NEW HAMPSHIRE PLANT GROWERS ASSOCIATION APRIL / MAY 1999 w re have a special name for the trees that come from our famis — ArcticMistJ^' When you order .ArcticMist,™ you are not just buying a tree, but all of the time, attention, and care — from seedling to shipping — that goes into creating a safe, healthy, and beautiful Christmas tree. We plant from seed to achieve maximum cjuality control. All ArcticMist'^' trees are heavily needled and have dense conical shapes. Their lovely blue color, rich fragrance, and good needle retention make them ideal Christmas trees. Fraser, balsam, white spmce, and pine (white, scotch, and red) are available. In addition, we are introducing fralsam, a fraser-balsam cross. Wreaths are also available. Since our famis are in New Hampshire and Vemiont, we harvest our trees later in the season than many other growers. We also do everything we can to minimize moisaire loss after harvest and during shipping. You can order the number of trees that is right for you — from 25 to a trailer load. We can arrange shipping or you may pick up the trees yourself We respect your schedule and guarantee on time delivery. Our trees arrive individually wrapped and ready for sale. All you need to do is remove the wrappers and set the trees out — no broken branches, no last minute trimming. T lo place an order, or to receive specific information about this year's trees: Call us at 800/694-8722 or 603/2.^7-5702. Send us a fax at 603/23 7-8439. Or write to us at 38 Bridge St., Colebrook, NH 03576. Our internet address is http://www.sibgotree.com SibgoTree Company We (mow wtttil you want for Christmasl ArcticMist Remember, you can only buy ArcticMisP^ at Sibgo Tree Company. TM CALENDAR CONTENTS May 8 "Heritage Plant Sale," 9:30-2, Strawbery Banke, Portsmouth, NH; 603-436-1100. June 17 Connecticut Greenhouse Growers Association "Evening at the Greenhouse," Woodland Gardens, Manchester, CT (Joint program with Connecticut Nur- serymen's Association); to register: 203-261-9067 18-19 (Friday: 5-8pm; Saturday: 9am-2pm) Eleventh Annual Pocket Gardens of Portsmouth Tour, sponsored by South Church, 292 State Street, Portsmouth, NH; 603-436-4762 W 24 New Hampshire Plant Grow- ers Association Twilight Meeting/ Garden Center Evaluation Work- shop, Spider Web Gardens, Center Tuftonboro, NH; Ann Hilton at 603-435-6425, workshop informa- tion: Dave Seavey at 603-225-5505 26 "Hay Day" — a family day at The Fells, John Hay National Wildlife Refuge, Newbury, NH; 603-763-4789 July 21 Massachusetts Nursery and Landscape Association Summer Meeting, Forest Park, Springfield, MA; 413-369-4731 21 "Cruise into Lake Sunapee's Past," 4:30-6:30pm, Sunapee Har- bor; information and reservations: Friends of John Hay National Wildlife Refuge at 763-4789 22 Open House, W.H. Milikowski, Inc., 10 Middle River Road, Stafford Springs, CT; 1-800-243- 7170 August W 4 New Hampshire Plant Grow- ers' Association Summer Meeting, Pleasant View Gardens Pembroke Facility, Pembroke, NH; informa- tion: Robert Demers at 603-625- 8298 8 New England Nursery Associa- tion and Rhode Island Nursery and Landscape Association Joint Summer Meeting, The Glenns; 508-653-3112 14 Connecticut Nurserymen's Association Summer Meeting, Burnett's Landscaping and Salem Country Gardens, Salem, CT; 203-445-0110 13 Benefit Auction, The Fells, John Hay Memorial Wildlife Ref- uge, Newbury, NH; 763-4789 14 Eighth Annual Plant Sale, The Fells, Newbury, NH; 763-4789 25 Open House, Griffin Greenhouse and Nursery Supply, 1619 Main Street, Tewksbury, MA; 978-851-4346 Departments 3 FROM THE BOARD 5 FORUM 9 NEW HAMPSHIRE NEWS 15 ELSEWHERE IN THE NEWS Features 19 It is Spring. I've Got the Gardening Bug for Fruits William Lord 22 MEMBER PROFILE Candia Gardens 25 Wanted— Dead or Alive Dealing with Exotic Invaders Diane E. Yorke Columns 12 KIWI CORNER Paul Fisher 17 THE GREEN SPOT Mike Cherim 21 PIONEER POINTERS 24 Z NOTES Jim Zablocki 28 HOW ABOUT HERBS Tanya Jackson Credits Cover: praying mantis, photo by Mike Cherim. Pages 1 and 22: Candia Gardens Photos by Rick Raymond. The Plantsman is published in early February, April, June, August, October, and December with copy deadlines being the Brst of each prior month. at a nominal fee. Free classified advertising is offered as a member service. We will carry a short message (no artwork or logos) for one or two issues of The Plantsman. While AD SIZE 6x 1% 3 3/8"w X 2 l/4"h $150 $30 3 3/8"w X 4 3/4"h $200 $40 7"w X 2 l/4"h $200 $40 7"w X 4 5/8"h $300 $75 7"w X 9 I/2"h $500 $100 For hirther information, please contact the editor: Robert Parker at the UNHRese rch Greenhc uses, Durham, NH 03824, 603-862-2061 or PC Boi 5, Newfields, NH 03856, 603-778-8353. > T * t ."Quality; • seleqion: ',& SERVICE' This Is What We Grow At MilUcan Nurseries. ^ Wouldn't you someday like to tell your grandchildren that you started using biological pest control way back in the 1 900s: ^^a Come on, be a pioneer. Give us a call and we'll help you make it ail possible. FREE CATALOG AVAILABLE The Green Spot, Ltd. 93 Priest Rd., Notlingham, NH 03290-6204 Tel: 603 942-8925 Fax: 603 942-8932 Eml:lnfo@GreenMettiods.com WHOLESALE SUPPLIER OF NURSERY & WETLAND STOCK TO THE TRADE. ^^^ NURSERIES, INC. HERBACEOUS & WOODY WETLAND PLANTS -ORNAMENTALS ^ROUNDCOVERS PERENNIALS VINES DEALER FOR BON TERRA WETLAND FABRICS CONTRACT GROWING AVAILABLE 24 BUZZELL RD, BIDDEFORD, MAINE 04005 (207) 499-2994 (207)282-7235 FAX: (207) 499-2912 CALL FOR A QUOTATION OR A COPY OF OUR CATALOG. -WE DELIVER- Northem Grown Trees Evergreens Shrubs Mon-Sat 7:W - 5;30 Sun: 9:00 - 5:00 O'DONAL'S NURSERIES Located at junction of routes 22 & 114 Gorham, Maine 04038 Phone (207) 839-4262 or 839-6364 Fax 207-839-2290 We specialize m growing specimen plant materials FROM THE BOARD A Message from Your President BOB RIMOL As the big spring rush is about to unfold, we all hope for a healthy and prosperous season. And before long, it will be over. You'll have had a vision of what it should turn out to be and then you'll evaluate what really hap- pened. We, as your board of direc- tors, face a similar situation. Back in January, we set the tone for 1999 with a vision for the New Hampshire Plant Grow- ers' Association while, at the same time, looking back at what we ac- complished in 1998. Last year was a tremendous year for the NHPGA. We began the New Hampshire Horticultural Endow- ment Fund, which will raise money for the sole purpose of hor- ticultural research to help improve our businesses. We passed legisla- tion exempting free-standing greenhouses from taxation, saving growers thousands of dollars. We had two outstanding twilight meet- ings, a great New England Green- house Conference, and successful Summer and Winter Meetings. And our presence is getting into more elementary schools through Ag in the Classroom. A big thanks to all of the people who helped make this happen. 1999 will present the NHPGA with new challenges which will again require involvement from you, our members, to be success- fully met. Our primary focus will be to improve our public image and increase membership. Market- ing plans include possible changes with The Plantsman, a new logo, a new trade show booth, and a com- pletely different exhibit at Farm and Forest. Hopefully, these changes will increase membership and increase public awareness of horticulture in the State of New Hampshire. Our first focus will be The Plantsman. Unfortunately, we will be losing our editor, Bob Parker, after many years of outstanding and dedicated service. A new edi- tor, along with increased produc- tion costs, could affect the format. However, we remain committed to providing our membership with a first-class and timely newsletter. Next, a new logo will be de- signed and will be used as the fo- cal point of a redesigned trade show display. This display is used to solicit membership at regional trade shows and meetings. After many years of abuse, our trade show booth has finally hit the end of the road. Actually, it did fall down a few times on the streets surrounding the Hynes Convention Center. We are going to invest in a new tabletop display that is lightweight and more versatile. Again, this will project a new, fresh, and professional image. We're in the process of rede- signing our display at the Farm and Forest Show. Farm and Forest is geared toward families. Our goal is to incorporate a theme each year to spark enthusiasm, provide edu- cation, and get more people — whole families — to enjoy gardening as a hobby. Possible themes in- clude: perennials, water gardens, bulbs, etc. We want to get people le spring growing excited abc season. All this leads into the final goal of increasing membership. Over the last few years, membership has stagnated. We are doing more for our members and for the industry and we should be growing! Get out and get friends and colleagues to join the NHPGA. We now have several categories, so membership is affordable for everyone. Increased membership will allow us to do more marketing and we will all benefit. Good luck in 1999! Bob Rimol can be reached at 6oj- 62 p -poo 4 The More You Grow, The More You Know. (f^^fiortheast Nursery, Inc. W-. :'ve been in this business a long lime. We know our customer's needs and demands, h doseni make a difference of the tune of year or ttie size of the project. Northeast Sursery covers 11 all. With the widest selection in wholesale plant matenals and landscape supplies in all of New England its no wonder many consider Northeast Nursery the best One-Slop shopping for all your landscape and green supplies. Supplying Fine Plant Material & Landscape Supplies 234 Newbury Street, Rt. 1 South Peabody, MA 01960 Tel. (508) 535-6550 Fax (508) 535-5247 APRIL / MAy 1999 Complete "The landscape professional's choice for unique, landscape size plant materials" ♦ Largest tree & shrub inventory in Scacoast NH ♦ Accessible & convenient location at Stratham Circle (Rte. 108/33) ♦ Informative tree and shrub tagging system ♦ Quality * Selection * Friendly & knowledgeable staff (603) 778-3711 FAX: (603) 11%-illi Monday to Saturday, 7-7; Sunday, 9-5 Other hours arranged by appointment STRATHAM CIRCLE Nursery & Landscape Landscape Supplies l\ % pUANr SINCE i«9; New England's Leading Full Line Seed House • Packet Seeds • Lawn Seed • Fertilizer • Grounds Maintenance Chemicals 1 (800) 326-HART FAST, COURTEOUS SERVICE The Chas. C. Hart Seed Co. RO. BOX 9169 WETHERSFIELD, CT 06129-0169 1 (800) 326-HART The Complete Source For Your Greenhouse Greenhouse Structures - Containers, Flats, Packs, Trays - Propagation Supplies - Growing Media - Soil Handling Equipment - Greenhouse Covers - Polycarbonate and Fiberglass Sheets Controlled Release Fertilizers - Soluble Fertilizers - Irrigation - Crop Protection Products - Fertilizer Injectors - Retail Products - X.S. Smith; Hamois - Free Standing, Gutter Connected, Retail Greenhouse Structures (Steel and Aluminum). Complete Structures and Environmental Design Dillen; TFl; TLC; Belden; Nursery Supplies; Kord - Fiber; Henry Molded-Fiber Jiffy; Oasis - Seeding Equipment, Germination Media Scotts - MetroMix; Miracle-Gro-Customblcn Bales; Fafard - Bales, Loose Filled B Bouldin & Lawson - Flat and Pot Fillers, Soil Mixers, Conveyors and Seeders Klerk's Plastics - 4 year IR and Anti-condensate Films; AT Plastics - Super-Dura Film4 - Polygal; DynaGlas; Lasco Scotts - Osraocote, Osmocote Pius, Sierra Tablets Peters Professional; Miracle-Gro Excel Nefafim - Drip and Micro Systems; Richdel; Nelson; Senniger; Amiad; Arkal-Filtration Systems, Complete System Design; Insecticides, Fungicides, Herbicides, Biologicals Anderson; Dosatron Novelty; Scotts; Peters; Miracle-Gro; and more MA 978-85 1 -4346 - ME 207-557-5442 - NY East 5 1 8-786-3500 - NY Central 315-255-1 450 - NJ 609-409-9399 - VA 804-233-3454 - PA 71 7-656-0809 Winter Activities , . . FARM AND FOREST. The NHPGA is putting new effort into promoting the industry. The gen- eral public is often uninformed and promotion first requires edu- cation— which, in turn, requires displays that attract interest. Pro- motion, education, interest — the NHPGA exhibit at this year's Farm and Forest Exposition in Manchester had all these in great quantity — it was a real show-stop- per. Put together by Jeff Hun- tington, Pleasant View Gardens, the booth demonstrated how cut- tings are rooted in today's green- house. The booth had rolling benches, ebb-and-flow watering, and a mist system. The interest generated was enormous. The booth was manned — thanks to Nancy Adams, Ann Hilton, Dave Giurleo, Bob Rimol, and George Timm. And — thanks to Dave Giurleo and Ball Seed Com- pany— free seed packets were given out — to get people starting their own and getting excited about fill- ing their yards with flowers and shrubs this spring. THE WINTER MEETING, held jointly with the NHLA on January 13, was an opportunity to hear other ideas and receive new infor- mation. The speakers — Diana Beauchain, Claire Nadon, and Pe- ter Paveglio; Doug Cole; Evelyn King and Roger Coggeshall; Nancy Adams; Philip Sands; Lucinda Brockway — covered a range of top- ics— pesticide usage regulations, new plant material, historic gar- dens.... And there was good food and plenty of time to socialize. The meeting was organized by Michelle Fischer, Mike Garrity, and Tim Wolfe; Guy Hodgdon and Chris Robarge coordinated ad- ministration and registration; George Timm helped keep the meeting flowing smoothly. These — and other people — created a useful, interesting day. TRADE SHOW DISPLAY. Also this winter, the NHPGA applied for and received a New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Mar- kets, and Food Mini-Grant for the amount of $500.00 for use in the development of a new trade show display. We thank George Timm for taking care of the work re- quired for the application and the Department of Agriculture, Mar- kets, and Food for the generous contribution of funds. HORTICULTURAL ENDOW- MENT: total pledges now add up to $89,000. And of this, $41,900 has already come in. The first grant will be for $1,000, to be awarded to a re- searcher working on a problem Welcome, New Members! Clyde B. Foss Agency, Inc. PO Box 159 Moultonboro, NH 03254 Devylder Farm 563 Pleasant Valley Road Wolfboro, NH 03894 Greenleaf Farms and Greenhouse 24 Littleworth Road Dover, NH 03820 Meadowledge Farm 612 Route 129 Loudon, NH 03301 R.W. Fawcette Greenhouse 4 Pinecrest Avenue West Peabody, MA 01960 Serres Yargeau, Inc. 7208, rang 9 Deauville, Quebec Canada JIN 3G1 pertinent to New Hampshire's hor- ticulture community. Letters announcing the grant being offered will be sent to uni- versities around the northeast and to regional grower publications. The process will be starting by the end of May. Grant applications will be due by September first and the grant will be awarded by No- HARRY STOLLER & CO., Ilic 109-111 Essex St., Haverhill, MA 01830, (978)373-6838, (800)244-0332 We cater to the small and medium size nursery in any quantity desired. 1. New heavy grade domestic burlap sqs. untreated and no-rot treated 2. Open burlap bags 3. New windbreak burlap 4. Balling bags 5. Wire baskets 6. Flat-folded burlap basket liners 7. Truck covers 8. Sisal twine and poly twine 9. Woven polypropylene sqs. t^^-^Jg™^ &J^^E^^ Xke f-|orti cultural Web ^^^J^3^ www.kof+icwI+Mi'e.com r^^^^i -1 .800. www.6WeB • fit-uJ cesoufces, infainnaVion, • aHeind vlf+wal tfade sl^ows — • enjoy our weekly -Hoft Towt- news, ideas feqistef fof tKe fed - pj-oinote pt-odwcis • wrvcovee life-lonq-leat^iing Wofid Wide Web at tke addfess you Of pldrvf availabilify launcli poinis can gfovw to remembef. ^^^Pleasant ^ " INNOVATIONS IN FLORICULTURE Growers of Proven Winners,™ Cottage Accents,™ and Cut & Grow Herbs^ Pleaseant View Gardens, Inc. Phone: 800-343-4784 7316 Pleasant Street Fax: 603-435-6849 Loudon, NH 03301 vember first. This is an exciting time and members will be kept posted. (For those wishing to contrib- ute, checks made out to New Hampshire Horticultural Endow- ment can be sent to New Hamp- shire Horticultural Endowment, 7316 Pleasant Street, Loudon, NH 03301. For more information, contact Peter van Berkum at 603- 463-7663 or Henry Huntington at 603-435-8361.) MEMBERSHIP: Sometimes it's easy to forget that the New Hampshire Plant Growers' Associa- tion is a volunteer organization. Whatever happens does so through the efforts of its membership. The people who take time from their already busy lives to create memo- rable exhibits and programs de- serve our thanks and recognition. These events and the goals listed by Bob Rimol — educational meetings, newsletter, industry pro- motion, legislative clout — are all good reasons for membership There are three categories — In- dustry ($50), Student ($15), and Employee ($15). Send address and check for the appropriate amount to New Hampshire Plant Growers Association, 56 Leavitt Road, Hampton, NH 03842. For more information, contact George Timm at 603-525-4728. Position Opening After many years of service to the NHPGA, Bob Parker is resigning from the editorship of The Plants- man this summer. We are search- ing for qualified candidates who are interested in becoming the new editor. The job description is as follows: The new editor will be ex- pected to: • Work in conjunction with the NHPGA Board to determine the content of the newsletter • Attend NHPGA events and re- port on these with news items and photos • Collect, edit, and present perti- nent industry news Interested candidates should mail a resume and proposal by May 1 to: NHPGA 56 Leavitt Road Hampton, NH 03842 Editor's note: in the last issue, the phone number for the Green Spot was given incorrectly. The correct number is 603-942-8925. Also, there is now a new e-mail address: . Jolly Farmer PRODUCTS INC An.„.. PLUGS I i ANNUAL PLUGS... year-round 1 i prraluction of over f>S() vanelie* m 3 ; I siAvs, =MZs. 288's. and l<14's VEGETABLE and HERB j PLUGS,.. ()0 uarielies m 3 sizes, I 'Ul^'s, ;iS8s, and 14'1's. I PERENNIAL PLUGS over I 100 vanclics m 2S8'-. and 14'1's i I VERNALIZED PERENNIAL ! PLUGS & CUTTINGS -over 1-888-695-8300 CUTTINGS Grown and shipped in the growing tray. Bac.jfW Begonids-rancv ^G© Brachyconibc y'QwjsirS Colctis Vnfey^ Cuphca Ml Cyclamen Liners mu Daisv-Margii«?rile W 1 l.loulilc Impaliens lall Aslcn- Nrtv GumiMs rucl,s,a Mini C.ints Hardv Miiins Petunia Case adia K-yGcrDnaims /onals Kalanchocs „,4-*'' LJcorice Rani 56 Crabbe Road Northampton. New Brunswick Canada E7N 1R6 FINISHED • YEAR-ROUND COLOR pr.^ra.n including 4" & h" pots, planlers, an\ dish gardens • SWUNG nNISHED...flals hangers, summfir annuals, spttialty pols, geraniums and niore • GARDEN MUMS, FALL ASTERS, FAU. SPFCIALlTr' POTS. • HOUDAY CROPS...F.i.nsi mas and Cyclamen and NEW THIS YtAH ...Wrailhs. Kissiriq Kills, l.arlands & Fbral Swags. •?i GARDHMS WHOLESALE GROWERS and SUPPLIERS of QUALITY PLANTS Spring Annuals • Geraniums • Hanging Baskerts Perennials and Foliage Plants 3" to 10" P.O. Box 360 • Alton NH 03809 • Tel: 603-875-4444 Located on Route 28, 1 V,, mile south of the Alton Traffic Circle Oxi'twrs Bntce and Linda Holmes NEW HAMPSHIRE NEWS Grants Available In the 1998 session of the New Hampshire State Legislature, an in- tegrated pest management (IPM) program was created. It was the desire of the legislature to promote IPM and reduce reliance on pesti- cides. The New Hampshire De- partment of Agriculture, Markets, and Food, the New Hampshire Pesticide Control Board, and the Division of Pesticide Control share this interest and will be adminis- tering this program. The program consists of small grants that will be awarded to the best project proposals. Examples of projects that might fulfill the re- quirements of a grant would include IPM seminars, original IPM projects, publication of outreach ma- terials, etc. There are two deadlines for application submittal, which are July 2, 1999, and October 1, 1999. The purpose of this grant program is to initiate interest from a wide range of people, including home- owners, schools, structural pest com- panies, agricultural entities, etc. The Department has grant appli- cations that can be obtained in two ways: one is to call the Division of Pesticide Control at 603-271-3550 and have information mailed to you; the other is to download the appli- cation from UNH's Cooperative Ex- tension website at http://ceinfo.unh. edu/IPMLinks.htm. Please contact Peter Paveglio at the above number for more infor- mation on this program. Bigger, Better. .. and Biennial The Mount Washington Valley Garden Trail, until now a yearly event in which gardening enthusi- asts could follow a clearly marked map to view the entries in a gar- dening competition covering the entire mountain region, will not take place this year. Instead, 1999 will be an time of rethinking and restructuring. With new energies and enthusiasm, the Garden Trail promises to be back in 2000, bigger and better than ever. People interested in being part of this biennial event should contact Joan Sherman at 603-367-4764. A New Educational Director The New Hampshire Agriculture in the Classroom Council has an- nounced the appointment of Lisa Nevins of Henniker as its new educational director. Four'inch Specialty Annuals Sold in Pre'Spaced Trays Each tray holds twelve labeled round pots D.S. COLE I'liialj GrowersE 251 North Village Road, Loudon, NH 03301 Phone 603-783-9561 Fax 603-783-9562 T^uT Red Maple ] .5-3" caliper Varieties: Red Sunset™, Autumn Flame " (P.P. 2377), and Armstrong specimen quality, own root (no incompatibility problems), high limbed for street and commercial use 604 Main Street, Cromwell, CT 06416 Phone (203) 635-5500 FAX (203) 635-3685 «^^^K^ Trees Since 1929 Tfillane 9*Iursenes,^nc. Growing 500 Acres of New England s Finest Trees i Shrubs AMPSHIRE NEWS Lisa has a bachelor of science de- gree from the College of Life Sci- ences and Agriculture at UNH. As a teacher, she's developed training programs for Girl Scout teaching staff and has been a substitute teacher for the Claremont/Newport schools and the Kearsarge Regional School District. Lisa and her husband Bob own and operate Morning Mist Farm, focusing mainly on equine care and management. They've raised livestock in conjunction with local 4-H programs. Forestry manage- ment, including timber harvest, is also part of their activities. The NHPGA hopes to continue to present the Green Industry to the state's schoolchildren and we look forward to working with Lisa. Lisa's at 2% Sheep Davis Road, Concord 0}}0i; the phone number is 60^-224-1^^4. FOR SALE SiEBERiNG Royal Gas Furnace with attachments; 360,000 BTU; LP/natural gas input; used for one season Asking $800.00 (price new: over $2,000.00). Sunderman Oil Furnace; 200,000 BTU input; 11 years old; excellent condition; asking $280.00 (price new: $1,200. 