling them with water to measure the rate of percolation. In the spring when soils are saturated or after a period of heavy rains, that method is useless. Perk tests take time and are costly.

Over the years I have relied on my stainless steel 1 ½”diameter auger with a 4’ shank for identifying compacted soils and pan layers.

Holes can be augered in minutes, thus allowing many holes to be augered in a relatively short space of time. If one is unable to auger a hole to a depth of 2.5’ to 3’ there is a good possibility a hard pan layer is present. Pan layers impede drainage and deep rooting of plants. Test your augering skills in a field that has been plowed and cultivated for a few years. Most of the time, the auger will not penetrate more than 6” to 8” before it makes contact with the plow pan. A little experience with an auger is all that is needed to determine if soils are compacted.

If the auger stops penetrating with each turn of the handle and you don’t feel the end of the auger grinding on stone, concrete or brick, you can safely assume there exists a compacted layer. If you have to place all of your weight

again prior to grading.

Trenches 4” wide and 2’ deep at 18”intervals in heavily compacted soil,packed with pine fines. Photo by Todd Krellner, John Shorb Landscaping

on the shaft of the auger, while turning, you should immediately assume the soil will not drain.

There have been many instances where I have augered as deep at 2’ before striking a pan. This has occurred most often on loamy sands and sandy loams.

At construction sites, it is not uncommon not being able to penetrate more than 2” to 3” of the earth crust with the auger.

B. Solving compacted soil problems 1. Treating large areas.

It is simpler to properly treat compacted soils before planting than after the plants and hardscapes are in place. If the area is sufficiently large to allow a tractor or track mounted sub-soiler, the problem can be corrected quickly.

To achieve lasting effect, spread 4 to 6 cubic yards of compost

over the area and rototill as deeply as possible. A tractor with floating tires or track vehicle is best to minimize further compaction. Adjust the chisel(s) on the sub-soiler to penetrate at least 24” deep and run the chisel(s) 18” apart across the slope first. The final passes of the sub-soiler should be up and down the slope at 18” intervals.

Sub-soiling should be done when the soil is as dry as possible to maximum effectiveness. The purpose for amending the soil with compost prior to sub-soiling is to allow the amended soil to fall in the slots made by the shank to which the chisel is attached. The amended top soil filtering deep into the sub-soil will help keep the drainage channels open.

After the area has been thoroughly sub-soiled, rototill

2. Treating small areas.

If the area is too small to accommodate a tractor or tract unit, the problem can be solved by using a trencher. A trencher that will cut a 4” wide trench down to at least 3’ is ideal.

Using the trencher, cut trenches at 18” intervals up and down the slope. Fill the trenches with pine fines by placing them in 12”lifts and packing between each lift using a 4” x 4” timber. The pine fines will serve as a wick and the humic and fulvic acids in the pine fines will improve the water penetrating and holding capacity of soil. I have recommended this system numerous times with a high degree of success. Running the trencher across the packed trenches will further improve the drainage properties of the treated area.

Where large trees and shrubs are to be planted in areas with drainage problems, I have specified 6” diameter holes be augered in the bottom of the tree pit and filled with pine fines packed in place with a 4” x 4” timber. Where root balls are greater than 3’ in diameter, I recommend augering 2 to 3 holes.

I recommend pine fines for such projects because they contain more than 90% lignins, which will not decompose under anaerobic conditions. Furthermore, they are rich humic and fulvic acids.

The combination of humic and fulvic acid have the same effect of improving soils as gypsum. (continued on page 16)

Free State • 15

The landscape design called for building mounds in several areas in the park. The contractor imported a silt loam soil and placed it over a loamy sand. I solved the problem by having a dozer, with a set of rippers, crisscross the area until a sandy-silt loam soil was blended.

They had to replace the entire irrigation system that had been previously installed.

To avoid this problem, I always recommend mechanical analysis of both the existing soil and the imported soils. Always select an imported soil similar to the existing soil.

Overburden amended with compost.

Photo by Todd Krellner, John Shorb Landscaping (continued from page 15)

Part II: Building Raised Beds, Importing Soils, Maximizing the Effectiveness of Rain Gardens There are many instances where drainage problems cannot be solved, such as low areas where water naturally collects. In many instances raised beds or mounds may be the only solution. A good example is The White House grounds between Constitution Avenue and The White House. All large mature trees are planted on mounds. At the time the White House was built, this area was a swamp.

President James Madison requested that trees be planted on the grounds. Since the trees he selected required a well-drained soil, a large volume of loam soil was imported from where the old soldiers’ home is now located on

16 • Summer 2018

Michigan Avenue. Fortunately, the existing soils and the imported soils were similar in texture.

When importing soils, it is important to select soils similar in texture to existing soils. There have been many instances where contractors have imported silt loam and clay loam to be placed over sandy loams or loamy sands.

I have also seen where sandy loams or loamy sands have been imported and placed on silt or clay loams. Unless imported soils are thoroughly incorporated, using 3” to 4” lifts into existing soils, drainage problems are likely to occur. Placing silt or clay loams over sandy soils or sandy soils over silt or clay loams will cause interface problems.

Either combination prevents gravitational and capillary water movement from occurring between the soils, resulting in drainage problems. This problem occurred in Battery Park in New York City.

Growing media for raised planters Above ground raised planters require a growing media that drains well, does not shrink, and retains nutrients. This is especially true if planters are to contain trees and shrubs. If planters are on grade, I always recommend using a sandy loam soil containing a minimum of 60% sand with a minimum of 3% organic matter.

The soil should be tested prior to filling the planter to assure proper pH for species to be planted.

Prior to planting, I recommend amending the top 6” layer with 1:1 mixture of pine fines and compost at the rate or 1 cu. ft. per 10 sq. ft. One should never incorporate organic deeper than 12” below the surface of soils. Deep incorporation of organic often results in odor problems, especially if planters are under automatic irrigation or prolong periods of rain. I have seen many instances where contractors have incorporated compost into the sandy loam soil prior to filling

“

The ornamental horticulture industry is the only agricultural industry that grows hundreds of species of plants with many species having special soil and nutrient needs. Ours is the only industry that must not only satisfy the desires of customers and needs of plants.

”

the planters. Under wet soil conditions, these amended soils develop a septic odor.

For planters on structures, saturated weight limitations require serious consideration. To maximize water holding capacity and C.E.C., I have often added 20% silt or clay loam soils, 60% pine fines, and 20% compost. Because pine fines, are rich in lignins, shrinkage is minimal, and the soil increases both water and C.E.C and water holding capacity and the compost

increases both C.E.C. and a source of slow release nutrients including trace elements.

Now that “Bloom” is available, I will be replacing compost with “Bloom” because it only has a carbon/nitrogen (C:N) of 7 but a cation exchange capacity (C.E.C.) of 48. This means little to no shrinkage due to the low C:N and a better nutrient holding capacity because of the high C.E.C. Having a high C.E.C.is important with sandy loam soils. Most composted products have a C:N of 15 or more.

Avoiding problems with imported soils When imported soil was used to build the mounds for planting trees on The White House grounds, the gardeners did not have to worry about soils being contaminated with herbicides. Today, extra care must be taken when purchasing imported soils. I have been involved in several instances where imported soils were contaminated

with weed killers, manganese, and/ or pyrites. Some of the herbicides used for growing corn have a soil residue of up to 3 years. There was once a case where top soil from a corn field had been stock-pilled for 7 years. The outer layer of soil was free of herbicides, but the middle of the pile apparently remained anaerobic and contained sufficient herbicide to kill newly laid turf, herbaceous perennials, and shrubs.

It is apparent that under anaerobic conditions, certain preemergent herbicides can persist longer than the predicted residual period.

There was the case where a hardwood bark composting facility blended the dark rich soil accumulating around the composting pile with their native soils and sold it as top soil. When incorporated into the existing soil, all plants died within weeks after planting. Soil test results of the imported top soil revealed nearly 400 lbs. of manganese per acre. I have seen similar levels of (continued on page 18)

Established plants one year later.

Photo by Todd Krellner, John Shorb Landscaping Free State • 17

(continued from page 17)

manganese where gardeners have applied hardwood bark mulch repeatedly over ten or more years.

Then there was the case where the general contractor discovered a vein of dark rich soil, which he thought was good top soil. He sold the soil to the landscape contractor who was installing the landscape on a large commercial project. I was called to the site approximately one month following the initial installation.

When I saw rust streaks on the cement sidewalks, I took many soil samples for testing. Soil tests results revealed pH’s of 3.5 and below. When I inquired where the imported soil came from, I was introduced to the general contractor who brought me to an excavated area. There he showed me a vein of dark soil protruding from the side of a hill. You don’t find top soil buried 20’ below the surface. The vein was dense with iron sulfite (fools-gold). He informed me that he had it tested, and the pH was 7.0.

Iron sulfite will have a pH of 7.0 when tested without prior treatment. However, mixing it with water and stirring daily for at least a week will result in oxidizing the iron sulfite to iron sulfate, which is very acid. I experienced this problem twice in my career. The second case was the “Fresh-Kill” landfill of New York City.

Changing the flow of water A site visit and a topographical map are important in solving some wet soil problems. Surface water can easily be diverted to other locations. A slight change in

18 • Summer 2018

grade, the installation of a swale to change the flow of water can make a big difference. Soils can only absorb so much water.

