free state winter 2014

Free State

Driving Down Irrigation Costs

N U R S E R Y & L A N D S C A P E N E W S

MNLA Helping Habitat for Humanity in Baltimore

Free State N U R S E R Y & L A N D S C A P E N E W S

Wnter 2014 Vol. XLI No. 3

Cruising to Beautiful Places Across the Pond

AViburnum for Every Garden

BabikowSince 1875

Babikow Greenhouses7838 Babikow Rd Baltimore, MD 21237

Tel: 410.391.4200 Toll-Free: 800.835.7617 Fax: 410.574.7582 Email: [email protected] Visit Us Online: www.babikow.com

Visit Us at MANTS!Baltimore Convention Center

One West Pratt StreetBaltimore, MD. 21201

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Free State • 1

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Contents

7 This Business of Ours – Mike Hemming

11 It’s Time for Sharing – Jerry Faulring

18 Growing with Education – Ginny Rosenkranz

23 MNLA Helps Habitat in Baltimore's Brooklyn Area

26 Featured Members Kurt Bluemel, Inc Neu-Valley Nurseries 39 Total Plant Management – Stanton Gill

Departments 4 From the President – Brent Rutley 4 Association Officers 6 Director's Message 6 MNLA Board of Directors 15 Society News 31 CPH Update 35 Business Advice 38 New Members 42 Calendar of Events 43 Education 47 MNLA Mission Statement 47 Directory of Advertisers 48 MNLA Chairmen and Committees

Executive Director: Vanessa A. Finney Quercus Management Staff: E. Kelly Finney and Chelsea Bailey

Phone: 410-823-8684, Fax: 410-296-8288 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.mnlaonline.orgFree State e-mail: [email protected]

Design: Gregory J. Cannizzaro (contact information page 22)

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Free State • 318

Maryland Horticulture … Actively Monitor and Participate in the Legislative Process!

By now the election and hype is over, (hopefully no hanging chads), and life should be settling back in. We have a new Governor and one of the biggest changes to the Maryland State

legislature in history…. SO WHAT YOU SAY? Well, I’m glad you asked! It is the BEST time to introduce ourselves and our industry to the newly elected officials. Take time to meet with them now, even BEFORE they are sworn in! Become their environmental expert; inform them of the positive impact of our industry on not only Maryland’s environment, but Maryland’s economy. Be involved in influencing policy before emotion and “bad science” can get a foothold. Presently, I am serving as a member of the Howard County Council “Task Force on Composting and Wood Waste Recycling” and although I serve with great people, who are concerned over environmental impact, the “science” being presented is outdated and emotional-opinion based. My job on this Task Force is to provide fact-based information, educating my fellow members of our Right to Farm as well as our industry’s desire to protect our environment and our communities. This commitment goes back to item #3 in my very first message in the Spring 2014 Free State Magazine, “Monitor and participate in State and local legislative and regulatory process”. Sure, we have a relationship with a lobbyist through MaGIC, (who by the way does an awesome job looking out for our industry), but it can’t all fall on their shoulders! You and I must be attentive, active and vocal if we are to stop the avalanche of bad legislation. Read the MNLA “Root of the Matter” or special emails and respond to them, let Vanessa, our Executive Director, know you are still breathing and able to help where needed. Folks, we have to get out there and protect our businesses, unless of course your plan is to end up in the welfare line? On an absolutely AWESOME closing note, please see the great photos and article written by Carol Kinsley about MNLA’s Habitat for Humanity project in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Baltimore. It was a fun time serving the community and working alongside friends and peers, as well as seeing some legendary members in action, way to go George Mayo! And by the way, we are planning the next service opportunity…so stay tuned. ❦ As always, thank you for the privilege of serving as your president,Brent Rutley

Brent Rutley MNLA, President

[email protected]

Brent Rutley

Maryland Nursery and Landscape Association

Officers 2014

PresidentBrent Rutley

Capitol City Contractors, LLC301-854-5620

1st Vice PresidentSteve Black

Raemelton Farm240-416-0714

2nd Vice PresidentJessica Todd

Clear Ridge Nursery, Inc.410-775-7700

SecretaryBrad Thompson

Foxborough Nursery, Inc.410-836-7023

TreasurerJohn Marshall

Marshalls’ Riverbank Nurseries410-677-0900

Director-at-LargeGaret Bunting

Bunting’s Landscaping & Nursery, Inc.410-352-3371

Executive DirectorVanessa Akehurst Finney

Maryland Nursery and Landscape Assn.

P.O. Box 726Brooklandville, Maryland 21022

Phone: 410-823-8684Fax: 410-296-8288

e-mail: [email protected]: mnlaonline.org

Free State E-mail:[email protected]

P re s i den t ’ s Mes sage

4 • Winter 2014

Registration Now Open for Chesapeake Green 2015. February 19 and 20. Conference information and online registration on the Chessie 2015 tab of the MNLA website, www.mnlaonline.org.

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Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Happy New Year! Welcome to MANTS! By the time you receive this issue of Free State, the timing of one of these greetings is sure to be appropriate. It’s been another quick year and I scrap a bit to hone in on a topic to reflect upon in this column, but I’m going to settle on “why.” Both the MNLA and MANTS boards have spent some time this past year reflecting on the “why” of what their organizations do. Like many other boards, non-profit organizations, and for-profit businesses, we viewed and digested Simon Sinek’s TED talk, on

the question of “why,” and the ultimate revelation that customers/clients don’t care so much what you do as they care why you do it. In a nutshell, the challenge is to figure out why your business/organization/yourself are even relevant. Why do you do what you do? Figure it out; answer that question, market that answer, and you are on the road to success. In reality, it’s a little more complicated than that. Your business needs to be unique and competitive but this TED talk is a challenge to how you think about your company’s purpose and how you will deliver your product/service/message to your customers. For the MNLA, the work to be done is in engaging the membership to help board leadership answer “why?” We think we know our “what”, which is articulated in our mission statement, “The purpose of the MNLA is to promote the use of ornamental plants, products, and services….support all constituent groups of the horticulture industry….communicating the role of the horticulture…” But I think we struggle with our “why.” Why does the MNLA exist? Why should businesses join or retain the membership? Why provide education? Why lobby? Why, why, why? When the efforts entailed yield slim results or engagement we have to question our former answers to “why.” We know our purpose, but we still haven’t identified our “why” and how to deliver on it consistently and effectively. On the surface, it’s an easy answer. MNLA exists to advocate and support member businesses so they can be successful and hopefully profitable and impactful in Maryland and other markets member businesses serve. If our purpose is so obvious, then why is there a struggle with the “why?” I think because the MNLA, like most any other business or organization, is evolving and needs to think beyond its former comfortable constraints and boundaries. Consumers/customers are evolving and so must our organization. Are we looking for more? Absolutely – we all want more value, more results for the effort and time spent on what we do, more resolute engagement and, positive sense of purpose. I’m not going to try to figure out the “why” of the MNLA in this column. It makes for some good board and membership engagement discussion. Speaking on behalf of the board, I know without a doubt they welcome member input, feedback, and engagement. The association exists to serve the members, so help us define “why” so we can deliver. Attend the MNLA annual meeting at MANTS, volunteer in the MNLA booth, engage the board and help figure out the MNLA’s “why.” If you’ve not yet viewed the video referenced, I highly encourage you to put aside 18 minutes of viewing time and post reflection (YouTube ‘Start with Why – Simon Sinek TED talk). I think the content and ideas Mr. Sinek puts espouses are really good food for thought – for any of us. ❦

Vanessa Finney Executive Director

People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it. Simon Sinek

Maryland Nursery and Landscape Association

Board of Directors

Terms Expiring 2015

Gregory StachoAkehurst Landscape Service,

Inc.410-538-4018

Jason SersenKingsdene Nurseries, Inc.

410-343-1150

Mary Claire WalkerPatuxent Nursery

301-218-4769

Stormy Gibbons-NeffClovelly Nurseries

410-778-9686

Terms Expiring 2016

Larry HemmingEastern Shore Nurseries

410-822-1320

Carrie EngelValley View Farms

410-527-0700

Peter DriscollDogwood Hill Farm

301-428-8175

Wm. Oliver HardyClassic Lawn & Landscape Ltd.

410-335-6868

The Free State Nursery and

Landscape News is a news

magazine published for the

membership of the

Maryland Nursery and Landscape

Association (MNLA).

