The Scoop Online - July 2010

THE

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE MINNESOTA NURSERY & LANDSCAPE ASSOCIATION

Insights and Information for Green Industry Professionals

VOLUME 33, NUMBER 7 July 2010

Widmer Golf Tourney PAGE 45

Don’t miss MNLA’s tours!

Landscape Design | Perennial Growers | Garden Center Check out page 28 and the inserts included with this month’s Scoop

SUPERAMERICA GAS CARD and

HOLIDAY FLEET CARD

discounts offered by MNLA, SuperAmerica, and Holiday can help you do both.

• Save 5¢ on every gallon purchased at SuperAmerica.

• Save 4.5¢ on every gallon purchased at Holiday Stationstores.

• SuperAmerica Gas Card accepted at over 6,000 locations including: Speedway, SuperAmerica, Marathon, Valvoline® Instant Oil™ Change, Rich Oil and Pilot.

• Holiday Fleet Card good at over 400 Holiday

MNLA receive 10% off horticultural reference materials through the Minnesota State Horticultural Society Bookstore.

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Stationstore locations.

• Monitor your mileage, gas usage, and vehicle maintenance more effectively.

• No annual fee!

“10 CENTS OFF PER GALLON FOR THE FIRST 90 DAYS” PROMOTION IS BEING EXTENDED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE FOR NEW ACCOUNT APPLICANTS! MORE INFORMATION AVAILABLE AT WWW.MNLA.BIZ.

Check out the selection at www.northerngardener.org.

THE

Sustainable Environment . . . . . . . 10 Business Management . . . . . . . . . . 14 Certification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Landscape Contractors . . . . . . . . . 16 Research Update . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-19 MDA Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Public Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-29 Nursery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-32 Landscape Management. . . . . . . . 33 Landscape Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Garden Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Stormwater Management. . . . . . . 39 Irrigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40-43 Minnesota State Fair . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 MNLA Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . 45-46 Greenhouse & Herbaceous Growers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47-49 Awards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50-51 Plant of the Month. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Green for Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

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ADVERTISER INDEX AgStar Financial Services - 20 Bailey Nurseries - 10 Belgard Hardscapes-Northfield-Bend - 19 BFG Supply - 12-13 Borgert Products, Inc. - 56 Bullis Insurance Agency - 8 BW Insurance Agency - 22 Carlin Horticultural Supplies/ProGreen Plus - 16, 35 Casualty Assurance - 14 Central Landscape Supply - 39 Central Wisconsin Evergreens, Inc. - 4 Cherokee Mfg. - 24 Cushman Motor Co., Inc. - 43 Evergreen Nursery Co., Inc. - 39 Floral Plant Growers-Natural Beauty - 25 Fury Motors - 49 Gardenworld Inc. - 34 Gertens Wholesale - 37, 47 Haag Companies, The - 55

Hedberg Landscape & Masonry Supplies -9 Irrigation by Design, Inc. - 40 J.R. Johnson Supply, Inc. - 26 JRK Seed and Turf Supply - 33 Kelly Green Irrigation, Inc. - 41 Laborforce Specialists, Inc. - 42 Maguire Agency - 42 Out Back Nursery - 24 Plaisted Companies - 17 Rock Hard Landscape Supply division of Brian’s Lawn & Landsaping, Inc. - 35 Scharber & Sons - 5 Stonebrooke Equipment Inc. - 8 Timberwall Landscape Products - 27 Vermeer Sales & Service - 25 Wheeler Landscape Supply - 15, 23, 51 Xylem, Ltd. - 34 Ziegler Cat - 3

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Upcoming Events July 10-13 – OFA Shortcourse. Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, Ohio. For more information, see www.ofa.org.

18-24 – Perennial Plant Symposium. Doubletree Hotel, Portland, Oregon. For more information, see www.perennialplant.org.

21 – Turfgrass Maintenance with Reduced Environmental Impacts. For more information visit http://www.fortinconsulting.com/calendar.html.

22 – Bailey Expo. Bailey Nurseries, Inc., St. Paul. For more information, visit www.baileynurseries.com/events or call 800-829-8898.

27 – MNLA Foundation Widmer Golf Tournament. University of Minnesota Golf Course, Roseville. For more information, see page 45 or www.mnla.biz.

29 – Landscape Design Tour. St. Paul and Minneapolis. For more information, see page 28 or www.mnla.biz.

August 5 – Garden Center Tour. Inver Grove Heights to Red Wing. For more information, see page 28 or www.mnla.biz.

26-27 – JR Johnson 2010 Buyer’s Fair. Roseville, Minn. For more information, call 651-389-3500 or 1-800-328-9221.

26-Sept 6 – MNLA State Fair Display Garden. For more information visit www.mnla.biz upcoming events section.

31-Sept 1 – BFG Hort Expo. Earle Brown Heritage Center, Brooklyn Center, Minn. For more information see http://hortexpo.bfgsupply.com/.

September 9 – Perennial Growers Tour. Southeast Metro. For more information, see page 28 or www.mnla.biz.

10-11 – Foster's Spring Market 2011 Hardgoods Buying Show. Mayo Civic Center, Rochester. Call 800-747-2756 to register.

15 – Trees and Shrubs for the Landscape. Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Chaska. For more information, see page 29 or visit www.mnla.biz.

16 – Green for Life – an MNLA Public Service Event. For more information, see page 54 or visit www.mnla.biz.

16 – MTGF Field Day. University of Minnesota, St. Paul Campus. For more information, see www.mtgf.org.

21 – MNLA Foundation Sporting Clays Tournament. For more information see page 46 or www.mnla.biz.

28 – Credit Management Tips for the Green Industry. Bailey Nurseries, Inc., St. Paul, MN. For more information see page 29 or visit www.mnla.biz.

28-29 – OFA Disease, Insect & Plant Growth Management Conference. Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark, St. Louis, Missouri. For more information, visit www.ofaconferences.org.

October 7 – Portfolio Design & Promotion. For more information, see page 29 or visit www.mnla.biz. Sponsored by Hedberg Landscape & Masonry Supplies.

January 4 – Super Tuesday. Minneapolis Convention Center. More information coming soon!

5-7 – Northern Green Expo. Minneapolis Convention Center. Exhibit contracts available online at www.NorthernGreenExpo.org or call 651-633-4987.

If interested in sponsoring or co-sponsoring an MNLA workshop, please call Betsy Pierre, 952-903-0505 ext 1/betsy@pierreproductions.com.

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Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association 1813 Lexington Ave. N. Roseville, MN 55113 651-633-4987, fax 651-633-4986 Outside the metro area, toll free: 888-886-MNLA, fax 888-266-4986 www.MNLA.biz • GardenMinnesota.com

MNLA Mission The mission of the Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association is to help nursery and landscape related companies in Minnesota and the surrounding region operate their businesses more successfully.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Bert Swanson, MNLA-CP, President Swanson’s Nursery Consulting, Inc. 218-732-3579 • btswanson@gmail.com Debbie Lonnee, MNLA-CP, Vice President Bailey Nurseries, Inc. 651-768-3375 debbie.lonnee@baileynursery.com Heidi Heiland, MNLA-CP, Secretary-Treasurer Heidi's Lifestyle Gardens 612-366-7766 • heidi@BloomOnMN.com Van Cooley, Past President Malmborg’s, Inc. 763-535-4695 van@geraniumsbygeorge.com Randy Berg, MNLA-CP Berg’s Nursery, Landscape/Garden Center 507-433-2823 rberg@smig.net Scott Frampton Landscape Renovations 651-769-0010 sframpton@landscaperenovations.com Tim Malooly, CID, CLIA, CIC Irrigation By Design Inc. 763-559-7771 • timm@ibdmn.com Bill Mielke Wilson’s Nursery, Inc. 952-445-3630 bill@wilsonsnurseryinc.com Herman Roerick Central Landscape Supply 320-252-1601 hermanr@centrallandscape.com Bob Fitch MNLA Executive Director 651-633-4987 • bob@mnla.biz Staff directory and member services directory near the back cover.

The Scoop is published 12 times per year by the Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association, 1813 Lexington Ave. N., Roseville, MN 55113. Address corrections should be sent to the above address. News and advertising deadlines are the 5th of the month preceding publication.

FROM THE PRESIDENT | The Scoop

Leading in Turbulent Times

By Bert T. Swanson, Swanson’s Nursery Consulting Inc. ood leadership at any time can be challenging and often difficult. Good leadership can also provide great personal and professional Bert Swanson satisfaction and rewards. Good leadership in difficult times adds an additional level of challenges, and almost a different meaning to the word leadership. It does, however, have the same or even greater level of rewards. If leadership provides loneliness at the top in good times, it could be even more lonely in hard times because more intense and cost-saving decisions must be made.

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This challenge also provides you with a great opportunity to engage your key employees by using their experience and expertise to make streamlining and efficiency-oriented decisions. Thus, you decrease the loneliness at the top and you instill in these employees the need for, and the process by which cuts need to be made and efficiency needs to improve.

In Business Week, April 18, 2010, John R. Ryan points out that many of us lead with our heads through planning, extensive analysis and a steady temperament. But leading just with our heads may leave us lonely at the top by not taking a few minutes to connect with colleagues on a personal level. We can genuinely like the men and women we are privileged to lead and we can enjoy listening to, and learning from them, and yet maintain independence. In hard times, perhaps leading with our heads is not enough. Mr. Ryan emphasizes that in hard times our employees need more than sheer business expertise, whether it be smart strategy, the right organizational structure or clever technical solutions.

In these times, people want honesty and humanity, and they crave authentic connections to their leaders. Without this, it may be hard to build trust with key people and without trust it is hard to accomplish anything. Today, many employees are working more hours for less pay and benefits. Although this may be acceptable to all concerned, they want their sacrifices acknowledged. They want to know that their leaders care. So, Mr. Ryan says to take your routines off auto pilot, turn off your Blackberry, and listen to and learn from your key staff in an attempt to build those trusting relationships.

Next, comes the more concrete requirements of good leadership in hard times. Again, turn off your general approaches and pay sincere attention to detail. Determine what is slipping through the cracks, what can be eliminated, what can be improved and what can be added to enhance your bottom line. Much of this has been and will be addressed in Craig Chilstrom’s articles in The Scoop about how to develop a “Lean Organization.” Again, much of this boils down to paying attention to detail.

You cannot afford to not have activities happen in a timely manner.

Just as timing is everything in effective weed control, so it is in developing a profitable business.

In good times, people become slightly lackadaisical. Instead of actually starting at 8:00 AM, a discussion (visiting) ensues, or a plant or a piece of equipment is not ready and your crew gets off to a late start. Often, employees start their break early or extend it for a few minutes. Do you know what these detailed timing issues cost you? If an employee starts work three minutes late in the morning and at noon, and takes a three-minute break extension two times per day, this equals 12 minutes per day,

times five days per week, equals 60 minutes per week at $10 per hour, equals $10 per week times 52 weeks equals $520 per year times 10 employees equals $5,200 per year. This is most likely the minimum waste in most companies.

Would not you rather use this $5,000 to hire additional labor, pay a bonus or add it to your bottom line rather than see it wasted?

Are you accounting for all activities and, thereby, including them in your assessment of improving efficiency, accountability, and financial expenses, gains and losses? You took a colleague to lunch last week; how was that accounted for? An employee ran over four container plants as he made a sharp turn in the container field; how was that loss accounted for? If you or someone in your company sees, learns, and knows exactly what is going on, you can make the required corrections that save dollars and that allow survival in hard times.

Thus, all hands must pay attention to detail.

Sales are certainly key to leadership in turbulent times and that should be the subject of another whole article. Sales are part of the principles listed in the following discussion. Phillip J. Harkins is CEO of LINKAGE which is a global organization development company that specializes in leadership development (www.linkageinc.com; info@linkageinc.com). Mr. Harkins has published in the Linkage Leader an article titled: “Ten Tactics for Leading in Hard Times.” He reports that highimpact, experienced leaders narrow the funnel to create maximum efficiency, effectiveness, productivity and innovation via the following main principles. Additional information on each principle is available in the publication.

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Continued from page 7 1. Do: Reallocate time to high percentage, short-term returns. Focus 80% of time on the most important 20%.

2. Do: Create measures around high-impact programs and projects. You can only control what you can measure.

3. Do: Meet directly and frequently with the sales force.

Sales provide the conduit to the eyes and ears of the customer and the place where rapid decision-making can keep an organization ahead of a downward curve.

4. Do: Leverage “A” Players and reduce “C” Players.

During hard times, make sure that you are reducing the least effective.

