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 In May of this year, Toronto catapulted to the top of the list when its city council adopted the most comprehensive and stringent green roof bylaw of any city in North America.
“This is a highly commendable act for a city that presently does not even rank in the top 10 of North American cities — with Chicago in #1 spot — in terms of square footage of green roofs installed in 2008,” said Steven Peck, president of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities as he praised council for “exercising leadership” on a tool to fight climate change. The rules — requiring up to 50 percent green roof coverage on multi-unit residential dwellings over 2,000 square meters (21,500 sq. ft.) and higher than six stories — kick in on January 31, 2010. |
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Q. What can you recommend for an inexpensive and effective method to control liverwort in the nursery?A. Vinegar. Either horticultural grade vinegar or simple domestic white vinegar available from any grocery store. Applied with a sprayer on walkways and between greenhouses the liverwort will burn off rapidly and be kept in check for several weeks. Use caution around crops however as foliage damage could occur.
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 The often overlooked plants in the genus Helenium are members of the family Asteraceae and as such sport the ubiquitous daisy-like flowers anywhere from mid June to late autumn, depending upon which of the approximately forty species the plant derives from, and of course, the local climate. Helenium are native to North and Central America and are yet another of our native plants that have achieved fame and acceptance in Europe while being virtually ignored here at home.
The first record of a Helenium species in a European garden was in the late eighteenth century but it was not until the twentieth century that named cultivars started to make their appearance, mostly from European breeders. |
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Check out ‘Fascinating Facts’ each month for new and interesting facts about some of your favorite perennials. Great for dinner party conversation, or to share with your garden center customers. |
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 In late spring/early summer insects and mites start to become active in various crops. Beech aphid being one of them.
Beech aphid, as the name implies, is primarily found on beeches and is one of the more difficult aphids to control. Most crops are now in full foliage and the aphids are starting to spread. As they travel ‘by air’ this means that an infestation can move around quite easily. Once the leaves start curling around the aphids, control becomes very difficult. Beech aphid needs to be controlled when the foliage is still soft, which is why it’s important to achieve good coverage with local, systemic pest control products. Waiting too long will harden and curl the foliage, making beeches less receptive to systemics and preventing proper coverage.
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 The use of scanning technologies has become an important tool for those European nurseries wishing to introduce efficiencies to their shipping and receiving departments. The following is a look at how three very different types of nursery operations have successfully implemented scanning technologies into their businesses.
The exporter’s perspectiveDealing with large volumes of in-coming and out-going plant material makes the business of exporting uniquely challenging. Many European exporters have employed scanning technology to deal with these logistical challenges for at least the past five years. “Changing to an automated system forced us to look closely at our shipping systems,” noted one prominent exporter, adding that, “from that point alone, it was a worthwhile venture. And since then, we have been continually modifying our systems to make our business as simple and efficient as possible.”
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