Maximizing the water absorbing capacity of rain gardens Since retiring, I have become involved in helping improve the water absorbing capacity of rain gardens. I have long realized the beneficial effects compost on improving the water holding capacity of soils. Having studied the effects of compost on soils, I appreciate the effects of humic and fulvic acids on improving soils. My observations on the effects of compost and pine fines on restoring compacted soils, have also contributed to a better understanding on how to improve the water absorbing properties of rain gardens. The purpose of rain gardens is to promote water absorption into the soil and reduce run-off.

The rain garden in the parking lot of a large shopping center near Annapolis remained full of water for weeks after a moderate rain.

The contractor, who manages the landscape, called and asked for ideas on improving the efficiency of the rain gardens. Using a powered post-hole digger, we augured 6” diameter holes 4’ deep 2’ apart in the bottom of the rain garden. We packed the holes with pine fines. We covered the holes, packed with pine fines, with pea stone and sand before adding 3” of sandy loam soil. This project was completed in 1996. During my last visit to that shopping center last year, I did not notice any

standing water and plants growing in and surrounding the rain garden appeared healthy.

Shortly after completing that project I received a call from the director of the National Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. The National Botanic Garden is located at the base of Capitol Hill. In this rain garden we augured 12” diameter holes 3’ deep at 3’ intervals. The holes were also packed with pine fines before covering with pea stone, sand, and soil.

I attribute the effectiveness of pine fines in building rain gardens to their ability to generate humic and fulvic acids and wick water down the holes. The augured holes in the bottom of the rain garden increase the surface area of soil capable of absorbing water. Both humic and fulvic acid improve soil structure as well as capillary movement of water. I first noticed this beneficial effect from my early studies on trenching of biosolids in an abandoned gravel mine. In time, the soil between the trenches became darker colored and more easily penetrated.

Pine fines are the material of choice because they are low in nutrients, contain mostly lignins, and high in humic and fulvic acids.

They are also readily available, flow easily down the hole and are easily packed. Because they are mostly made of lignins, they are extremely slow to decompose.

Look for Parts III and IV of this article in the Winter 2018 issue of Free State. ❦ Dr. Francis R. Gouin, Professor Emeritus University of Maryland College Park, MD.

YEARS FROM NOW NO ONE WILL HAVE FOND MEMORIES OF PLAYING IN THE SHADE OF A TV ANTENNA. From trees to plugs and everything else in between, there’s no replacing the products you supply. Which is why you should turn to the only insurance company dedicated to protecting you, your business, and your future. #NoSubstitute

800-541-5082

hortica.com

Hortica ® property and casualty coverages are underwritten, and loss control services are provided, by Florists’ Mutual Insurance Company and Florists’ Insurance Company, members of the Sentry Free State • 19 Insurance Group. For more information, visit hortica.com. Policies, coverages, benefits and discounts are not available in all states. See policy for complete coverage details.

New Members We welcome the following into membership in the MNLGA. Full contact information may be found within the member portal of the MNLGA website, www.mnlga.org. We encourage you to reach out to your peer members – they may be a valuable business connection for you.

Acer Landscaping & Nursery, LLC Nick Davidson Upperco, MD 21155 Sustainable Horticulture Program - CCBC Bradley Thompson Baltimore, MD 21222 Crop Production Services Fred Heinlen Ocean Pines, MD 21811 Meister Media Worldwide Austin Toli Willoughby, OH 44094 Beechtree Landscape & Design, LLC Sam Jones Jarettsville, MD 21084

Delivering the Confidence You Desire and the Value You Deserve for over 40 years * Our Landscape Distribution Center has an Extensive Selection of Quality Plant Material Available for Pickup or Delivery * Field Grown Material Available for Personal Selection * Potted Liners

Heartwood Landscape & Tree Christy Michaud North East, MD 21901 Butler’s Farm Market and Orchard Sam Jones Jarettsville, MD 21084 BCPS – Hereford High School A. Jobe Mikalauskas Parkton, MD 21220 American Farm Publications, Inc. Sean Clougherty Easton, MD 21601

15601 Manor Rd, Monkton, MD 21111 410-771-4700 fax 410-771-8246 sales@manorview.com

www.manorview.com

20 • Summer 2018

Commentary on Civility

Both . . . And The following is the Commencement Address presented to the Wake Forest University Class of 2018 on May 21, 2018, by Wake Forest University President Nathan O. Hatch. It appears courtesy of Wake Forest University.

In seeking truth, you have to get both sides of a story.

– Walter Cronkite How many of you have visited the new website The Flip Side? It is the brainchild of Annafi Wahed, a 2012 graduate of Bryn Mawr College who works in the financial industry. Dismayed by intense partisanship in the media today, Wahed created The Flip Side as a one-stop shop for bipartisan political analysis. Each day, The Flip Side sends out an email with a brief summary of what the left and the right have to say about breaking news stories. She said, “We want the average person to take five minutes of their day and see the nuanced sides of both arguments. It’s not about changing people’s minds; it’s about creating awareness of each side’s valid argument.”1 The title of my talk today is “Both . . . And,” and my theme is the pressing need for all of us to understand the other side. All of us today have less experience seeing both sides of an argument, of seeing leaders who disagree sit down for considered and thoughtful discussions. Late night comedians scapegoat conservatives as misguided, racists and bigots; and talk radio hosts accost liberals as politically correct snobs who scorn the second amendment, the nuclear family and religious freedom.

According to a recent Pew Research Center poll, we have become far more tribal, self-sorting into ideological islands. A majority of democrats and republicans hold “very unfavorable” views of the

opposing party. “The media climate now,” columnist Peggy Noonan opines, “. . . is too often of a goading, insinuating resentment, a grinding, agitating antipathy.”2 Or as someone else has said, “We are drowning in outrage stories.” 3 With this split-screen view of reality all around us, the dangeris that we jump into advocacy without fully understanding the best arguments of the other side, and we leap to ridicule their positions and disparage their motives. We compare the best side of our own position with the worst side of the other— often a mere caricature.

Now in suggesting a “both . . . and” approach, let me say what I do not mean. Yogi Berra once said of a baseball player,“He hits from both sides of the plate. He's amphibious.” I am not calling for more amphibians. I am not talking about milquetoast compromise or always taking a middle course or flipflopping from side to side on a given issue. “He who walks in the middle of the roads gets hit from both sides,” Secretary of State George Schultz once noted.

What I am calling for is the decency, humility and intellectual honesty to learn and acknowledge other points of view — and to treat with dignity those whom you think are wrong.

Why is understanding the other side so essential to democracy?

In the first place, listening to and understanding an (continued on page 22)

Free State • 21

(continued from page 21)

opposing position is the best way — and probably the only way — to fully grasp what you believe and why you believe it. It is why I like to read the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, and why I recommend that students read both Ta- Nehisi Coates’ “Between the World and Me” and J. D. Vance’s “Hillbilly Elegy.” Seeing both sides gives us a more complete view of reality and helps us clarify our own distinct points of view rather than simply reciting a party line.

That is why I trust Wake Forest can continue to forge a middle ground that welcomes a spectrum of viewpoints, promotes the art of conversation and prizes the common good.

Graduates, as you leave Wake Forest today, I challenge you to draw upon the curiosity and intellectual integrity that you have learned here. Don’t just hunker down with those who agree with you. Read widely and try to understand fully the other side.

A second reason to understand the other side is to persuade. Though counterintuitive, it turns out that listening is far more persuasive than arguing. Arguing rarely changes minds and often annoys and repels people. Careful listening, on the other hand, builds trust, particularly if one shows respect for others, takes seriously their best arguments and looks for a elements of common ground.

President Dwight Eisenhower, despite his experience with military command and control, noted this about the art of leadership. He said: “You do not lead by hitting people over the head. Any damn fool can do that, but it’s usually called ‘assault’ — not ‘leadership.’ I’ll tell you what leadership is. It’s persuasion — and conciliation — and education — and patience. It’s a long, slow, tough work. That’s the

22 • Summer 2018

only kind of leadership I know — or believe in — or will practice.”

This kind of mutual understanding — this give and take — is the path to meaningful compromise and that is essential in a society that is as divided as America today. Social media has lowered our national debates into angry brawls, making bipartisanship ever more difficult. Graduates, it will be the challenge of your generation to recover ways that leaders, listening to all sides, can craft bipartisan solutions for our most thorny problems.

The final reason we need to understand each other is to restore a common vision and hope that has long animated the American Republic, what Lincoln called this “last best hope of earth.” After surveying the decline, decay and polarization of the small town in Ohio where he grew up, Professor Robert Putnam concludes that our major problem is a “radically shriveled sense of ‘we.’…The American dream has morphed into a split-screen American nightmare.”4 Columnists Michael Gerson and Peggy Noonan both have made the same point: We are ceasing to believe in the miracle at our country’s heart — the unifying power of American ideals.5 What we are losing is a common vision and hope that animated so many previous leaders: Jefferson and Lincoln; Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt; John Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.; Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. For all their differences, these leaders believed in a powerful dream that America, as a people, carried the torch of government of, by and for the people. They believed that Americans, whatever their differences, whatever their furious debates, whatever their different stations in life, were all part of one nation.