5. Do: Install innovation and improvement teams. Give people who know where the costs are, the power to drive change.

6. Do: Lean on “Go To” People. Passionate champions have the most power in organizations to create focus.

7. Do: Triple Communications. In hard times, people need to hear more frequently what the plan is and be reassured of the overriding objectives.

8. Do: Get in front of customers more in hard times.

Listen without fear to customers to find nuggets of opportunity.

9. Do: Get rid of waste. Bad times allow leaders to get under the covers.

10. Do: Make the tough move NOW. When you know you are right, don’t hesitate.

Mr. Harkins emphasizes that leading in turbulent times can tear leaders apart and can increase the loneliness at the top as they must project a positive, but realistic spirit. Leaders must be resolute and strong, yet their hearts are broken knowing good people lose jobs, incomes are reduced and promises are delayed. Good leaders must engage others to join them by speaking in simple language and they must overcome barriers with resolve that keeps everyone focused.

Best of leadership to all of you in these continued difficult times. q ________________________________________________ Bert Swanson is the president of MNLA and can be reached at btswanson2@gmail.com.

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The Scoop | SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT

Hardy plants with local roots

"Rain Barrel Chain Reaction"

Now with a fresh new look to drive sales.

Instantly wow your customers and drive more sales with Bailey’s new premium look. Great-looking pots, P.O.P. and outstanding plants all combine into a powerful retail display that will stimulate impulse sales and keep customers coming back for more!

By Carolin Dittmann, Verbena Design and Landscaping, LLC. n the midst of our fast paced, high tech world, an oldfashioned revolution is quietly taking place, one gutter downspout at a time. Lately, I have noticed greater public awareness of one simple, yet time-honored rainwater harvesting method, the rain barrel. It is about as back-to-basics as you can get, but there are a few new twists on this very old practice.

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Rainwater collection has been around since ancient times. Rain storing devices carved out of solid rock are some of the oldest megalithic structures that remain from the early cultures of Rome and Egypt. Since necessity is the mother of invention, arid climates have always been the leading edge of rain harvesting.

These days, rain barrels are enjoying a renewed interest as people everywhere recognize the need to protect our water resource. Yes, even here, in the land of 10,000 lakes, we are experiencing significant pollution of our lakes and rivers due to stormwater runoff, and rain barrels are a great Photo courtesy of Rusty Schmidt way to introduce people to the idea of water conservation. Because they are easy and inexpensive, they have become the perfect starting point for anyone to learn that we don’t have to go to great lengths to be a little LESS WASTEFUL.

(651) 459-9744

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BaileyNurseries.com

www.MNLA.biz | JULY 2010

The beauty of the rain barrel is in its minimalism. Leonardo da Vinci said “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” For the true air of sophistication though, the home-made blue plastic barrel just doesn’t cut it. How about rain barrels

disguised as boxes, benches or even rocks? With the help of 8 mil polyethylene liners, you can outfit just about any container to store rainwater.

But for true old world charm, I would have to pick the converted solid oak wine barrel that I recently saw at a home improvement display for local distributer, Barrel Depot. I actually witnessed attendees coming up to the barrel to exclaim, “This is beautiful!” I thought so too and since I have been wanting to learn more about the “ins and outs” of rain barrels, I asked the owners, Tonya Baker and Elena Kotowski to tell me more about their business.

Kotowski explains that Barrel Depot started as a venture to find a more attractive alternative to recycled food barrels for capturing rainwater for her own home. She and Baker did some searching and found that they liked the material and craftsmanship of recycled solid oak wine barrels and also found out that they are not that easy to get. They purchased a whole truckload figuring they probably could find enough people who were also interested, to whom they could sell the extra barrels. Did they ever! After three years, Barrel Depot has grown to be a regional supplier of rainwater harvesting systems and accessories.

The rain barrel seems like such an uncomplicated and affordable concept.

And it is! But once you start designing with rainwater harvesting and storage in mind, a simple idea can quickly grow into a complex system. That is why I was drawn to the story of Barrel Depot.

It represents the chain reaction of potential inherent in water conservation and preservation. Once people get started with harvesting rainwater, they want to do more and more of it. This is an important point to remember when recommending the use of rain barrels to our customers. The purchase of a rain barrel may be a small monetary investment for a homeowner at first, but it may also start a learning process that leads to a desire for more involved “water smart” landscaping.

For example, Barrel Depot has branched out into large-capacity water

collection because they have discovered that when people see how much water they quickly accumulate in a 55 gallon barrel, they want to capture MORE! Barrel Depot now offers a selection of above and below ground water tanks that can hold anywhere from several hundred to 2,500 gallons. The use of cisterns (large volume tanks that are typically buried) has allowed the incorporation of collected rainwater into irrigation design.

In fact, an increasing number of Barrel Depot’s customers are irrigation contractors who are marketing rainwater harvesting as an ecological and economical alternative to using city water.

Rainwater collection systems, small and large, are an important way to intercept and utilize rainwater runoff.

But it is equally important to remember that managing stormwater also involves treating the pollution that comes along with it. The water collected in a rain barrel is certainly not potable and probably should not be used to irrigate any edible plants in the landscape. As an avid vegetable gardener myself, I find this news unfortunate.

The best advice I have found on the subject comes from the Seattle Rain Barrel Guide: “General practice is to avoid watering vegetables and other edible plants, such as herbs you plan to use in cooking, with rain barrel water collected from asphaltshingle roofs. These kinds of roofs may leach various complex hydrocarbon compounds, so most people avoid using water from asphalt-shingle roofs or flat tar roofs on plants meant for human consumption. To date there is no definitive research on the amounts and types of hydrocarbon compounds which may leach from such roofs, though it is common practice to use water collected from asphalt-shingle roofs for watering ornamental plants and shrubs. Enameled steel and glazed tile roofs generate little or no contamination and rainwater harvested from them is commonly used to water vegetables."

The owners of Barrel Depot have thought about this problem as well.

They have done some research into filtering systems, which has lead them to explore other creative methods for reducing water consumption such as greywater systems that recycle household wastewater. Baker said much of the information on this topic is coming out of Australia (another of the world’s arid regions). Minnesota has a long way to go before these types of systems are regulated and endorsed by cities and counties the way that other water management strategies are.

It is a process to go from the rain barrel to the development and acceptance of more complex and, yes, high-tech solutions for the future of water quality. I believe the green industry is well positioned to encourage homeowners to start that process. For more information about Barrel Depot, visit their website at www.barreldepot.com or contact Tonya Baker at 952-221-2113.

For a listing of websites that I found useful as I researched rain barrels, please visit www.mnla.biz and check under latest News and Resources. q ________________________________ Carolin Dittmann is a member of the MNLA Sustainable Environment Committee and can be reached at carolin@verbenadesign.com.

WEBSITES ON RAIN BARRELS: Rain Bench: http://www.savingrainllc.com/rainbench-kit.html Rain Barrel disguised as a rock: http://www.rainbarrelresource.com/ The Barrel Depot: http://barreldepot.com/default.aspx Seattle Rain Barrel Guide: http://www.seattle.gov/util/stellent/ groups/public/@spu/@csb/documents/ webcontent/cos_004351.pdf Safety of Rooftop/Rain Barrel Collected Water http://home.comcast.net/~leavesdance/ rainbarrels/safety.html Greywater Systems: http://www.greywater.com/

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The Scoop | BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

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Business Wastes - Excess Motion #5 in a Series by Craig Chilstrom, Prairie Edge Nursery xcess motion is defined as any motion that does not add value to the finished product.

Excess motion wastes time and energy.

However it can be Craig Chilstrom difficult to actually see motion that may be unnecessary. It may be the way things have always been done.

This makes it “normal” and not an area of concern. This type of thinking is difficult to eliminate from an organization, but must be in order for the organization to move forward.

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Any activity that is done in one location, for example potting plants, can be easily observed. De-cluttering the work area and changing the layout to make everything required to complete the task easily reachable, can usually eliminate much of the unnecessary motion. The concept of “one piece flow,” where the product moves directly from one work station to the next station, will eliminate WIP (work in process), and remove clutter from the work area, as well as reduce excess inventory.

It can be difficult to identify the scope of unnecessary motion in projects that are done in large areas, for example landscaping projects. Any time a person leaves the area they are working in to get a tool, or anything else required for them to continue working on the task they are trying to complete, is unnecessary motion. Whenever a person cannot locate an item required to complete a task, and they search for it, is unnecessary motion.

Spaghetti mapping is a tool that can be used to identify excess motion in any task. Spaghetti mapping is simply using a

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measuring wheel and following a person and measuring distances they travel as they do their work and mapping where they travel. This is a visual tool that will help identify what can be done to make them more efficient and reduce excess motion. The larger the work area, the more dramatic your findings will be.

Locating necessary tools or items closer to the location where work is being done is one obvious answer. How this is accomplished will vary by the work area being analyzed.

6S (Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain, Safety) is also a tool that can be used to eliminate excess motion. Maintaining an organized work area will reduce excess motion.

Combining jobs may also provide a solution for excess motion. For example fertilizing and scouting for pests at the same time can minimize the number of times an employee returns to a particular area.

Eliminating excess motion is an area where you can involve your people in the continuous improvement process. The people doing the work in many cases are very aware of wasted motion, and may be frustrated by it. They, however, may not be aware of the scope and costs involved.

Involving employees in identifying and providing solutions to reduce this waste will provide ownership and increased awareness for everyone involved.

Excess motion requires time.

Eliminating excess motion from any task will improve efficiency and allow an employee to complete more work in the same time, reducing costs and allowing the business to be more competitive and profitable. q ________________________________ Craig Chilstrom is a member of the MNLA Nursery Committee and can be reached at cchilstr@Wildbluecoop.com.

CERTIFICATION | The Scoop

Reward is Great for Those Who Pass Certification Exam

By Jeff Gillman, University of Minnesota here are all types of nursery and landscape certifications across the United States. Maine has a certification program for its nursery and landscape personnel as does Washington, California, Idaho, and almost every other state with a nursery and landscape association. These programs are intended to promote the knowledgeable professional nursery and landscape professionals among us, giving them a competitive advantage in the job marketplace, and over the years it has.

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The Minnesota certification test is far from the easiest test out

there. In fact, it’s one of the are asked making them more tougher ones. Certainly not prepared for the next goeveryone who takes the round. But, even more certification test passes. In importantly, they learn what fact, at times less than half do. they need to do to make But for those who make it themselves more through, the reward is great. knowledgeable about the CERTIFIED nursery and landscape industry.

Green industry employers Professional know how difficult the test is It’s all about knowing the ins and they give the people who and outs of what you do. If take the test and pass it a you’re serious about your job and great deal of credit for their advancing your career in the nursery and efforts. Want to impress a landscape industry then you either are potential employer? Let certified or will become certified because, them know you’re a as hard as the test is, it’s the easiest way certified nursery and to show the green industry that you landscape professional. really know your stuff. q ________________________________ Even those who don’t pass Jeff Gillman is a member of the MNLA the test come out better for Certification Committee and can be their attempt. They learn reached at gillm003@umn.edu. the type of questions that

"Show the green industry that you really know your stuff."

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The Scoop | LANDSCAPE CONTRACTORS

Managing Labor Equals Profits

By Patrick Warden, Bachman's Landscaping hen I first started in this business almost 20 years ago, overtime was mandatory and sales were plentiful. I can remember times where we would almost be using the headlights to finish a project. During those times, it almost became a game to see how much overtime everyone had. Times have sure changed in the past 20 years, especially in the past few. We all have seen that sales are a little harder to close, customers want more for less, and making a profit on a job is even more challenging. That is why careful control of labor costs is vital to avoid a slow and painful drain of profits. The days of working lots of hours, whatever it takes to get another job done seem to be over. Strategic management of overtime seems to be the new way we operate.

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To be a successful landscape contractor, you certainly need to be a horticultural expert and, at the same time, a business expert. Just look at how well the MNLA has received the construction business experts like the Charles Vander Kooi group and the business advice they give. As contractors, the biggest ticket controllable piece is labor. Whether you are a scheduler, manager or estimator, knowing your labor costs is key to success. We do this at our company by calculating the cost of each person that works on a crew. We then calculate how much retail labor each person needs to produce to operate efficiently. Each company will figure these costs a little bit differently, but knowing them is so important.