00). Shade cloth; 55' shade; 96' x 36'; hemmed, with grommets; asking $200.00 (price new: over $450.00). Call Yuda Daskal, Blue Bell Greenhouse, Route 155, Lee, NH, at 603-659-2997. POSITION AVAILABLE Independent sales rep selling nursery stock, stone products, pottery, organic fertilizers, peat, retail and green- house mixes, green-houses. FAX: 413-357-6311 or 207-989-1553. PERENNIALS, WILDFLOWERS, HERBS For resale, lining out, or containers; cost per six-cell pack: $2.00. Minimum order: 24 six-cell packs; three six-cell packs of one variety. Mix and match. 200 variet- ies. UPS. Call for availability and complete list: Webber's Dublin Nursery, PO Box 266, Dublin, NH 03444; phone: 603-563-8180 or 563-8272. WHOLESALE NURSERY TREES • EVERGREENS • SHRUBS 150 acres of quality plants Write lor catalog Member MNA. NENA Millers Falls Road. Turners Falls, MA 01376 Telephone 413- 863-2510 S tewarts NURSERY, Inc. in development, production and sales of horticultural products Only the finest floral products bear the Yoder name You can see them on television and in picture spreads in leading publications In store and garden center promotions. In municipal parks and botanical gardens and countless home and backyard settings. l&der .somethings to grow on Mary-Jayne Lattig (203) 468-8890 1-800-232-9557 Ext 800 Fax: (203) 468-8891 New England Aetere • Keepeake Azaleae • FoWaqe • Fo\neett\a5 • Frophet eenee garden mums • Pot Mums Rosgg * Dahlias * H\b\ecu5 • Ne// Guinea Impatiene * drokered Fluqe and Oeran\ume> * Ferenmale Could any of these current issues impact your business or livelihood? * Current Use & Zoning * Greenhouse taxation * Pesticide regulations * Motor Vehicle laws & Ag * Agricultural employee laws New Hampshire Farm Bureau has, over the years, led the way on legislative issues that affect New Hampshire's farms and agricultural businesses. We will continue to do so Into the future and hope to involve more of you, our friends & colleagues involved In horticulture in N.H. If you answered yes to the question above and would like more information on what benefits Joining N.H.F.B. will bring to you, please contact: Wendie Loomis at 224-1934 Sponsored by Merrimack County Farm Bureau mjGEMAN INSURANCE Homes • Barns • Livestock Machinery • Farmer's Liability Livestock Health & Mortality Workers Compensations • Auto ■ttU r^^ Insure with New Hampshire's largest independent agricultural agency. 1-800*439-2451 will put you in touch with an agricultural insurance professional. Quality Landscape-Grade Plants all season long! The Winter Blanket »- a better way to overwinter your nursery stock Call for info or a product sample 1-800-692-7752 fax: 978/692-5887 APRIL /MAY 1999 KIWI CORNER vinly a few pioneers are using new research Show any customer two plants of the same perennial species, one still vegetative and the other in flower, and it would be a rare cus- tomer who shells out more money on foliage than for blooms. Peren- nial plants are a boon for nursery sales and the many available species make for a much more interesting landscape than the old bedding plant standards. While perennials are an increasingly important aspect of our local industry, however, most growers are producing them in a conventional fash- ion— only a few pioneers are using new re- search to force out-of-season flowering on pe- rennials so that plants can be sold in bloom earlier in the spring or summer. An exciting aspect of growing any ornamen- tal plant is to learn how to trigger its flower- ing. We are all familiar with fall-blooming poinsettias needing long nights to flower. Many spring- or summer-blooming perennials require some combination of cooling and long days to force a change from vegetative to re- productive growth. A lot of research has been coming out of Michigan State University and other universi- ties that has resulted in growing blueprints for perennials. Some of this information has been appearing in Greenhouse Grower magazine, with a different crop being featured each month. The first series has been pulled together in a booklet "Firing Up Perennials" and the current series that just finished will also be available from Meister Publishing (440-942-2000). Here at UNH, we are starting to use this information in our teaching of herbaceous landscape plants, so that our students under- stand how to schedule perennials. For example. Campanula carpatica 'Blue Clips' is one of my favorites. This species, with delicate blue (or white for 'White Clips') bell-shaped flowers, makes a beautiful plant in a four-inch con- tainer. The key to flowering of C. carpatica is simply long days of more than 14 hours or a four-hour night interruption, using fluorescent. to force out-of-season flowering on 1 perennials so that plants can be sold 1 in bloom earlier in the spring or summer. incandescent, or high-pressure so- dium lamps. If you are finishing plants from plugs, bulk up Campanula under short days for about ten weeks be- fore you start forcing under long days. Flowering occurs nine weeks later to produce a balanced plant for a four-inch pot. In contrast, most Aquilegia spe- cies require a ten-week cooling period at 35-45°F to induce flow- ering, after which they are "day-neutral" (i.e. photoperiod will not affect flowering time). If you place Aquilegia under long days without cooling, most species will never bloom. We have modified our greenhouse cooler to be able to provide a low intensity of fluorescent light (25-50 foot-candles) during the cooling period. Aquilegia is an example of a perennial that has a long juvenile stage — plants must reach a critical size before they will respond to cooling or long day treatments. Note that every species is different. Some species, for example Coreopsis grandiflora 'Sunray,' need both a cold- and long-day treat- ment to flower. Plants, such as Campanula, that simply require long days are easy to force. Plants that require a cold treatment need either a cooler with some artificial light or a mini- mally heated greenhouse that keeps root/crown temperature above 28°F and where heat does not build up during the day. This is an exciting development that, for some growers, will create a new type of prod- uct. If you are interested in the topic, check out the Greenhouse Grower articles or attend a greenhouse industry seminar. We thank Van Berkum Nursery for donating some of the Aq- uilegia we are growing. Plugs of Campanula and Coreopsis were donated by C. Rakers and Sons. Paul Fisher, Department of Plant Biology, Spaulding Hall G-44, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH OJS24, can be reached by phone at 60^-862-4^2^, by fax at 862-4j^j, or by e-mail at prf@hopper. unh. edu. NEW HAMPSHIRE NEWS Grow^ing Degree Days A management tool for the horti- cultural industry! UNH Cooperative Extension is working together with the NH Department of Agriculture and the New England Agricultural Statistics to bring you weekly growing degree day (GDD) infor- mation throughout the summer months. This pilot year will be a learning experience for us all. . . so, please be patient as we work out the details. What is a growing degree day? Insects are cold-blooded animals whose activity and development are controlled by the temperature of the surrounding environment. It has long been recognized that growth could be measured indi- rectly by tracking temperature over time once the lower (baseline) and upper threshold temperatures for a particular in- sect were known. This would al- low us to predict events in an insect's life cycle during the sea- son by measuring growth in terms of temperature over time. This measurement is called a "growing degree day". Currently, 50°F is used as a standard baseline for all insect and mite pests of woody plants. Why a lower threshold num- ber of 50 degrees? This tem- perature was chosen as plant and insect growth in the north- east is thought to start between 45°F and 55°F. Obviously, the further an insect or mite's true baseline is from 50°F, the less accurate these range numbers are. Unfortunately, accurate baseline threshold temperatures are known for only a relatively few insect species. How are growing degree days measured? The simplest calcula- tion of a degree day starts with the recording of maximum and minimum temperatures. These two numbers are added together and divided by two to determine an average temperature for the day. This average number is then subtracted from a lower threshold number of 50°F. The result is the GDD for that day. (Negative numbers are not counted!) These Summer Horticulture Courses at the Thompson School numbers are accumulated through- out the growing season and may number in the thousands by summer's end. How will I receive and use GDD information? As you would expect, GDD data will vary greatly throughout the state. For this reason, New England Agri- cultural Statistics is supporting GDD data from 19 NH sites. Fortunately, handy charts have been developed which list par- ticular insects and the GDD needed for their development. Beginning May 3, 1999, this in- formation will be disseminated weekly to the public through a variety