Today, there are few voices who rally us to seek the

common good and who lift up any shared dream. So the question remains: Can we achieve both . . . and?

Can we both disagree on certain things and join hands on others? Can we both hold fast to our own beliefs and share a larger collective dream?

Can we say, with Lincoln, who said even when beset by the scourge of Civil War: “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.”

Can we identify with Martin Luther King, who appealed to the same mystic chord of memory: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.... With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.”

Do we have any vision like that of Ronald Reagan who, in his 1989 Farewell Address returned to the theme of America as a shining city on a hill. “And how stands the city on this winter night?” he asked. “After 200 years,” he answered, “she still stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady no matter what storm. And she's still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home."

With different intent, but with no less common hope, Maya Angelou, at President Bill Clinton’s first inauguration, called all Americans — of every race, religion and creed — to “give birth again to the dream.”

Here on the pulse of this new day You may have the grace to look up and out And into your sister’s eyes, and into

Your brother’s face, your country And say simply Very simply With hope Good morning. 6 Today, we long for that kind of uplifting and unifying hope, a “good morning” embrace. Rekindling that dream can only begin with listening to the other side.

Today, as you depart Wake Forest, I call upon you to pursue “both . . . and” — to hold out your hand, look into the eyes of your sisters and brothers, open your ears and listen.

References: [1] Stein, Mara, “The Flip Side Sends Digestible, Bipartisan News Straight to Your Inbox.” Bold. July 13, 2017.

[2] Noonan, Peggy, “Rage is All the Rage, and It’s Dangerous.”

Wall Street Journal. June 16, 2017.

[3] Haidt, Jonathan, “The Age of Outrage: What the current political climate is doing to our country and our universities.”

City Journal, Manhattan Institute.December 17, 2017.x [4] Putnam, Robert D., “Crumbling American Dreams.” The New York Times.

August 3, 2013.

[5] Gerson, Michael, “It’s America’s turn to ‘fight on the beaches.’” The Washington Post. December 11, 2017.

[6] Angelou, Maya, “On the Pulse of Morning.” The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou. Random House Inc. 1994.

Free State • 23

Over

175 gather at

Chesapeake and Marshalls’ Riverbank Nurseries for

Containers at Chesapeake

Maryland Nursery, Landscape and Greenhouse Association

FIELD DAY 2018

MNLGA Executive Director Vanessa Finney and Harrison Langeler of Chesapeake Nurseries

Containers at Marshall’s Riverbank Nursery

A view of one of Chesapeake’s many container fields

UMD caption should read: David Clement, Chuck Schuster and Mary Kay Malinoski hand out Invasive Species posters (p. 30) Touring the potting shed at Marshalls’

24 • Summer 2018

The riverbank at Marshalls’, a beautiful view at Happy Hour

Hoop House Sprayer Demonstration

Groups toured Chesapeake’s state of the art fabrication shop

Happy Hour at Marshalls’ by the riverbank Groups covered a lot of ground via wagon tours

Free State • 25

26 • Summer 2018

President Message (continued from page 2)

What I am currently working on, with FFA, is to organize tours across the state, beginning this fall. The focus would be on nursery, greenhouse, and landscape operations that would like to showcase their company to FFA students. I believe this will provide career opportunities and mentorships between students and companies, as well as learning opportunities for teachers. There are so many career opportunities beyond labor that these students could pursue to fill.

And I feel that having them visit might start them down the horticulture path sooner rather than later.

I would like to put together tours for this fall, sometime in October or November, as well as tours for Spring and Fall of 2019. The goal is to visit 3-4 operations in one day, preferably one from each sector of horticulture, nursery, greenhouse, and landscape.

If you are interested in participating, please contact myself or the MNLGA office and let us know. We want to continue to build our partnership with Future Farmers of America and I feel this is the first step towards the future horticulturists of Maryland. ❦ Jessica Todd Clear Ridge Nursery, Inc. 410-775-7700 Jessica@ClearRidgeNursery.com

PUBLICATION NOTICE: The deadline for submissions for the winter issue of Free State Nursery, Landscape and Greenhouse News is November 1, 2018.

We welcome your company news and updates or columns with your professional insight. E-mail any submissions you have for Free State News to freestate@mnlga.org or mail to: Maryland Nursery, Landscape, and Greenhouse Association P.O. Box 726, Brooklandville, MD 21022

Rediscover PENDER NURSERY PHONE: 800-942-1648 FAX: 919-773-0904

ONLINE: www.PenderNursery.com 2620 Wall Store Road

•

Garner, NC 27529

Free State • 27

28 • Summer 2018

Director's Message (continued from page 4)

visiting the US Arboretum, so I think it is high time we do! Stay tuned for more information about this event, to be held in October or November.

And if you are looking for more education (and pesticide recertification sessions) don’t forget to mark your calendars now for Chesapeake Green 2019 – February 20 and 21. We will be back at the Maritime Institute in Linthicum.

This year, besides an emphasis on education, the MNLGA and USDA National Agriculture Statistics Service, have been working to launch the next ornamental horticulture economic and statistical profile, otherwise simply known as “the survey.” We have not engaged in an industry survey since 2012, when the country was still coming out of the Great Recession. We know that the results of the survey provide valuable information to industry businesses, financiers, and trades allied horticulture. The survey will be distributed to Maryland licensed nurseries, brokers, and plant dealers in January 2019. USDA NASS will conduct the survey and compile the results.

Individual participant data is confidential. All firms issued a survey are asked to complete it so that we have the most accurate and comprehensive data possible. The survey questionnaire is essentially the same as we’ve used for the past four surveys (since the early 2000’s), so completion should be fairly straight-forward.

In closing, I thank you all for your continued support of the MNLGA and the work that we do. Your attendance at events is evidence in your belief in the mission of the association and value you see as members. I look forward to seeing you at our some of our fall events. Until then, I hope you enjoy the rest of the summer.

(If you are a history buff and appreciate public gardens, I encourage you to visit the Paca House. More information may be found at http://www.annapolis.org/historic/williampaca-garden. Paca was a Maryland governor and signer of the Declaration of Independence.) ❦ Vanessa A. Finney “Ah summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.”

— Russell Baker

SAVE MNLGA and UME proudly present T H E Chesapeake Green 2019 DATE AN ANNUAL HORTICULTURE SYMPOSIUM Wednesday, February 20 and Thursday, February 21 at the Maritime Institute – Linthicum, MD A premiere two day industry-wide education and pesticide recertification conference More information including recertification credits, speakers, and more will be posted on the website, www.MNLGA.org

Free State • 29

Student Award

Link-Shanks Award 2018 Audra Bissett Dr. Conrad Link and Dr. James Shanks were professors of Horticulture at the University of Maryland, who retired in 1982. The Maryland Nursery Landscape and Greenhouse Association established this student award on their retirement. Since then, the department has selected a student who may not have begun in the major but shows promise to join the green industry in the future.

This year’s winner of the $1,000 award is Audra Bissett. Audra started out at the University of Maryland as a Letters and Science major taking classes in geometric art, graphic design and psychology, but then dropped out for a few years as she didn’t feel this was the direction she wanted to go.

When she came back several years later she found a specialization that really intrigued her – Horticulture and Crop Production in the Plant Science Department. This is where she could learn about form, function and thus, application to plant growth and development. She met a peer mentor in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Amelia Loeb, and started taking a variety of plant science classes (Introduction to Horticulture, Greenhouse Crop Production and Nursery Management).

Chris Walsh became Audra’s advisor, and after a semester of seeing her outstanding work in her horticulture classes, he felt she would be a great addition to his lab. Since then we have enjoyed working with Audra on a number of horticulture projects, said Walsh. She is probably the only student

SAVE

T H E

in our major who would read an instruction manual from beginning to end to find the ins and outs of a very expensive piece of equipment, and then send a detailed evaluation to the company.

Audra is smart, reliable, hard-working, detail-oriented and a pleasure to work with. She’s doing well academically and is on target to graduate in Spring 2019. ❦ Kathleen Hunt

DAT E

The Maryland Nursery, Landscape, and Greenhouse Association and University of Maryland Extension present

NEW PLANT CONFERENCE

October 25, 2018 • Country Springs Wholesale Nursery 15870 Frederick Rd., Woodbine, MD 21797 MARYLAND

N URSERY, L ANDSCAPE AND G REENHOUSE A S S O C I AT I O N , I N C .

More details and registration to come on www.mnlga.org. Questions, please e-mail office@mnlga.org or call 410-823-8684.

30 • Summer 2018

Free State • 31

Featured Member

Murphy John’s Inc. John Murphy of Murphy John’s Inc. in Sudlersville, Md., may be known as “the Pansy Man,” but halfway around the world in Kyrgyzstan, he is considered a magician who can “see into the soil.”

Murphy and his wife, Maureen, have grown their wholesale greenhouse business from a concentration on pansies to a wide variety of spring flowers, vegetables, tropicals, and summer annuals. (continued on page 36)

32 • Summer 2018

Kyrgyz Herd Free State • 33

(continued from page 34)

“

They decided in 1994 to build greenhouses on their property, setting an eventual goal of 2 acres of space.

Some 20 years after building the first greenhouse in 1996, they bought an additional greenhouse a few miles up the road that offered 118,000 square feet of growing space. Using only half of it, they have increased their business by 120 percent. The Murphys have enjoyed the ability to increase productivity without compromising quality by having ample room during late spring growing conditions. Their regular customers’ businesses are also growing tremendously, Murphy said, and they are increasing their orders.