For more information, e-mail:

[email protected]

Vanessa Finney

D i r e c t o r ’ s Mes sage

6 • Winter 2014

Free State • 7

(continued on page 8)

I must apologize to everyone for my lack of articles in this year of sickness and operations, followed by an article sent to the wrong email address. To make a long and old story short, a blood infection followed by a knee operation reduced my winter and early spring to not working, or to trying to work on crutches. Not easy in our line of work. I did buy a used golf cart for mobility. I do love it for its ability to carry my tool kit, clippers, shears and irrigation repair parts. Now when I see something that needs fixing I have the stuff with me and it gets done. It cuts down walking back to get what’s needed or saying, ‘I’ll get it later’. “I’ll get it later” usually means 2 or 3 days at least before I get back to it. In the past, with the Gators, I share them with the others and couldn’t carry all my stuff with me all the time. But this golf cart it is all mine and Flo put a sign on it that says Boss

Mobile, which puts my mark on it. For not too much extra money I had a bed with a tailgate installed. Now it will carry 12 three gallon containers. So I can use it to pick up small orders and drive other less mobile fellow customers around. Because it moves faster than a walking pace it saves time as well. Larry, having seen the usefulness of the cart decided he wants one, and Flo and I agree. So, we sold a not very useful machine to get the money to buy one for his use. The downside is that I can no longer brag I often walk 5 miles a day. That always did impress my doctor. But enough of this, let’s move on. I did miss MANTS this year for the first time since the second one at Hunt Valley. Larry went for one day and said it was its usual perfection. He found a couple of new suppliers and they delivered some really nice looking stock. We will use them again next year. Only once in all these years has a

This Busine ss of ours

Mike Hemming

Cruising to Beautiful Places Across the Pond

In December Flo and I went on a cruise that started in Rome and ended in Florida.

Downtown Funchall

8 • Winter 2014

View from the cable car

Garden view

(continued from page 7)

nursery delivered stock noticeably inferior to what was seen at the show. That supplier no longer is in the show, I don’t know if he is still in business or not. In December Flo and I went on a cruise that started in Rome and ended in Florida. It was my first Atlantic crossing since my submarine days of the 60’s. I’ll take a cruise ship any day. We saw Barcelona, Montserrat, Trapani Sicily, and Gibraltar among others on the way. Arguably the prettiest place I have ever been on the trip was Funchal Madeira. Funchal has a mild Subtropical climate with even temperatures all year round. The climate can be separated into two main seasons: a rainier and slightly cooler season from October through March with average daily high temperatures ranging from 68°F to 77°F and a drier and warmer season from April through September with average daily high temperatures ranging from 70°F to 79°F. Humidity levels remain constantly high at about 70%. It sounds like heaven to me. As always, Island Heavens are far too expensive for us not very rich to live there. We heard that hotels in

Funchal start at $1000 a night and go up from there. Island living is always expensive. The day we were there was a beautiful sunny one of 70°F. Flo and I took a cable car to the beautiful Monte Peak Botanical Gardens. This is an interesting way to view the local landscaping, looking down on it. It never freezes there; for the first time ever I saw almost 4 foot tall begonias. The garden is well cared for and full of interesting well laid out plantings including all the plants we would expect, of course, and many I had never seen before. There were Sasanqua Camellias, azaleas, and rhododendrons in bloom, along with many tropical plants. It was very heavy on Bird of Paradise, which is not among my favorites when massed together. One of my two favorite parts of the garden was the cactus garden. They are so beautiful in their own vicious way. We saw many new varieties of them from very small to huge, in a well laid out display. The other was a topiary garden done in the usual spirals, poodles, and so forth. It didn’t have the animal shapes of some topiary I’ve seen.


Free State • 9

There was, a beautiful garden of colorful red and green plants sculpted into geometric shapes. The plants were kept low and looked like herbaceous.

View from the cable car

Topiary Garden Cactus Garden

10 • Winter 2014

There was in one of the few large flat areas a beautiful garden of colorful red and green plants sculpted into geometric shapes. The plants were kept low and looked herbaceous. I never did find out what species they were, and there were no signs and no one to ask. A real pity for someone like me who is interested in knowing what is what in the gardens. Anyway, it was beautiful walking through it and viewing it from above. The city of Barcelona was interesting architecturally and well landscaped, too. The bus we were on went through it on the way to Montserrat Monastery. It is a beautiful and interesting place that is well taken care of. Not much flat land that wasn’t rock. One bed near the entrance was planted with blooming Primroses. Here and in several cities Abelia ‘Edward Goucher’ was planted in containers or urns along walks or streets. It was the plant that we know most and is often seen. Several buildings, hotels or large apartment buildings, I think had planters on each floor with plants cascading

down with a beautiful green softening effect. Small parks and plazas added as much green space as possible. One bad thing we saw was way too much graffiti of a political nature. It seems to be a curse all over Europe. Cities here yes have graffiti, but not as much in small towns here. Flo and I both love to cruise; we get to see things and places we might never see otherwise. Plus both of us enjoy being at and relaxing at sea. One fault I have is that tours never ever stop at nurseries or garden centers. You may have noticed some of the photos I get are from a moving bus window. Oh well, better to see a little than none at all. Here at our nursery we are now getting into moving plants into the greenhouses for the winter. Plants that we know won’t get sold or are this winter’s move ups are put where we can get at them. We are still busy so items that are in demand are still in their regular places, to be rushed inside just before we cover in a couple weeks.❦

Mike Hemming


Hotel in Barcelona, Spain

Free State • 11

As I have reported previously, we have been engaged in automated soil moisture monitoring for many years. First, I’ll give a brief recap and then the latest and truly astonishing development. All the work has been done collaboratively with Dr. John Lea-Cox and his team under USDA grants that grew to an ambitious national project engaging scientists from across the country. Unfortunately, the grants may not be renewed for 2015. The website, http://smart-farms.org/ will bring you to the Knowledge Center that reports this work, and contains a vast amount of information related to the effort. There is also a tab listing the for-profit cooperators. Waverly Farm along with seven other businesses participates in the Smart-Farms organization. Initially we installed soil moisture sensing stations with the goal of better understanding what the soil moisture conditions actually were, and therefore a tool to drive our irrigation management decision making. This system allowed me to watch data on my office computer that revealed, among many environmental factors, the volumetric water contained within the growing zone at any given minute of the day, year round.

iT’s Time for sharing

Jerry Faulring

Based on the data and additional monitoring of soil moisture with hand held probes, I quickly determined that we had been over irrigating since the beginning. During that first year of monitoring and subsequent years, we gradually reduced irrigation events by over one half. The amount of water used back in those days was based on pump run time which can be only loosely accurate because pump output is a function of age and wear. A submersible deep well pump will produce more than it is rated for when installed and less than its rating when nearing the end of its useful life. Given that we have several pumps of differing age, the average output may have been near expectation but I could not know for sure. As you may know, every consumer of water in the State using more than an average of 10,000 gallons per day or an annual total of 3,650,000 gallons per year is required to obtain a water appropriation permit from MDE and report usage annually. The actual rules are just a bit more complicated but the summary above gets us in the ballpark. Our permit allows for 24,000,000 gallons annually and I am confident that we used all of it before the enlightenment. In 2013 a new experiment was installed to allow for

Driving Down Irrigation Costs – Part II


seen within the boxes, shown below. The right hand row and box also have a solenoid valve that is opened and closed by the soil moisture monitoring unit located half way up the row. The left row of plants was irrigated by implementing our old method for first year plantings, which is a 24 hour irrigation event weekly in the absence of a good rain, about one inch. The row on the right was irrigated automatically based on the 40% demand setting.

NOW FOR THE REVELATION!

I was told not to look at the flow meters during the year for fear of manipulating our manual practices of irrigation which could have invalidated the research results. Of course, I cheated and watched closely as the year progressed. But, I did not tell the irrigation crew anything and let them pursue normal methodology.

precision irrigation based on the plants’ actual need. We don’t actually know what a given plant requires but that is a large part of ongoing research. The new system is computer controlled such that we can set the amount of soil moisture that will be constantly maintained. Without understanding how much a plant actually needs and based on prior year’s findings, we set the system to maintain soil moisture at 40% of its volumetric capacity in the root zone. Field capacity or fully saturated is referred to as 100% volumetric capacity. The 2013 implementation engaged first year plantings of Syringa and Cornus. I chose Syringa as a relatively fast growing genus and Cornus to represent a slow growing genus. The photo below shows the Syringa block one year after planting. The picture does not show clearly the outcome but I think one can see the row on the right is larger and fuller than the row on the left. Each row of plants, shown above, has a flow meter as

12 • Winter 2014

The left row consumed 11,000 gallons. The right hand row of plants (larger, fuller) consumed in round numbers 3,000 gallons of water. Even if the plants were equal in growth, I would have to be pleased with the reduced water consumption. My first reaction is to be shocked that a single 500 foot row would consume 11,000 gallons. I have never calculated how much a first year planting used. Of course the second shock was the significantly better growth outcome using 266% less water for the right row. The results may seem counter intuitive. It might make sense that more water would be better. The answer has to be that less water made available precisely when the plant needs it produces a better plant. Visual observation during the growing season shows that the soil surface in the automated row is almost always moist while the manually controlled row is dry two days after irrigation. It is probably true that most of the manual water moves past the root zone and only partially migrates upward when the surface soil dries. It may also be true that the excess water forces oxygen out of the soil during and after the irrigation event. I am less concerned with why the lesser row did poorly than to know less water delivered exactly when needed produces the better outcome. The joke is on me! Steve Black, my neighbor and mentor for all things science, has been part of the Smart-Farms program from the beginning. Even before involvement, his irrigation philosophy was to irrigate for short cycles frequently while I always believed

we should irrigate deep and infrequent. Dr. Lea-Cox also encouraged me to follow Steve’s lead but I knew better. My theory is appropriate for large established plants but is obviously wasteful for small root systems growing near the surface. Now, it’s a point of humor and humility for me to know I should develop better listening and understanding skills. As a footnote, four years ago we installed water meters on all our water lines, shown above, a total of 4. Over that period, and after learning from the initial research, we used only 12,000,000 gallons each in 2011 and 2012 and 9,000,000 gallons in 2013 compared to my previously calculated 24,000,000 gallon per year consumption. The financial outcome is to double the life expectancy of our pumps from an average of 7-8 years to possibly 14 years, a reduction of electricity consumption, and reduced labor. Dr. Andrew Ristvey, a participant in the Smart-Farms research and a University of Maryland Extension Specialist, once told me he had seen a 90% reduction in irrigation for container crops resulting in faster growing, healthier plants when the irrigation was controlled by a similar system. The Cornus block, seen on the next page, has not yet revealed such differences in growth but had similar water usage. It is anticipated that any changes in growth rate will appear in year three. Water consumption for 2014 has been about the same as in 2013 for the automated rows. Our manual irrigation has declined significantly.