of means: • Web page (http://ceinfo.unh.edu): UNH Cooperative Extensions web site will devote an special projects area to this project and will list all GDD sites as well as a comprehen- sive breakdown of expected insect emergence and action tips for that particular pest. When you arrive at our Cooperative Extension home page, click on the "Special Projects" icon. This will lead you a page which includes a listing entitled "Growing Degree Days" — click on this and you'll be ready to receive information. The Thompson School at UNH offers six courses in ornamental horticulture this summer. These are listed below. Some may re- quire prerequisites; all have a $10.00 special fee. HT236 Pest Management: Insects 5/24-7/30 T 5-8pm HT237 Pest Management: Weeds 6/28-7/30 MW 5-8pm HT239 Pest Management Control Applications 5/24-6/25 MW 5-8pm HT254 Water Management 5/24-7/30 M 9-12 HT257 Woody Landscape Plants 5/24-7/30 Th 4-8pm HT263 Landscape Construction and Maintenance 5/24-7/2 Tli 5-8:30pm You can enroll by phoning the Division of Continuing Education at 603-862-2015. For information on credit, content, the part-time associate's degree program, or the diploma in landscape horticulture, call 603-862-1035. Additional courses are offered at the UNH De- partment of Plant Biology. • Telephone Message at 862-4800: A recorded message will be up- dated weekly listing GDD for se- lected sites as well as anticipated insect emergence. • Weekly Market Bulletin: Selected GDD sites will be pro- filed each week and insect alerts will be highlighted. For more information, contact Nancy Adams, Agriculture Educa- tor, Cooperative Extension, Rock- ingham County, at 603-679-5616. APRIL / MAY 1999 Inside or out, Quality is covered. HPRn#IS As the authorized Harnois dealer in the Northeast, the professional staff at Greenhouse Supply, Inc, will handle all your greenhouse needs. Whether you are looking for free standing or gutter connected houses, call us. GREENHOUSE SUPPLY, INC. 1-800-696-8511 FAX: 207 989-1553 email: greenhse@agrotech.com http://agrotech.com Let Rough Brothers' expertise turn your greenhouse into a powerhouse — for profits. Call the experts at Rough Brothers for information and technical assistance on these quality products Manufacturers of: • WhiteHouse • The International • Harvest House • The "2100" gutter-connected house • Free-standing poly arch houses • Techlite glazing • Ro-Flo benches • Ebb & Flo benches Distributors of • Alcoa Aluminum Fin Heating • Heating and ventilating equipment • Maintenance supplies, glass, parts ...and more Rough Brothers 5513 Vine Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45217 nmn ROUGH BROTHERS 1-800/543-7351 Temperature & Misting Controls for Greenhouses of all sizes Sunny day misting Misting automatically adjusts with changes in sunlight rain or shine!!! reduce disease, increase yields, reduce labor, reduce rooting time ^— Rainy day misting Solar 3B (3 zones . $385) Solar 12B ( 1 2 zones, $890) Temperature to- Set separate temperatures for nighUsunrise and day. DIFtrol 23 A ($385) Electronic Temperature Control 2-stages of heating control, and 3-stages of cooling control with horizontal airflow (circulation); or 4-stages of cooling; or roof vents; or side-curtains. DIFtrol24A ($575) MiniTempl; New Bottom Heat Controller with electronic precision in Splash-proof enclosure Proud to have New England Distributor Rimol Greenhouse Systems (603)-629-90O4 IIAVIS Tel: (818).993-0607 rLngineering fax:0472^ ELSEWHERE IN THE NEWS The Newest Acquisition Griffin Greenhouse and Nursery Supplies, with corporate headquar- ters in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, recently announced the acquisition of D&L Grower Supplies, Leola, Pennsylvania. The Leola facility will be oper- ated as a branch of Griffin Green- house and Nursery Supplies and brings the number of branches to eight. The D&L staff will become griffin employees. The facility will be managed by Rich Graver, former manager of the Latham, New York, facility. The acquisition also increases the company's mar- ket share in the region through the incorporation of additional product lines. For more information, call Tewksbury at 978-851-4346 or the Leola branch at 717-656-0809. A New 18-Acre Range {Plugged In, Issue 6, 1998) Suffield, CT: At least two years in the works, plans for a new 18-acre greenhouse here that will grow to- matoes and peppers have been an- nounced by both the State of Connecticut and the Dutch coop- erative that will build the project. The project (costing about 13 million dollars) includes the green- house and a 100,000 square-foot packing and distribution center on 42 acres in northern Suffield. The site was picked for its proximity to Bradley International Airport. The state economic development authorities have been pushing the project by the Rainbow Growers Group in the hopes of expanding the role of Bradley as an interna- tional hub. Rainbow officials say they plan to hire 50 employees to run the greenhouse and another 120 in the distribution center. 1999's New England Grows Some Facts and Figures There were 11,812 attendees at this year's New England Grows. There were over 900 vendor dis- plays in 190,000 square feet of ex- hibition space. And 25 hours of educational training. And the New England states' Cooperative Exten- sion Systems received grants total- Hng $30,000. For those who plan ahead, next year's conference is scheduled for January 27-29 in Boston. For more, call 508-653-3009. Cabemted^ "The Geranium Specialists" Wholesale Qrowers 2 1/2" Geraniums (year round) 4" Pre-finished Geraniums 2 1/2" Ivy Geraniums & Fuchsia Martha Washington Geraniums Spring Hanging Baskets, Lilies/Bulbs Azaleas, Cyclamen, Poinsettias, Foliage J.B. CARPENTER & SON, INC. 603/659-3391 ZZO SOUTH MAIN STREET NEWMARKET, NH 03857 Select from our complete line of bulk and bagged products. MULCHES: Hemlock, Cedar, Pine-Spruce, Pine Nugeets, Premium Mix, Dark Bark and Colonial Red - our rich red, color enhanced mulch. Soils 8e Soil AMENDMENTS: Premium Potting Soils & Top Soils, Peat & Organic Humus, Composted & Dehydrated Cow Manures, Organic Compost, Peat Moss and our exclusive Shrub & Tree Planting Mix. PGM: Professional Growing Media. Scientifically composted softwood bark - available in a variety of blends for maximum production and plant health. Proven results m extensive greenhouse and nursery applications, this growing media is without equal. APRIL / MAY 1999 Opening April 1 Tuckahoe Turf Farms Wholesale Yard • pallets of sod • bark mulch • fertilizer • grass seed • loam • related turf products RtG. 293 \ 1 F.E. Everett TPIU Rte.3 Mall of NH \ Col(3y M. \ 7 ^^■^y^ Rte. 1 1 1 Nas ' Hudaon '"^ Litchfield, NH Open 6 days a week: Monday-Friday, 7ani-5pm; Saturday, 7am 'til noon IKmwISf Wholesale Yard 15 Colby Rd. Litchfield, NH 03052 1-800-633-5222 603-424-7000 The Plantsman THE GREEN SPOT Like Bumps on a Log Scale insects can give woody or namentals owners and interior- scapers a real headache. Not only are they difficult to control, but they can be difficult to diagnose as well. Scale insects cover a large group- ing from the order Hemiptera and sub-order Homoptera (just like aphids and whiteflies). The scale sub-order is divided into three fami- lies: coccidae, diaspididae, and pseu- dococcidae, commonly known as soft- scales, armored scales, and mealy- bugs, respectively. Soft scales, in general, are large — up to an eighth of an inch. The fe- males are covered — in their adult stage — with a hard body covering (which leads many people to believe these are armored scales). They can produce honeydew, a sticky, sugary excrement which may attract ants. Ant will harvest the honeydew and provide some protection to the scales from their natural enemies. Although the adult males are winged, they are rarely seen. The females, on the other hand, are seen as "bumps" which often resemble bark features in color and shape. The immature "crawler" stage is often hidden by the female's cover, but they are usu- ally more mobile as they seek out their final feeding spot. Armored scales are, in general, very small (down to .2mm). They, like their soft cousins, have a tough cover. The males are winged and rarely seen; the crawlers are similar as well — just a lot smaller. One big difference is that armored scales pro- duce no honeydew. This makes them even more difficult to detect. Mealybugs lack the hard covering, but the males are winged and rarely seen and the crawlers are similar to those of the soft scales. They also produce a lot of honeydew and at- tract ants, but, for most people, they are not considered a scale insect. Mealybugs have waxy coats which, like their cousins' hard coverings, provide protection. Like many other scales, the eggs of many mealybug species are protected, often inside a waxy, cottony substance. Some mea- lybugs give birth to live young, like aphids. Control can be difficult. Chemi- cals must be formulated to penetrate the protective coverings. Some scales have toxins in their saliva that can cause leave to curl protectively around them. Parasitic biological controls can be difficult to use be- cause many are species-specific (you must know exactly what you're deal- ing with). Horticultural oils can be used successfully if applied thor- oughly enough to coat and smother the insects. Use cautiously, as horti- cultural oils — especially when ap- plied heavily — can cause phytotox- icity in some plants. So what's the best cure? Detect scales early by scouting properly; hand-apply oils and such; locate the more susceptible crawlers and use soap and other physical products on them; use predatory biological con- trols which care less about species and are more opportunistic; keep your plants clean and healthy, put- ting them outside whenever possible to let Mother Nature take care of her own. Some systemic chemicals can (according to the manufacturers) provide some level of control, but are typically very harsh. Perhaps it might be better to simply discard the affected plant material and try again with fresh stock — although this can be a costly option. Some- times, however, it can be your least expensive fix. Mike Cherim, president of the Green Spot, Ltd., can he reached at 6oj-p42-8p2$. f^^ Specializing In Heath... Heather... Bearberry... Perennials... Seashore Plants... also, a full line of quality nursery stock NURSERY^ 1028 Horseneck Road, Westporl, MA. 508-636-4573 508-636-3397 F www.sylvannursery.com ..y "Our Service Keeps Growing and Grouing." INTERNATIONAL TRUCKS, INC. 1400 South Willow Street, Manchester, NH 03103 Mitsubishi Fuso 800-562-3814 Mitsubishi