The Murphys have also begun contract growing for The Perennial Farm. Building relationships with fellow growers benefits all involved, so the Murphys network with and support many growers from the local area to other parts of the world.

With all this going on, one wonders why Murphy would leave home three times in the last year to go to Kyrgyzstan — a trip requiring two days of travel each way — to teach for a total of 30 days as a volunteer with the ACDI/VOCA Farmer to Farmer Program. His answer: to share his knowledge with others.

Now known by the acronym only, the nonprofit organization was formed in a 1997 merger of Agricultural Cooperative Development International and Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance.

ACDI/VOCA is an economic development organization that empowers people to make positive changes in

Hotel Lab

34 • Summer 2018

When we go to these countries, I think of us as soldiers without weapons. We go for good will. They admire that, appreciate that. I think having that kind of friendship will make it less likely that people will want to harm us.

”

their lives. That includes teaching farming families about business basics.

Last year, ACDI/VOCA worked in 27 countries, with 37 active projects and empowered 5 million people, working in coordination with USAID (The U.S. Agency for International Development).

Murphy said, “When we go to these countries, I think of us as soldiers without weapons. We go for good will. They admire that, appreciate that. I think having that kind of friendship will make it less likely that people will want to harm us.”

Picking contaminated parsley

His first trip to Kyrgyzstan was also his first time out of the United States. “The first morning I flew from Philadelphia to Paris, France; then Frankfurt, Germany; then Istanbul, Turkey; then Bishkek, the capital city of Kyrgyzstan; then Osh Oblast, in the center of Kyrgyzstan. In my hotel room, I had had three hours of sleep and woke just as the sun was cracking up in the valley. I heard a beautiful sound like chanting. I opened the door to the balcony and realized that the sound was the calling to prayer that the Muslims do five times daily. I heard it from towers throughout the city. It really is a neat thing that I had only heard or read about. I never thought I would hear that.”

Murphy explained that everything is provided by ACDI/VOCA, which uses donations to send volunteers to foreign countries to teach economic development, agriculture, home keeping, finances … “a lot of different ways to empower businesses to succeed.

We’re trying to get more women involved in business, too. It’s not just a man’s world. Women should run some of these businesses.”

Traveling expenses are paid, in addition to $35 a day for food, travel, and laundry. If there are health problems, the organization makes sure medical help is available.

American dollars are worth more in the shopping

areas, more so than Mexico. Murphy said he was able to buy a five-course meal to feed eight adults for $6. The taxi fare for a 1-hour trip cost $2; fermented mare’s milk, $1.

“I have a driver all day long,” he continued. “He sits in the car and waits for me until I have completed teaching for the day. An interpreter is provided during the day. A hotel room is provided, or your host has you sleep in his house. Some of the living conditions are primitive — as in squat toilets and ‘bring your own toilet paper.’”

Kyrgyzstan is in Central Asia, between Kazakhstan and China. This area is known for the “Silk Road” which linked trade from China to the West. Kyrgyzstan is 98 percent mountainous. Many of the roads are treacherous. “Two prominent Kyrgyz men died on the pass to a remote area called Gucho Village the day before I arrived, so they were very careful with me.”

The goal of Murphy’s assignments is to introduce modern and effective greenhouse management to the Kyrgyz farmers. The hosts do not have access to knowledge and experience in greenhouse management, since there are no qualified agronomists in the region. To close this knowledge gap, Murphy is expected to train the hosts as well as members of Kyrgyz greenhouse community, “Jashyl Charba,” on (continued on page 38) Free State • 35

(continued from page 37)

all aspects of greenhouse management, including pest disease control, soil and water testing, greenhouse thermal insulation methods, and basic fertilization schedules.

One of Murphy’s trips was to Osh Oblast, the country’s oldest and second largest city. Murphy described it as very remote and surrounded by snowcapped mountains. The land in Osh valley is one of the biggest agricultural areas. “They have been producing crops there for 3,000 to 4,000 years and have depleted the soils,” Murphy said. Fields have been harvested without the return of organics. The soil is poor. The land is overgrazed by sheep, and without grass at times, the mountains erode. In many regions, there are no trees, so herdsmen use manure for heating, rather than let it return nutrients to the soil. Chemical fertilizers are expensive and difficult to ship to the remote region. Farmers are using the fertilizers they can get regardless of nutrient ratios.

Many farmers use a very light plastic mulch from China for weed control (herbicides are limited). This plastic mulch is very light and difficult to remove from the soil, which has destroyed fields.

Murphy said, “They have challenges that go way beyond ours.“ “Most of the farmers I met had very little knowledge of what pesticides they are using, except for the word of the salesman. They get oral instructions, which are often forgotten. Most labels are printed in Chinese, which the farmers cannot read. It was very obvious there was a lack of knowledge when it comes to pesticide safety.“ In one greenhouse, Murphy saw pesticide bottles leaning on radiators and piled around clothing. A women and child were pulling weeds right under dripping bottles. An interpreter explained, “That’s parsley. They’re getting ready for lunch.”

Murphy saw workers pulling clay out of farm fields to make brick. “They are further depleting topsoil by making brick for buildings in the city,” he observed.

“They dig gravel out of major streams to put in their roads. There is minimal stewardship of the land.

They pull the resources out of the ground without any apparent foresight of what may happen down the road,” Murphy continued.

In Kyrgyzstan, where there is very little rain from

36 • Summer 2018

1st trip to the cucumber grower

May until November, the main water source is melted ice from snow-capped mountains, although there are some wells. Water is captured and diverted through big concrete troughs, most often in disrepair, which flows into the city. Gate valves divert the water to the agricultural fields and/or the cities. Farmers have use of the water at night; the city uses it during the day.

The greenhouse owners fill tanks with water to use during the day when the water is diverted to the cities.

“Another volunteer informed me that in one area a dam was built by the Russians to provide water for almond and pistachio fields on the hillsides. Turbines are required to pump the water uphill in some areas.

The funding for the dam maintenance stopped when the USSR dissolved. After years of no maintenance, two out of six turbines stopped working. The local village does not have the parts or the knowledge to fix them. One, purchased 28 years ago, had never been used because no one knew how to hook it up.”

The Kyrgyz are very ambitious people who have found some clever ways to overcome their obstacles.

“

Most of the farmers I met had very little knowledge of what pesticides they are using, except for the word of the salesman. They get oral instructions, which are often forgotten... It was very obvious there was a lack of knowledge when it comes to pesticide safety.

All the greenhouse heating systems observed were fabricated from scratch with flat iron, piping, car radiators, and used steel tanks. These heat systems are fueled with coal. During the winter months, a worker at one farm had to refill the furnace every 20 minutes during the evening. One greenhouse grower used a spray mix made from horses’ milk to cover his greenhouse with shade during the summer months. I found a large farmer with a homemade gadget made from a used tire and poles to make tomato support lines. I visited a farmer who learned of the need for organics and hired a team of men with stretchers to transport manure into his fields. Tractors are limited in Kyrgyzstan.

Cucumber student after training

”

Most Kyrgyz have no instruments to test the soils and water. They have no idea what pH is, he said. “I brought a meter with me and taught them how to use it. I would leave it behind before my return home.

I would show them how to profile soils with a jar of water and use lemon juice and baking soda to explain the power of hydrogen and how important it is, and how the fertilizer they use reacts with the pH of the water and soils. Alkalinity was not understood well.”

Every soil test I did had very high pH and EC readings.

“I set it up for growers to go to a lab in the capital city. The recommendations from the lab was to maintain a pH of 8. When I questioned this recommendation, I was told that they have given up the idea of getting the soil to a neutral level because of so many years of abuse.”

American growers strive for a pH of 7, or maybe 6.4 in a greenhouse with mineral soils. In Kyrgyzstan, 8 is acceptable; therefore, a lot of nutrients are not available to the plants. To counter that, the Kyrgyz add extra nutrients when they can find them, which adds to the problem.

Murphy had taken PowerPoint lessons with him to teach at vocational schools, farms, and a workshop hosted at the ACDI/VOCA regional headquarters but having to stop repeatedly for an interpreter turned 45-minute lessons into a two- or three-hour sessions.

“I thought with all these PowerPoints, I could teach them all I know, but there was not enough time. I realized there was no way they were going to understand all the material. After the first day, in a hotel built by Vladimir Lenin, I spent the whole night re-doing the lesson for the next day to meet the education level of the students.” After each day, he would re-do the next day’s lessons.

As a result of the hard work and long nights, (continued on page 40) Free State • 37

“

People there have offered to give me property, to build greenhouses and be their partner, to unofficially name a mountain after me — “Mt. Murphy.” I always get a chuckle on that... But I have my own business to run, and my family here, I tell them. (continued from page 39)

Murphy was worn out when he returned. “It got easier with repeat trips. I knew more what I was getting into, but each village had different needs.” The two-week assignments technically allotted for 10 days of work and two days off on weekends, but the volunteers tend to work every day.

“You want to make the best of it. Several farmers heard of an American in town who knows about agriculture, so they asked me to do soil tests — to ‘see into the soil’ or visit their farm and give them some help.

