July 2017 Volume 20 : Issue 2

The end of June marks a shift in container work from potting

liners to the maintenance of growing stock and the upshift of

container stock. Many of the spring potted trees are rooted

and some will be added to our available inventory shortly. Our

fields are starting to show the growth and establishment of

stock that we expect to make it a good year.

This year we have invested heavily in wire grid container

supports that ensure quality will not be jeopardized due to

trees falling over in wind. Expanded use of coco mulch weed

disks and tree stakes will also help to reduce maintenance

labour costs in both container production and field growing.

We are working to prepare for our field day and 35th

anniversary lunch in August. The tentative outline for the day’s

events has taken shape and we look forward to seeing all

of our customers and major suppliers who can attend despite

the busy summer schedule. We anticipate the tours and visits

will be educational and we will have one event that shall

remain a secret surprise for attendees.

Most of our customers report a good spring sales season.

Demand for container and wire-basketed trees has been

strong and our perennials and hanging baskets have moved

well. Perhaps regional and national sales have received a

bump up from the 150th celebration events planned for

Canada. We also see the effect of programs such as

Communities in Bloom which develop civic and homeowner

pride and create a strong community demand for plants.

In closing, the Ronald family extends an invitation for August

17th. We are requesting you to confirm your attendance so we

can plan for catering and transportation.

Wilbert Ronald

Proudly serving northern gardeners since 1982

P. O. Box 402 Portage la Prairie, MB.

R1N 3B7

Toll Free: 1-888-857-5288 Fax: (204) 857-2877

e-mail: jeffnurs@mts.net www.jeffriesnurseries.com

Office Contacts

President wilbert.ronald@jeffriesnurseries.com

Production Manager michel.touchette@jeffriesnurseries.com

Sales Rep pete@jeffriesnurseries.com

Accounts / Inside Sales shawna.ronald@jeffriesnurseries.com

Field Manager andrew.ronald@jeffriesnurseries.com

Research / Marketing philip.ronald@jeffriesnurseries.com

News Briefs

Janice C. Filmon, lieutenant-governor of Manitoba was in Ottawa on June 23rd for the Governor General’s Conference. One of the events at the conference was the ceremonial planting of a ‘Regal Celebration’ Freeman Maple as a gift from Her Honour – on behalf of all Manitobans – in celebration of Canada’s 150th (see photos on right side). Wilbert traveled to St. Louis, Missouri for the 2017 North American Lily Society meetings (June 26-July 2).

From the President

Growing Matters

Starlite® Flowering Crabapple

Regal Celebration

Maple

CUSTOMER PROFILE Broderick Garden Centre

By Pete Van Vliet

In the early 1980's, Oliver Green (a great last name for a horticulturalist!) was working with vegetables, selecting, rating and improving varieties for the prairies. With this as his passion, it wasn't a stretch to see why he would start his own little greenhouse for his own seedlings, as well as a selection of annuals for his friends. Oliver has a Masters Degree in Horticulture, and has a wealth of knowledge due to his lifelong love for all things "plants". That small beginning, 25 years ago, is what we now know as Broderick Garden Center, in Outlook, Saskatchewan. The business kept on growing over the years, including an addition to the storefront 12 years ago, culminating with a total of four greenhouses to date. In 2012, Olivers daughter Kim purchased the thriving company from her father. The "Green" thumb definitely runs in the family! Even though Oliver is no longer the company owner, you will still often times find him there, as the garden center is his happy place. In 2013, Kim's husband Paul jumped on board with the company. Paul started the landscaping aspect of the garden center, and has been very successful! The landscaping division services a broad area, over an hour from "home base". You can see Paul's handiwork in cottage country, including the Lake Diefenbaker area! Broderick Garden Center also boasts a massive selection of quilting and crafting supplies. They have hosted many tours, including a group from Manitoba. Kim, being a seamstress as well, finds the quilting is a great draw to her center, and helps keep their operation open all year! As a small side note, the town of Outlook has Canada’s longest pedestrian bridge! This attraction brings people to town, and once there, people gravitate to the garden center. If and when you happen to be in the Outlook area, be sure to look up Oliver, Kim and Paul, at Broderick Garden Center!