FG-4x4 turbo diesel, 12,000 GVWR limited slip rear axle, 3-person cab Fisher snow plow, 2 to 3 yd dump Lease for $513.90 per mo., 48 mo. First payment plus $550 security deposit due at lease signing with approved credit DEDICATED TO SERVING: The Professional Landscaper, Nurseryman, Grounds Manager and Golf Course Superintendent, with the highest quality & selection of plant materials & horticultural supplies. Hydroseeding Mulch AllGro Compost Bulk Mulch Par Aidk Golf Accessories AND MUCH MORE! It's Spring . . . I've Got the Gardening Bug for Fruits WILLIAM LORD W hat are the best types of fruit trees? Every va- riety listed in the dozens of catalogs that come in this time of year sounds like perfection. But not every variety is suited to New Hampshire. What does work? Apples are perhaps the most widely grown tree fruits. They are also the most difficult to grow well. The key issue that faces most home growers is pest control and the key pest that frustrates home growers is a disease called apple scab. While you can manage this pest by removing all leaves from the orchard in the autumn and spraying with fungicides in the spring and early summer, most home gardeners will not have super success against this pest. For that reason, scab- resistant varieties of apples are a good choice. The best scab-resistant apples are: Liberty October 1, red, large, crisp with good flavor Redfree September 1, red with crisp, white flesh, good flavor Prima mid-September, red with OK flavor, does not store There are many other scab-resistant varieties to try, including William 's Pride, Dayton, and Jonafree. What about regular varieties? (Yes, they get apple scab.) Of the scab- susceptible apple cultivars, Mcintosh, Macoun, and Cortland are by far the most widely grown in New Hampshire: they are productive, extremely winter hardy, but very susceptible to scab. There are several newer cultivars that have consumers excited. They are crisp, have great flavor, and store very well: Gala, Fuji, Mutsu, and Honeycrisp are the most popular to- day. Of these, only Honeycrisp will survive the harsh winters of northern New Hampshire. In addition, Mutsu and Fuji ripen in October, so sites that frost out early in autumn will not work for these cultivars. Pears: Bartlett and Bosc are still the most popular. Bartlett ripens in early September; Bosc, about Octo- ber first. Other great pears include Seckel (small, crisp, and sweet) and Clapp's Favorite. Northern growers should try Flemish Beauty and Nova. Peaches and Nectarines: Reliance is the hardiest peach, often producing following -25F. But if the grower has a great site where temperatures rarely drop below -10 or -12F, and spring frosts are not a prob- lem, there are better ones when it comes to flavor. Red Haven, Canadian Harmony, and Madison will fill August and early September with great tasting yellow peaches. Sugar May and White Lady are two white- fleshed peaches that are incredibly sweet and juicy. For nectarines (peaches without the fuzz), Mericrest (like Reliance peach, from UNH and extremely hardy) and Hardired are good choices. Other Tree Fruits: Sour or Pie Cherry. Montmorency is the best. Meteor and Northstar will produce smaller trees which make sense for the home gardener, but flavor is not quite up to Montmorency standards. Sour cherries are very hardy, but they bloom early, so spring frosts are a problem. Sweet Cherry. Like sour cherries, these bloom very early. In addition, sweet cherries are not very hardy (-10F often gets the flower buds). Hedelfingen, Sam, Van, and Kristin are all great to eat — if you get them past the winter cold, spring frosts, and hungry birds! Plums. I like the prunes the best. They are extra sweet. Stanley is the most popular and it is at least partially self-fruitful. Early Italian and Earlibue are other good choices. They ripen in September. Japanese plums (not self-fruitful) are great too, and they ripen in August. Ozark Premier is my favorite — large, great flavor. Methley, Burhank, and Fellemburg are all very good too. Shiro is a popular yellow one, but it is a poor pollinator for other plums. Should I plant dwarf trees? For apples, the answer is yes! Dwarf trees bear fruit younger in life than larger trees and take up much less space. Pruning and pest control are much easier too. Popular dwarf rootstocks include M.26 and M.9. A stake for support and tree trunk training is essential for dwarf apples. Dwarf pears also bear fruit young in life, but that life can be short outside southern New Hampshire. Dwarf pears are produced by grafting pears onto quince roots. Since quince is only hardy to about -lOF, this presents a real risk for injury. Protect the quince part of the tree by mounding soil around the trunk to just above the graft union. Apply this protec- tive soil in early November, and remove it as soon as the ground thaws in spring. Dwarf cherries are starting to hit the market. This is great since cherry trees are large, often growing to 20 feet or more. So far, there are no good dwarf plums or peaches and nectarines for New Hampshire. How do I care for my new firuit tree? Fertilizer is the first thing most people reach for after their new fruit trees are planted. I don't like to fertil- ize new trees until the soil around the roots is settled well - figure on three weeks or one good soaking rain to get the job done. I use regular garden fertilizer like 10-10-10 (about a half-pound for new trees) — some- times 1 follow it up with a second application two or three weeks after the first. I love to make the second application just as a thunderstorm is rolling in. When I fertilize, I scatter the fertilizer in a wide circular band around the tree, avoiding the 18 inches nearest the trunk. In general, time-release fertilizers are not used for fruit trees as we do not want to push late season growth. Tree spikes just aren't worth the money. These fertilizer recommendations assume the tree was planted correctly. The planting hole should be wide enough to accommodate the roots. The graft union of the tree (the noticeable bump on the lower trunk where the variety was grafted onto the root sys- tem) should be an inch or teo above ground after the planting hole is refilled level with the surrounding cover. I do not recommend leaving a depression near the trunk to catch water. Fertilizer can be washed into this hole, concentrating near the trunk and causing in- jury. And if you forget to fill in the depression before winter, ice accumulation can cause injury too. Once apple trees are six or seven years old, boron should be applied in the spring every third year. Bo- ron improves fruit set and fruit quality. I use borax (11.1% Boron), about four ounces for dwarf trees and up to three quarters of a pound for old standard apple trees. Do not apply boron to other fruit trees — it is just a waste of money and too much is as bad as too little. Pruning and training newly set fruit trees is impor- tant, but many new home fruit-growers just can't bear to cut them. For apples and pears, cherries, and prune-type plums, perhaps the most important step in tree training is planting a stake with the tree. These trees are all trained to have a single trunk and a shape somewhat like a Christmas tree. Some gardeners rip pressure-treated 2 x 4s lengthwise. These two-inch by two-inch, eight-foot stakes are placed four or five inches from the tree and should be set three feet in the ground (deep enough to prevent frost-heaving). The main trunk can be tied loosely to the stake with almost anything that will not cut the bark. I like to use chain tie (available at most garden centers) or black plastic electrical tape. Once the tree trunk is tied to the stake, pruning is easy. If there is a branch (or two) that is large and upright trying to be trunk number two, remove it by cutting it back all the way to the trunk. Generally, all other branches are left for at least this first year. They should not be shortened (tipped or headed). If these branches are growing too upright, simply tie or weigh them down so they are almost, but not quite, flat (2:00 and 10:00, using the numbers of a clock as a guide). I like to use soft twine to do the job. Tie the twine loosely around the branch about two-thirds the length away from the trunk. Anchor the twine to the stake or to a plastic milk jug filled with sand or wa- ter. New peach trees (and nectarines) are trained to an open center. At planting, select three or four good branches about two feet above the ground as the main laterals. Cut the center of the tree out above this point and shorten those laterals by about a third. Japanese plum trees have minds of their own when it comes to tree-training. Usually, the trunk will wan- der off in one direction and a branch or two will grow well in the opposite direction, giving the tree a nice spreading shape. This first year, remove any branches with very narrow crotches and any branches more than half the diameter of the trunk. What about 'varmits"? Deer, mice (voles actually), and rabbits all love fruit trees. Controlling these critters can give the home gardener fits. The only thing that works well if you have a lot of deer around is fencing. We generally recommend an eight-foot- high fence of woven wire, but this is seldom an op- tion the home grower finds attractive. Deer repellents are somewhat effective, but when deer are hungry, they just don't work. Soap bars (leave the wrapper on so the soap lasts longer) can be hung from the branches to deter deer. The effective range of soap is about three feet. Some garden centers sell odor and taste repellents that can be sprayed on the tree to de- ter feeding. Hot pepper sprays are also used with some success. One company is now selling garlic juice tubes to hang on trees as a deer control device but, like all repellents, success is limited when deer pressure is high. Voles (or mice as they are often called) are easier to manage. Fruit trees planted in a lawn environment sel- dom are attacked since the short grass provides voles little cover from predators. When snows are deep, however, they can move into these low-risk areas. Wire guards around the bases of trees will provide protection from these voles and chew-happy rabbits too. I like to use quarter-inch mesh hardware cloth. A piece 18 inches by 18 inches will form a nice cylinder of protection around the trunk. It needs to be securely closed with wire ties and should be set into the soil about an inch. Rabbits like to chew on low-hanging branches too, so the use of taste repellents may be needed, especially in the seacoast area where cotton- tails are