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Once you have a goal for the retail labor output of each crew, you can use this tool in measuring your crews, scheduling accurately, and making sure that you don’t run your crews out of work. We budget our labor hours to keep our schedule out about four-weeks. We use the labor output figure to create a work schedule and we manipulate employee work schedules to keep us out that far. We manipulate overtime and crew size, especially with the number of lesser skilled helpers. During the summer we usually find ourselves switching to a four-day work week and cutting the majority of overtime out. We have found this is very successful in keeping our schedule where it needs to be and many of our crew foremen enjoy the longer weekends after a busy spring. This year, we also tried something a little new for us, and that is using temporary labor. This allowed us to handle the big rush in the spring and drop temporary seasonal help as we saw sales change.

No matter what method you use for your company, just make sure your labor costs are following what your sales are doing. The further out you can watch those sales changes, the easier the changes to labor will be. I hope that you and your company enjoy successful and profitable summer months and a prosperous fall. When winter rolls around this year, make sure that you take some time and analyze how successful you were in managing your labor. Hopefully you will create an everimproving labor budget for each year to come. q ________________________________________________ Patrick Warden is a member of the MNLA Landscape Professional Advancement Committee and can be reached at pwarden@bachmans.com.

RESEARCH UPDATE | The Scoop

Japanese Beetles in Minnesota: Education, Detection, and Management Dan Miller, Plant Health Specialist, University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum he Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) was first detected in the United States in New Jersey in 1916 and has spread throughout most states east of the Mississippi and to parts of Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, and Minnesota west of the Mississippi. In Minnesota, the beetles were first detected in 1968. Trapping programs conducted by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) showed low but consistent numbers from 1991 to 1998. Trapping data in 1999 and 2000 showed a dramatic increase in

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Japanese beetles with the highest counts occurring in Washington, Ramsey, Hennepin, Dakota, and Carver counties.

After trapping in 2002, the MDA concluded that the beetle was too widespread to be eradicated. The beetle was then deregulated and Photo: Japanese Beetle. Forestry Images. Russ Ottens, University of budget cuts shifted Georgia. the direction of the

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program so the statewide trapping program was discontinued.

Arboretum exhibit demonstrates integrated control of Japanese Beetles In recent years, Japanese beetle infestations have become more noticeable in the metro region with many reported cases of damage to golf courses from the white grub larvae feeding on grass roots and damage to ornamentals shrubs and trees (especially roses, grapes, and lindens) from adult beetles. It is apparent that awareness of the pest is growing; however many home gardeners are not experienced or knowledgeable regarding integrated control strategies for the pest. In 2009, the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum obtained a grant from the North Central Integrated Pest Management Center to create an exhibit at the Arboretum to provide updated, relevant IPM information to the public on environmentally safe ways to control the adults and larvae of the Japanese beetle. The display featured a sign located in the center of a plot of turfgrass and roses with general IPM information, a take-home brochure with more detailed information, and a terrarium so visitors could observe the beetles while they were feeding on plants.

Course Superintendents Association. In October a second electronic survey was sent to nurseries throughout the state via the Minnesota Nursery and Landscape Association. These surveys provided links for respondents to use in properly identifying the beetle. The survey also asked if beetles or grubs had been observed on their golf course or nursery, when they were first observed, the damage levels, and the control strategies employed. Additionally, over 40 University of Minnesota Extension Educators and Master

Gardeners across the state were contacted by phone and asked if they had heard of infestations in their areas. Based on previous trapping surveys by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and our 2009 consensus surveys, it is apparent that the beetles are primarily located in the seven county metro area and southeast toward Rochester and west toward Mankato (Figure 1). Future IPM control efforts should be focused in these areas.

Even though Japanese beetles have

Determining the distribution of Japanese Beetle in Minnesota A secondary part of the grant involved a survey to determine the current statewide distribution of the beetle. In August 2009, an electronic survey was sent to over 300 golf course superintendents Figure 1. Status of the Japanese Beetle in Minnesota in 2009 (PDF available: JapaneseBeetleMN2009V3.pdf ) via the Minnesota Golf 18

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been present in the metro area for several years, they were not observed at the Arboretum until 2007. To get a better understanding of the encroachment of Japanese beetles to the Arboretum, a trapping study was initiated in 2009.

Twenty traps were set on golf courses and parks in an approximately 10 mile radius round the Arboretum and compared to traps on the Arboretum grounds. Traps were set in each location once a week, left for 24 hours, retrieved, and beetles were counted. Trapping started on July 17th and continued for ten weeks until September 16th. The most remarkable outcome of this trapping project was the noticeable difference between trap counts on golf courses east of the Arboretum and golf courses west of the Arboretum.

The average number of beetles per trap for the four golf courses east of the Arboretum was 483.0 while the average number for the two western courses was only 2.6. The average number of beetles for the Arboretum's traps was 5.7.

Several golf course superintendents indicated that 2009 was either the first

year or the second year that they were aware of the beetle's presence. It appears that the Japanese beetle populations are increasing and are continuing to advance further west.

Methods for decreasing potential damage from Japanese Beetles Homeowners and golf course superintendents in the metro and southeastern region of Minnesota can decrease potential damage to their ornamentals and turfgrass by scouting and early detection.

Golf courses (and other turf managers) should concentrate their control efforts on the grubs if turf damage is considerable. Imidacloprid and Acelpryn (a reduced-risk insecticide) have proven to be effective.

Homeowners can control small infestations of adult beetles by picking them off the plants and dropping them into soapy water or rubbing alcohol.

Pheromone traps are not recommended as beetles may miss the trap and land on nearby landscape plants, causing damage.

If damage is beyond tolerable levels, conventional insecticides may become necessary. Imidacloprid and residual pesticides like pyrethroids are effective for adults but should only be used where infestations are found and not used as preventative treatments.

Homeowner's can treat grub damage using biorational control with products containing halofenozide an insect growth regulator or with beneficial nematodes. It is necessary to confirm that turf damage is caused by white grubs and not by other turf diseases before implementing control methods.

Detection of Japanese Beetles in new counties If beetles are found in counties not marked on the map in Figure 1, please let us know by sending specimens including capture location and date to Jeff Hahn at Department of Entomology 236 Hodson Hall, 1980 Folwell Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108 or send digital images to hahnx002@umn.edu. q

JULY 2010 | www.MNLA.biz

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The Scoop | MDA UPDATE

Legislature Passes Modified Tree Care Registry Bill

By Mark C. Schreiber, Minnesota Department of Agriculture s part of a major rewrite of the plant protection statutes in 2003, a provision, 18G.07 was incorporated that established a tree care and tree trimming company registry. The purpose for this registry was to provide the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) with a means to contact tree care professionals with information regarding invasive or exotic tree pests and also to inform the industry regarding potential regulatory issues or restrictions. The registry has time and time again proven its worth as Minnesota has faced several invasive tree pests including Gypsy moth, emerald ash borer, and pine shoot beetle.

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Maintaining the registry and also enforcing its requirements has resulted in additional administrative costs to the agency. In response the MDA drafted and proposed a nominal fee to help support the registry.

Working with MNLA and other tree care professionals, the original bill included a $250 professional-level registration. The intent of this “professional” level registration was to try and highlight those firms that achieved a number of specific professional credentials. This portion of the bill was removed following objections that such a designation could be misunderstood by the general public. The balance of the bill passed and Governor Pawlenty signed it into law in May 2010.

Despite the removal of the “professional” designation, the MDA is attempting to establish on the tree care registry web site a means for tree care companies to voluntarily provide a limited amount of additional information that may be helpful to consumers and the general public.

Tree care registration will cost $25 beginning January 2011. It is formally an annual registration. There will be a 10% per month (or part thereof ) for delinquent registration renewal, up to a maximum of 30%.

Tree care registration is independent of other licenses or certificates a firm or individual may hold. If you trim, prune or remove trees or shrubs you must register. The registration is at the company level; multiple business sites can be listed under one registration but only one $25 fee is required per company.

A formal definition of violation was included so that more effective enforcement of the statute could occur.

While attempts to gain registration voluntarily will be sought first and foremost, the violation language was needed to enable the department to address firms that refuse to register.

There will be only one registry maintained by the MDA and it will be available electronically on the department’s website. The website will contain additional information of value for tree care companies and consumers.

Tree care companies will be among the first to obtain the latest plant pest information related to trees and shrubs.

Questions about the Tree Care Registry can be directed to 651-201-6095. q ________________________________ Mark Schreiber is the Supervisor of the Nursery Inspection & Export Certification Unit, Plant Protection Division, at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.

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PUBLIC RELATIONS | The Scoop

Reach the Right People at the Right Time

By Paul Hugunin, Minnesota Department of Agriculture t its best, advertising does more than just reach people, it reaches them when they’re ready to take action. If you install irrigation systems, wouldn’t it be nice if at the very moment a homeowner said to themselves “I wonder who I should hire to install an irrigation system for my lawn” a link to your website appeared in front of them?

This is exactly how Pay-Per-Click advertising works and it’s just one of the reasons you should consider adding it to your marketing mix.

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising simply means you agree to pay a fee to Google, Yahoo! or other search engines if someone searches for a specific keyword and then clicks on your ad. To continue with the irrigation example above, you might choose to have your ad appear whenever someone searches for the word “irrigation” or the phrase “sprinkler system”. If someone enters either of those phrases into Google, your ad will appear in the “sponsored search” section at the top or right hand side of the page.

You’ll be charged a fee only if that person clicks on your ad and goes to your website. You don’t owe anything if they don’t click on your ad. If they search for “lawn mowing” or any other words that you didn’t choose, your ad won’t appear and of course you don’t pay anything.

Here are some of the reasons to consider PPC for your business: Targeting: With most advertising you are paying to reach a lot of people who aren’t interested in your specific goods or services. Even well-targeted publications or programs will reach many people who aren’t in the market for what you have to offer. With PPC, you choose the keywords that trigger your ad so that only those people searching for information about the goods and services you provide will ever see your ad. You can also target your ads geographically.

PPC allows you to target your ads by zip code (you can enter a list of zip codes or

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you can choose any size radius around a zip code), by city, or you can literally draw a custom shape on a map to include the specific cities and areas that you want to reach.

Budgeting: How much would it cost to create your own TV campaign?

Or a radio campaign? With PPC advertising you can choose any maximum amount you wish. Willing to spend only $1 per day? No problem.

Once you’ve hit your daily ad limit your ad simply stops appearing. In addition to an overall budget, you also set a maximum amount you’re willing to pay per click for any of your keywords.

Basically, you get to ask yourself the question “How much am I willing to pay to get a person to my website if they are in my geographic area and are searching for my keyword?”

Measuring: We’ve all paid good money for advertising and struggled to evaluate whether or not it worked.

Because you only pay if someone clicks on your ad, PPC is very measurable.

Imagine how nice it would be if the cost of a newspaper ad was based on the number of coupons you actually redeemed instead of the number of people who received the newspaper! The more effective your PPC ad is at bringing people to your website the more you’ll pay. If nobody clicks on your ad you don’t pay. You’ll also get a wealth of data from your PPC account, including how many times your ad appeared for each keyword you selected, how many people clicked on each ad, what you paid per click for each keyword, and how high your ad appeared in the search results. If you really want to measure the effectiveness of your PPC campaign, I suggest creating a special “landing page” on your website that isn’t visible to your regular traffic. The landing page should have a coupon or special offer that isn’t available anywhere else. That way, you’ll know how many people visited your website because of your PPC ads and you’ll know how many of those people

actually made a purchase or placed an order.

As the coordinator of the MDA’s Minnesota Grown Program, I’ve seen firsthand how effective this advertising can be. We began using PPC back in 2007 and within one year our unique visitor count to www.minnesotagrown.com had nearly tripled – all because of our PPC campaign. MNLA has also seen impressive results from its PPC campaign for GardenMinnesota.com. In the first five months of 2010, the MNLA’s PPC campaign has delivered more than 7,250 people to www.gardenminnesota.com at a total cost of just $2,000 (an average cost of less than 30 cents per click). How much would you be willing to pay to bring 7,000 qualified customers to your website?

Getting started with your own campaign is easy. You just need a credit card, e-mail address and website. For Google Adwords, go to www.adwords.google.com. Google is by far the dominant search engine. Roughly 2/3 of all internet searches are through Google. Yahoo is the next largest search engine. You can create your account by visiting them online at www.advertising.yahoo.com Although I’m a believer in the power of pay-per-click advertising, by no means am I suggesting that it replace your conventional advertising efforts. There will always be a need to create overall awareness of your company with people who may not yet know that they need your services. Remember, PPC only reaches people who already know they are interested in a certain product or subject matter.

I’d love to hear from you if you end up trying PPC advertising for your business or if you’re already using it.

Have fun and good luck! q ________________________________ Paul Hugunin is a member of the MNLA Public Relations Committee and can be reached at Paul.Hugunin@state.mn.us.