Free State • 13

The next step. Our goal is to expand the system to include more of the new plantings starting in 2015. This will be a bit complicated because we will have to modify the current irrigation infrastructure to accommodate the solenoid set up. Water consumption should decline significantly. We have always operated our irrigation manually because I did not trust automation on new plantings. That will change because I can now visually watch irrigation from my computer by way of wireless communication from the field equipment. I’ll still insist on regular ‘drive by’ inspection to make sure all is in order. The cost of labor to run the system will decline dramatically. We all seek improvement in our operations for dozens of activities to improve productivity, reduce costs and to grow better plants more efficiently. The objective is to seek incremental gains everywhere on a regular basis. Precision delivery of irrigation water based on a plant’s need is a big step forward. ❦

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Jerry FaulringWaverly Farm

1931 Greenfield RoadAdamstown, MD 21710

301-874-8300


14 • Winter 2014

Free State • 15

The Symposium was held October 23-24, 2014 at the Morris Arboretum at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The Morris, established in 1932, on the 92 acre former estate of John and Lydia Morris, seems a world away from the bustle of the city. A collection of more than 25,000 well labeled plants graces the Morris’ thoughtfully arranged walkways, lawn areas and elegant buildings. Tony Aiello, Director of Horticulture and Curator, kept attendees on track as we were enlightened by talks from a star-studded line-up of speakers from Europe, Canada and the United States. Day 1: Cor Van Gelderen, of PlantenTuin Esveld, Boskoop, The Netherlands, proposed a new system for Acer palmatum classification designed for easier interpretation of form. Piet de Jong, retired director of the Botanic Gardens of the University of Utrecht and Station for Nursery Stock at Boskoop, The Netherlands and co-author of Maples of the World, presented recent classification research and discussed the inconclusive DNA results derived in studies attempting to understand the relationships in maple species. Dan Crowley, Dendrologist at Westonbirt, The National Arboretum, Tetbury, Gloucestershire, England, expanded on these classification inconsistencies by highlighting various collected trees growing in arboreta that suffered initial misidentification and his efforts in creating a taxonomic revision of the section. Day 2: Tony Aiello, aforementioned Director of the Morris, discussed the history of the maple collection at the Morris and shared his experiences in wild maple collection in Asia, demonstrating the complexity of these important efforts. Richard Olsen, Research Geneticist at

the National Arboretum, Washington D.C., addressed the need for urban tolerant, non-invasive maple species and the breeding programs at the USNA and other institutions in creating trees for our modern landscapes. Dan Benarcik, Horticulturist at Chanticleer, Wayne PA, reminded us all that we should not lose sight of the most important goal of creating and properly siting beautiful trees as integral elements in the tapestry of landscape design. Douglas Justice, Associate Director of Horticulture and Collections at UBC Botanical Gardens, Vancouver, British Columbia, brought us images of wild-provenance maples at UBC collected in Pan-Asia and demonstrated why UBC possesses ideal conditions for testing the diverse plants displayed in their gardens. Justice also pointed out why much of the confusion in the labeling of collected samples as discussed in the presentations of Crowley and de Jong was likely due in part to recurring juvenile foliage growth on various

The 5th Triennial Maple Symposium of The Maple Society

Soc i e t y News

A.s. MoonriseTM, 2016 Maple of the Year. Photo Courtesy of Munn Nursery


Maple Society members enjoying post tourPhoto courtesy of Tim Nichols

16 • Winter 2014

specimens which muddied proper classification. Attendees were treated to walking tours of gardens each afternoon, where the knowledge shared by the speakers could be processed and applied while viewing the beautiful collections. We explored the Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College, where the collection of over 4,000 plants is designed as an idea and inspiration garden for public education and is perfectly integrated into a small college campus. Attendees also had the opportunity to tour the grounds at the Morris Arboretum, which, as mentioned at the outset, is an expansive and wonderfully executed display worthy of a day long visit. Post tours on October 25-26 included visits to three private gardens which incorporated notable maples and fabulous design as well as a visit to Chanticleer, a “public pleasure garden” in Philadelphia. Chanticleer is an aesthetic experience, setting the imagination of visitors afire with its artful array of color, texture and form. The formal session of the Symposium closed with a banquet on the grounds of the Morris Arboretum. Keith Johansson of Metro Maples, Arlington TX,

and outgoing president of The Maple Society North American Branch, along with past recipient Peter Gregory, renowned maple expert, co-founder of The Maple Society, former manager of Westonbirt, author and editor of recent editions of J.D. Vertrees’ Japanese Maples, presented the 2014 Peter Gregory Award to Ed Shinn of Wall NJ for his exceptional devotion to the Society, to its membership and to Maples. The Society also announced that the 2016 Maple of the year will be Acer shirasuwanum Moonrise, introduced by Carl Munn of Munn’s Nursery, Brooks OR. Look for more information on this amazing cultivar soon so you will be ready for the 2016 season. The Maple Society is comprised of a diverse group of hobbyists, growers and scholars from around the globe. For membership information or to learn more about the 2017 International Symposium in Poland or the North American Branch Annual (TMSNAB) meeting slated for Oregon in 2015, visit www.maplesociety.org or The Maple Society Facebook page.❦

By Elizabeth Mundy, Vice President, TMSNAB, President, Acer Acres Inc., Beaverdam VA

Additional LinksThe Morris Arboretum www.business-services.upenn.edu/arboretum/index.shtmlThe Scott Arboretum www.scottarboretum.org/Chanticleer www.chanticleergarden.org/U.S. National Arboretum www.usna.usda.gov/ UBC Botanical Garden www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/ Westonbirt www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-855W5HPlantenTuin Esveld www.esveld.nl/engels.phpUtrecht University Botanic Garden www.uu.nl/EN/botanicgardens/about/Pages/default.aspx


Keith Johansson, center, Metro Maples & Peter Gregory, right, presenting Peter Gregory Award to Ed Shinn, left.

Peter Gregory, center, with Matt Nichols, left, President TMSNAB and Tim Nichols, right, excutive board TMSNAB, co-owners Nichols Nursery and MrMaple.com

Free State • 17

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18 • Winter 2014

Every garden has different soil and sun conditions, but for Maryland gardens that have alkaline to acidic soils, full sun to partial shade, moist or dry soils, there is a viburnum that can fit neatly into that garden. Most landscape contractors choose a viburnum for the spring season when flower buds that start out white or pink bloom into bouquets of pure white to cream flowers. They should also take a look at the various shapes of their beautiful, often shiny green leaves, which can turn vibrant colors in autumn, and the bright colors of their fruits that often stay on from early fall to springtime. There are so many beautiful native Viburnums to choose, as well as the lovely non-natives - about 150 species and many cultivars. Some grow only 3 – 5 feet tall while others soar 15- 20 feet tall. Whether native or not, all Viburnums have a few things in common, they all have leaves that decorate their stems in an opposite fashion; they all have small flowers arranged on a pyramidal, rounded or flat cluster borne on the ends of branches. Some Viburnums have one type of flower and others have two types, the centers filled with the tiny flowers and larger, sterile flower ringing the edges. Some

