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Driven partly by a growing social trend to corporate responsibility and partly through marketplace demand, many European nurseries have embraced ISO and other certification programs as a means of proving their accountability in areas ranging from the environment to labor management. These certifications generally help the nursery management to verify that they are meeting high standards relating to plants, people and all facets of the production cycle. |
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Biological Control — of interest to Growers
The use of predatory mites is not only environmentally friendly, it also has production advantages. Mites can travel into areas that sprayed pest control products cannot reach. In addition, many growers prefer working with predatory mites rather than spraying. The cost should not be a deterrent. A demonstration project by two European growers clearly showed that the cost of an integrated pest management approach to spider mite control varies very little from a chemical approach. |
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Of all the flowering shrubs available for the North American garden, Viburnum are underrated by the majority, but they have a dedicated core of knowledgeable fans who would not be without them. Indeed their floral display, usually followed by a magnificent show of fruit, should put them on everyone’s ‘must have’ list. They are most often listed as being members of the family Caprifoliaceae (Honeysuckle) along with other familiar genera such as Lonicera, Weigelia and Heptocodium. However, based on DNA studies, there is talk of moving both Viburnum and Sambucus into the Adoxaceae family. Only time will tell as to when this taxonomic change will become prevalent.
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Q: I have been asked to supply native plant material such as Itea virginica, Clethra alnifolia and Echinacea purpurea. I don’t grow those specific plants but I have suggested substituting with the better cultivars of Itea ‘Henry’s Garnet’, Clethra ‘Hummingbird’ and Echinacea ‘Marcus’. The landscape architect rejected all of these substitutions. Why? Don’t they know that these selections are better and more uniform than the straight species?
A: Ah…the debate of native or cultivar. Is a cultivar of a native plant still a native plant? Well, it depends on the context. If the intent of the design is to establish a self-sustaining population of plants that will produce seedlings and generally take care of itself, then no, the cultivars are not appropriate. |
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- If you have a spot where you removed plants susceptible to eelworms, try planting some Helenium there. These plants kill the eelworms and clean up your soil.
- In terms of evolution, magnolias belong to the oldest flowering plants that still exist. This can be seen by the fact that the number of petals, stamens and fruits produced by each flower is random instead of being a multiple of 3, 4 or 5 as is the case in most of the more modern flowering plants.
- Fine particles in the air increase health-related complaints. Trees and deciduous shrubs planted along roads can capture and neutralise 15 to 25% of these fine particles and dispel up to 75% of them.
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