The industry’s been on a rough ride, but some silver linings point to a bright future The years leading up to the Great Recession were merry ones for Christmas tree farmers in the United States. Consumer demand and spending were strong, prices were steady, and the supply was bountiful. The future looked bright as a […]
Retail for the holidays
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Garden centers transform themselves into destinations for fall and Christmas The months leading up to December can lead to a slowdown in business at many garden centers, as gardening activity decreases. But some retailers have made these months quite profitable, and without going too far off mission, if at all. After all, nurseries and garden […]
Beauty from the ground up
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These bulbs offer great color and fragrance with disease resistance, and some are native to boot When gardeners, landscapers and restoration managers look to buy bulbs, they’re finding exceptional and versatile material that meets their design goals and gardening aspirations. Breeders and growers are providing an outstanding selection of commercial bulbs, including tulips, daffodils, corms, […]
Get ‘em while they’re hot: New cultivars from OSU
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The Ornamental Plant Breeding Program at OSU is beginning to hit its stride and new cultivars are hitting the market – carrying the hopes of making a positive impact on the industry. Established in 2010, the Ornamental Plant Breeding Program at Oregon State University has worked to develop plants that work in production for landscapers […]
Exciting, unusual and underused shrubs
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Trees frame the garden, perennials clothe it, but shrubs give it the bones that bring everything together. Yet so many of these essential plants never make it into the landscape. Shrubs like the exquisite Camellia × williamsii ‘Night Rider’ from New Zealand with its deep maroon red flowers and brilliant, reddish-purple new growth or vibrant, […]
Green from the ground up
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Whether the customers are landscapers or retailers, the most sought-after characteristics in ground cover plants for pathways and walkways are the same. People want low-growing, low-maintenance, drought-tolerant, evergreen, flowering, noninvasive, deer-tolerant, durable and — gaining in popularity — rabbit-resistant plants. And it would be nice if they could also help with the dishes! Customers […]
Testing the waters
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How to test your irrigation system for the presence of Phythophthora By Neelam R. Redekar and Jennifer L. Parke Phytophthora is a fungus-like organism — called a water mold — that can infect a wide variety of nursery plant species. One of the ways it can spread is through irrigation water. Depending on size, a […]
Digging in to edibles
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Ornamental edibles continue to change the rules of landscape design The back-to-the-land movement in the 1970s prompted young people to move in droves to rural settings to try their hand at modern homesteading- — growing their own food, living sustainably and mastering animal husbandry. Decades later, the echoes of that movement were heard in urban […]
Remarkable annuals
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Annual bedding and garden plant sales represent approximately 70 percent of the total U.S. bedding and garden category, according to the USDA National Agriculture Statistics Services, totaling $1.29 billion out of $1.86 billion wholesale. Annuals pick up where perennials leave off, providing colorful foliage and flower displays inside the season. Customers are continuously searching for […]
A genus fit for royalty
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Strange as it may seem, plants and clothes have some traits that make them parallel to one another. Clothes are fashionable. New styles appear every year, but there are always some holdovers from previous years. A parallel can be drawn here with plants. Some become more fashionable in gardens, while others fade away. Hellebores and […]
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