flowers are wonderfully fragrant and others just lovely to look at. Some Viburnums have brilliant red glossy fruit while others can be yellow, black or blue. Native Viburnum berries are always attractive to the birds, Native Viburnums of merit may include the Maple leaf Viburnum (V. acerifolium), a suckering plant that thrives in shade and dry soils. Swamp Viburnum (V. cassinoides) grows 6- 10 feet tall and wide and creamy white flowers from June to July, has cultivars like Challenger™, with dark green foliage that matures to orange, red and purple in the fall and pink blue black berries and ‘Deep Pink’, with pink fruit. Witherod (V. rudum) is a close relative with cultivars like ‘Earth Shade’ with glossy green leaves that turn to shades of yellow, orange and red in autumn and white flowers that mature to pink to blue fruits, and ‘Winterthur’, with red foliage in fall and white flowers that mature to numerous dark blue berries. Another wonderful native is the Arrowwood Viburnum (V. dentatum) which was actually used to fashion the shafts for arrows and has over 27 cultivars and varieties. Some of the cultivars include Blue Muffin™ with intense blue berries, Cardinal™, brilliant red berries, Fireworks™, blue black berries, ‘Moonglow’, developed by Moon Nurseries in Maryland with blue berries, ‘Perle Bleu’ with lots of dark blue berries and so much more. Some of the V. dentatum have glossy green leaves that mature to brilliant reds, oranges and purple colors in the fall while others have either pink variegated or yellow variegated foliage. The flowers are creamy white flat clusters that often have an unpleasant scent. Another native has the whimsical name of Nannyberry (V. lentago) as the berries smell of goats, but the colors of the berries go from green to yellow to glowing pink to blue black. The flowers are cream white and bloom late April to early May. The Small Viburnum (V. obovatum), is filled with compact plants with cultivars like Bright ‘n’ Tight ™, Snow Fury™ and ‘Reifler’s Dwarf’ and only grow to heights of 3-5 feet tall. The Black Haw Viburnum (V. prunifolium) can grow as tall as 15 feet or taller as a small tree with a single trunk or as a multi stemmed shrub, creamy white flowers in early April and edible fruit used for preserves. Cultivars include ‘Early

growing wiTh educaTion

Ginny Rosenkranz

AViburnum for Every Garden

Free State • 19

Red’ with red foliage in early spring that turns green in summer than burgundy in fall, Forest Rouge™ with purple red fall foliage, Guardian™ with brilliant crimson red foliage and ‘Summer Magic’ with pink to red new foliage that turns glossy green in summer than yellow to red autumn leaves. The American Cranberry Viburnum (V. trilobum) grows 8-12 feet tall, has tri lobed leaves rather than the typical oval leaves with serrated edges, and has large, bright red berries excellent for jams and jellies. White flowers in 3-4 inch bouquets bloom in late May. Some great cultivars include ‘Andrews’, Wentworth’, ‘Phillips’ and Redwing ™ which all have wonderful edible fruits. There are a large number of non-native Viburnum that are worth mentioning for either their fragrant flowers or their brilliant berries. One of the most fragrant flowering Viburnums is V. carlesii or Korean spicebush, growing from 4-8 feet tall, dark green foliage and pink or red buds that open April to May with pure white flowers in a rounded bouquet with a an outstanding fragrance. Another is the Viburnum farreri with the common name of Fragrant Viburnum which grows 8-12 feet tall, dark green leaves that turn reddish purple in the fall and pink buds that expand to pink fragrant flowers in early April. A hybrid Viburnum x carlcephalum or Fragrant Snowball has pure white fragrant flower clusters 5 inches in diameter. Other fragrant Viburnums include V. grandiflorum, V. japonicum, Viburnum x juddii, and V. odoratissimum or Sweet Viburnum. Another wonderful plant is the Doublefile Viburnum (V. plicatum) with flat flower clusters of a ring of large sterile flower around fertile small flowers. The fertile flowers become brilliant red berries that mature to black. These flowers are arraigned on the top of horizontally growing branches, allowing both the flowers and fruits to show at their best advantage. Viburnum sieboldii has large dark green leaves with creamy white3-6 inch flower clusters in May that can completely cover the plant when in bloom. The flowers mature to rose-red berries that change to red then black and are borne on the plants from August to October. Viburnums are plants with 4 seasons of appeal and can be considered for almost

Ginny RosenkranzExtension Educator, Commercial Horticulture

University of Maryland Extension Dorchester, Somerset, Wicomico and

Worcester County410-749-6141 ext. 106

any Maryland garden. The many other Viburnums that were not covered in this short article are just as worthy of mention as the ones that were highlighted. New cultivars are being created and presented to the horticulture lovers all the time. The U S National Arboretum alone released over 20 new Viburnums including ‘Eskimo’ with 3-4 inch pure white snowball shaped flowers, Viburnum plicatum var.tomentosum ‘Shasta’ an improved doublefile cultivar with 6 inch flower clusters, and Viburnum sieboldii ‘Seneca’ an improved sieboldii cultivar and the list continues! ❦

20 • Summer 2013

Over 1500 choices delivered to you.perennials, natives, ferns, grasses, vines, herbs, ground covers, pansies, dahlias,

cannas, green roof and environmental planning material.

www.cavanos.com Ph 410-592-8077

Free State • 21Free State • 21

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22 • Winter 2014

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Gregory J. Cannizzaro Graphic Design410-444-5649 • [email protected]

Free State • 23

On Sept. 17 and 18, volunteers from the Maryland Nursery and Landscape Association and Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake came together to begin landscaping more than 25 homes in the neighborhood of Brooklyn in South Baltimore. Putting faith into action, Habitat Chesapeake brings people together to build decent, affordable homes that change lives, empower families and strengthen communities. In 2003 Habitat Chesapeake started to acquire and rehab homes in Brooklyn and, for the past decade, has worked with more than 30 homeowners to achieve safe, decent and affordable housing. As a re-investment in this neighborhood, various beautification projects have begun that include exterior painting and litter control. Now the MNLA has provided various donations from some of its 300 member companies to beautify the neighborhood. Companies donating material included Patuxent Nursery and Valley View Farms, who provided 100-foot hoses; The Perennial Farm, which sent 360 liriope plants; Shemin Nursery, 21 crape myrtles; Grant County Mulch, bagged mulch; and Capitol LLC/Just This Side of

Paradise Farm, 23 Kwansan cherry trees. Companies that sent volunteers or donated time included: Clear Ridge Nursery, Mullan Nursery Company, Classic Lawn and Landscape, Akehurst Landscape Service, Kingsdene Nurseries, Capitol LLC, MAEF and MNLA staff. “Robust community appearance adds value to homes, helps attract business investment, and simply improves the neighborhood reputation,” stated Mike Posko, CEO for Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake. “Research shows that beauty is one of the top three factors in creating community attachment as well as civic loyalty.” “When we go into neighborhoods, we don’t just build one house, we build a community. Without partners like MNLA members, who bring such great resources like skilled landscape labor as well as donated trees and shrubs, it would slow down the process. We’d have to find other resources or pay to get the work done. What we look for when doing neighborhoods are committed and dedicated partners. “This is a three to five-year project,” Posko explained.

MNLA Helps Habitat in Baltimore’s Brooklyn Area

MNLA partnered with Habitat to beautify Brooklyn.


Research shows that beauty is one of the top three factors in creating community attachment as well as civic loyalty

Mike Posko, CEO for Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake

24 • Winter 2014

“Some of the 40 homes had been there a number of years. Those we were dressing up to make the neighborhood more presentable. There were no fences, trees or shrubs. In order for the neighborhood be successful, we have to do more than build a house, we build gardens and play areas and plant trees to make the neighborhood more acceptable for homeowners to come into that community.” Brent Rutley, president of the MNLA, said, “Our support for donations of plant products and services is part of our mission and we are proud to partner with Habitat Chesapeake in making a strong visual impact for their partner families in Brooklyn. “MNLA is trying to not only help educate the public but to change public awareness of what the green industry is all about. It seems as though the industry is always painted as an ‘enemy’ of the environment because

“ “

Pancho Rojo Nieto and Rene Rojo Rodriguez, Kingsdene Nurseries

Brent Rutley, Capitol LLC

MNLA members and Habitat Volunteers

Wilfred Rivas and Luis Montano, Capitol LLC


Our support for donations of plant products and services is part of our mission and we are proud to partner with Habitat Chesapeake in making a strong visual impact for their partner families in Brooklyn Brent Rutley, President, Maryland

Nursery and Landscape Association

we use fertilizer and pesticides, we farm and let sediment clog the waterways. That is so far from reality that we are reaching out to the community to show what we actually do. We’re not doing it just because it’s in our mission statement, but because it is the right thing to do.” MNLA has a distinguished history of supporting, promoting, and providing services and assistance to member businesses since 1934. Habitat Chesapeake serves Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Howard County in Maryland. For more information, or to volunteer materials or labor, call 410-366-1250 or visit www. habitatchesapeake.org. ❦

Carol KinsleyMid-Atlantic Grower

410-822-3965

“

“

Free State • 25Iseral Sanchez, Akehurst Landscpe Service

Jessica Todd, Clear Ridge Nursery

Capitol LLC Landscapers

Greg Stacho and Iseral Sanchez, Akehurst Landscpe Service

26 • Winter 2014

demand for bamboo, miscanthus, panicums and cortaderia in field grown forms. Katy Bolt, who has been with the company for 27 years, runs sales and customer service. “She’s incredible!” Forte said. Dave Schultz runs Floraland Farms & Nurseries in St. Cloud, Fla., which was created in 1998 to service accounts with theme parks in the Orlando area, including Walt Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Schultz is a third generation nurseryman. His grandfather, Elmer Schultz, founded Wayside Gardens in 1920, and his father founded Springbrook Gardens in 1958. “He is one of the best growers in the country — his customers will tell you,” Forte said. “He is a national treasure, a true plantsman.” Disney’s company director of landscape architecture, Bill Evans, approached Bluemel while working on a 125-acre savannah of Animal Kingdom. When told the project required 4 million grasses, Bluemel replied, “We can do that.” Bluemel was frequently called upon by horticulture societies, universities, zoos and botanical gardens worldwide to lecture or provide expert horticultural consultation, landscape and habitat creation. Zoos now turn to Floraland for plants preferred by their animals. Gorilla grass, for example, is not only a favorite of gorillas but protects the hearts of these primates who tend to develop high blood pressure when in captivity. Floraland will have its own website in the next few months. Bluemel is acknowledged as one of the founding

