Landscape Trades November 2015

November 2015 VOL. 37, NO. 9

landscapetrades.com

Safeguard receivables during the job Mentor Bruce Kay solves seasonality Market research IDs opportunity for plant sales

Fresh and new EXCLUSIVE: Annual, perennial,

woody and rose introductions for Spring 2016 PM40013519

Contents

PUBLISHER Lee Ann Knudsen CLM | lak@landscapeontario.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Sarah Willis | sarahw@landscapeontario.com ART DIRECTOR Kim Burton | kburton@landscapeontario.com EDITOR Allan Dennis | adennis@landscapeontario.com WEB EDITOR Robert Ellidge | rob@landscapeontario.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Mike Wasilewski | mikew@landscapeontario.com ACCOUNTANT Joe Sabatino | joesabatino@landscapeontario.com SALES MANAGER, PUBLICATIONS Steve Moyer | stevemoyer@landscapeontario.com INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS REPRESENTATIVE Greg Sumsion | gsumsion@landscapeontario.com COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR Angela Lindsay | alindsay@landscapeontario.com ADVISORY COMMITTEE Gerald Boot CLM, Paul Brydges, Laura Catalano, Mark Fisher, Hank Gelderman CHT, Marty Lamers, Jan Laurin, Bob Tubby CLM, Nick Winkelmolen

Landscape Trades is published by Landscape Ontario Horticultural Trades Association 7856 Fifth Line South, Milton, ON L9T 2X8 Phone: (905)875-1805 Email: comments@landscapetrades.com Fax: (905)875-0183 Web site: www.landscapetrades.com LANDSCAPE ONTARIO STAFF Darryl Bond, Myscha Burton, Rachel Cerelli, Tony DiGiovanni CHT, Denis Flanagan CLD, Sally Harvey CLT CLM, Jane Leworthy, Heather MacRae, Kristen McIntyre CHT, Kathy McLean, Linda Nodello, Kathleen Pugliese, Ian Service, Tom Somerville, Martha Walsh, Cassandra Wiesner

Landscape Trades is published nine times a year: January, March, April, May, June, August, September, October and November.

Subscription rates: One year – $46.90, two years – $84.74; three years – $118.64, HST included. U.S. and international please add $20.00 per year for postage and handling.

Subscribe at www.landscapetrades.com Copyright 2015. All rights are reserved. Material may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

Landscape Trades assumes no responsibility for, and does not endorse the contents of, any advertisements herein. All representations or warranties made are those of the advertiser and not the publication. Views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the association or its members, but are those of the writer concerned.

NOVEMBER 2015 VOL. 37, NO. 9

New plant introductions 2016

Exclusive look at what’s new in Canada next spring 6 Perennials 10 Roses 12 Woody plants 20 Annuals 18 List of suppliers

FEATURE

24 Testing consumer plant preferences

Research centre delves into changing ornamental plant trends

BY DR. ALEXANDRA GRYGORCZYK

COLUMNS

28 ROAD TO SUCCESS | Back to business basics

BY ROD McDONALD 30 LEGAL MATTERS | Collection strategies during construction

BY ROBERT KENNALEY 32 MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS | Micro metrics for macro success

BY MARK BRADLEY 34 MENTOR MOMENT | Bruce Kay crafts an inspired retention plan

DEPARTMENTS GREEN PENCIL INDUSTRY NEWS CNLA NEWS NEW PRODUCTS COMING EVENTS CLASSIFIEDS WHERE TO FIND IT

4 36 38 39 41 41 42

ON THE FRONT COVER:

‘Supreme Cantelope’ coneflower Echinacea ‘Supreme Cantelope’ ISSN 0225-6398 PUBLICATIONS MAIL SALES AGREEMENT 40013519 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO: CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT LANDSCAPE TRADES MAGAZINE 7856 FIFTH LINE SOUTH, MILTON, ON L9T 2X8, CANADA

New for 2016, this perennial is the colour of a ripe cantaloupe. The young flowers look like a browneyed, double gerbera, and are excellent as a cut flower. As the flowers expand, they take on a more “Echinacea-like” look and last for a very long time.

Terra Nova Nurseries NOVEMBER OCTOBER 2015 | LANDSCAPE TRADES |

3

greenpencil New plants, and a new chapter

In with the new S

ome of you will open our annual New Plants issue with anticipation, while others turn noses up at “more new heucheras and petunias.”

But, whether you like it or not, new sells. In the retail industry, nothing that worked 10 years ago, works as well today, so “New for this year!” is one way to get people through your doors. And if you are selling landscape design, construction or maintenance services, being able to tell your clients about the latest plant trends may help position you as an expert current in your field.

New plants this year include sturdy annuals that will stand up in landscape beds, along with

By Sarah Willis plants that have been introduced to provide colour and texture in small spaces or containers. Plant breeders are also doing their bit to appeal to the Pinterest and Instagram crowds as well, by selecting fresh and funky colour combinations and textures for their plants. If that supercool new petunia can catch the eye of a 30-something homeowner and it reminds her of a vignette she saw on Pinterest, she can recreate on her balcony, so much the better. As I keep reminding my husband, we are no longer the target market. So, even though he has a wonderful eye for plants and de-

4 | NOVEMBER 2015 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

sign, the fact that he doesn’t like a particular new plant, doesn’t mean it won’t sell to his younger, styleconscious customers.