JULY 2010 | www.MNLA.biz

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The Scoop | MINNESOTA LANDSCAPE ARBORETUM

Arboretum's ‘Powerhouse Plants’ Summer Exhibition his year’s Minnesota Landscape Arboretum summer exhibition puts the spotlight on Powerhouse Plants – energy to fuel your body, life and imagination.

The exhibition which is open June 5 - Oct. 10, takes on a whimsical air with its “Not Your Garden-Variety Superheroes” imagery and other fun touches. Presenting sponsor of the exhibition is Xcel Energy.

“Powerhouse Plants will expand awareness of how plants bring energy to every aspect of our day-to-day living,” said Mary Meyer, Interim Arboretum Director. “Visitors will be inspired to appreciate plants as locally grown foods, bio-energy crops and fuel for the imagination.”

Powerhouse Plants showcases "super-charged" vegetable plots and locally grown produce, bio-energy crops and energy vignettes, art in the gardens and more. Here's more on Powerhouse Plants: Incredible Edibles Discover a delicious bounty of ideas on how to eat fresh and grow your own. The Incredible Edibles exhibit, located just

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outside the western entrance of the Oswald Visitor Center, will tap the talents and ingenuity of top Twin Cities chefs, Arboretum staff and do-it-yourself backyard gardeners. In a Chef ’s Row garden, 10 chefs and growers will share their favorite crops and recipes for enjoying summer’s rich bounty.

Participants include: Lynn Rossetto Kasper (MPR's "The Splendid Table"), Brenda Langton (Spoonriver), Raghavan Iyer (OM restaurant), Beth Dooley (food writer), Michael Rostance (Broder's Pasta Bar), Justin Given (Arboretum Restaurant), Greg Reynolds (Riverbend Farm), Mike Phillips (Craftsman) and Tammy Wong (Rainbow Chinese Restaurant). A series of backyard-scale vegetable garden models will show designs easily replicated at home, for an abundant harvest in a small space.

Garden themes include: First-timer's Garden, Two-in-one Garden, "Dig It!" (roots & tubers), Salad Lover's Special and Adventurous Cooks. (Plot can be found on the arboretum website at www.arboretum.umn.edu/veggiesbytheyard.aspx.)

Every Saturday morning from 9:30 to 11 a.m., through the summer months, staff and volunteers will be harvesting and weighing vegetables at the site.

Also check out Garden of Eatin' plantings in existing Arboretum gardens that show how you can create a "rainbow on your plate." Don't miss the "grain quilt" in the Home Demo Gardens and the Chemopreventive Café plot with a dozen high-octane plants packed with antioxidants and other nutrients. The Griggs Annual Garden will feature herbs and veggies among the annuals.

Amazing Art Visitors can feast their eyes on five juried artworks offering unique perspectives on the link between people and plants.

Field to Table by Moira Bateman of Minneapolis. A celebration of the “growing” developments surrounding the local harvest in our community – i.e., organic and sustainable farming, farmers’ markets and Community Supported Agriculture programs. Collaborator is Hog’s Back Farm.

Solar Cultivator by Barr Engineering Landscape Ecology Team of Minneapolis. An interactive sundial demonstrates the relationship between sun angle, the seasons and human ingenuity.

Magical Mystery Treasure Hunt by Georgia Kandiko of Excelsior. Embark on a mystery tour inspired by the Powerhouse Plants theme: Someone is sabotaging gardens at the Arboretum. A gardening crew is investigating. Discover clues at each crime scene.

Waves of (Multifunctional) Grain by Arlene Birt and Adam Jonas of Minneapolis. Striking sculptural benches created from straw demonstrate the versatility of wheat.

Homegrown by Nathan Anderson, Avocado Green, Minneapolis. A simple building façade transforms into a

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Palace, a large-scale outdoor sculpture from willow branches – demonstrating another facet of “powerhouse plants.”

The sculpture is located in front of the Oswald Visitor Center and will remain throughout the summer and up to an entire year.

Visit Powerhouse Plants at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum this summer and discover energy to fuel your body, life and imagination! Supporting sponsors are: American Lung Association of Minnesota, Minnesota Corn Growers Association and Minnesota Soybean Growers Association. q ________________________________ The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, the largest public garden in the Upper Midwest and a premier northern arboretum, is part of the University of Minnesota and developed as a community and national resource for horticultural and environmental information, research, and public education.

Open 363 days a year, it is located 9 miles west of I-494 on Hwy 5 in Chanhassen.

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“vertical garden” – a cascade of color, smell and texture, presenting the familiar in a brand-new light and inspiring a fresh look at the power of plants.

Bio-Energized!

Experience energy from the ground up in this lively, fun series of vignettes and demonstration plantings of energy crops. Can we harvest the power of green and growing renewable energy? See how U of M scientists, growers and businesses are reinventing the energy infrastructure by exploring what's horticulturally possible, economically feasible and environmentally wise. See what it takes to convert plants into energy and learn the economic, environmental and social impacts of various processes. One of the highlights is a whimsical "Blooming Bug," a VW Beetle completely covered with plants.

Powerhouse Plants follows the Big Build by Patrick Dougherty artist residency May 3-22, during which the acclaimed artist created the Uff da

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January 5-7, 2011 Minneapolis Convention Center Booth information available at www.NorthernGreenExpo.org or call Betsy at (763) 295-6520.

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The Scoop | MINNESOTA LANDSCAPE ARBORETUM

July & August Classes at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum earn from expert instructors in the Midwest’s largest and most spectacular classroom – the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Through lectures, demonstrations, on-site garden visits and hands-on activities, the Gardening School offers rich opportunities for lifelong learning on a full range of topics for home gardeners, horticultural industry professionals, Master Gardeners, and other interested individuals.

Classes are held on four consecutive Saturdays, 10 a.m.12:30 p.m. Fee: $30 member/$40 non-member (per class in each series) To register, call 952-443-1422 or visit www.arboretum.umn.edu/learn.aspx.

SESSION 5: GARDENING IN MID SUMMER This series features details on growing and caring for popular plants like roses, perennials and hostas and covers basic plant names.

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Perennials for Sun and Shade Saturday, July 24; 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Snyder Classroom 2.

Find out which perennials will thrive in sunny and shady sites. Native plants and cultivars will be covered. Includes a visit to see the various perennials in the gardens. Shirley Mah Kooyman is a botanist, teacher and gardener.

Growing Roses in Minnesota Saturday, July 31; 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Snyder Classroom 2.

Discover how easy it is to grow both tender and hardy roses in our cold climate. Learn general rose care, cultivars, insects and diseases, winterizing, safe uses of pesticides and herbicides and a trip to the Arboretum’s Wilson Rose Garden. Jim Beardsley, Past-President of the Minnesota Rose Society and a consulting rosarian in Rose Judging, maintains a garden with over 200 roses.

A Deeper Shade of Green Local Genetic Origins

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Native Minnesota Woody & Herbaceous (651) 438-2771 • Fax (651) 438-3816

www.outbacknursery.com

Call us first for all your native planting needs 24

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Botanical Latin: The Naming of Plants Saturday, August 7; 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Snyder Classroom 2.

Gain the insight for understanding scientific plant names and the logic behind them. Learn the what, why, and how of botanical Latin. Shirley Mah Kooyman is a botanist with a specialty in plant taxonomy and systematics.

Hostas and Companion Plants Saturday, August 14; 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Snyder Classroom 2.

Hostas are best appreciated for their distinctive foliage.

Learn how to grow, propagate and select them for effective combinations with other shade-loving plants. Includes a visit to the Hosta Glade. Duane Reynolds, former President of the Minnesota State Horticultural Society, has gardened with hostas for years.

The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, the largest public garden in the Upper Midwest and a premier northern arboretum, is part of the University of Minnesota College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences and serves as a community and national resource for horticultural and environmental information, research, and public education. It is located nine miles west of I-494 on Highway 5 in Chanhassen. The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity employer and educator. The Arboretum is disability accessible; the buildings and terraces are smoke free. q

JULY 2010 | www.MNLA.biz

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THE SCOOP | MINNESOTA HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

July Classes at the Minnesota State Horticultural Society lasses are sponsored by the Minnesota State Horticultural Society, but are held at various locations, as noted. Enrollment is limited, and pre-registration is requested. To register, call 651-643-3601 or 800-676-6747, ext 211.

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Create a Rustic Garden Mushroom Tuesday, July 13 and Tuesday, July 20 (2 session class). 6:30 to 8 p.m. $42 Member, $52 nonmember. Location: Muriel Sahlin Arboretum, Roseville Central Park, 2525 North Dale St., Roseville.

Create a 12 -18" tall mushroom for your yard from concrete, with embellishments of moss and other natural elements like birch bark and sticks. Instructors: Sally Lehn and Charlie Johnson of "Garden Treasures." Together, they have five years of experience teaching and creating all kinds of treasures for your garden.

Make a Terrarium and Learn about the Water Cycle Saturday, July 17, 10 to 11:30 a.m. $15 per child, ages 12 and under. Mickman Brothers, 14630 Highway 65, Ham Lake.

Grow With Kids Club - Kids are invited to create their own terrarium, which is a mini-ecosystem that provides the plants inside with the soil, air, and water they need to live and grow.

Bring your imagination and curiosity, then prepare to get your hands dirty. All materials are supplied as well as lemonade and treats! Adult supervision required. Instructor: Diane Lee designs for the wreath division at Mickman Brothers, as well as having her own decorating/special event business Creative EASE. Kids Create a Flower Ice Cream Sundae Tuesday, July 20, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. $15 per child, ages 12 and under. Location: MSHS classroom, 2705 Lincoln Drive, Roseville.

Use fresh flowers and rainbow floral foam mix and your own creativity to make an ice cream sundae arrangement to take home and enjoy. After making your flower arrangement, the class will enjoy real ice cream sundaes. Bring a friend and share the fun! Adult supervision required. Instructor: Missy BonGiovanni with Payne's Wedding Flowers.

What’s in Your Garden?

Tuesday, July 20, 6 to 7:30 p.m. $10 per child, ages 8 – 14.

Location: Muriel Sahlin Arboretum, Roseville Central Park, 2525 North Dale St., Roseville.

You’re never too young to take an interest in nature and gardening. This class is geared for young minds ages 8–14.

Learn about the trees, shrubs, perennials, and annuals in your yard. What plants will attract wild life? We will explore the 26

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grounds at the Muriel Sahlin Arboretum and study the different habitats for various desirable creatures from birds to butterflies. Instructor: Patti Sullivan has a degree in Landscape Design and Construction from Hennepin Technical College and has been the Horticulture Technician at the Muriel Sahlin Arboretum for the past 8 years.

Zucchini & Summer Squash – Ways to Prepare, What to Pick Saturday, July 24, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Free. Minneapolis Farmers Market, 312 E. Lyndale Ave., Minneapolis.

Instructor: Marty Bergland is a lifelong gardener and Master Gardener in Wright County. She is owner of Heirloom House-MN and co-owner of Grow-Harvest-Eat. Make a Trough Garden Container Tuesday, July 27, 6:30 to 8 p.m. $45 MSHS members, $55 nonmembers. Location: Harriet Alexander Nature Center, 2520 North Dale St., Roseville.

Made with Styrofoam, these troughs are lighter than concrete and undamaged by freezing. While the trough can be planted with any small annual or perennial, we will show you how to grow alpine plants in a trough. Bring gloves and dress for mess. Also, bring a wire brush and hot air gun if you have them. Class will be held in a classroom. Workshop fee includes all supplies and a few plants for your container. Instructor: Rick Rodich holds a degree in horticulture, is an active member of the Rock Garden Society of Minnesota, and makes a variety of troughs. q

2010 LANDSCAPE DESIGN TOUR July 29, 2010 | 8:00am—3:30pm | Minneapolis & St. Paul

Wondering how to design in those tight urban spaces? Join your colleagues to tour eight design sites in the metro area. The stops are sure to inspire and the event will provide great networking opportunities. Bring back ideas to implement in your own designs and share your ideas with your peers!

Tour stops will include (in no particular order): ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Silflow Residence, Roseville—Designed by Energyscapes, Inc. Endres Residence, St. Paul—Designed by Tangletown Gardens, LLC Hoeschler Residence, St. Paul—Maintained by Fleming Design Historic Davern Farmstead, St. Paul—Designed by Tangletown Gardens, LLC Nilles Residence, St. Paul—Designed by Field Outdoor Spaces Bahara Residence, Minneapolis—Designed by biota—a Landscape Design + Build Firm Sheridan Ave. Residence—Designed by Temenos Garden Services with Urban Escapes Baldus Residence—Designed by TerraVista Landscape and Design LLC

More information and site descriptions available online at www.MNLA.biz!