Kurt Bluemel Inc., located in Baldwin, Md., celebrated 50 years of dedication to horticulture in 2014 with a special catalogue and a video which was distributed on USB flash drives given out at MANTS in January. A new website is under construction which will honor the passing of company founder Kurt Bluemel in June at age 81. “We want to take the opportunity to always honor the passing of Kurt,” said his stepdaughter, Nan-Kirsten Forte in a telephone interview. Forte has helped to oversee marketing and communications at Kurt Bluemel Inc. for the past two decades. Bluemel “did a very good job of putting into place things that needed to be in place for the company to continue,” Forte said. “He left us with such a beautiful roadmap for the future. He was always five to 10 years ahead of everybody else. We are fulfilling that.” The staff will miss Bluemel’s guidance, leadership and knowledge, but the business will continue to run with his spirit. “Everyone has been here for decades, working so closely with him.” Forte said. “The key employees are as much a part of the family as is his own family.” Forte’s mother, Hannah Petersen Bluemel, Kurt’s wife of 38 years, is now chairman and CEO. Alexander Bluemel Betz is chief operating officer and general manager, in charge of the main campus in Baldwin, Md. Christopher Bluemel Betz is facilities manager of the main campus. Their mother, Bluemel’s daughter, Catherine Bluemel Betz, runs the Eastern Shore operation. Somerset Farms and Nurseries, located in Manokin, Md., was founded in 1990 to meet the

fe aTure d me mB e r

Free State • 27

fathers of the “ornamental grass movement.” Many of the native grasses used along highways and for land restoration were developed by Bluemel. His most popular commercial introductions have included the gray-green switch grass, Panicum ‘Heavy Metal’; a mid-sized Joe-Pye weed, Eupatorium ‘Gateway’; and the little blue stem grass, Schizachyrium ‘The Blues.’ There are hundreds of others which he gave to the horticultural community patent-free. At one point the nursery included 700 species and cultivars of ornamental grasses and sedges, 1,500 perennials and 100 bamboos. Bluemel was born in Liberec, in what is now the Czech Republic. He fled to Germany with his family at age 13 and found work on a farm. In 1951 he went to work in a Swiss nursery, raising vegetables. In 1953 he went to work with Arnold Vogt Gartenbau, who specialized in perennials and rock garden plants. That same year, he married his first wife, Jaqueline Meystre. Their daughter, Catherine, was born in 1954 and a son, Andre, in 1956. Andre died 20 years later. The Andre Bluemel Meadow, named for him, is a part of River Farm, the 25 acres of landscaped lawns and gardens that serves as the headquarters of the American Horticultural Society and is one of the Washington, D.C. area’s premier gardening destinations. Pauline Vollmer, an AHS President’s Council Member and longtime supporter of Kurt Bluemel, made the project possible through a generous gift. Bluemel came to the United States at the invitation of Richard Simon of Bluemount Nurseries in Monkton, Md., who interned at Vogt’s Zurich nursery in 1957 and offered Bluemel a job. The family immigrated in 1960. Soon after, Bluemel met landscape architect Wolfgang (continued on page 28)

Oehme with whom he entered a partnership in 1964. They purchased 43 acres in Fallston, Md., where Bluemel made his home and business. Kurt Bluemel Inc. began in 1964 as a Landscape Design Company with commercial properties that were over several hundred acres as well as residential properties of exclusive gardens less than half an acre. The company achieved acclaim because of its great attention to detail providing unique and hardy perennials and durable hardscapes. The company no longer provides landscape service, but its trade-only nursery division continues to provide hardy perennials and ornamental grasses essential for landscaping. It’s one thing to have the material and another to have the right size and the landscaping knowledge within the company to provide the right plants, Forte said. She continued, Bluemel does not just sell plants. The whole staff is knowledgeable about substitutions to make sure native plants are used when required or preferable — something called “consultative solution selling.” Forte added, “We always have competitive pricing, quality, and the plant material to accomplish what (the buyer) wants — and indigenous. We specialize in plants that attract certain butterflies and birds.” Perennials and grasses have been featured from the beginning. Bamboo was going to be the next movement, Bluemel figured. Americans are becoming aware of bamboo, of its wonderful function in nature and the fact that there are many varieties (of the 300 available from Bluemel) that are clump forming, not spreading.

28 • Winter 2014

“The clump forms are wonderful,” Forte said. “Bamboo is a good seller to our institutional and government customers.” Native grasses and groundcovers are low maintenance, which is especially important along highways. Bluemel has been a leader in this segment of the industry. The company is known for its extensive internship program which attracts students from all over the world. The internship program is a big part of the company mission. “We are a leader not just because of our size, quality and reputation, but because of our longstanding commitment in words and action to the profession,” Hannah Bluemel said. “We are focused today especially on fostering expertise in the youth of our country in one of the noblest of professions — that which brings both form and function to our land.” Watch for new information on the company website, www.kurtbluemel.com. For inquiries about purchases, call 410-557-7229 or email [email protected]. ❦



410-822-3965

Free State • 29

Fifty years ago, when Pat Neubauer was thinking of starting a garden center, he called upon members of the Maryland Nurserymen’s Association, which then met annually at the Washingtonian in Montgomery County. These potential suppliers were “all very honest and very helpful,” he said. “They were gentlemen to work with.” First of all was Carville M. Akehurst, known mainly for his roses. But Akehurst also grew shrubs in poly bags, Neubauer said. Akehurst also was executive secretary of what would become MNLA. “Then there was Andrew N. Adams with Ten Oaks Nursery in Clarksville, Dan Stoner with Westminster Nurseries, and Carl Orndorff with Kalmia Farms, also in Clarksville. Another was J. Benjamin Williams, the rose man. He was head of the Maryland Nurserymen’s Association, a very nice gentleman.” Others included Pete and Janet Stadler of Stadler Nurseries in Montgomery County, Joe Drummond with Monrovia Nursery Co. and Bill Franklin at Ball Seed Co. “Franklin told me I’d never make it without landscaping,” Neubauer continued. “He gave me the determination I needed.” Neubauer was assured that if he needed material, he could get it from one of these gentlemen. Neubauer opened Neu-Valley Nurseries and Garden Center at 6280 Washington Boulevard. Today the store is located at 7275 Montgomery Road in Elkridge, just 3 miles south of the Baltimore Beltway I-695 and a mile north of Maryland Route 100. The intersection of Montgomery Road and U.S. Route 1 was a busy one, even in 1964. “When I started, the airport (now BWI) had expanded and was called Friendship Field. Then it became Friendship Airport. When it expanded again, Westinghouse moved to the airport and created a lot of traffic. Workers dropped past here on their way from the airport to Howard County, where they lived. They were building the suburbs at the same time. There were only three dual highways in the area: Richie Highway, the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and Route 40 in Ellicott City.” The business has changed over five decades. “We used to grow trees, about 5 miles from the store. But the tree farm was on leased ground, and development took over,” Neubauer said. “We have done landscaping, too, for 45 years.” Landscaping services include landscape designs/master plans, installation, renovation and maintenance, as well as hardscaping—in Howard, Baltimore, Anne Arundel,

Carroll and Frederick counties. “When the economy was booming, we did work in four states. Now it’s just in Maryland, very local,” he explained. When the recession hit in 2008, he said, work almost dried up. In addition to plants and landscaping services, Neu-Valley Nurseries sells “a vast array of products to please the eye, the palette, and the spirit.” The business encompasses a florist, gift shop and card shop and sells locally grown produce in season. Bulk items, which can be delivered, include mulch, topsoil and firewood. For the holidays, there will be Christmas trees, wreaths, garlands and gift items. Neubauer’s daughter, Carol Neubauer, is now in charge. “I’m the helper,” he said. In addition there are 20 other employees. In January 2014, the nursery celebrated its 50th anniversary. “We sold flower bouquets for 50 cents,” Neubauer said. “They were well received. A lot of people came.” Neubauer noted that his very first customer, George, whose first purchase was a bag of fertilizer, is still a customer to this day, even at age 87. To reach Neu-Valley Nurseries, call 410-796-4195 or visit www.neuvalley.com.6280 Washington Blvd, Elkridge, MD 21075 ❦


410-822-3965

fe aTure d me mB e r

Neu-Valley Nurseries

Free State • 31

C O N G R AT U L AT I O N S !Congratulations to the following newly-minted Certified Professional Horticulturists. The individuals below passed the Basic Exam on October 7, 2014.