“Some universities have Russian-speaking students learning English. So, they were eager to go with an English-speaking man into a national park, sacred mountain, bazar, art galleries, festivals, museums, and walk around listening to him speak all day.”

During his first visit, when lessons were done, Murphy was asked if he would be willing to look at farmers’ situations to see if they qualified for assistance from USAID and ACDI/VOCA. “I visited one rancher who had sheep and horses.

His wife got a low interest loan from a German company for a greenhouse where she wanted to grow cucumbers. These organizations want to get women involved in business. These were lovely people, but they grew a horrendous cucumber crop. The plants were tall, loaded with insects, and had mildew.

The couple had no real understanding of growing techniques other than hearsay. We spent a couple of hours going over the basics,” he said. “I was asked to come back and spend half my time with that farmer and the other half with other people who might be interested.

“The next trip, I visited that farmer and in eight days of lessons covered entomology, pathology, nutrient management, greenhouse structure and environment,

38 • Summer 2018

”

biological controls… every subject I could think of. I had 12 PowerPoints put together and had a translator go over them with the farmer.”

Murphy visited this farmer on the way home from his last assignment at the end of 2017. “He went from growing a pathetic crop to an outrageously amazing crop, with six times the production. He was so happy. I changed their lives. He is building more greenhouses.

He is so excited to have gone from non-profitable to profitable and expanding. That’s what ACDI/VOCA is looking for.”

Murphy presented the same information in schools to 16 to 18-year-olds so they could enter the workforce with the proper education. In one school he taught 27 students for two weeks. He was disappointed that there was only one female. “We don’t want to change the culture, but we want women involved.” he said.

Before the end of the two weeks, adults started coming. They stood in the back of the class, taking notes. There was a lot of interest.

The classroom settings in the remote areas were typical of a third-world country. There was no heat in the classrooms during the winter. “You teach all bundled up because of the cold winters with no heat in the school.” Some villages had their electric and water turned off after 10 a.m. Every day when riding to and from the schools I saw children walking to school, many of them literally walked miles to learn. Many looked to be only a few years old, walking alone. My drivers would pick them up when we could and bring them to their school. I was told that the disadvantaged children did not go to school.

Despite the conditions, he did not observe students being inattentive as sometimes happens when he is a speaker back at home. “There they are wide-eyed.

They want to learn everything we tell them. It’s a whole different teaching environment.”

It is interesting, he added, to learn about the Kyrgyz customs, religion, food and music. There was more unity and extended families than in the United States.

No matter how difficult their lives are, they still look forward to getting up in the morning.

Murphy was asked to go back in July, but the funding has been cut so he doesn’t think he will be able to go.

“People there have offered to give me property, to build greenhouses and be their partner, to unofficially name a mountain after me — “Mt. Murphy.” I always get a chuckle on that. They see the need (for the knowledge he can share) and are willing to pay for it.

But I have my own business to run, and my family here, I tell them.”

Murphy gives his time to organizations here at home, too. He is second vice president of MNLGA and serves on the board of several committees, including education, the auction at Chesapeake Green, and the

survey of nurseries. He is on the board of MaGIC, the Maryland Green Industry Council. He serves on an advisory panel with Conserve which is funded by the USDA through the University of Maryland. The panel is working to find ways to use recycled and reclaimed water on edible food production, make it financially worthwhile, and “sell” the idea to the public.

Murphy is Zone 6 governor for the National Ruritans, overseeing five community groups from Easton to Cecil County. He has been in Ruritan for 22 years. He also is the Charter Organization Representative for the Sudlersville Boy Scouts Troop 175 with a number of responsibilities there.

For more information on Murphy John’s, visit the website, murphyflower.com. flowering bulbs. ❦ Carol Kinsley Murphy John's 410-928-3029

Students at Gucho Village

Free State • 39

2018-19 Industry E AUGUST August 5-8, 2018 ISA Annual International Conference and Trade Show Location: Greater Columbus Convention Center in Ohio Contact: ISA Office 1-888-472-8733, isa@isa-arbor.com www.isa.org

August 23 – September 3, 2018 The Maryland State Fair Location: MD State Fairgrounds in Lutherville-Timonium Contact: 410-252-0200, msfair@msn.com www.marylandstatefair.com/state-fair/ state-fair-info

OCTOBER October 2, 2018 CPH – Basic Exam Location: MDA in Annapolis Contact: MNLGA, 410-823-8684 office@mnlga.org www.mnlga.org

October 2, 2018 CPH – Specialist Exam – Plant ID Location: MDA in Annapolis Contact: MNLGA, 410-823-8684 office@mnlga.org www.mnlga.org

SEPTEMBER September 13, 2018 MAEF/MNLGA Scholarship Golf Tournament Location: Hampstead, MD Contact: MAEF, 410-939-3090

September 26, 2018 MAA Fall Safety Event Location: HC State Fairgrounds Contact: MAA, 443-262-8491 40 • Summer 2018

October 25, 2018 New Plants Conference Location: Country Springs Wholesale Nursery Contact: MNLGA, 410-823-8684 www.mnlga.org

NOVEMBER November 1, 2018 MAEF Annual Banquet Location: Michael’s Eighth Avenue Contact: MAEF, 410-939-9030

EVENTS Calendar LEAD MD Accepting Applications for Next Class: June 1 - October 1 The LEAD Maryland Foundation has announced that it will be accepting applicants for its next class of Fellows between June 1and October 1.

Participants complete a series of multi-day seminars held throughout Maryland and Washington, D.C. in 2019 and 2020 along with a travel study tour and class project. LEAD works to develop leaders serving agriculture, natural resources, and rural communities.

For more information, visit LEAD’s website at www.leadmaryland.org, or contact leadmd@umd.edu, 410-827-8056.

JANUARY 2019 January 9-11, 2019 Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show Location: Baltimore Convention Center Contact: MANTS, 410-296-6959 info@mants.com www.mants.com

FEBRUARY 2019 February 20 – 21, 2019 Chesapeake Green Location: Maritime Institute Contact: MNLGA, 410-823-8684 www.mnlga.org

CPH EXAMS 2019 April 16, 2019 CPH – Basic Exam Location: MDA in Annapolis Contact: MNLGA, 410-823-8684 office@mnlga.org www.mnlga.org

October 1, 2019 CPH – Basic Exam Location: MDA in Annapolis Contact: MNLGA, 410-823-8684 office@mnlga.org www.mnlga.com

October 1, 2019 CPH – Specialist Exam – Plant ID Location: MDA in Annapolis Contact: MNLGA, 410-823-8684 office@mnlga.org www.mnlga.com For a full and updated calendar of events, and to find registration information and event links, please visit the MNLGA website at mnlga.org.

Free State • 41

Over 1,500 choices delivered to you. perennials, natives, ferns, grasses, vines, herbs, ground covers, pansies, dahlias, cannas, green roof and environmental planning material.

www.cavanos.com • 410-592-8077

Growing

with

Education

Hedges for all Seasons Ginny Rosenkranz

W

Making Great Sound and Wind Barriers

hether good fences make good neighbors or good hedges make great sound and wind barriers, both fences and hedges continue to define property lines. For a while, the ‘perfect’ hedge plant was Ligustrum japonicum or evergreen Japanese Privet, then came the next ‘perfect’ hedge plant, Cupressocyparis leylandii or Leyland Cypress. Many hedge lovers are now moving to Thuja ‘Green Giant’, a cross between T. plicata x T. standishii which, with the right soils and water care, can grow 3-4 feet a year. All of these hedges have one issue in

common, if a plant dies out somewhere in the middle of the hedge and has to be removed, the hedge ends up looking like a 6-year-old child with one of his or her front teeth missing.

Planning and planting a Tapestry Hedge can still define property lines, screen out a view and act as a wind or sound barrier. However as they are made up of a variety of plants, if one dies it is often not even noticed. They should be planted in groups of 1, 3, or 5 and all have the same horticultural needs: sun or sun/part shade, cold/heat tolerance, soil moisture, soil pH and soil nutrition. A Tapestry Hedge can be made up of a variety of evergreen plants that are shades of green, shades of green and gold, or green and

white, green/grey or green/ blue. They can be composed of both broad leaf evergreens and narrow leaf evergreens and can be pruned for a formal look or left to grow naturally, depending on the owner’s preference. The choice of plant material could also be composed of deciduous shrubs that provide screening only in the spring, summer, and autumn months, but could also provide a whole palette of colors from the flowers during the spring, summer, and autumn months. The choices are many which leads to the planning of the hedge to get the look and the utility of the hedge.

For an evergreen hedge that grows to from 15-20 feet, in a full sun location in most of Maryland, and average soils, a combination of Thuja occidentalis ‘Smaragd’, the American Arborvitae ‘Emerald Green’, Ilex ‘Conaf’ OAKLEAF or any of the Oakleaf hollies like ‘Mary Nell’, Magnolia grandiflora ‘Bracken’s Brown Beauty’, Juniperus chinensis ‘Keteleeri’, or for a bit more texture, Juniperus chinensis ‘Kaizuka’ or Hollywood Juniper. The American Arborvitae ‘Emerald Green’ grows 12-14 feet tall, 3-4 feet wide and is cold tolerant in USDA zones 2-7.