2010 GARDEN CENTER TOUR August 5, 2010 | 9:00am—3:30pm | Inver Grove Heights, West St. Paul and Red Wing

Join your colleagues to tour several garden centers in Inver Grove Heights, West St. Paul and Red Wing including Gertens, Southview Garden Center, Sargent’s Nursery, Inc. and Hallstrom Florist and Greenhouses. The stops are sure to excite horticultural enthusiasts and the event will provide great networking opportunities. Bring back ideas to implement at your own garden center and share your ideas with your peers!

New this year: There will be short sessions and featured speakers at different locations on the tour!

PERENNIAL GROWERS TOUR September 9, 2010 | 12:30am—4:00pm | Southeast Metro

This half-day, grower-focused tour offers MNLA members the chance to see the best-of-the-best in perennial production operations in the state of Minnesota: Gerten’s, Linder’s, and Bailey’s.

Educational opportunities abound by going behind the scenes at these outstanding growing operations. Each location will offer a short guided tour and discussion items may include: successful strategies, innovative techniques/practices, money saving tips, pest management, plant disease, insect control, potting methods, and MORE...

The tour also provides invaluable networking opportunities on the bus and during tour stops.

More details and registration for these and other programs available online at www.MNLA.biz or call 651.633.4987!

Sponsorships are available for these seminars. Call Betsy at 952-903-0505 or e-mail betsy@pierreproductions.com.

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TREES AND SHRUBS FOR THE LANDSCAPE September 15, 2010 | 9:00am—2:30pm | Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Chaska

Come and hear from local experts about new and interesting trees and shrubs for the Minnesota landscape followed by tours of the U of M Horticultural Research Center and MN Landscape Arboretum. Seminar topics will include: ! What’s New with Woodies for 2011—Debbie Lonnee, Bailey Nurseries, Inc. ! Recent Introductions from the Landscape Plant Development Center—Harold Pellett, LPDC ! The Positives and Negatives of Several Ash Replacements—Tim Vogel, Bailey Nurseries, Inc.

CREDIT MANAGEMENT TIPS FOR THE GREEN INDUSTRY September 28, 2010 | 10:00am—2:00pm | Bailey Nurseries, Inc., Newport

Are you frustrated with not getting paid? Come and learn tips to lending credit and collections! Two local lawyers will be present to discuss your options. Topics will include: ! Using a credit application to help ensure you get paid. ! Determining when to grant customer credit and how to secure your payment and collect when necessary. ! Roundtable discussions: Learn from your peers—what’s working and what’s not!

PORTFOLIO DESIGN AND PRESENTATION October 7, 2010 | 8:00am—5:00pm | Radisson Hotel, Roseville

8:00am – 9:30am: Introductory Lecture The latest examples of visual communications for architecture/design are included in a 1.5-hour slide lecture presentation. The slide lecture and portfolio workshop include sample portfolios gathered from leading design schools and architecture offices around the country, Canada, Europe, and Asia.

9:30am – 5:00pm: Hands-on Portfolio Workshop (includes working lunch) The workshop portion of this seminar is dedicated to developing effective layout designs for the students’ portfolios using examples of design course work and/or office-related projects with standard and custom layout design formats. Students have the opportunity to prepare rehearsal portfolio layout designs using a combination of photocopies of their work, text materials, prints from the computer, and/or digital layout design software (InDesign, Quark, Photoshop) with standard (grids) in the layout process.

Instructor: Professor Harold Linton presently serves as director of the School of Art, College of Visual and Performing Arts at George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. Publications include: Portfolio Design, Graphic Design Portfolio Strategies for Print and Digital Media, and Portfolio Design for INTERIORS. More details and registration for these and other programs available online at www.MNLA.biz or call 651.633.4987!

Sponsorships are available for these seminars. Call Betsy at 952-903-0505 or e-mail betsy@pierreproductions.com.

JULY 2010 | www.MNLA.biz

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The Scoop | NURSERY

Growing For the Future The Landscape Plant Development Center Campaign To Fund the Harold Pellett Plant Breeder Position

By Gia DesLauriers, Landscape Plant Development Center he Landscape Plant Development Center (LPDC) was founded in 1990 by Dr. Harold Pellett with a mission to develop plants that are tolerant of insects, diseases and Harold Pellett environmental stresses which will lengthen the life expectancy of the landscape.

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After 20 years of existence, the year 2010 reflects an exciting transition phase in management of its operations and research as Dr. Pellett moves from being the Dr. Ryan Contreras volunteer director and breeder of the LPDC to directing the plant breeding research. Now we need your support to fund a plant breeder as we continue “Growing For the Future.� Please check out

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All photos courtesy of Harold Pellett

our website at www.landscapecenter.org to support these efforts.

Current Status of the Landscape Plant Development Center The LPDC has made great gains since its inception in 1990. Today we have a 25 acre research station in Oregon, a 6.75 acre station in Minnesota, introduced four plants and have a strong research program with many plant selections under evaluation--several of which are ready for introduction in the next year or two. So far we have managed to stay within budget by using a small reserve fund and the endowment, though the reserve fund has dwindled over the last few years as income from grants and donations has not kept pace with operating costs. From its inception Dr. Pellett has donated his time managing the Center and coordinating its research. Now we must continue “Growing For the Future” by greatly increasing our funds for the salary of the new plant breeder.

Support for the Center comes from a variety of sources. Mostly these funds include grants and donations from nursery organizations such as HRI, and in the past the MNLA Foundation, and from nurseries and individuals in the nursery industry which does, and will financially benefit from sales of the Center’s plant introductions. Since inception, approximately 1/3 of the Center’s financial support has come from non-nursery industry sources such as interested gardeners and other foundations. And finally, income from royalties on plants introduced by the Center hopefully will become a significant source in the future.

The Changing World of Landscape Plants The way we obtain and develop new plants and the way new plants are marketed to consumers has and continues to change very rapidly. The stability or lifespan of plant cultivars is changing as powerful marketing programs seek to influence both what growers produce and what the public will buy. Combined with these trends has come the ‘big box’ approach with its

limited plant choices and the decline of ‘independents’ with the subsequent decline in local production and diversity.

With these changes has come tremendous pressure for cultivar standardization and for ‘newer’ cultivars that will set a marketing program apart from competitors.

In the horticultural arena, particularly landscape plants, several major forces have been operating in the last 20 years.

They include but are not limited to the following: • Decline in public funded plant breeding with subsequent loss of expertise in plant materials and a move to ‘basic’ plant research from ‘applied’ research.

• Disconnect between botanical gardens and the plant nursery industry in terms of plant acquisitions and horticultural adaptation.

• Increasing tensions over ownership of plant genetics and varietal rights in an increasingly litigious world.

• Reliance on ‘royalty’ income to support much of the plant breeding costs.

• A ‘rush to market’ due to the need to keep up with other programs and to achieve commercialization before the genetics are ‘stolen’ or supplanted by competing companies.

• An emphasis on ‘new’ not necessarily ‘better’ plant genetics.

• A narrowing of propagation to a few key growers. These key growers must ‘buy into’ a package of new plants perhaps to the detriment of better plants that are not part of a package and its promotional strength.

• A trend to more vegetative propagation and less seed use which narrows the suppliers and tends to give large breeding companies greater control of genetics and suppliers (propagators).

With the above changes has come the development of marketing giants which

cover the complete landscape map from annuals to shrubs and seeks to integrate production, promotion and branding including labels, containers and advertising. This approach appears to “find” new high interest plants from Europe and elsewhere and rush them to the marketplace with little testing or regional acknowledgement of climate variables and control production through a few large propagation nurseries and to promote specific cultivars to their advantage.

The Board of Directors of the LPDC believes that the Center has arrived at a place of stature and stability due to the dedicated support of Dr. Harold Pellett-who has generously given money, time, and royalty income for the last 20 years.

The Center has also received significant support from a few major industry donors such as HRI, MNLA, J.F. Schmidt & Son, Greenleaf Nursery, Sylvan Nursery and Bailey Nurseries, among others. To maintain, the LPDC will be staying the course and staying small in order to stick to Dr. Pellett’s vision of truly running a science-based program of plant improvement by continuing the breeding efforts.

Plan for “Growing into the Future” The LPDC is working out an arrangement with Oregon State University’s Department of Horticulture to develop a cooperative approach for breeding of landscape plants. The arrangement being developed is for Dr. Ryan Contreras to be involved in research with LPDC utilizing biological approaches to developing new plants.

Dr. Contreras is a new faculty member at Oregon State University and has a strong background in plant breeding and genetics. His research component at Oregon State University is plant breeding. LPDC will reimburse Oregon State University a portion of Dr. Ryan Contreras’s salary so that he can devote some of his efforts and utilize the laboratory equipment at Oregon State University to further LPDC’s breeding research. In addition to the involvement in the biotechnological techniques, Dr. Continued on page 32 JULY 2010 | www.MNLA.biz

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Continued from page 31 Contreras will collaborate with Dr. Pellett in guiding the traditional breeding efforts of the Center. Sarah Doane will be involved in the day-today breeding efforts along with her duties of managing our Oregon Research Station and Karen Weiss will continue managing our Lake Elmo Station. LPDC will also continue the cooperative efforts with Dr. Rita Hummel at Washington State University-Puyallup.

Exciting Plant Selections Photos in this article illustrate some of the Landscape Plant Development Center’s exciting plant selections that are likely to be introduced in the next few years. These include dwarf selections of cold hardy Forsythia, a more compact selection of Cornus sericea, a weeping selection and fastigiate selections of Carpinus, a sterile, round headed selection, a cold hardy, oval selection and an upright form of Pyrus. Native plants include compact selections of Ceanothus americanus, a dwarf selection of Physocarpus opulifolius with red foliage color, and more compact plants of Cephalanthus occidentalis. Other shrub selections include a compact Viburnum with glossy foliage, dwarf selections of cold hardy Forsythia, and a Hypericum selection. We also have many exciting selections of Weigela.

During Dr. Pellett’s recent visit to our Oregon Station, he and Sarah Doane selected eight additional selections from two-year old plants that were maintaining very low-growing, compact plant habits and represented a range of flower and foliage color.

These will be propagated this summer for additional testing and for evaluation at our Lake Elmo site to determine their cold hardiness. q ______________________________ Gia DesLauriers is the Interim Executive Director of the Landscape Plant Development Center.

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The Scoop | GREEN INDUSTRY CAREERS

Calling All Members!

Adopt A School!

By Jodi Larson, MNLA Foundation Green Industry Student Outreach Project Coordinator o you love what you do? Are you interested in helping to secure the industry’s future workforce? We are looking for members to adopt a school and spend time connecting with students.

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As I have been working on student outreach projects, I have been thinking about how we choose the careers that we do. I wanted to be a veterinarian or an astronaut. Kids aspire to careers they see and hear about, and think are cool. But how often do you hear a 3rd grader say that they want to be a nursery grower or a hardscape installer?

Our industry has a fair amount of visibility, since a lot of the work and projects that are done are out in the open. But much of the work is taken for granted. We love the results but not many people observe the process. It is up to us to teach people about the benefits of working in the green industry and plug it into kid’s conversations.

So, I’m asking you to take a moment to remember how you got started in the industry and the path you’ve taken.

What do you like about the work that

you do?

In order to educate the youth in our region about green industry careers, we need members like you to go into a school and share about what you do. ere are a variety of ways to do this.

You can work with grade school kids giving a fun lesson about growing plants, or spend time at a career fair talking to students who are looking to make that next step. Or maybe you’d want to go into a school’s career center and show pictures of projects you’ve done. Do you have other ideas? Just let us know! Adopt a school and get started building that relationship.

We’ll help you in any way we can, from connecting you with someone in the school, to providing lesson plans, talking points, PowerPoint® presentations, career fair kits, or whatever else you might need. All you need to do is sign up. I will contact you and help you get started.

Let’s get kids talking about us. Sign up online today at www.mnla.biz or fill out the form directly at www.mnnurserylandscape.wufoo.com/ forms/adopt-a-school/ and help secure the future of the green industry! I look forward to working with you as we show students what this industry has to offer them. q

The Scoop | LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT

Web Apps for Landscape Companies

By Brad Tabke, Quercus Landscapes, Inc. hrough the last two years, we have all had to make changes in our businesses. Some have been big and some have been small, but we have all learned to get more efficient and accomplish more on any given day.