Anne Cornell Alpha Landscape Contractors, Inc.Gregory Dionne Mainscapes, Inc. Liz Harden Sun Nurseries, Inc.Sarah Le Sueur J & G Landscape DesignJeff Mohr Country Club of MarylandRobert K. Rieck McFall & Berry Landscape Management, Inc.Claire Seesman Marilyn Sparks White House Nursery Nathan Ullrich The Perennial Farm

Maryland Certified Professional Horticulturist Program

Up date

Specialist ExamsDue to lack of interest, evidenced by extremely low registration rates, the CPH Specialist Exams – Plant ID, Herbaceous Perennials, and IPM – are canceled for the foreseeable future. The CPH board does not plan on abandoning this program altogether but will reevaluate the program and the industry demand/desire for them. The MNLA will alert the CPHers once a decision has been made on the future of the Specialist program.

Exam Schedule for 2015The Basic exam will be offered on April 13 and October 6 in 2015.

The CPH Basic Manual has undergone significant revision over the past two years. Every single chapter has been reviewed, re-written, and updated. Dated graphics have been replaced and new chapters added, including Propagation, Greenhouse Production, and New Technologies. In addition, the Basic Plant List has been thoroughly amended with notations added to show invasive tendencies, if applicable.

This manual will be ready for distribution in December 2014; the MNLA is making it available to current and active CPHers at a cost of $75.00 per copy. At this time, the manual is only available for distribution in print, with expectation to offer it electronically soon, at the same cost.

The new CPH manual is not only full of new information, it's a great resource for those who have already passed the exam and would like to stay abreast of industry updates. If you are interested in a sneak preview of a few pages of selected chapters in the new manual, please visit the CPH Program page on the MNLA website.

Please visit the MNLA website, www.mnlaonline.org and select the CPH Program box to receive more information on purchasing a copy of the new manual.

Students

The following youths received student recognition as CPHers. Full-fledged CPH status will be awarded after they have completed post-secondary education, practical work experience in the field, or a combination of both.

Leighana Pasqual North Harford High SchoolSeth Rickey North Harford High SchoolHannah Rogers North Harford High SchoolMichaela Siejack North Harford High SchoolKayla Teague North Harford High SchoolBrittany Hand Cecil County School of TechnologyElizabeth Westbrook Cecil County School of Technology

32 • Winter 2014

800-347-4272www.JohnDeereLandscapes.com

We know you work hard.Let us work harder.

Lean on us for some of your business demands - we know we can work harder for you. This is why we’ve implemented the Partners Program and Business Solutions, and the Px3 Maintenance Package.

Px3 helps you with the planning process by providing customized bids for each project. We can accurately estimate the square footage of any property.

Customers who join our Partners Program earn points on every John Deere Landscapes purchase and redeem those points at an online store, for various industry events, or for cash on account. Program members are also eligible for our Business Solutions, which can help reduce your day-to-day business expenses.

Please contact your local branch to learn more about these opportunities. We are eager to help you with as many of your business challenges as possible!

Free State • 33

Free State Nursery and Landscape News is seen by members of Maryland’s Nursery, Landscaping and Garden Center Industries and is the leading publication for members of the Maryland Nursery and Landscape Association (circulation to members and CPHers is about 600 unique individuals)

Free State Nursery and Landscape News enhances your ad by providing important industry specific articles which are educational and informative, and with the new digital version, readers are sent directly to your website via links

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

Articles appearing in Free State Nursery and Landscape News are contributed by highly regarded members of the industry, many of whom have a lifetime of knowledge and are frequently published

Free State Nursery and Landscape News is a cost effective way to help keep your name out in front of and reach your customers

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

6Good Reasons Your Company Should Advertise in the MNLA’s Free State Nursery and Landscape News

1

23 456For more information on advertising in the Free State Nursery and Landscape News contact Kelly Finney at the Maryland Nursery and Landscape Association at 410-823-8684 or e-mail [email protected]

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34 • Winter 2014

Chesapeake Green 2015 AN ANNUAL HORTICULTURE SYMPOSIUMFebruary 19 & 20 The Maritime Institute and Conference Center, Linthicum, MD

Free State • 35

These days, we all have a million things on our plate: work, family, and community activities are just a few of them. If you’re ready to take the next step with your business, you may be wondering, “How can I save time with my loan request and continue to manage my business? What do I need to help this process

go as smoothly as possible?” Here are some suggestions on how you can be prepared when it’s time to meet with your loan officer to discuss your business’ needs.

1. Think about what your loan needs are going to be for the year. Present those ideas to your banker and they can assist you with getting the loans you need to reach those goals. Try to prioritize in order of necessities, needs, and desires. As an example:

Necessity: I must have the operating loan to fund inputs and inventories.

Need: I need a new truck, as my old one has many miles on it and servicing it is costing me productive time.

Desire: I’d like to buy a farm nearby if it becomes available and expand what I grow to increase my inventory.

2. Gather all important financial information. The first of the year is an ideal time to review your financial statements, reflect on the past year, and think about what you may need going into the new year. Some materials that will be helpful to have handy are:

• Personalyear-endfinancialstatement • Personaltaxreturnwithalltheschedules,W-2’s,

and state return • Businessyear-endfinancialstatement,withfoot

notes on loan terms and a break out of equity positions

• Eitheraprofit/lossstatementortaxreturnsfor the business

• Sourcesandusesoffunds(thisdetailshowyou financed your operation’s needs last year)

• Projectionsfortheupcomingyearand/orotherkey changes to the operation

Be sure to ask your loan officer what options are available for your operation. They will be able to lend advice and provide you with options that fit your specific needs.

Having all of this information with you as you meet with your loan officer will help them quickly understand your operation and your goals. This will help create a solid foundation between you and your loan officer. On occasion, it seems we focus on what rate is available and not the relationship. Having a good loan relationship is good in the good times and, when things get tough, it helps to work with a lender who can offer you alternative loan structures or be able to quickly meet that need to buy a farm that just came on the market and helps you secure a once in a lifetime opportunity. ❦

Bill SchrodelMidAtlantic Farm Credit, Loan Officer

410-848-1033

How to Build a Winning Relationship with Your Loan Officer

PUBLICATION NOTICE:The deadline for submissions for the spring issue of Free State Nursery and Landscape News is April 1, 2015.

We welcome your company news and updates or columns with your professional insight. E-mail any submissions you have for Free State to [email protected] or mail to Maryland Nursery and Landscape Association, P.O. Box 726, Brooklandville, MD 21022

Bu s i ne s s Adv i c e

38 • Winter 2014

www.agtagmd.com Educating Youth about Agriculture

Get your Ag Tag today!

Arctech, Inc. Jim Osborn Chantilly, VA

Crow Insurance Jules Hendrix Middletown, DE

D & A Dunlevy Landscapers, Inc. Blake Dunlevy

Design with Nature, LLC Diane Knighton Upperco

Environmental Quality Resources Allison Valenzia Millersville

FMC Corporation Allan Dufoe Annapolis

We welcome the following into membership in the MNLA. Full contact information may be found within the member portal of the MNLA website, www.mnlaonline.org. We encourage you to reach out to your peer members – they may have valuable business advice for you.

New Membe r s

How Sweet It Is, Inc. Brent Malone Eden

Oak Ridge Farm and Nursery LLC Erich Bonner Woodbine

PlantANT Darryl Tackoor

Membe r News The MNLA would like to extend big congratulations to Jason Sersen and his wife, as they welcomed their baby girl on September 22, 2014. Her name is Miriam Joyce Sersen and she weighed in at 9 lbs. 7 oz. Congratulations to the Kingsdene Nurseries Family!

If you have life milestones and joys that you would like to share with the MNLA we encourage you to please submit them. We will try to showcase our members’ accomplishments in each edition of Free State. You can contact the MNLA via email, [email protected].

Phelps Lawn Care, Inc. Les Phelps

Proctor Landscaping and Masonry Trey Proctor Upper Marlboro

Reynolds Landscaping Chris Reynolds Abingdon

The prolific brown marmorated stink bug appears in dense populations, but what do we know of its economic threat to ornamental plants? According to recent research, it appears its stink may be worse than its bite. The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is expanding its territory rapidly, and this invasive species has developed a palate for many species of plants. The pest has spread into more than 40 states, where it has been found feeding on a number of species not recorded in its native habitat in Asia. Brown marmorated stink bugs have caused serious economic injury to many agricultural crops, but little is known about the economic threats to ornamental plants. BMSB adults have been observed feeding on flowers and seed pods of several ornamental herbaceous plants, but the damage to flowers, seed pods, stems and leaves has not been documented. Disease transmission from BMSB feedings on herbaceous plants has not been confirmed in the literature. Because of this dearth of knowledge, our team of researchers launched a study to determine if BMSB was a significant pest of herbaceous perennial plants growing in a commercial perennial plant production nursery.