Arborvitae ‘Emerald Green’ grow (continued on page 46) Free State • 43

(continued from page 45)

best in full sun in a compact slender pyramid. Ilex ‘Mary Nell’ can grow 15-20 feet tall and 12-15 feet wide and is cold tolerant in USDA zones 6-9. Ilex ‘Mary Nell’ grows best in full sun to partial shade in an upright pyramid form.

M. grandiflora ‘Bracken’s Brown Beauty’ does grow a bit tall as well, from 20-30 feet tall and 15-25 feet wide, reliably cold tolerant is USDA zones 6-9. ‘Bracken’s Brown Beauty’ grows best in full sun to part shade with leaves only 7 inches long and fragrant white flowers 4-6 inches wide. Plants grow in a compact pyramidal crown. All of these plants are native to North America. The J. chinensis ‘Keteleeri’ or Chinese Juniper grows 15-20 feet tall and 4-6 feet wide and is cold tolerant is USDA zones 4-9. ‘Keteleeri’ grows best in full sun in dense medium green pyramid. The Hollywood Juniper grows 15-20 feet tall and 10-15 feet wide and is cold tolerant in USDA zones 4-9. ‘Hollywood’ grows best in full sun and every plant exhibits a different, uneven growth habit that makes the plants

44 • Summer 2018

seem to twist or dance.

A deciduous hedge can have Forsythia x intermedia or the Border Forsythia for the earliest spring color. Forsythia ‘Spectabilis’ or ‘Lynwood Gold’ both grow about 6-10 feet tall and wide and are winter hardy in USDA zones 5-8. Forsythia grows and bloom best in full sun with an arching upright habit. Late winter and early spring will bring bright golden yellow 4 petal flowers that cluster in groups of 2-6 along the branches. The flower display can last up to 3 weeks. Spiraea x vanhouttei or Bridalwreath Spiraea can grow 5-8 feet tall and 7-10 feet wide and are winter hardy in USDA zones 3-8. Plant growth is an arching vase shape and the pure white flowers are clustered on a 1-2-inch umbel which looks like a miniature umbrella in April to May and covers the plant completely.

An improved cultivar, ‘Snow White’ exhibits better disease resistance, darker green foliage, larger flowers and grows more compactly up to 7 feet tall. Early butterflies are attracted to the flowers. April brings the Viburnum carlesii or

Koreanspice Viburnum into bloom, with red buds that open to very fragrant white flowers held in a bouquet about 2-3 inches across.

Newer cultivars include Spice Island™ which grows 5-6 feet tall and holds pure white flowers, Spiced Bouquet™ which produces red buds that open to fragrant pink flowers and Sugar ‘n’ Spice™, growing up to 8 feet tall with large numbers of fragrant white flowers.

May to June brings the Weigela florida or Old Fashioned Weigela to bloom. Despite its name, the plant is not a native of Florida but of Japan and China. Plants can grow 6-10 feet tall and 9-12 feet wide and are winter hardy in USDA zones 4-8. Plant growth is a dense arching rounded shrub, and the flowers are rose pink 1-2inch funnel shaped which attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

Newer cultivars like Sonic Bloom® Pink, Sonic Bloom® Red and Sonic Bloom® Pearl from Proven Winners grow only 4-6 feet tall but the flowers bloom late spring then re-bloom throughout the summer into autumn. Around mid-June Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’, a smooth hydrangea, blooms with huge balls of white sterile flowers up to 12 inches across that can last almost a month. ‘Annabelle’ plants can

grow 3-5 feet tall and 6-10 feet wide and are winter hardy in USDA zones 3-9. Viburnum dilatatum Cardinal Candy™ blooms in June with creamy white flowers that, often without a pollinator, mature into vibrant, glossy red berries in the late summer. The plants can grow 5-6 feet tall in full sun and are winter hardy is USDA zones 4-7. The Physocarpus opulifolius Coppertina™ or Ninebark, with tiny umbrellas of pinkish white flowers that glow against the purple bronze of the new foliage also blooms in June. The Coppertina™ can grow 6-8 feet tall and is winter hardy from USDA zones 3-7.

There are a number of shrub sized Lagerstroemia indica or Crape Myrtle that can add texture and color to the Tapestry Hedge.

Many cultivars bloom more than once in the summer, and some have very interesting exfoliating bark to add winter interest. The US National Arboretum has a list of 6 semi dwarf Crape Myrtles that grow only 5-12 feet tall with colors ranging from pure white, bright pink, clear pink, fuchsia and lavender. Dr. Carl Whitcomb developed the ‘play it again’ collection which includes Rhapsody in Pink® with soft pink flowers, Pink Velour® with crimson buds that open to bright pink, and Prairie

Lace® which has flowers in shades of white, pink and red. All of the Whitcomb Crape Myrtles have thick glossy leaves that are burgundy in early spring and have an upright growth habit. The plants will bloom in June, then again during the summer and into the fall.

Mid-Summer flowers are borne by the Hibiscus syriacus or Rose of Sharon. ‘Aphrodite’ is a triploid cultivar, very compact and growing 6-8 feet tall with clear pink ruffled flowers with a dark red eye that opens to 4 inches across. Hibiscus syriacus ‘Aphrodite’ blooms from June to October and is winter hardy from USDA zones 5-8.

Hydrangea paniculata bloom on new growth, so they typically bloom July to October. Most of the new compact cultivars grow 6-8 feet tall and have both fertile and sterile flowers cone shaped panicles of flowers 6-12 inches long, that start out white and mature to shades of pink or red. H. panaiculata do best with rich moist well drained soils and full sun and are winter hardy in USDA zones 3-8. Some excellent cultivars include Chantilly™, with creamy white flowers tinted

light green that mature to a soft pink, Limelight®, with lime green flowers that mature to white, ‘Pink Diamond’ with rich pink flowers and White Diamonds™, which starts out pure white and matures to a light green. For winter interest in the deciduous shrub Tapestry Hedge, add Ilex verticillata ‘Winter Red’ and Ilex verticillata ‘Sparkleberry’. These deciduous hollies shed their leaves to show off brilliant, glossy red berries that are held on the plants throughout the winter and often into the spring.

Both of the Ilex verticillata grow 6-8 feet tall and are winter hardy in USDA zones 5-9. They both prefer full sun and thrive on moist soils but are adaptable to average soils.

Whether the landscape needs an evergreen hedge or can handle the limits of a deciduous hedge the choices are many. It just may take a bit of time to limit the number of plants that would fit into the hedge. ❦ Ginny Rosenkranz Extension Educator, Commercial Horticulture, University of Maryland Extension, Dorchester, Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester County 410-749-6141 ext. 106

Free State • 45

Maryland Nursery, Landscape and Greenhouse Association

AFFINITY PROGRAMS Get More Out of Your Membership

SHIPPING PartnerShip

OFFICE SUPPLIES Office Depot

• High use office items discounted up to 85% • Everyday office essentials catalog items discounted up to 70% • Discounted copy, print and binding services • Full line promotional products catalog selection discounted up to 20%

46 • Summer 2018

• Discount shipping program through AmericanHort partnership • Small Package Discounts using FedEx • FedEx Express Discounts including Overnight, 2Day, International Services, and Saver programs as much as 27% • Save on Truckload and Tradeshow Shipments • FedEx Ground and Home Delivery discounts starting at 5% • PartnerShip LTL freight discounts

VEHICLES Commercial Friends and Family Program

• Invoice pricing on all vehicles in stock. Pricing for locates are on a case by case basis.

• Brands include Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep, Ford and Ram. Expanding to other brands soon.

• All incentives that are being offered will be deducted from invoice pricing • Up-fits offered at employee cost • $500 off any negotiated price for used vehicles • Honor all Fleet accounts and if needed can be established with Ford or Chrysler • Discount delivery vehicle program or if qualified, courtesy delivery to local dealer

PLANT LOCATOR

TIRES

Plant and Supply Locator

• All MNLGA members receive 6 months of free unlimited online Plant Booth listings • Free subscription to Plant Locator magazine • After free 6 month period, members will receive: – Ability to keep 5 listings online free for an additional two years – MNLGA members already listing in print will receive equivalent online plant listings – Discounted packages for listings in print and online

TireBuyer.com

FUEL Shell – Fleet Plus Fuel Program

• 15 cents off per gallon on fuel purchases from Shell for 12 months • After 12 months, tier structure rebate program • No minimum gallons required • Built in security and purchase controls • Online account management • Comprehensive reporting • No transaction fees, no card fees, and no report fees

• 5-10% discount on tire purchase • Free shipping on many products • Over 110 warehouses in the US, over 8,500 nationwide installation partners • All other purchases qualify for either free shipping or discounted shipping • Lower shipping rates than industry averages when shipping to a home or business

For full program description, discounts offered, and access to program contact information, log into the MNLGA membership portal on the MNLGA website. Portal access is located on the upper right hand corner of all pages of the website. If you do not recall your access credentials, simply select the link, “Forgot Your Password,” and you will be given instructions on how to proceed.

Free State • 47

Get your Ag Tag today!

www.agtagmd.com Educating Youth about Agriculture

MARYLAND

N URSERY, L ANDSCAPE AND G REENHOUSE A S S O C I AT I O N , I N C .

When you have questions, We have answers…

Visit mnlga.org today!

The MNLGA web site is designed for our members and is your single source for the answer to almost any question.