present. One tool most commercial growers use is natural predation. Foxes and coyotes are welcome guests in a commercial orchard. And many commercial growers set up kestrel nest boxes and hawk sitting poles to en- courage these important predators to set up house- keeping. These could be valuable tools for the home grower as well. Why don't my fruit trees bear fruit? is a question I often hear. I usually run through a few quick points to determine the cause. Are your fruit trees in full sun all day long? Sun is the key and no fruit tree bears much or bears early in life when it is growing in the shade. How old are your trees? While peaches and nectarines, plums, and dwarf apples often bear by the third year, there are no guarantees. And pears and semi-dwarf apples often take five or six years to settle into a fruiting mode. Apples on seed- ling roots rarely fruit before year ten! How much fertilizer are you applying? Ideally, young trees will grow perhaps 16 to 18 inches a year for the first three years or so. If trees five years old or more are growing this much, fruiting will likely be delayed. Back off on the fertilizer for a couple of years to give the trees a chance to settle down. What about pollination? Apples, pears, Japanese plums, sweet cherries — all these require cross-pollination to set fruit, so the home gardener will need at least two different apple varieties, two different pear varieties, etc. While just two varieties of apple such as Cortland and Mcintosh in theory could do the job, I always recommend at least three to increase the odds. (For apples. Golden Delicious is one variety that pollinates almost any other apple, so making it part of the mix is a good move). Not all varieties produce pollen that is fertile, so if one of these happens to be in the mix, you will need one more. Northern Spy, Jonagold, Baldwin, Gravenstein, and Mutsu are popular varieties that do not produce good pollen. With pears, bee activity tends to be low, so I always recommend at least three different varieties. What about bees? Bumble bees and other solitary bees are the ideal, but populations of these wild pollinators are variable, so honey bees are often used to insure a crop. Keeping a bee hive or two is a great hobby, especially for kids. Of course, some tree fruits are self-fruitful — just one tree is all that is needed. Peaches (except the variety J.H.Hale), nectarines, and sour or pie cherries like Montmorency are self-fruitful types. Some prune plums are, some aren't; so planting two varieties of these is the best course of action. Bill Lord is Extension Fruit Specialist, UNH Coopera- tive Extension. His phone number is 60^-862-^20^; his e-mail address, . PIONEER POINTERS Protect Your Assets The 1996 Freedom to Farm Bill eliminated disaster payments and other farm support programs. In the event of a disaster, this leaves you with two choices: the federally sub- sidized crop insurance program or your wal- let. With the tremendous investment that growers have in inventory that can be ad- versely affected by weather conditions beyond the grower's control, we suggest that you re- view the options available under the Federal Crop Insurance Program. The loss of bor- rowed and personal capital is a significant reason for business failure today. The 1999 Nursery/Greenhouse Crop Insur- ance Program was recently revised and now provides coverage for both containerized (three-inch pots and up) and in-ground stock. Coverage starts at the 50% level and can go up to 75%. The cost for the basic catastrophic (CAT) coverage is $60, per county. This is a minimal cost to protect a portion of your in- vestment. Unit structure has also been modi- fied and is the most important factor in the risk management process. Growers need to be aware of the options that are available for crop insurance in order to be able to make the decisions that will both protect their capital and the capital in- vested through borrowing. Your local First Pioneer Farm Credit office will be able to get you in contact with a licensed crop insurance agent. For more, call i-8oo-825-3X$2. (JF) MEMBER PROFILE Candia Gardens "We're Known for Our Geraniums" In the 1950s, it was "The Pansy Farm" — old-timers recall working summers in the production fields. "Over the years," Beth Mortensen muses, "they must have employed hundreds. Everyone seems to have a story...." Then a new owner built three greenhouses and a roadside shop and set up a garden center — but this went out of business as well. So Beth and Wayne Mortensen are relative new- comers— they moved here in December of 1990. Beth and Wayne were married and Wayne had al- ready worked in the industry eight years ("good expe- rience— I got to learn the nuts-and-bolts") before he went to Penn State for a bachelor's in horticulture and a master's in plant nutrition. Beth had already earned a degree in marketing from Central Connecti- cut. After college, Wayne moved around; both he and Beth were at A.N. Pierson, a rose grower in Crom- well, Connecticut, when he decided that "if I had to get up and fix the • ' burner at midnight, I'd rather "if . do it for myself." They knew i^*^ » New Hampshire through vis- ^1 its to Beth's aunt in New London and had already be- gun looking — Brookfield, Littleton.... The Candia property needed work — the place had been vacant awhile. After a first look, the Mortensens returned to Connecticut. ..but the price and location seemed right. At first, they worked to revive the garden center, filling the 20'x30' wooden structure at the edge of the road with hardgoods, bagged media, seeds, and bulbs, along with material from their greenhouses. In two of the houses were raised, soil-filled beds used for cut flower production. So it seemed natural to grow cut flowers — Asiatic lilies, iris, freesia. They planted in two-week cycles. They went through the yellow pages and visited ev- ery florist listed, offering them samples of their crops to give them a chance to see what would sell. A route developed — they visited customers three times a week, but it didn't seem to be the right road: it was time- consuming; imports were beginning to enter the mar- ket; there were few set orders and sales fluctuated, of- ten without relationship to production. The wholesale route continued, but with bedding plants and pot-grown crops. ALTHOUGH THEY'VE DECREASED the seasons they're open, they've increased the size of the range. Two of the original houses are still in use — and eight others have been added. These eight are double-poly hoop-style houses from Ed Person. Most have roll-up sides. The first, a 28'x96', was put up in 1992. Last year, the original glass house was re- moved and a 30'xl04' double-poly retail house was put up. Directly behind it, a 12'x96' cold frame is used for pansies in early spring. The ten houses are par- allel to each other, their ends facing the drive- way sloping gently upward from the road. The Plantsman MEMBER PROFILE Two hundred feet of pipe bring water from a well outside their back door to the greenhouse range. The well is the subject of legend: the man drilled for a week; "I'll drill for one more morning," the man said; toward noon, the drill suddenly dropped sixty feet; water poured out — he'd hit an underground lake. "We could have 300 gallons a minute," Wayne says; "the only thing that stops us is the diameter of the pipe. During the drought twenty years ago, this well was to be used to furnish water for this end of town. So we have water — but in spring, we need it." In New Hampshire, the easiest thing to do is to fill your life with work. To consciously choose not to do th A CLEAR IDEA of how they want to live their lives has shaped the business. Hard looks were taken at what produced revenue. Areas which seemed to produce only "work for work's sake" were discarded — two years ago, for example, they stopped growing poinsettias. They now con- centrate on spring material and, in September, mums. You could say the season begins in the fall. Four- teen thousand 4 1/2-inch geranium pots and 6500 806s (they'll fdl 500 more in the spring) are pre-filled and stored. One house is opened in January for hangers and pansies; 2500 bare-root perennials arrive in February and are potted up in gallon containers, but March is when the houses fill. They buy plugs, do little seeding (mostly vining vegetables). "We're known for our geraniums — we grow 15,000: 4 1/2-, seven-, and ten-inch. We have one house of red; one of mixed colors (pinks, hot pinks, salmons, whites). But we're lacking a nice lavender. I used to grow one called 'Precious Lavender:' it was truly lav- ender. People loved it. ..people like color, will buy whatever's in bloom. But they are always looking for something different." It's less expensive to buy in unrooted cuttings which they root in jiffy-7s on a heating table. Both geranium houses have rolling benches and TAK trough watering. Beth and Wayne see this as one of their best investments: "This has been great — we've saved hours of watering time and have grown a good, more uniform crop." Most of the big labor-saving devices seem too ex- pensive ("A pot filler would be nice, but it would take years to get a reasonable payback"), but small innova- requires its own forms of discipline. They've needed to make the operation cost efficient and use their own energies wisely. tions have made a difference. Shelving — a Person idea — along the sides of the greenhouses the width of a flat, angle braces supporting conduit piping three feet off the ground, create room for 200 more flats per house. ("By doing this, we've ba- sically picked up the growing space of another full house.") Hangers are grown in a sepa- rate house that's kept on the warm side. Eight hundred New Guineas. ..and 2200 fuchsia, scavola, helichrysum, bacopa...."we try to have a little of everything." This year's new items include variegated petunias and hanging snapdragons. The houses are full by the first week in April — this is the crop. One other shipment of plugs arrives in May. The material fills one house and is used for late sales. The business opens at the end of April (8:30-6, seven days a week) and closes on the fourth of July. It reopens for mum sales the last week of August and stays open through September. A white wooden gazebo at the side of the road is filled with color. (The gazebo is actually a sandbox for small children: the entrance faces into the garden cen- ter; there's clean sand on the floor and plenty of pails and small shovels.) Benches of perennials are put out on a small asphalt area beside it; in the shop, plant displays surround wrought-iron