What’s the damage?Previous studies by University of Maryland researchers have determined that BMSB feeds and causes aesthetic damage to some woody ornamentals in nurseries and landscapes, where they tend to feed on the main trunk and branches. A 2011 field survey of trees and shrubs at a commercial nursery in Maryland showed 150 of 178 cultivars were used by BMSB. Certain host plants are used solely for feeding, whereas other hosts are used for feeding and egg-laying. Research in 2013 found that BMSB

prefers London plane tree, flowering cherry, dogwood, catalpa and crabapple—while showing no preference for hawthorn, oak, elm or sweetgum. BMSB also has been documented feeding on herbaceous transplants including snapdragon, petunia, dahlia and false indigo in a greenhouse setting. However, little is known about its effect upon herbaceous perennial plants in nurseries and greenhouses. To help determine such damage potential, we selected three sites for our study: North Creek Nurseries in Pennsylvania; Holly Hill Farms on the eastern shore of Maryland; and Grasshopper Perennial Nursery in western Maryland. This latter site is in the epicenter of BMSB activity in Maryland, and had the strongest BMSB population pressure. Site 1. Grasshopper Perennial Nursery, MarylandGrasshopper Perennial Nursery (GPN) is a small wholesale/retail operation near Sharpsburg, Maryland.

ToTal PlanT manage me nT

Stanton Gill


Free State • 39

How DESTRUCTIVE is the Stink Bug in Ornamental Plants?

40 • Winter 2014

Grasshopper Perennial Nursery had a history of brown marmorated stinkbugs dating back to 2010. Doorways and windows were covered with thousands of BMSB in fall 2012, and hundreds were found inside the house—“200 found per day” indoors in February/March. Overwintering BMSB were found by the hundreds between pots, bags of soil mix, between stacked pavers, and other places within the nursery grounds. At Grasshopper Perennial Nursery, perennial plants were monitored weekly in 2013 from the first week of May through mid-June, and then bi-weekly until frost (mid-October). Each cultivar of perennial plant was monitored for BMSB for a total of 5 minutes. Three to five individual plants were inspected visually for BMSB on foliage and stems, and then the pot was lifted to inspect for egg masses and life stages on the undersides of leaves. A pyramidal tedder’s trap baited with USDA Pheromone #10 (changed monthly) and the commercial available pheromone lure (2E,4E,6Z=10:COOMe)—developed for another stink bug species called Plautia stali—and a Vapona kill strip was set up onsite to quantify the BMSB population pressure. Counts of all stages of BMSB were recorded at each monitoring visit.

Site 2. North Creek Nurseries, PennsylvaniaNorth Creek Nurseries supplies high-quality starter plugs to retail and wholesale nurseries, mail orders, garden centers and landscape professionals. This nursery specializes in perennials, ornamental grasses, ferns, vines,

and Eastern U.S. native plants. A single pheromone trap identical to the one used at Grasshopper Perennial Nursery was used to monitor BMSB populations at the nursery. Hibiscus, Baptisia and Asclepias were grown in flats or pots depending on plant size, and were kept on greenhouse benches. Monarda, Phlox and Caryopteris were grown in flats or pots depending on size and were on the ground throughout the season. All production houses were covered with some shade-cloth, and the various cultivars of each species were usually grouped together. Plants were visually inspected weekly from the first week of May until the second week of October. We recorded the presence of BMSB adults, nymphs, egg masses, activity and location on the plant, plant phenology, other pests and natural enemies.

Site 3. Holly Hill Nursery, MarylandHolly Hill Nursery is a family-operated container nursery specializing in azaleas, rhododendrons, hollies, junipers, a wide variety of perennials, flowering shrubs and container-grown trees, among other plants. A single pheromone trap identical to the one used at Grasshopper Perennial Nursery was used to monitor BMSB populations at the nursery. All plants were grown in pots on the ground throughout the season. All production houses were open (no shade cloth), and the various cultivars of each species were usually grouped together. Plants were visually inspected weekly from the first week of May until the second week of October. Plants were sampled similarly to Grasshopper Perennial Nursery and North Creek.

Trapping and countingThe baited pheromone traps confirmed that brown marmorated stinkbug pressure was consistent through the monitoring season, particularly late in the season as BMSB migrated from adjacent cropland to seek overwintering sites.

BMSB found on perennials. BMSB found at GPN were feeding on 29 different perennial plants/cultivars. BMSB preferred to feed on flowers, buds or just under a bud—on the swollen peduncle/receptacle of a flower—and newly forming seeds or seedpods when existing on plants.


Brown marmorated stink bugs have caused serious economic injury to many agricultural crops, but little is known about the economic threats to ornamental plants.

Brown marmorated stink bugs adults have been observed feeding on flowers and seed pods of several ornamental herbaceous plants ...

Free State • 41

The top two preferred perennial species at GPN—those both fed upon and visited by BMSB—were Althea lasiocarpus and Caryopteris ‘Dark Knight’, followed by Veronica ‘Sunny Border Blue’ and hollyhock ‘Halo Blossom’. Stokesia ‘Klaus Jelitto’ and Hibiscus moscheutos (dwarf rose mallow) also were visited by BMSB.

Eggs. Only three egg masses were found on perennial plants at GPN in 2013, on Althea, Veronica and Persicaria. The cryptic nature of egg masses on the underside of foliage makes them very difficult to detect. Low-growing perennials, often with thick foliage, could not easily be held up to the light to detect shadows of potential egg masses. The first egg mass was found on July 12, 2013. No eggs masses were found on herbaceous perennials at Holly Hill Nursery or North Creek Nursery during the 2013 season. BMSB were quite active at GPN during the 2013 season, but did not cause aesthetic nor economic damage to perennials. No detectable necrotic spotting of foliage or stems was noted. No diseases were detected as being associated with feeding sites, and no feeding damage was found on any plants. We did not see any visible sign of damage from the feeding BMSB adult on Baptisia. Brown marmorated stink bugs did not seem to be a problem for this nursery operation.

Holly Hill Nursery: Catches of BMSB in the pheromone traps were much lower (462) than in Pennsylvania, and greater than 90 percent of those caught were recorded starting in early September until the end of the project. We did not see nymphs in the trap at this nursery the entire summer. The low populations at this nursery may be from low populations in the area or competition with more preferred food sources, such as nearby corn fields. We did see feeding on Hibiscus near some exposed seeds toward the end of the project. Brown marmorated stink bug does not seem to be a management concern for this nursery.

What’s the verdict?Brown marmorated stink bugs will visit and feed on a select number of herbaceous perennial plants, especially

in high-population situations. Preferred feeding sites appear to be the flowers of perennials. The second most preferred feeding site is seed pods or fruiting parts of herbaceous plants. No detectable feeding or disease-transmitted injury was observed during the course of this project. Despite the often alarming numbers of brown marmorated stink bugs found in and around structures and on other host plants, our study shows that BMSB does not appear to present an economic threat to perennial growers. ❦

Stanton Gill, Extension Specialist in IPM for Greenhouses and Nursery, Central Maryland Research

and Education center, University of Marylandand Professor, Montgomery College, Landscape

Technology [email protected], 410-868-9400, http://Extension.umd.edu/ipm

Brian Kunkel, IPM Specialist, University of Delaware Extension

Karen Rane, Plant Pathology Specialist and Director of the Plant Diagnostic Clinic

Deborah Smith-Fiola, IPM Consultant and Suzanne Klick, Technician at CMREC,

University of Maryland Extension

January 20-23, 2015Mid-Atlantic Horticulture Short CourseLocation: Marriott City Center-Newport News, VAContact: The Virginia Horticultural Foundation757-523-4734

January 22, 2015FALCAN Winter Conference for LandscapersLocation: Frederick FairgroundsContact: FALCAN, 301-662-2500 (number of their meeting place, the Barbara Fritchie Restaurant)www.falcanmd.com

January 28-29, 2015Maryland Arborist Association Winter ConferenceLocation: Turf Valley, Ellicott City, MDContact: MAA, 410-321-8082www.mdarborist.com

February 4, 2015Eastern Shore Pest Management ConferenceLocation: Salisbury, MDContact: University of Maryland Extension, 410-749-6141

February 4-6, 2015South Carolina Horticulture Industry Trade Show & SeminarsLocation: Myrtle Beach Convention Center- Myrtle Beach, SCContact: SC Nursery & Landscape Association803-743-4284

February 12, 2015LCA Pesticide Recertification Conference Location: University of Maryland, Shady Grove Branch, Gaithersburg, MD Contact: LCA, 301-948-0810www.lcamddcva.org

February 17-18, 2015Mid-Atlantic Hardscaping Trade ShowLocation: Atlantic City, NJContact: EP Henry, 1-800-GO-MAHTSwww.mahts.com

February 19-20, 20152015 Chesapeake Green Location: Maritime Institute, Baltimore, MDContact: MNLA, 410-823-8684www.mnlaonline.com

For a full and updated calendar of events, and to find registration information and event links, please visit the Maryland Nursey and Landscape Association website at www.mnlaonline.org

2014-15 Calendar of Events

2014December 3, 2014Image of Agriculture-Ag Evolution, Food RevolutionLocation: Turf Valley Conference Center-Ellicott CityContact: LEAD Maryland, [email protected]