The site offers: ■ Searchable Membership Directory ■ CPH program info, basic & advanced test applications and registration ■ Up-to-date industry calendar from around the Mid-Atlantic region for finding CEUs for pesticide, nutrient management recertifications, and general education in horticulture topics ■ Free State Nursery News issues and archives ■ Root of the Matter e-news issues and archives ■ MaGIC (legislative) updates issues and archives ■ Chesapeake Green - speaker resources - year round ■ Classified ads which members can post and track resumes/responses ■ Business resources ■ CEU forms

Visit today!

48 • Summer 2018

Press Release

National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture (NICH).

NICH releases new series of free infographics: PlantsDoThat Inside The series of four infographics illustrates the benefits of indoor plants where consumers live, learn, heal and work.

March 2, 2018 WASHINGTON, DC – Indoor plants where consumers live, learn, heal and work have far-reaching positive effects on their well-being and indoor environment, according to a new report from the National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture (NICH).

This new series of four #PlantsDoThat Inside infographics focuses on the multitude of ways indoor plants affect consumers. Sharing this information with retailers can help them better inform consumers.

“Greening the great indoors is a way to help create sustainable indoor ecology and healthy minds and bodies,” says Dr. Charles Hall, Ellison Chair, Texas A&M. The infographic series was developed from a scientific literature review evidence base developed Dr. Hall and his students.

The series of four brightly colored inforgraphics, deisgned by Jennifer Gray, AmericanHort and Horticultural Research Institute, is free. One infographic a week will be released and can be downloaded from NICH’s website consumerhort.org “We envision this series of infographics to be used as tools to promote the power of indoor plants,” says Debbie Hamrick, NICH Economic Committee chair. “We want to raise awareness of the positive benefits of plants in our everyday lives.”

Growers, retailers, teachers, extension agents and interiorscapers can use the infographics for promotional and educational materials and upload to social media.

According to scientific research from NASA and others, plants clean indoor air, stabilize carbon dioxide and create comfortable ambient air humidity. Plants also boost healing, happiness and productivity.

The #PlantsDoThat Inside infographic on Where We Live shows: • Rooms with plants have fewer pollutants like VOCs (volatile organic compounds).

• Plants in our homes increase room humidity by 10 percent.

• Plants remove up to 90 percent of formaldehyde in a room.

“When plants are around, students are just smarter and pay more attention,” Dr. Hall says.

The benefits of consumer horticulture were spotlighted in the first NICH infographic titled “#PlantsDoThat, Horticulture: The Art, Science, & Business of Plants." The infographic illustrated how consumer horticulture contributes $196 billion to the U.S. economy and creates more than 2 million jobs.

The National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture (NICH) is a consortium of industry leaders who are promoting the benefits and value of horticulture. NICH brings together academia, government, industry, and nonprofits to cultivate the growth and development of a healthy world through landscapes, gardens and plants – indoors and out, and to get 90 percent of U.S. households gardening by 2025. #PlantsDoThat inside is available at the NICH website ConsumerHort.org Reprinted with permission of the Garden Media Group on behalf of NICH. See supporting infographics 3 and 4 on pages 52 and 53. ❦

Free State • 49

#PlantsDoThat Inside!

Where We Heal INDOORS GREENING THE GREAT INDOORS Having plants in hospitals and clinics is an important component of creating a sustainable indoor ecology and healthy minds and bodies.

Indoor plants remove air pollutants and stabilize CO22, whlie while decreasing our stress and helping us heal faster. faster.

HOSPITAL HERO

PAIN RELIEVER

STRESS BUSTER

Patients spend less time in recovery and go home sooner when their hospital rooms contain plants.

Patients recovering from surgery took less pain relievers in rooms containing plants.

Plants used as part of room décor reduce the stress of hospital patients and lower their blood pressure.

BOOST PROFESSIONALISM Having healthy plants promotes a professional image and a feeling of warmth and caring.

SEEING IS BELIEVING Just looking at pots of flowers and plants make people more relaxed and aware. A study of EEG (electrical brain activity) measurements shows more relaxation when viewing greenery compared to looking at a concrete structure.

New breast cancer patients were better able to tolerate life’s disruptions caused by the diagnosis, surgery and treatments through interacting with nature.

ENERGY BOOSTER Hospital patients reported less fatigue in rooms containing plants.

Infographic produced by National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture (NICH).

Discover more about the power of plants in this series at ConsumerHort.org.

50 • Summer 2018

#PlantsDoThat Inside!

Where We Learn GREENING THE GREAT INDOORS Having plants in our schools and is clinics is an important component of a schools an important component of creating creating a sustainable indoor ecology and healthy minds and bodies. sustainable classroom ecology and healthy minds and bodies.

Indoor Indoor plants remove air pollutants and stabilize CO2,creating while decreasing plants remove air pollutants and stabilize CO2, whlie a happier our helping us healand faster. and stress calmerand space for creative focused learning.

SMARTY PLANTS

A CALMING INFLUENCE

Classrooms with plants improve test scores by 10% or more.

The greener a child’s play area, the less severe the symptoms of ADD. Everyone is just calmer and more relaxed when plants are around.

HEALTHIER STUDENTS Plants in the classroom result in fewer sick days.

In fact, Dutch children in classrooms with plants showed a 7% reduction in health problems. Along with better health, they were also more creative and had 20% higher test scores.

HAPPY CLASSROOMS Students and teachers report more positive feelings and satisfaction with plants in classrooms.

Students misbehave less in a classroom containing live plants.

Infographic produced by National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture (NICH). Discover more about the power of plants in this series at ConsumerHort.org.

Free State • 51

turns

50 in 2020

2003

2007

2005

2012 2009

We are looking for old photos, videos, Exhibitor Guides, Programs, Orange Jackets and other memorabilia for our 50th Anniversary in 2020.

If you want to share wirtten stories or memories, please contact Kelly Finney at 410-269-6959 or kelly@mants.com

2010

2017

2004

2018

The Masterpiece of Trade Shows 2011 52 • Summer 2018

creative design solutions for every business

BRAUN CONTINUOUS WIRE BASKETS

BETTER DESIGN BETTER WIRE BETTER FIT

WWW.BRAUNGROUP.COM 1-888-732-7286

Interested in a subscription to

Free State News?

USA - Braun Better - USA - 3.5x4.875.indd 1

Advertising

3/9/15 2:20 PM

Contact us with your request and we’ll add you to the mailing list.

Direct Mail

Subscriptions are $35 annually; MNLGA will invoice you upon receipt of your subscription request. (members need not subscribe)

Catalogs

Name_______________________________________________

Logo Design

Business_____________________________________________

Package Design

Address_____________________________________________

Trade Show & Vehicle Graphics

City, State, Zip_______________________________________

Brochures

E-Mail_______________________________________________ Mail/Fax or e-mail: Free State, MNLGA, P.O. Box 726, Brooklandville, MD 21022 or e-mail: freestate@mnlga.org

Gregory J. Cannizzaro Graphic Design 410-444-5649• gjc.graphicdesign@yahoo.com

Happy 29th Birthday (Again) Vanessa!

August 14, 19??

Free State • 53

Total Plant Management

The Dilemma with Stanton Gill

G

GINKGO

inkgo trees are a hot item in the Maryland nursery trade. With the green and white ash being taken out by Emerald Ash borer people have looked for a more disease and insect resistant tree. What could be better than a gingko tree? It is fairly resistant to both disease and insects. At least so far, we’ve seen few problems with this species of tree.

I must say I have an affinity for this tree. It survived from ancient times time and persevered through many climate changes, ice ages, and asteroids hitting the earth – one tough tree. It offers great foliage and wonderful fall color. My cheerleading for this tree could not be more enthusiastic!

That said, an interesting case came my way. I had a call from a community that had a landscaper install male ginkgo plants. The trees had been installed 6 or 7 years ago as replacements for green ash trees. It had been suggested that ginkgo was good substitute for the emerald ash borer prone ash trees. A couple of the trees planted in the community were obviously females and were producing fruit. The neighborhood was not happy since the dropping

54 • Summer 2018

fruit smelled awful. The landscapers went back to the nursery supplier who said he bought liners labeled as male ginkgo trees.

In the nursery business the plant propagators generally bud or graft scion wood from a male ginkgo onto a young understock, which can be either a male or female tree. When it is sold to an in-ground nursery the grafted plant is lined out in the field for 3 -7 years.

I talked to one nursery owner who told me sometimes the scion wood fails, and the understock puts up several shoots from the root system. Most nursery managers will select out the

strongest shoot from the root system. He had noticed the stronger shoots tended to end up as female tree. He felt female ginkgo trees had more vigor compared to a male tree.

Unfortunately, female trees also produce beautiful apricot shaped fruit that smell awful when they drop to the ground.

An online article was forwarded to me in which the author

claimed that a female ginkgo understock that had a male grafted onto it could cause the male scion to switch to a female fruit producing tree. I asked Richard Olsen and Keith Warren to comment on this male converting to female.

Richard Olsen, Director of the US National Arboretum had these comments: Wish I could be of more help. I have not heard of this before with grafted Ginkgo’s but doesn’t mean not possible…here’s what I have seen. I have seen on mature male gingko’s, witch’s brooms that are female and producing fruit, as if the genetic switch that induced the broom is also inducing a

switch in floral expression (or is that strobili in a gymnosperm?). I have personally seen this on two trees, one in Missouri, another in Kentucky. And considering the genes are present to be male or female, all it would take is a change in a gene regulation to switch sexes.