One thing I have done in my small landscape management company is to utilize web applications (apps) as tools to get things done.

Today I’m going to share 3 web apps with you. Want to know the best part? They are all free! Here we go: Twitter.com – I know, I know, you are all saying “I have heard enough about Twitter!” We tweet differently.

All of our crews have iPhones (they are much cheaper for us than PTT) and we have set up a closedto-the-world twitter account specifically for internal communication. When we complete a landscape job, see a problem on site or finish mowing, our crews send out a quick tweet with a picture so everyone in the company knows what everyone else is doing. It works great.

Wufoo.com – Wufoo has a funny name but I like it. Wufoo is a form builder and has endless uses for landscape businesses. You create a form of any type you want and post the link on your website or in an email to do surveys, collect info from clients or whatever you want.

We use it for surveys and for clients to report problems on sites. You can set it up to send an email or text message any time someone completes your form so you have immediate notification.

Mailchimp.com – And my favorite: Mailchimp. Mailchimp is a free email marketing app that is extremely powerful. You can completely customize all your emails, integrate with your blog and social media.

The best part—besides being free—is the analytics. It tells you who opened, when they opened, what they looked at and how to improve for next time. Another thing I love about Mailchimp and Wufoo is they are fun and easy to use. There is usually a joke or a little quip on each page that makes me smile and makes working with web apps a lot more enjoyable.

I hope these help you in your business! Have a great day! q ________________________________________________ Brad Tabke is a member of the MNLA Landscape Professional Advancement Committee and can be reached at btabke@quercusinc.com.

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JULY 2010 | www.MNLA.biz

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The Scoop | LANDSCAPE DESIGN

It’s Time to Get Personal

By Craig Trenary, Terra Forma Design LLC imes were definitely different when I graduated from South Dakota State University in 1993 and moved to the Twin Cities looking to start Craig Trenary my landscape career.

There have been many, many changes in every facet of our industry but one thing has remained a constant, customers still buy from you because they trust in you personally.

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Getting personal can be interpreted in a number of different ways, all of which

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can be good. Whether it’s sending out a card to thank a customer for something or simply customizing your email signature so it better conveys your personality, you should work to make your business and your company more personal. It fosters stronger relationships with customers, employees and suppliers.

People want to work with other people whom they like personally and believe care for them and the successful outcome of their project.

When in a competitive project situation, which is often the case in our current economic climate, you should work hard to find ways to separate yourself and your company from others.

The only thing your competition does not have access to on any given project is

you. So put more of yourself into your project. Try hard to find ways to personalize your presentation and project overall to make it memorable.

It's way too easy to fall victim to commoditizing what we do in our industry if you focus on the list of plants, square feet of pavers, or cubic yards of mulch. You should be providing your clients with a new entertainment space in their back yard, not a 350 square foot patio and a few plants to make it pretty.

You should provide them with a new entry experience for their home and not just 1 tree, 12 shrubs and 8 perennials along with 4 yards of hardwood mulch.

There is a difference and it's value.

It might sound like just salesmanship but it’s not. It’s about raising the quality

and value of what we do and how it is perceived by our clientele. We should all be fully invested in improving our industry as a whole to preserve the value of landscaping.

"Raise the quality and value of what we do and how it is perceived."

Spend time to create a sketch or drawing along with a proposal that meets their needs. If they like you, your ideas, and have a little fun along the way, they will remember you and your consideration on their project.

The quality will show and if done properly, you will have a loyal client for many years to come.

I’ll close with a bit of wisdom that Stuart Smalley from Saturday Night Live once said best, "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me." I would add to that, if they like you, they just might hire you for their landscaping. q ________________________________________________ Craig Trenary is a member of the MNLA Landscape Design Committee and can be reached at craig@terraformadesign.net.

JULY 2010 | www.MNLA.biz

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The Scoop | SAFETY

Injury Analysis: Cause, Outcome and Solution

By Adam Tripp, TBG Loss Control Representative andscaping and nursery jobsites are dynamic and ever changing.

Despite this fact, the vast majority of injuries are preventable. In reality injuries do take place, but what is really detrimental to a company or insurance carrier is when an injury balloons into a very costly claim where it could have been reduced to a fraction of the value by simply having proper controls in place.

By having proper controls in place, a company can proactively manage the hazards associated with the landscaping and nursery industry and, therefore, significantly reduce the costs associated with doing business. Many times, seemingly small insignificant injuries such as minor cuts/abrasion can lead to much more significant injuries if left unattended or improperly diagnosed/cared for. Also, situations that could have been made safe for the employees through implementing essential safety programs/policies, providing proper safety equipment and defining safe work practices are not given the necessary attention resulting in pointless injuries. Often, injuries are the result of employees taking shortcuts or not following proper procedures. When injuries of this nature take place the employer and all those involved are negatively affected.

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The following are three examples of construction injuries. In each of these examples measures could have been taken to eliminate or at least reduce the severity of the injury.

Injury #1: While unloading a forklift from a trailer, an employee had his leg de-gloved when the forklift slid out of control, tipped over, and pinned his leg beneath the ROPS (Roll Over Protective System).

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or any other piece of equipment routinely used for landscaping.

There were numerous factors that lead to the serious injury this employee experienced. The primary factors were that the forklift in question was not equipped with a seatbelt restraint system and it was being used in an unsafe manner. This injury occurred in the middle of winter when the employee drove the forklift forks first off of the trailer which had a combination of wet and snowy/icy ramps. While driving off the trailer the operator lost control, the forklift slid sideways, the employee attempted to jump clear of the tipping forklift, and the employee was ultimately pinned beneath the overturned forklift.

One of the employee’s legs was partially de-gloved when the overturned forklift fell on top of him.

This injury could have been prevented or at least minimized if the forklift had been retro-fitted with a proper restraint system and greater care would have been used in the unloading of the equipment.

In this case, the ramps should have been cleared from any snow/ice and sufficiently dried to prevent the forklift from losing traction and slipping from the ramps. The forklift in this accident was an indoor-use hard tire model.

Therefore, the forklift was not designed to encounter these slippery conditions.

Being proactive by installing slip resistant textured ramps along with thoroughly cleaning off the ramps would have prevented the accident from occurring.

Backing the forklift down the ramps may have reduced the likelihood of this happening. Also, proper training and experience is required. An experienced and properly trained employee would have identified the hazards that led to this accident and taken the proper precautions to prevent the accident.

To date, this injury has a total incurred value of nearly $180,000.

Needless to say, this will have a negative affect on the mod rate along with insurance premium rates in the future and take years to be cleared from mod calculation. This injury incurred a great deal of lost time due to the severity of the injury. It took over four months for this employee to be able to return to the job on light duty and another month to return to performing his job full time.

Injury #2: An employee was performing maintenance on a skidsteer when he received a relatively minor cut similar to a paper cut. The cut was caused by an exposed wire braid protruding from the casing of a hydraulic hose. The employee completed his job without taking time to properly clean up the cut and/or seek medical attention. The following day the employee noticed red streaks running up his arm and was in considerable discomfort.

Unfortunately, what started out as a relatively insignificant injury led to two nights in the hospital and a lost-time claim. The employee ended up missing close to a week and a half for this injury and continued having pain and discomfort two and half weeks after the initial injury. This employee had to take two different forms of pill antibiotics for an improperly cared for cut.

Minor cuts are looked at as a nuisance and insignificant; but in all reality they need to be properly cared for so similar outcomes do not repeat themselves. The total incurred value of this loss totaled over $18,000. Where at worst case scenario, if the employee had gone in for preventative antibiotics and a cleaning of the wound, total costs would have been in the neighborhood of $500 and would not have resulted in the pain, discomfort and time away from work that this employee went through. Also, the employer will feel the pressure from this injury because the potential medical only

claim transformed into a lost-time claim and medical costs that will now adversely affect their mod rate and potentially their premium rates.

Having fully stocked accessible first aid kits available on all jobsites will allow employees to take proper care of minor first aid type injuries which will reduce the likelihood of the reoccurrence of similar injuries. Also, stressing to employees the importance of them wearing gloves and other personal protective equipment whenever necessary is essential. The proper pair of gloves will greatly reduce the severity and frequency of similar cuts.

"Take measures to ensure everyone's safety."

Injury #3: Two employees where installing a window, fascia and soffits roughly 12 to 15 feet from the ground on a single family residence. An aerial lift was originally used on this project to safely perform the installation of the windows, fascia and soffits. The particular injuries occurred as a result of the final window being on backorder. Due to this delay, the lift was not present when the final window arrived on the jobsite. In order to complete the job the employees used a type of ladderjack system that was bridged to a toeboard that was nailed to the roof. The plank that the employees were working from was nailed to the toeboard and rested on the ladderjack scaffolding on the other side of the window. OSHA regulations state that ladder jack supports must be supported by stable objects that cannot shift or become unstable while work is being performed. In this case, the toeboard that was supporting the ladder jack plank was not sufficient in meeting these requirements. While working on the plank, the toeboard gave way causing the two employees to fall to the ground. In this situation since the employees were working at a height greater than 10 feet on a ladderjack, they should have had proper fall protection measures in place. Neither of the employees were wearing fall harnesses or were tied off. One employee sustained a laceration on his face and jaw, a deep bone bruise on his wrist, along with a few chipped teeth while the other employee suffered a concussion and a fracture to his back and pelvis.

Both injuries were very serious, but could have been much worse. The employee with the laceration, chipped teeth and deep bone bruise required over three weeks just to return to light duty, and the other employee is expected to take more than eight weeks to get back to light duty work.

In order to prevent such injuries, the employees should have requested an aerial lift be rented for this job, been properly tied off, trained on the requirements of fall protection, and/or properly trained on the requirements for using ladderjacks. By doing this the employer could have avoided these serious injuries.

Whether it is situations similar to those mentioned above or your own circumstances with regards to your jobsites, there are measures that need to be taken by everyone involved to ensure everyone’s safety. By actively performing pre-task planning, upto-date training, increasing employee/employer accountability and implementing hazard identification practices injuries can be identified prior to their occurrence. If these important practices, amongst others, are actively pursued, injury rates and money spent on those injuries will fall. In today’s economy, I am sure this is something that everyone would like to see take place. This also means that we our making a difference by keeping our employees safe. q ________________________________________________ The Builders Group (TBG) is a self-insured workers’ compensation insurance fund that has been protecting Minnesota’s construction industry for more than 10 years. For more information, go to their website: www.tbgmn.com.

To date, these injuries have a total incurred cost of over $55,000. The costs associated with this accident have yet to be all accounted for and, therefore, will result in higher totals.

These injuries could have resulted in death for these employees.

Fortunately both of the employees are expected to make relatively full recoveries.

JULY 2010 | www.MNLA.biz

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The Scoop | GARDEN CENTER

It's the Time of the Year to Kill Weeds

By Jeff Gillman, University of Minnesota round this time of year people start to come into the garden center looking to kill all of the weeds that are starting to take over their garden or porch area.

Jeff Gillman There are lots of options for getting rid of these pests, the best of which is usually to pull them out by hand, but people are lazy and so it’s up to you, the garden center employee, to help them choose the right tool for the homeowner’s problem.

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Selecting herbicides should be done by knowing what the active ingredients in the chemical that you’re recommending are. For most of the around-the-home weeds that you’ll find (which aren’t in your turf ) there are three active ingredients that you should look for. The first is glyphosate. This is the chemical found in Round-Up among many others and it is effective in almost all small herbaceous weeds. The second, glufosinate-ammonium works just about

as well as glyphosate but works a little bit faster. The third chemical, often found mixed with glyphosate, is triclopyr.

Triclopyr is the best chemical to use against woody or viney weeds such as buckthorn and poison ivy and it tends to do much better than glyphosate alone.

Recently all kinds of organic herbicides have been popping up on garden center shelves for killing weeds that have sprouted in a garden or beside a home. These weed killers usually have one of two active ingredients including acetic acid (basically vinegar) and clove oil (you’ll find garlic oil in some organic herbicides too). A question that I’ve been hearing a lot of lately though is “how well do they work.” The answer is simple. They’ll kill plants down to the root. Both of these chemicals work by burning the top of the plant. They have a broad spectrum of activity and they’ll injure any plant on any surface where the herbicide comes into contact with green tissue. They do a poor job of penetrating the soil though, and so no matter how much you spray the top of the plant the bottom of the plant will be fine. The best use for organic herbicides is early in

the season when seeds are first sprouting.

If you get them later than that it’s likely that the weeds will just shrug off a single application of the spray and some right back. Repeated sprays are almost always necessary.