December 9-11, 2014MAC-ISA Certification CourseLocation: Charlottesville, VAContact: MAC-ISA, 703-753-0499www.mac-isa.org

December 11, 2014IPM ConferenceLocation: Carroll Community College Contact: UMD Extension, Suzanne Klick, 301-596-9413http://extension.umd.edu/ipm/commercial-ornamental-horticulture-conferences-2014-15

2015January 5-9, 2015Advanced IPM Short CourseLocation: College Park, MDContact: UMD Extension, 410-856-1850www.extension.umd.edu/ipm/commercial-ornamental-horticulture-conferences-2014-15

January 8, 2015Turfgrass ConferenceLocation: College Park, MDContact: University of Maryland Extension, Avis Koeiman, 301-405-3913www.entomology.umd.edu/extension/extensiontraining-forprofessionals

January 14-16, 2015MANTSLocation: Baltimore Convention CenterContact: MANTS, 410-296-6959www.mants.com

January 17, 2015Beyond the Lawn: Landscaping with NatureLocation: Carroll County Extension Office700 Agriculture Drive Westminster, MDContact: Carroll County Forest Conservancy District Board410-386-2760www.carrollcountyforestryboard.org

✁

42 • Winter 2014

✁What began as a walk through Kent County High School’s campus looking for weed species for identification during a Natural Resources and Ecology class turned into a whole lot more – it became Tree-Mendous! Last fall a group of students at Kent County High School in Worton, Maryland took a walk with their instructor out in the field to identify a variety of species they were studying in class. During this walk students came across an area where there was significant erosion occurring in a drainage ditch. Agriculture instructor, Mrs. Goetz, walked with the students and actually followed where the water was coming from and where it was headed. Goetz stated, “What started as a simple lesson in weed species quickly became a whole lot more.” Students were passionate about the area being restored to a natural area and the Tree-Mendous project was born. While working on the plan with students, the local river keeper, Isabel Junkin became an instrumental part of the project. She handled all of the grant writing and paperwork of the Stream Restoration Challenge while Cindy King (a CPH who works at Kingstown Farm and Garden aiding many with their “plant questions”), along with Goetz (also a CPH), worked out the logistics of the planting with the students. Students were involved with all phases of planning, including presentation to School Board and County Commissioners. When asked why this was important students responded, “I get to impact the future,” said Carden Holden. Another perspective was Anna Fairgrieve, “To restore life to the community and Earth, it’s kinda like us. Over time we all blossom into something great. Just like our trees will.”

Kent County’s TREE-Mendous Project.

Educa t i on

(continued on next page) Free State • 43

”To restore life to the community and Earth, it’s kinda like us. Over time we all blossom into something

great. Just like our trees will.“

With that, one day the truck pulled in and multiple students, wide eyed said, “We have to plant all of those?” And so the planting commenced on Thursday October 2. “The trees are just like us! They are short and tall too!!” Brad Dlugborski stated as the group of about 30 students and few adults from a variety of local organizations began planting. Working diligently, they had around 500 trees planted by lunchtime. Not only did the students walk away from the project with dirty hands but also a mind full of new information. “Make sure your tree is at grade” jokingly said Gunner Hickman as he was told to replant his unleveled tree. Tired, laughing and still smiling, students looked back and saw acres full of life that will grow for years to come. From the perspective of Alexis Willis, “You will never understand what planting one thousand trees feels like”. At the end of the day it wasn’t about missing class, it was about working together to not only make the school’s campus greener, filter water and stop erosion, but to “make something that will actually help our small county in a giant way,” said Gladye Jacquette.

“The support from the community was overwhelming,” said Goetz in looking back over the project. This whole endeavor could not have been accomplished if it hadn’t been for the entire community working together. After all, the project was TREE-Mendous…! Contributed by Lisa Goetz, CPH and Cindy King, CPH, who share that the students have planted over 900 canopy trees, in excess of 1000 understory shrubs and small trees, and will in spring of 2015 plant over 2000 herbaceous perennials. Whew! ❦

Interested in a subscription to Free State Nursery and Landscape News? Contact us with your request and we’ll add you to the mailing list.

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

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Mail/Fax or e-mail: Free State, Maryland Nursery and Landscape Association, P.O. Box 726,Brooklandville, MD 21022 or e-mail: [email protected]

44 • Winter 2014

• Membership Directory with member search options• Up-to-date industry calendar• Classified ads which members can post and track resumes/ responses• CPH program information including basic and advanced test applications and registration• Business resources• CEU forms• Free State Nursery and Landscape News (electronic issues)• Root of the Matter issues and MaGIC updates

We have answers when you have questions …

www.mnlaonline.org

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

• Chesapeake Green - speaker resources - year round• Industry calendar includes: – Event postings from organizations and educational institutions around the Mid-Atlantic region; – Resources for finding CEUs for pesticide recertification, nutrient management recertification, and general education in horticulture topics; – MNLA events including Field Day, MANTS, Chesapeake Green and much more

Visit www.mnlaonline.org today!Free State • 45

Free State • 47

Mission Statement

The purpose of the Maryland Nursery and Landscape Association is to promote the use of ornamental plants, products, and services. The association supports all constituent groups of the horticulture industry including landscape, gar-den centers, interiorscape, grounds maintenance, nursery, greenhouse, and arboriculture. The asso-ciation communicates the role of the horticulture industry in improving people’s quality of life.

Specific Goals

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

Monitor state and local laws relating to horticulture industry.

Participate actively in legislative and regulatory processes.

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

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

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

Support research relevant to the horticulture industry.

Participate in Maryland agricultural organizations.

Maryland Nursery and Landscape Association, Inc.

D i r e c t o r y o f Adve r t i s e r s

Firm Name Page

A & A Tree Experts, Inc. 32

Angelica Nurseries, Inc. Outside Back Cover

Arbor Jet 1

Babikow Greenhouses Inside Front Cover

Braun Horticulture 22

Cam Too Camellia Nursery 34

Cavano's Perennials 20

Chesapeake Green 34

CPH 17

EP Henry 2

Foxborough Nursery Inside Back Cover

Gregory J. Cannizzaro Design 22

Hanover Farms 14

Holly Hill Farms 37

John Deere Landscapes 32

Kurt Bluemel 36

Manor View Farm 33

MANTS 21

MD Ag Ed Foundation 38

MNLA On-Line 45

OHP 5

Pender Nursery 22

Walnut Springs 30

Waverly Farm 46

To join the growing list of companies who advertise in the Free State Nursery and Landscape News or for more information, please call Vanessa or Kellyin the MNLA office at 410-823-8684.

Visit the redesigned association website at: www.mnlaonline.org.

E-mail Free State News at [email protected].

40 • Winter 2014

EducationDave ClementStanton GillHank DoongMary Kay MalinoskiTina PaulGinny RosenkranzGreg Stacho

NominatingMark Dougherty – ChairRichard J. Watson

Finance and PlanningJohn Marshall – ChairBrent RutleySteve BlackLarry Hemming

Link/Shanks ScholarshipMark Dougherty – Chair

MANTSJan S. CarterBernard E Kohl, Jr.William A. M. Verbrugge

Membership CommitteeRich PoulinGreg Stacho

Awards - Professional Achievement,Carville M. Akehurst Michael Marshall– Co-ChairKevin Clark - Co-Chair

HistorianGeorge Mayo – Chair

Legislative/MaGICJames R. McWilliams– ChairSigne HansonAlan JonesBernard E. Kohl, Jr.Phil Galbraith

Advisors to Others

LEAD Maryland Vanessa Finney

Maryland Agriculture CommissionKarl FischerMarion Mullan

Maryland Farm BureauLarry Hemming

MAEFHank Doong

MGGATina Paul

Maryland Invasive Species Council (MISC)John Peter Thompson

MDA Nutrient Management Advisory CommitteeSigne Hanson

Young Farmers Advisory CouncilJessica Todd

Invasive Plants Advisory CouncilMike HemmingJason Pippen

CPHGeorge Mayo – ChairSteve BlackShelley HicksCindy KingDr. Andrew RistveyMartha Simon-PindaleBob TrumbuleGaye Williams

ScholarshipBernie Kohl, Jr. – ChairHank DoongJessica ToddLeslie Hunter-CarioGeorge MayoGreg StachoMary Claire Walker

Economic SurveySteve BlackBernie KohlGeorge MayoBrent RutleyDr. John Lea Cox

Advisors to the Board

Richard BeanMD Department of Agriculture

Dr. John Lea-CoxUniversity of Maryland

Signe HansonIndependent Horticultural Consultant

Cha i rman & Comm i t t e e s

Every member of every committee listed above is an individual

who volunteers their time in support for the MNLA and it is with

the utmost gratitude and appreciation that we thank you for your

selfless endeavors. If your name is not listed above, please consider

following the example of those who are. Contact Vanessa at

410-823-8684 with your interest.

48 • Winter 2014

Free State • 41

FoxboroughNursery

View Photos & Plant Information on www.FoxboroughNursery.com

3611 Miller Rd. / Street, MD 21154 / phone 410.836.7023 / fax 410.452.5131

free state winter 2014

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