Now, can the sex of a rootstock affect the sex of the scion? I haven’t scanned the literature to see if there are examples in angiosperms, where sex of the rootstock reverses the sex of the scion.

Maybe in some tree fruit crops this has been

studied (Avocado? Persimmon?).

We do know now that “florigen” exists as genetic signal in the plant that is phloem mobile. So feasible the roots could affect sex this way…

Considering that most rootstock is going to be juvenile, due to age and position, and that in Ginkgo they take years to sexually mature, I don’t see how on a young grafted plant there would be any affect. I assume that perhaps someone is concerned about a female rootstock causing all scions grafted to it to be female? Since we don’t know the sex of the rootstock, that’s a big leap. Also, sounds like a good undergraduate or (continued on page 58)

Free State • 55

(continued from page 57)

MS project. Asexually propagating male and female ginkgos and then reciprocal grafting to see the effect on sexual expression!

Sex expression in dioecious trees is both interesting and puzzling.

In many species it is not 100% static and binary. Complicating the issue are real world mistakes that occasionally happen in propagation. Many dioecious trees contain a percentage of bisexual trees in their populations, so the botanists call these polygamodioecious, and we plant breeders call them frustrating! Just when you think you have a great new male clone, it throws some seed. It’s happened to me more than once.

I have also personally cleaned up mixed up clones, where a nursery had confused trees and produced female trees by mistake.

In one instance, this was a Ginkgo produced by an east coast nursery with a wonderful reputation.

Ginkgo clones are particularly hard to sort out visually, so mistakes happen. Occasional “nontakes” can slip through production

56 • Summer 2018

when a seedling looks so much like the intended cultivar that it is not noticed. Sometimes a clone has been male for years, then with age becomes bisexual.

I certainly can’t tell you the answer in this specific instance, but I can think of a number of possibilities.

I doubt the sex of the understock has an influence. In some species, we see certain cultivars are firmly fixed as male with no variation, despite being grafted on seedling understock. And some cutting produced trees are firmly polygamo-dioecious despite being on their own genetic roots.

I think it is very fair to say that science doesn’t fully understand sex expression in dioecious trees.

The understock theory is perhaps plausible, but unless there has been research to back it up, I would just call it an interesting but unlikely theory.

You’ll be able to tell if the ginkgo is male or female by looking at the buds and leaves as they first start opening in spring.

Ginkgo is technically similar to a conifer, and the male part looks like a tiny cone right off the bat.

Females send up slender green shoots along with the new leaves.

They eventually produce rounded pods that look like fruits but are actually seeds. ❦

Stanton Gill, Extension Specialist in IPM and Entomology University of Maryland Extension, CMREC And Professor in Landscape Technology, Germantown Campus of Montgomery College

2 0 1 9

MANTS

®

THE MASTERPIECE OF TRADE SHOWS™

MANTS MEANS BUSINESS.

For 49 years now, it has been all business at MANTS. It’s the one show where buyers know that they can find all the plants, products and services their business needs. And exhibitors can count on meeting a steady stream of well-qualified current and new customers.

That’s why over 11,000 attendees, representing over 3,600 buying companies and nearly 1,000 exhibiting companies, attended the most recent show. And when the business day is over and it is time to relax, Baltimore’s Inner Harbor area offers an incredible variety of attractions and restaurants.

www.mants.com P.O. Box 818 • Brooklandville, MD 21022 410-296-6959 • fax 410-296-8288 @mantsbaltimore #mants2019

@mantsbaltimore

On-line Registration is available 24/7 beginning October 1.

JA N UARY 9 -11 , 2 019

BALTIMORE CONVENTION CENTER Free State • 57

Directory of Advertisers Firm Name

Page

Angelica Nurseries, Inc.

Outside Back Cover

Babikow Greenhouses

Inside Front Cover

Firm Name

Page

Hortica 19 Manor View Farm

Braun Horticulture

53

MANTS

Cam Too Camelia

26

MD Ag Ed Foundation

Cavano's Perennials

42

MNLGA Affinity Program

Chesapeake Green Symposium

29

MNLGA On-Line

20 52 & 57 48 46-47 50

CPH 13

OHP

Foxborough Nursery

Pender Nursery

27

Inside Back Cover

1

Gregory J. Cannizzaro Graphic Design

53

Perennial Farm

12

Homestead Gardens Horticultural Supply

31

Walnut Springs

8

Waverly Farm

28

G R E G O R Y J.

cannizzaro

Graphic Design

MARYLAND AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION FOUNDATION

58 • Summer 2018

MARYLAND

N URSERY, L ANDSCAPE AND G REENHOUSE A S S O C I AT I O N , I N C .

Mission Statement The purpose of the Maryland Nursery, Landscape and Greenhouse Association is to promote the use of ornamental plants, products, and services.

The association supports all constituent groups of the horticulture industry including landscape, garden centers, interiorscape, grounds maintenance, nursery, greenhouse, and arboriculture. The association communicates the role of the horticulture industry in improving people’s quality of life.

Specific Goals Promote professionalism through education programs for members and the public and by encouraging enrollment in educational institutions.

Monitor state and local laws relating to horticulture industry.

Participate actively in legislative and regulatory processes.

Promote the use of environmentally sound practices in the horticulture industry.

Monitor and communicate to members developments in allied industries including agritechnology.

Support donations of plant products and services to state and community programs.

Support research relevant to the horticulture industry.

Participate in Maryland agricultural organizations.

6 1 2 3 4 5 6

Good Reasons Your Company Should Advertise in the MNLGA’s Free State Nursery, Landscape and Greenhouse News Free State News is seen by members of Maryland’s Nursery, Landscaping, Greenhouse, Garden Center and Allied Industries and is the leading publication for members of the MNLGA

Free State News enhances your ad with important industry specific content that is educational and informative. And, the digital version gives readers direct access to your website

Free State News helps promote your company and product while providing direct access to readers in Maryland’s Green Industries

Articles are contributed by highly regarded members of the industry, many of whom have a lifetime of knowledge and are frequently published

Free State News is a cost-effective way to help keep your name out in front of the membership and your potential customers

Free State News helps support the association in its endeavors on behalf of the green industry in the state of Maryland

For more information on advertising in the Free State Nursery, Landscape and Greenhouse News contact Kelly Finney at MNLGA at 410-823-8684 or e-mail freestate@mnlga.org

Free State • 59

Chairs and Committees Education Ted Carter – Co-Chair Ronda Roemmelt – Co-Chair Angela Burke Dave Clement Hank Doong Stanton Gill Pete Gilmore Brett Karp Mary Kay Malinoski John Murphy Karen Rane Andrew Ristvey Ginny Rosenkranz Brent Rutley Chuck Schuster Nominating Mark Dougherty – Chair Richard J. Watson Finance and Planning Carrie Engel – Chair Jessica Todd Larry Hemming John Murphy Link/Shanks Scholarship Mark Dougherty – Chair MANTS Jan S. Carter Bernard E Kohl, Jr. William A. M. Verbrugge Membership Committee Rich Poulin Greg Stacho Awards - Professional Achievement, Carville M. Akehurst Michael Marshall– Co-Chair Kevin Clark - Co-Chair

Legislative/MaGIC James R. McWilliams– Chair Mark Schlossberg Alan Jones Bernie Kohl ALL OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS CPH George Mayo - Chair Steve Black Shelley Hicks Cindy King Andrew Ristvey Martha Simon-Pindale Bob Trumbule Gaye Williams

Scholarship Bernie Kohl, Jr. – Chair Hank Doong Leslie Hunter-Cario Jessica Todd George Mayo Mary Claire Walker Economic Survey Steve Black Larry Hemming Bernie Kohl George Mayo John Murphy Jessica Todd Dr. John Lea-Cox Kimberly Rice Dr. Andrew Ristvey Historian George Mayo – Chair

ADVISORS TO THE BOARD Kimberly Rice MD Department of Agriculture Dr. John Lea-Cox University of Maryland

ADVISORS TO OTHERS CCLC – Ches. Bay Professional Landscape Certification (CBPL) Kody Cario Invasive Plant Advisory Committee Brent Cassell Leslie Hunter Cario Kelli McGaw LEAD Maryland Vanessa Finney Maryland Agriculture Commission Ray Greenstreet Vanessa Finney (at-large) Maryland Farm Bureau Larry Hemming Vanessa Finney

MAEF George Mayo Maryland Invasive Species Council (MISC) John Peter Thompson MDA Nutrient Management Advisory Committee Signe Hanson University of Maryland – Dean’s Global Leadership Council Vanessa Finney Young Farmers Advisory Council Jessica Todd

Every member of every committee listed above is an individual who volunteers their time in support for the MNLGA and it is with the utmost gratitude and appreciation that we thank you for your selfless endeavors.

If your name is not listed above, please consider following the example of those who are. Contact Vanessa at 410-823-8684 with your interest.

60 • Summer 2018

3611 MILLER RD • STREET, MD 21154 p. 410.836.7023 f. 410-452-5131

View photos and plant information: www.foxboroughnursery.com

Foxborough Nursery