lawn furniture where customers can sit and read books and magazines filled with gardening ideas. A short, wide, poly tunnel connects the shop to the retail house. Although this house is used for growing, once the sales season begins, the long broad bench in the center is kept filled with material from the other houses. "The season's short, but we try to offer a wide range of everything — herbs, vegetables, bedding plants. And lots of hangers." Mum cuttings arrive the last week of May; planted directly into 5000 two-gallon containers and 250 bushel baskets. They grow twenty varieties, use Florel to retard growth. Florel works well (although on one type, the flowers are inside the new growth): basically, there's no hand-pinching. Plants are brought to the retail area; it's entirely self-serve. There have never been problems. They originally hoped for a 50/50 wholesale/retail mix, but it's about 70% wholesale. There are informal general orders before the season starts and a seven- MEMBER PROFILE day-a-week route, but "nothing's fixed. One of our selling points is that we'll deliver — day or night — any- time something's needed. " IN NE'W HAMPSHIRE, the easiest thing to do is to fill your life with work. To consciously choose not to do this requires its own forms of discipline. They've needed to make the operation cost-efficient and use their energies wisely. They do most of the work themselves. In spring, eight people — housewives and high school students — are hired part-time, but it is their own long hours that make the place run. Three years ago, a two-story all-purpose storage barn was built across the driveway from the upper houses, replacing a tractor trailer set up on the site. "The additional storage allows us to buy in bulk — me- dia, pots, supplies — when the price is right." They have two delivery vehicles. They plan to keep the van, but hope to sell the bigger truck (an 8'xl5' box) and lease a similar truck for the three months each year it's needed. Both say that spending time with their children — Craig (13) and Lisa (11) — is their major priority. "We want to enjoy them now. They grow fast — in ten years, they may not be around." So, after the fourth of July, they pay someone to feed the mums and keep an eye on the place while they're off camping or at the beach. In the fall, Wayne substitute-teaches at the Candia elementary school (grades five through eight) and coaches basketball — and Beth has a year-round part- time job as a bookkeeper, but someone is home when the kids come home from school and there's time for hiking and skiing. "Customers are local. One man makes a day of it and comes up from Boston each fall to buy his mums, but most come from Candia, Auburn, Deerfield, Raymond.... Candia is still a small town and marketing works best when it's on a personal level. They no longer ad- vertise in local papers, but they are one of the busi- nesses that's on the placemats used for the breakfasts held every Sunday New Year's to Memorial Day at the Masonic Hall. They give flowers to the cub scouts who, in turn, give them to their mothers on Mother's Day. And they donate plant material for the plantings at the school, the town hall, the library.... Their lives and business mesh nicely with those in the town around them. Growth and development may someday bring changes, but right now, the fit seems about perfect. (BP) Candia Gardens is at 544 High Street, Candia, New Hampshire 03034. The phone number is 603-483- 5692. How good are your diagnostic skills? I often get called in to evaluate problems at greenhouses and nurseries and I've found that most growers will diagnose a problem using the issues with which he or she is most familiar. Possibilities outside their areas of expertise are rarely consid- ered. Keeping an open mind, without let- ting preconceived ideas affect your think- ing, is key to finding causes and solutions. Sometimes, growers are so emotionally tied to their crops that they can't take that important step back in order to see the larger picture. Recently, a grower was com- plaining to me that his New Guinea impa- tiens was rooting poorly; he was convinced it was disease-related. I looked at the roots and agreed he had a problem, but I wasn't sure disease was its cause. The soil felt cool to the touch. He explained that he had his sensors set at 75F. I questioned the setting and he showed me, on a computer, the set- ting of 75F. I asked for a soil thermometer and discovered — much to his embarrass- ment— that the actual temperature was 58F — too cool to root a New Guinea — and a lot of other plants as well. Certain components are needed to make any plant grow and a good diagnostician should be able to evaluate each one. Nutri- tion (which includes water quality) can eas- ily be evaluated by a media, water, and/or tissue test. Pests (any disease or insect) may take longer to screen for since many diagnostic labs can be slow in turn-around. The cultural component is very broad and ranges from watering habits, temperature (day/night, air, soil), spacing, and variety. Variety is often discounted, but because so much breeding is occurring today, many new varieties show characteristics and growth habits not usual in the traditional types. Jim Zablocki, technical manager of the Northern Horticultural Group, Scotts company, can be reached at 6o)-224-$^83. Wanted — Dead or Alive — Dealing with Exotic Invaders DIANE E. YORKE At first it was believed vandals had drilled holes into the street trees of Brooklyn, New York. Soon, however, a six-legged culprit was found — Anoplophora glabripennis, a beetle from the wood- boring Cerambycidae family. Also called the Asian long-horned beetle, it was discovered on August 19, 1996. Its name discloses its native homeland of Ja- pan, Korea, and China. It also gives away a distin- guishing characteristic — its antennae, black with white rings, are longer than the beetle itself. What its name doesn't tell is that it is a major tree-killing pest and, if not eradicated, could have a devastating impact on North American forests. Within a month of this first discovery in the United States, a second infestation was found in Amityville, about 30 miles east of Brooklyn. No one knows how the beetle got to New York, or how long it had been there. Though border en- trances are guarded to keep such pests from infil- trating, they often sneak in, concealed in the wood used to package goods during shipment. This is es- pecially true for wood-borers such as the Asian - ^ long-horned beetle that can be moved in ^ ^ any and all of its life stages in wooden packing materials, cut logs, branches, wood ^ - - ' debris, or firewood. It's believed this alien was a New York resident for up to ten years, even though its discovery and reputation remained unknown. Now its description with mug shots is plastered everywhere in an attempt to get rid of it. This bul- shaped beetle grows up to one and a half inches long, and is shiny, coal black with white spots. Adults can be found from May to October when they emerge from exit holes of infested trees. After mating, females lay a single egg in a chewed- out crevice of tree bark. When the larvae hatch, they chew inward, continuing to move to the heart- wood where they dig tunnels and stay until emerg- ing as adults the next year to start the cycle over. Signs of the beetle include exit holes up to one-half inch in diameter anywhere on the tree — including the roots, dieback, and piles of sawdust at the base of trees and branch junctures. Unlike many in its family, the Asian long-horned beetle attacks and kills healthy trees along with stressed ones. It doesn't discriminate against young or old, big or small — even inhabiting trees two to three inches in diameter. In its homeland, it dines on over 50 tree species. Here, its diet includes silver maple, elm, poplar, boxelder, sycamore, willow, and birch — though it has a preference for horse chestnut and sugar and Norway maples. It remains unknown what else may be palatable to the beetle in this new territory, but it is clear that, if not eliminated, it has the potential to make a huge ecological and economic impact. In Brooklyn, there are 110,000 street trees — 27% are Norway maple. Then there are 2.7 million trees in New York City to contend with, should it spread there. And its gastronomic inclination for sugar maples alone has more than just the maple industry anxious about the prospect of this beetle becoming loose in the forests. Adding to the concern, no chemical has been ef- fective in eliminating the beetle thus far. Systemic chemicals can't reach it deep in the heartwood where it spends most of its life. Other pesticides Unlike many in its family, that could be applied would to cover all tree parts and last fi d rom May to October when the beetle is active. This strategy, however, would result in unacceptable levels of chemicals in populated areas and would be impractical, if not impossible, in forested ones. As a result, the solution has been to cut down all infested trees, then chip and burn them. The re- maining stumps are ground to a depth of up to 18 inches below the surface. To further limit the beetles spread, quarantines have been placed around all in- fested areas to prohibit the movement of trees and tree materials. The war against this pest continues in New York and now in Chicago, with its discovery there in the summer of 1998. However, it isn't the only beetle battle being waged. The smaller Japanese cedar long-horned beetle, CaUidiellum ruftpenne, was discovered in Connecticut on September 22, 1998, where it arrived on an arbor- vitae from British Columbia. It has since been found in three other Connecticut locations. This deep blue- to-black beetle with a reddish abdomen is also a wood-borer that attacks arborvitae, juniper, cedar, and pine trees. Moveable in all of its living stages in in- the Asian long-horned beetle attacks and kills healthy trees along with stressed ones. fested wood and wood products as well as in live trees, it has the poten- tial to affect the nursery and green- house industry. Because of the fall discovery, it is believed the beetle hasn't become established. However, the assault has begun. Connecticut has quarantined the movement of nursery and greenhouse stock in and out of the state, and "Wanted" posters are about to come off the press to alert the public in an attempt to squash this new "bad bug." The greatest chance of eliminating either beetle comes through awareness. The success in getting the Asian long-horned beetle population down has been an informed and involved public. It is hopeful that as the Japanese cedar long-horned beetle emerges from exit holes into new territory for the first time this coming spring, an informed public will be ready and waiting to bid it goodbye. For more information or a "Wanted Poster" for these beetles call the Forest Service at 603-868-7709. Diane E. Yorke is a natural resource biologist working in information and education with the ilSDA Forest Service in Durham, New Hampshire. The Natives are^stless! :^^i 1-800-447-4745 ^^ESTERN ^KS^AINE nurseries 30, Fryeburg, ME 04037 ur bare-root conifer seedlings and transplants have helped to keep forest industries, nurseries, and other landowners successfully in the green for seventy-five years. Ask for a catalog, today! 