One weed control method which is considered organic and which works better than most organic herbicides is fire. Torches for weeds are extremely effective, but do be aware that, without common sense, they are also extremely dangerous. On a dry day a careless user could easily set their house on fire.

There are lots of ways out there to kill your weeds. Knowing your customers and what they want and combining this information with knowledge about the weed control products available on your garden center shelves will go a long way in helping your customer to choose the right product for them. q ________________________________ Jeff Gillman is a member of the MNLA Garden Center Committee and can be reached at gillm003@umn.edu.

Coming soon...

Website upgrades to help you operate your business more successfully at www.MNLA.biz and www.GardenMinnesota.com.

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www.MNLA.biz | JULY 2010

The Scoop | STORMWATER MANAGEMENT

Much Ado About Agua

By Nick Tamble, Lawn & Landscape Gardens, Ltd. ur most precious resource gains more attention all the time. From lakes and rivers, to human consumption and through treatment facilities; water is a vital resource we cannot take for granted. Stormwater management is the topic that is closely related to our industry, affecting most-all professionals in daily business happenings. To keep up with the many changes occurring with water-related issues to our industry, the MNLA Stormwater Team has formed to better assist members with water-related topics including: runoff, storage, filtration, and water quality to name a few.

With respect to runoff, a section that is currently a hot-topic for the Stormwater Team involves permeable interlocking concrete pavement (PICP) systems, or more commonly referred to as permeable pavers. The team is helping develop language for PICPs to become a Minnesota Stormwater Best Management Practice (BMP) that qualifies for various “green” credits, thus opening up more business opportunity for you.

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Water-related issues are numerous and complex as the Minnesota Stormwater Manual contains nearly 900 pages of information. Moreover, there are a multitude of organizations that are helping develop a framework for stormwater management. To help organize stormwater related information at the federal, state and local levels, MNLA recently published a report entitled "Stormwater Management: Current Status and Emerging Issues.” This report serves as a useful reference tool that defines key organizations, regulatory and permitting information, as well as dozens of web links to point you in the right direction for whatever water-related issue you require more information on.

Whether you are installing a rain garden, setting a timer on an irrigation system, planting trees, or burying downspout lines, you are affecting the way we professionals control stormwater. With the creation of MNLA’s Stormwater Team, you have yet another resource to get you the information you need to do the best job for your clients. Look for upcoming classes related to permeable pavers as well as other stormwaterrelated installations on www.MNLA.biz. Feel free to contact me with any questions and I’ll point you to a fellow member who can lend a hand. q ________________________________________________ Nick Tamble is a member of the MNLA Stormwater Management Team and can be reached at llgardens@yahoo.com.

JULY 2010 | www.MNLA.biz

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The Scoop | IRRIGATION

ET Controllers: Green Is In

By Dan Cozza, Kelly Green Irrigation s greater populations and larger demands are taxing our water supplies, it is time for our industry to improve the systems that we service and install.

Water conservation should be our key goal through the use of efficient installations and ET based controllers.

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What is an ET controller? An ET controller automatically adjusts the amount of water applied to your landscape based on weather conditions.

The ET controller receives evapotranspiration data to replace only the moisture that the landscape has lost due to heat, humidity and wind. Standard irrigation controllers require users to

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calculate complex irrigation schedules and adjust run times with changing weather conditions; most homeowners never adjust their controller at all. An ET controller can determine the watering schedule based on weather conditions, and it can do so without any human interaction.

Public supply water demand in Minnesota is substantial and about 1/3 of this water is used for irrigation.

Because of the complexity and constant variability of factors required to irrigate efficiently (e.g., weather conditions, the growth cycles of plants, length of day), it has long been acknowledged that irrigation is wasteful to some degree.

Therefore, the potential for water savings by reducing irrigation could be

significant. Commercial irrigation systems generally use greater amounts of water then residential systems due to their size; replacing these existing controllers with an ET based system will provide significantly more water savings.

It’s not a secret that there are fewer irrigation installations then there has been in the past, due to the downturn in the economy. One way to increase overall sales is to promote retrofitting existing controllers. Homeowners and property managers can see the many advantages of the ET controllers and people want to save money and be ecologically friendly.

Green is in and it’s not just a fad. q ________________________________ Dan Cozza is the Project Manager at Kelly Green Irrigation and can be reached at dcozza@kellygreenirrigation.com.

IRRIGATION | The Scoop

Smart Irrigation Systems: A “Greener” Idea f you’re a landscape professional, your typical homeowner client probably puts their automatic sprinkler system into the same category as their home’s heating and cooling system. ey expect it to work reliably and efficiently with minimum fuss. e latest technology offers just that – and more.

A sprinkler system is one area of a home where a little knowledge can go a long way to conserve water while maintaining a healthy yard that’s the envy of the neighborhood.

In conjunction with Smart Irrigation Month in July, the Irrigation Association is offering information about efficient irrigation technology and tips. Since it’s a peak month for water usage, July is a good time to learn more about making the most of water resources. e new generation of “smart” sprinkler systems can be viewed as sophisticated communications systems that happen to dispense water, rather than a network of underground valves, pipes and pop-ups controlled by a wallmounted timer. anks to advances in electronics and communications, sprinkler systems can monitor data, such as climate, site conditions, or soil moisture, and automatically adjust your sprinkler’s watering schedule. Smart systems keep your grass green while saving your “green.” e secret to smart systems is the controller. Smart controllers use either weather and/or site data to automatically determine when and how long to water. en your sprinklers apply just enough water at exactly the right time in each zone of your yard.

Here are highlights of the substantial benefits that smart controllers offer: Save Water Environmentally friendly smart systems conserve water by watering only as much as needed. Smart sprinklers work with Mother Nature to automatically suspend watering during rain, freezing or high wind conditions or compensate for rainfall. Plus a smart system can keep your lawn and landscape

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healthier by avoiding the pitfalls of inadequate watering, too frequent watering, or the more common problem of overwatering, which often results in disease or poor root systems.

Save Money Because smart systems water only when needed, time the applications to allow water to soak-in, and avoid application when water might evaporate or blow away, you may reduce your annual water bill as much as 30 percent.

On top of that, you may qualify for rebates from your local water board or utility for the purchase of specific smart controllers.

Save Time Once your irrigation installer has programmed the site data into the smart system, the controller adjusts the watering schedule based upon local conditions and/or soil moisture and by

zone. is “set and forget” technology is perfect for frequent travelers and ideal for vacations or second homes used only part of the year.

Add Convenience Smart controllers require little direct access, so they provide an excellent solution for sites where it is difficult to access the controller. ere’s no need to reprogram the controller due to seasonal weather changes.

Upgrading your current controller may be an option. Some new components are designed as easy add-ons to an existing controller, eliminating the need to replace your system’s “brains.”

As an environmentally responsible landscape professional, keep your customers apprised of new irrigation technologies. Work with reputable and certified irrigation professionals to help your clients make the right decisions.

Learn more at www.smartirrigationmonth.org. q

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The Scoop | IRRIGATION

You find the contracts and we provide you TRAINED LANDSCAPING LABORFORCE

Large Area Sprinklers as Water Conservation Devices?

By Phil Robisch CLIA, CID, CWCM-L, LEED AP uite often people will see large expanses of turf in parks and on athletic fields, and think of how wasteful they are in regard to water. That perception is increased when they see the irrigation system running, and spraying large amounts of water into the air. What they don’t understand is that those lush, green turf areas are more than just important recreational sites, they are air purifiers, contaminant filters, oxygen producers, air conditioners, and carbon sinks. They also provide us with pleasing green space, so important to human happiness, and Page help1 to offset the effects of hardscapes and buildings in our urban environment.

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Elieth Hoffman l Direct: 612-490-3394 Lorena Vargas l Direct: 612-328-5174 4020 Minnehaha Ave. South Unit 1020 Minneapolis MN, 55406 9:18 PM

help@laborforcemn.com l www.laborforcemn.com

What about the water they use? Yes, water is needed to keep these surfaces in top shape, but the water used is for a good cause, as evidenced by the paragraph above. Everyone agrees that we need to clean our air, sequester carbon, offset the heat we create when we develop land, and provide safe play surfaces, and sports turf does all these things extremely well. The perception of some is their reality, and that is water is being wasted. But is it true? Professionally managed, well-maintained sports turf, watered by a professionally-designed, installed, and maintained irrigation system actually uses water very efficiently, and that is what we will explore here.

Perception: Large rotors spraying great amounts of water are inefficient.

and Nationwide Agribusiness

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Fact: Manufacturers of sports turf sprinklers spend huge amounts of engineering, testing, and development time, and money to produce emission devices that rate in the excellent category as far as irrigation efficiency, as defined by the Irrigation Association. A properly designed and installed irrigation system operating at the appropriate pressure distributes water with a high degree of uniformity, ensuring the system only needs to run for the optimum amount of time to provide adequate water. Inefficient sprinklers that do a poor job of applying water must run for extended time to make sure the driest area receives enough water to keep it green, while wetter areas are overwatered---sometimes by more than twice what they need. Concerning the large amounts of water coming out of the sprinkler, just remember, they are covering a greater

amount of area when compared to spray sprinklers as well.

Perception: Large rotors operate for long periods of time compared to spray sprinklers, and that wastes water.

Fact: Large rotors do run for much longer times than typical spray sprinklers, and they need to. Small area spray sprinklers apply water at a high application rate, generally around 1.5 inches per hour. Some are much higher than that as well, but just imagine a rain storm that measured 1.5 inches in one hour—that’s a lot of rain, at a rapid pace.

Spray sprinklers by their nature apply a lot of water quickly, and only need to run for a short time to get the job done.

Large rotors by comparison apply water at very slow rates, normally in the range of .5 inches per hour---one third the rate of sprays. They do need to run 3 times longer than spray sprinklers to apply the same amount of water to an area, but they do it with greater efficiency. Not only is their distribution of water superior to spray sprinklers, but the lower application rate ensures more of the water is absorbed by the soil, and is available for the plants. Soils in general cannot accept water at high rates, so some of the water applied by spray sprinklers may not reach its intended destination—the root zone.

Of course there are areas of the landscape where spray sprinklers are the best irrigation method. Under the pressure of legislative measures, and out of a desire to contribute to the conservation of our precious natural resources, irrigation manufacturers continue to work on developing more efficient small area heads and nozzles.

But for large turf areas such as sports fields, rotors remain the sprinkler of choice. q ________________________________ Phil Robisch is the Water Conservation Manager at Hunter Industries Incorporated.

Attention MNLA Members!

Help promote green industry careers by creating a link on your website to www.TheLandLovers.org.

For artwork, contact cassie@MNLA.biz.

JULY 2010 | www.MNLA.biz

43

Volunteer at the MNLA Garden During the 2010 Minnesota State Fair!

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www.MNLA.biz | JULY 2010

Wild Ways To Garden

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MNLA eNews The monthly MNLA eNews goes to over 1,700 industry professionals each month. Advertisers are limited to two and receive both an ad and a coupon in the eNews.

NorthernGreenExpo.org This site highlights the vital details of this premier industry event and averages 3,000 visits per month in the months leading up to the Expo.

Contact Betsy Pierre, Industry Advertising Representative today! • 952-903-0505 ext 1 • betsy@pierreproductions.com JULY 2010 | www.MNLA.biz

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SHOOTOUT

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www.MNLA.biz | JULY 2010

The Scoop | GREENHOUSE & HERBACEOUS GROWERS

2010 California Spring Trials Report - Part II • SimplySalad Series – this is instant salad!! A multi-species pellet contains a mix of greens that can be grown in pots and color bowls. Harvest every 3 weeks to keep fresh salads coming. Can be grown from the pellet or from plugs. 3 mixes available: Alfresco Mix, City Garden Mix and Global Gourmet Mix. • Fuseables™ – new multi-seed pellets that combine species or genus for instant combinations. 9 combos are available, including ‘Silk n Satin’ which combines Shock Wave® Pink Shades and Snowtopia™ White Improved, and ‘Key Lime Parfait’ which combines petunias Sophistica Lime Green, Dreams Red and Dreams White.

• Plentifall Trailing Pansy – the first series of trailing pansy from seed, with a flat, spreading habit. Great for spring and fall baskets, it also PanAmerican Seed works as a Plentifall Tailing Pansy “spiller” in mixed containers. It is vigorous with excellent overwintering hardiness. 3 colors, Purple Wing, White, Lavender Blue, and a Mix, which includes yellow. Yellow should be available separately for 2012.