Regal Celebration® FREEMAN MAPLE

New for spring 2018, Regal

Celebration is an outstanding Freeman maple for zones 2 and 3. It features good vigour, chlorosis-

resistance and red fall colour.

Summer growing tips By Michel Touchette

Top-dressing your containers

June is ideally the right month to top-dress container-grown nursery stock at your garden center. July is also a desirable time when compared to “no fertilizer in the pot”. Any early spring shipment of nursery stock, from the end of April until May 15th, may not have sufficient fertilizer for extended summer growth. I recommend using a slow release fertilizer called Fusion (19-6-9) with minors and a 4 to 5 month release period. The recommended rate of Fusion for a 2 gallon should be close to 35 grams and 70 grams for a 5 gallon. Fusion has a special technology that actually acts like glue preventing the fertilizer from falling off when the pot is accidentally tipped over. This adhesive property is also very beneficial when your customers handle the plant at the time of planting. Fusion fertilizer greatly increases the chance for a successful transplanting as well as ensuring healthy potted plants. Do you want to try a bag of Fusion fertilizer in your garden center? Simply add it to your spring 2018 order. Watering practices

Garden centers have an undesirable situation when it comes to watering trees and shrubs from different suppliers. A west coast nursery’s growing media is designed to drain rapidly due to the high rainfall. However, a prairie nursery’s growing mix is designed to hold water because of generally lower rainfall and humidity. How do you water such a mixture of plant material with a single irrigation system? It is a question of living with an acceptable compromise between plant health and labor costs. Consider watering with overhead sprinklers for two consecutive times or days while watering by hand the following day (all subject to weather conditions). This is a good principle as long as your employees watering by hand can identify the B.C. vs. prairie-grown plants. Train your watering staff to recognize the different picture labels. Labels should be facing the aisle for plant identification and irrigation purposes. Try our “summer-ready” perennials

Our May crop of perennial liners is for the most part in saleable condition. If your marketplace is sensitive to overgrown or leggy perennials, please try our late spring-potted perennials. This product line is the right height, is coming into bloom and offers excellent shelf life. There is no longer the need to constantly water under hot conditions since these summer-ready perennials are not root-bound in the pots. Finally please consider attending our 35th anniversary on August 17th. Plan to take a walk through our field-planted shrub trial which includes over 200 cultivars.

2 gallon ninebark top-dressed with Fusion® fertilizer

Summer-ready perennials from Jeffries

2 gallon Incrediball® Hydrangea

Jeffries Nurseries is celebrating 35 years

Since 1982, Jeffries Nurseries has been supplying quality plant material to the prairies and northern plains. Plans are underway to celebrate 35 years in business this summer. We have chosen Thursday, August 17th as the day we invite you, our customers, to share in this important milestone with us. We encourage guests traveling from a distance to arrive on Wednesday, August 16th and stay overnight in Portage la Prairie. We have reserved a block of rooms at the Canad Inns (phone: 204-857-9745 ext. 4) that will be held until July 17th. When booking, please use the code: 230144.

PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 2017 We would appreciate receiving an RSVP from your company by August 4, 2017. Call us toll-free (1-888-857-5288) or e-mail (jeffnurs@mts.net) to hold your spot for this exciting day.

Register by July 21st and be entered in our

EARLY BIRD DRAW for two sets of unique containers.

Tours throughout the day will include the container-growing area at company headquarters and a bus tour of the Young farm - Jeffries field growing location along the Assiniboine river.

Join us for a catered lunch in the tent at company headquarters. Opportunities for networking with company representatives and industry peers will present themselves throughout the day.

Bring your camera and notepad as we visit Jeffries shrub cultivar trial and field growing areas at the Young farm.

Browse our new plant introductions, exciting products and innovative ideas in the indoor display area.

DONATED BY:

TIME  CONTAINER TOUR  FIELD TOUR NEW PLANTS/DISPLAY 

GARDENS 

8:30 AM  REFRESHMENTS 

9 ‐ 11:00 AM  Container Tour #1 Field Tour #1 Shrub Trial   

11:00 ‐ noon    Networking  opportunity 

12:00 noon ‐ 1:30 PM  ANNIVERSARY LUNCHEON 

1:30‐ 3 PM  Container Tour #2 Field Tour #2 Shrub Trial   

3:00 PM  Adjournment