75 Chestnut Hill, Route 190 Stafford Springs, CT 06076 W.H. WIILIKOWSKI, INC. Greenhouse Supplies & Equipment Plants Bulbs All Your Greenhouse Needs 'Our Goal Is Your Success' NH & Maine Representative CT 800-243-7170 Fax: 860-684-3022 TAKE ROOT v)i^ SHERMAN! "^•Iling to tomcon* creates a sal*, but helping someone to buy creates a customer." "^ Represented by: Frank Thomann Charter Oak Landscape 29 Mountain Terrace Road West Hartford, CT 06107 Toll Free 1-800-431-6625 or1-«60-521-2638 Fax 1-860-661-4130 Professional * Experienced * Dedicated SHERMAN NURSERY COMPANY P.O. Box 579 • 1300 Grove Street Charles City, Iowa 50616-0579 1-800-747-5980 or 1-515-228-1124 Fax 1-800-361-7759 "Growing With America Since 1884" Sherman offen a catnplete litre oj bnreroot and container nun- ertj stock indudinq Fruit Trees, Small Frmt, Shade and Oma mental Trees. Ornamental Shrubs, Peonies, Roses, Evergreens, Hedging, Vines, Perennials, Rooterf Cuttings and Potteii Liners Nu-Fonn Products Landmark Products Pre-filled Flats & Pots Klerks Films "Helping You to Grow" B.E. Supply GREENHOUSE SUPPLIES & EQUIPMENT Hemlock Road, Langdon Mailing Address: P.O. Box 0, Charlestown, New Hampshire 03603 • Restricted Pesticides • Kord Products • Fertilizers • Distributors for Hyde Park & Sunshine Soils Work: 603/835-6930 Home: 603/835-2523 Fax: 603/835-2180 HOW ABOUT Lavender is the "Herb of the Year" for 1999. One of the plants that most often comes to mind when we think of herb gar- dens, it's a wonderful choice. We think of Victorian women and their Yardley's Lavender soap; we think of lavender and old lace for weddings; and nowadays, with herbs in the forefront of many gardens, we think of ways to use lavender in the landscape. Lavender originated around the Mediterranean Sea and is still exten- sively grown there. It's cultivated in many other parts of the world as well. It has a mounded habit, gray- green foliage, and spike-like wands of flowers usually in varying shades of blue. There are over twenty-five varieties of the Lavandula genus and, even here in our chilled New Hampshire soils, there are lavenders that will grow exceedingly well. Here at the Urban Forestry Center in Portsmouth, there is a sweep of lavender that I grew from seeds nearly twenty years ago. It began its reign in the formal herb garden, but outgrew its border in about ten years. Unable to simply dig it up and discard it, we transplanted the huge plants to a sunny meadow spot. And it grew — more magnifi- cently than ever! It's still there, call- ing the bees for miles around, pro- viding a harvest for sachets, bou- quets, and potpourris, and giving pleasure to all who visit. So my experience has been best with the English lavender. Lavandula angustifolia, but many other lavenders can be successfully grown in New England. The lavandins (L.x intermedia) are sterile hybrids of L. angustifolia and the tender L. spica. Both are hardy to Zone 5 and are valued for the qual- ity of their essential oils as well as for their visual appeal. We've suc- cessfully grown the Hidcote cultivar, the Munstead, and we've tried the new Lady Lavender, which is sup- posed to bloom in its very first year. Ours did, but it has taken awhile for it to reach much size and is still not as magnificent as the trans- planted border in the meadow. All this suggests one of the se- crets of growing lavender: it must have full sun. I've read of lavender growing successfully with as little as four hours of sunlight a day, but I've yet to see it. A neutral to slightly alkaline soil is best, so here in New Hamp- shire, plan on adding lime to the bed when you first prepare it and each year after. A pH of 6.4 to 8 is optimal. Excellent drainage is also crucial. Don't even think about lavender if you have clay soil or soggy condi- tions. Go for raised beds if you need to. At the Cape Cod Lavender Farm (six wonderful acres overlooking Is- land Pond in Harwich), one can see over 10,000 lavender plants and learn some tricks of lavender grow- ing. One that impressed me was the "mulch" of white sand around each plant and along the production rows. The sand keeps the weeds down and reflects the light and heat up into the plant, perhaps replicat- ing the Mediterranean climate that these plants like. June is the best time to visit. (If interested, see their web site at www.capecod.net/laven- der or call 508-432-8397.) Good air circulation is also a must. Space the plants two-to-three feet apart and avoid putting them too close to other plants or build- ings. Clear out accumulated leaves and debris and thin out the branches of the more densely grow- ing bushes. Prune old hard wood in the spring to promote new growth. Water is important in the early part of the season, but mature plants are more able to tolerate dry conditions. Propagation by layering low- growing branches is very easy. I let the baby plants grow a full year be- fore cutting them from the mother plants and transplanting them else- where. As I mentioned, I had good luck with seed from a simple pack- age of English lavender. I needed 75 plants for my planned border — I succeeded in growing 110. I started them under lights in my basement, grew them on for a year in my back yard; from there they went to the herb garden and eventually to the meadow. Easy! And well worth the effort — this year or any other. Tanya Jackson, a well-known area herbalist, can be reached at 6o}-4ii- 8oii. Wholesale Gold Star Wh«lesai« Nursery is a family owned busineis. Since 1952 wt been offering the finest wholesale planting maienals to landscape contncton throughout the N£. area along with the one element that tnily sets from the coinpetition-.service. Gold Star welcomes your comments and suggestions. us your one-stop for the best in wholesale landscape supplies Creative Solutions For All Your Greenhouse Needs, Rimol Greenhouse Systems offers a large variety of fine products, structures, and accessories to help your business grow. We offer great value at a fair price and we are committed to providing outstanding customer service. For more information, call 603-629-9004 or fax us to request a quote at 603-629-9023. XRIMOLX Greenhouse Systems, Inc. Environmental Controls Material Handling Plant Protection Fabrics Jaderloon and Poly-Tex gutter-connect, free- standing and overwintering structures for growing, propagation & garden center applications. Armin Tufflite 4 year regular, anti-drip and IR poly, 1 year and overwintering white and clear poly. Co-Ex Macrolux 8mm twinwall polycarbonate and Co-Ex Rooflite corrugated polycarbonate. Kwik-Klip polylock. Poly Patch repair tape. Inflation blowers and fans. Sunderman oil and gas fired heaters. Reznor gas fired heaters. Bio-Therm root zone bottom heat, Starfin and Duofin. Co-Ray-Vac radiant heat systems. Schaefer and Jaderloon horizontal air-flow (HAF) fans. Ken-Bar convection tubing. Quietaire exhaust fans and shutters. Jaderloon Carolina evaporative coolers. Roof vents, side and end vents, roll-up curtains and shade cloth. Micro-Grow and Davis Engineering greenhouse controls. Goldline thermostats. Katolight back-up generators. Sensaphone alarm systems. Netafin, Chapin and Wade rain drip irrigation. Fittings and supply tubing. Hi-Hose kits. Midwest Gro-Master Ebb and Flo benching. OCS Mister Irrigator, Superior and Davis Engineering irrigation controllers and solenoid valves. Dosatron fertilizer injectors. Extension hooks. PRC retail modular bench systems. Rolling and stationary benches. Amico expanded metal. Metro and VRE retail and grower plant carts. Monorail systems. Aero-Mate low volume and back-pack sprayers. Woven and knitted shade cloth, ground cover, frost protection blankets. ENHOusE Systems, Inc., 670 N. Cw B^^ NHPGA Twilight Meeting/ Garden Center Evaluation Workshop THURSDAY, JUNE 24 SPIDER WEB GARDENS, CENTER TUFTONBORO ASSOCIATION OFFICERS President ROBERT C. RIMOL 670 N. Commercial Street Manchester, NH 03101 629-9004 Vice President GEORGE TIMM PO Box 476, Rte. 137 S., Hancock, NH 03449 525-4728 Secretary I Treasurer CHRISTOPHER ROBARGE UNH/TSAS Horticultural Facilities Durham, NH 03824 862-1074 Spider Web Gardens was begun by Bill Stockman's grandfather back in 1938, making it one of the older family-run Green Industry enter- prises in the state. But Spider Web continues to evolve and grow. Today it includes 20,000 square feet of production area in 13 greenhouses, two acres of field-grown perennials, and three acres of nursery stock. Bill will discuss his ongoing expansion plans — what's done and what's coming. Spider Web is allowing use of their business in order to let people learn how to evaluate their own. Prior to the meeting, from 4 until 5:30, Dave Seavey, UNH Cooperative Extension, will lead a workshop on gar- den center evaluation. Dave will take the comments of the participants and combine them into a single report. At a later date (to be decided by the participants), there will be a follow-up meeting to go over the final report. This would be a very useful exercise for the owner of any retail operation. Food will be served. We need to know the numbers attending and ask that you call Ann Hilton at 603-435-6425 by June 18 if you plan to at- tend. For information on the workshop, call Dave Seavey at 603-225-5505. A flier will be sent closer to the date with more information and directions. Di ROBERT DEMERS 656 S. Mammoth Road, Manchester, NH 03103 437-6336 DAVID GIURLEO 324 Howard Street, Northboro, MA 01532 508-393-4534. ANN HILTON 4 Karacull Lane, Pittsfield, NH 03263 435-6425. HENRY HUNTINGTON 7316 Pleasant Street, Loudon, NH 03301 435-8361 PETER VAN BERKUM 4 James Road, Deerfield, NH 03037 463-7663 TIM WOLFE 37 Lake Street, Salem, NH 03079 893-5858 Extension Liaison NANCY ADAMS 1 1 3 North Road, Brentwood, NH 03833 679-5616 NH PLANT GROWERS ASSOCIATION The Plantsman Editor UNH Research Greenhouses Durham, NH 03824 NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 43