• Purple Wave® Improved – an upgrade of the first-ever Wave variety on its 15th anniversary, Purple Wave® Improved flowers faster than earlier than the original, with

By Carolyn Jones, BFG Plant Connection elcome to Part II of the 2010 California Spring Trials Report. We are traveling south down the California coast and reviewing each stop in the order I visited them. We ended Part I at Dummen, so we will begin Part II at PanAmerican in Santa Paula and continue south until we end in Encinitas at Suntory. There’s lots to get excited about in this second half of the trip, so here we go…

W

PANAMERICAN SEED • Begonia Gryphon – a beautiful new foliage begonia with a very tropical appearance. Easy care and low PanAmerican Seed - Begonia Gryphon water use, it needs shade in the garden • Echinacea PowWow – a new series with 2 colors, White and Wild Berry. Wild Berry is an AAS winner for 2011.

These plants produce more shoots and therefore more flowers than other seed Echinacea. They will flower the first year.

• Pepper Cajun Belle – a 2011 AAS winner, this is a sweet bell pepper with a mildly spicy taste that can be used green or red. It is 2 weeks earlier than other peppers, ready to harvest 61 days from sowing.

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JULY 2010 | www.MNLA.biz

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larger blooms. It begins to flower at 11 hours, 12-14 days earlier. Purple Wave® Classic (the original) is still available as well.

• Easy Wave® Series – 2 new colors, Neon Rose and Pink Dawn, plus an improved Red that has a deeper color with less fading. Also 3 new mixes: Gelato Mix (Coral Reef, Neon Rose and White), Opposites Attract Mix (Violet and Coral Reef ), and Great Lakes Mix (Violet, Blue and White). We can have fun marketing the Great Lakes Mix! • Double Zahara™ PanAmerican Seed - Easy Zinnia – 2 new fully Wave Great Lakes Mix double colors are added to the Zahara™ series, Double Cherry and Double Fire. The 2 combined are available as Double Zahara® Duo Mix. In the Zahara® series there are 2 new mixes, Raspberry Lemonade (Coral Rose, Yellow and Starlight Rose) and Bonfire Mix (Scarlet, Fire and Yellow).

SELECTA • Begonia Bonfire® Choc Series – 2 new options for Bonfire lovers, these are dark-leaved varieties with red or pink flowers. A more upright habit than Bonfire.

• Calibrachoa MiniFamous™ Double Pink – Double Pink is back, and improved! Better habit and lower vigor make this Pink fit right in with the other colors in the series.

• Calibrachoa MiniFamous™ Light Pink with Eye – part of the new iGeneration series with large blooms and early flowering, this is a lovely pastel calibrachoa.

BALL FLORAPLANT® • Petunia Black Velvet – the first black petunia is going to create a lot of buzz where ever it is seen! In addition to Black, Phantom is black with a yellow star and Pinstripe is black with a creamy white star.

Proven Winners Superbells® Blackberry Punch FIDES • Dahlia Dahlinova Hypnotica® - There are 6 new colors in this line of dahlias for 6” pots or larger. My personal favorite is Coral, but all are great additions (Purple Bicolor, Rose Bicolor, Red Bicolor, Lavender and Dark Night). This is a very uniform series of vigorous dahlias with excellent garden performance.

• Petunia Fortunia® Pink Picotee – a third picotee color joins Purple and Burgundy. These are great petunias for baskets or garden, and they have the nicest, clearest picotee 48

www.MNLA.biz | JULY 2010

of all the vegetative petunias. Fortunia® also added Strawberry Vein and Pink Bicolor to the series.

• Petunia Double Wave® Red – now you can make a red, white and blue basket out of Double Waves®!

Fides-Hypnotica Coral Red • Dianthus Kahori® people were talking about this perennial dianthus. It is fragrant and will rebloom in the garden. Interesting single pink flowers.

PROVEN WINNERS • Superbells® Blackberry Punch and Coralberry Punch – these were two of the “wows” for me this year.

Proven Winners Beautiful Superbells® Coralberry Punch bicolor flowers that will wow the retail customer as well.

Both have good pH tolerance.

Blackberry Punch has grape petals with a velvet black throat, and has a somewhat Ball Floraplant® - Petunia Black Velvet looser habit than other Superbells®.

Coralberry Punch is coral colored with a reddish black throat.

• Lobelia Lucia™ Lavender Blush – this is the second color in the Lucia™ series, which have better heat tolerance than the Laguna series. They also have more of an upright, mounding habit.

• Supertunia® Indigo Charm – the new Charm series are miniature Supertunias. They are smaller flowered and earlier blooming than Supertunia minis. This is a lovely blue color and produces a dense, mounding plant.

• Supertunia® Sangria Charm – the flowers on this plant are Ecke - Snap Peachy Dragon

more of a calibrachoa size, and Sangria is a bright magenta color.

• Phlox Intensia® Blueberry – a lovely new blue color in this series. It has a larger leaf size and more upright habit, making it easier to produce in small containers.

• Hydrangea Little Lime™ - a new dwarf form of the popular Limelight, this plant will grow to 3-5’ tall and wide, and is hardy to zone 3.

ECKE • Geranium Interspecific Fusion™ Flame – a new option in a zonal-ivy cross, this plant is fast growing and early blooming, and should not need PGRs. It is a bright red color.

• Verbena Costa del Sol™ - these plants were inoculated with powdery mildew, so they boast the best mildew tolerance in a verbena. The habit is somewhat upright and mounding. 3 colors: Magenta, Pink and White.

• Antirrhinum Dragon™ - new upright snaps with openfaced flowers and interesting bicolors, are a new addition to spring crops. They have great names, too: Buttery Dragon™, Peachy Dragon™ and Rosey Dragon™!

• Osteospermum Crescendo™ Yellow – yellow has returned to this heat-tolerant series! There is a second new color, Crescendo™ Light Purple.

SUNTORY • Calibrachoa Million Bells® - this popular series has gone through some serious changes, and several colors have been

dropped. A new sub-series is Bouquet, with two compact, mounding colors: Bouquet Brilliant Pink and Bouquet Orange. Million Bells® Red and Blue are also new, with improved pH tolerance.

• Torenia Summer Wave® Bouquet – the same changes have happened in the Summer Wave® series. Bouquets are more compact and require no pinch. Bouquet Gold is a nice new yellow.

• Petunia Surfinia® Patio Indigo – and in the Surfinia® series, you’ll see the same kinds of changes as in Million Bells® and Summer Wave®. Patio Indigo is a nice new deep blue with a compact, mounding habit. There are also 3 new colors in the Surfinia® Bouquet series, Lemon, Red and Hot Pink.

And a final note…

For 2010, several plant suppliers offered multi-liners, meaning liners with 2 or 3 different cuttings stuck in the same liner. These lines were definitely a hit, and are expanding, so watch for them in your new catalogs from Proven Winners, Syngenta, Dummen, Selecta and others.

Thanks for joining me on this review of the Spring Trials trip! I hope you’ve picked up some good ideas along the way, and good luck with planning for spring 2011! q ________________________________________________ Carolyn Jones is a member of the MNLA Greenhouse & Herbaceous Growers Committee and can be reached at cjones@bfgsupply.com.

JULY 2010 | www.MNLA.biz

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COMING SOON! Two NEW awards for landscape designers.

Winners will be profiled in Midwest Home magazine.

Details available soon in The Scoop and on MNLA.biz.

Presented by Midwest Home in partnership with Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association

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www.MNLA.biz | JULY 2010

The Scoop | PUBLIC RELATIONS

Win a Landscape Award and Reap the Benefits in 2011

By Jon Horsman, MNLA Communications Director

professionals to prospective clients and to attract and retain high quality employees.

f you’ve never submitted an application for an MNLA Landscape Award, make this the year! Receiving an award provides credibility and visibility among peers and clients, facilitates marketing, and boosts staff morale. Award winners often earn referrals to new customers from the publicity of award-winning projects in Midwest Home magazine, Garden Minnesota Yearbook, and online at GardenMinnesota.com and MHMag.com. Receiving an e 2010 Landscape Awards award provides an outstanding Application is now available opportunity for MNLA members to market their skills as online at MNLA.biz.

I

Plan to enter this year, and begin reaping the benefits next year and in the years to come. e type, size and cost of a project are not part of the criteria for judging. Judges consider the quality of the workmanship of

the design, installation, or management project, and work from digital photos, a written narrative, and a work performance chart without knowing who built, designed, or entered the projects.

Download a Landscape Awards application on MNLA.biz and begin preparing your entry now! q ________________________________ Jon Horsman is the Communications Director at MNLA and can be reached at jon@MNLA.biz or 651-633-4987.

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JULY 2010 | www.MNLA.biz

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The Scoop | PLANT OF THE MONTH

Patio Crab Trees

By Jeff Buell, Buell's Inc. s the normal size housing lot shrinks in size so does the plant material used. I would like to bring into the spotlight a group of crab trees known as “patio trees.” These trees are generally under 10’w x 10’h size and make a nice conversation piece for their unusual shape.

A

The crab trees normally grown in Minnesota are: Coralburst®, Firebird®, Louisa, Lancelot® and Tina. Here is a quick description of each. All are on a standard.

• Coralburst® 10’H, 12’W Rounded ruby red buds opening to pink flowers • Firebird® - 10’H, 8’W Compact, slow growing, small dark red fruit, white flowers • Lancelot® - 8’H, 8’W Compact dense shape, red buds, snowy-white flowers • Louisa - 15’ H&W Weeping shape, red buds open to pink flowers, 3/8” persistent gold fruit

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Plant of the Month • Tina - 6-8’H, 8-10’W Pink buds open to white flowers with yellow center, ½” red fruit My personal favorite is the Tina crab. I have one centered with 3 ‘Black Hills’ spruce circling the edges with ‘May Night’ salvia at its feet.

The color in spring is something I look forward to all winter.

Give one of these a try. Your customer will enjoy the uniqueness. q _____________________ Jeff Buell is a member of the MNLA Nursery Committee and can be reached at jeff@buells.com.

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651-633-4987 Executive Director Bob Fitch • bob@mnla.biz Membership Director & Trade Show Manager Mary Dunn • mary@mnla.biz Education & Industry Advancement Director Cassie Larson, CAE • cassie@mnla.biz Communications Director Jon Horsman • jon@mnla.biz Executive Assistant Susan Flynn • susan@mnla.biz Accountant Norman Liston • norman@mnla.biz Receptionist Jessica Pratt • jessica@mnla.biz Advertising & Sponsorship Sales Pierre Productions & Promotions 952-903-0505 Betsy Pierre, Advertising Manager, betsy@pierreproductions.com Erica Nelson, Advertising Sales, erica@pierreproductions.com Government Affairs Consultants Boland & Associates John Boland, Legislative Affairs McGrann, Shea, Carnival, Straughn & Lamb Doug Carnival, Regulatory Affairs

THE OR R

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In addition to association activities, the MNLA staff provides management for:

e nn Mi

Over 2,000 industry professionals receive THE SCOOP each month. Put your message in their hands!

Display ad as low as $190.

Classifieds $3 per word ($30 min). Call Betsy today 952-903-0505 ext 1 or betsy@pierreproductions.com

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Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association 1813 Lexington Ave. N. Roseville MN 55113 651-633-4987, fax 651-633-4986 Outside the metro area, toll free: 888-886-MNLA, fax 888-266-4986

www.MNLA.biz www.GardenMinnesota.com www.NorthernGreenExpo.org www.TheLandLovers.org

Order forms or links for many of the services listed below can be found at www.mnla.biz Companies endorsed by MNLA:

BBS – Better Business Solutions 651-330-9804 877-272-0741 (Toll Free) Business Legal Services (Zlimen & McGuiness, PLLC) 651-331-6500 Business Succession (AgStar) 507-386-4620 Credit Card Processing (Approval Payment Solutions) 763-521-7851 Fuel Discount Card (Speedway/SA/Marathon) 651-454-7776 ext. 203 Fuel Savings (Holiday Stationstores) 952-830-8889 Horticultural Books (MN State Horticultural Society) 651-643-3601 Small Business Resource Group 651-783-5754 Workers Compensation Insurance (The Builders Group) 651-203-6793 Contact the MNLA office at mnla@mnla.biz or 651-633-4987 or toll-free 888-886-6652 for information on the following products or services.

Catalogs/Outdoor Living publication series Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge Fleet Program Educational Programs/MNLA Academy Employee Recruiting/ Greenworks On-Line Job Board Employee Training Manuals (PLANET) Garden Center Plant Posters Garden Center Carryout Trays Irrigation References. (“industry references” at www.mnla.biz.)

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