As I wrote last month, gardening is work, so should we be steering new customers to styling and decorating their homes with plants instead of digging? I asked you to submit your ideas for a new descriptive catchphrase for gardening like ‘Foodie’ is to cooking. This hit a chord with many of you and I received some great tongue-in-cheek answers, Rod suggested, “Gardening …all the cool kids are doing it!” Leo offered, “Greenie.” Tim came up with “Lovers of Latin” — what is more sexy than that? And, Gina said “Let’s get down and dirty!” — I think we could have some fun with that one as well!

This is my final Green Pencil for Landscape Trades.

After 24 years, it is time for a change. It is no secret that Landscape Trades is published under the horticultural trade association umbrella — I have been privileged to learn from the entrepreneurial and generous spirits that energize the green trades across Canada. I can assure any non-members reading this: the best investment you can make in your company or career is to join, and participate in, your provincial trade association.

With apologies to Oprah, “What I know for sure,” is that I have been blessed to work in an industry full of creative, inspirational and selfless people. It has been a pleasure.

LT

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First look:

Fresh and new Come next spring, your customer is going to be asking you, “What’s new?” Fortunately, breeders and plant hunters continue to amaze by providing a horticultural kaleidoscope of colour and texture for any situation. Disease and drought tolerance continue to play equal importance in new plants offered by growers.

Take a gander at some of the new plants coming to Canadian markets in 2016.

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new

perennials Home owners want long-lasting colour with lower maintenance requirements.

1Clematis ‘Bernadine’

Bernadine Boulevard clematis

2

A new Boulevard clematis in the Raymond Evison collection.

Bernadine is an exceptional plant for small gardens or in containers. Soft silvery-lilac flowers from late spring through early fall. Ideal for brightening up an outdoor dining area.

Hardy to Zone 4. Grows to 90-120 cm. Valleybrook

2 Coreopsis ‘Charlize

’

Charlize Leading Lady coreopsis

The Coreopsis Leading Lady series is named for three of Hollywood’s most famous starlets: Charlize Theron, Lauren Bacall and Sophia Loren. Pictured here is ‘Charlize’ with large, clear yellow, double pom-pom flowers, appearing early in the season and flowering all summer. Mildew resistant. Hardy to Zone 4.

Valleybrook

3 Dianthus Star ‘Superstar Superstar Pinks dianthus

’

Has elegant art deco patterned blooms, cherry red with white-pink patterns and a deep cherry eye, carried on sturdy stems. fragrant, double art deco patterned blooms. Repeat blooming. Glaucous foliage with unique, dense, mounding habit. No vernalization required for blooming. Hardy to Zone 5. Willowbrook Nurseries

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new

perennials

4

Echinacea x hybrida ‘Baja Burgundy’

Baja Burgundy Sombrero echinacea This echinacea is part of the Sombrero series. Baja Burgundy features showy, large, fragrant blooms with intense burgundy, overlapping petals. Attractive to butterflies and deer-resistant. Very floriferous and Hardy to Zone 5. Valleybrook

5 Hemerocallis ‘Shy Tiger’ Shy Tiger daylily

This beautiful summer bloomer daylily has fragrant flowers, tangerine orange, slightly wavy petals edged salmon with a bright yellow heart. Exposure is full sun to partial shade. Prefers well drained soil. Water regularly in the first part of the season to have larger flowers when blooming. Willowbrook Nurseries

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5

6 Heuchera ‘Red Lightning’

Red Lightning coral bells Red Lightning has a mounding habit and fast growth rate. This perennial has electrifying dark red veins that spark over huge gold leaves, with color that holds well throughout the season. ‘Red Lightning’ is “villosa-strong” and draws attention from across the garden. These coral bells work well in borders, mass planting, accents, mixed beds, or mixed containers. It is also a butterfly and hummingbird attractor. Terra Nova Nurseries

7 Heuchera ‘Sunrise

’

Sunrise coral bells The Sunrise coral bells have large orange foliage which fades to a rich yellow-orange. The white flowers bloom in summer. It is ideal for the front of a border and also suitable for container planting.

Exposure is best in full sun or part shade in a fertile well-draining soil. Hardy to Zone 9. Grows to 40 cm with a spread of 60 cm.

Willowbrook Nurseries

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8 Hosta ‘Island Breeze’

Island Breeze hosta Hosta ‘Island Breeze’ is a sport of H. ‘Paradise Island’ and is an improvement in variegation with wider dark green margins and better vigour. If grown in more sun, the bright yellow centres become light yellow in summer, or chartreuse if grown in heavy shade. Hardy to Zone 3. Grows 30 cm tall. Valleybrook

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new

perennials

9

9 Hosta ‘Velvet Moon’

Velvet Moon Plantain Lily hosta This vigorous grower is a Hans Hansen tetraploid version of the popular Hosta ‘Abiqua Moonbeam.’ The 91 cm (3 ft) wide clump is composed of round, dark green leaves, highlighted with a very wide border of gold. In midsummer, the clumps are topped with 61 cm (2 ft) tall scapes of light lavender flowers. Medium growth and shade exposure. Grows 60-70 cm tall. Willowbrook Nurseries

10 Leucanthemum x superbum 10

Spellbook Lumos leucanthemum Lumos lightens up any garden with its non-fading, yellow flowers.

Growing in full sun, it is small in stature with a strong and sturdy habit. Super floriferous, blooming from mid spring through summer. These re-blooming beauties are fantastic for cool season combinations. Hardy to Zone 5. Grows 30 cm tall. Valleybrook

11Paeonia lactiflora ‘Sea Shell’ Sea Shell peony

Shell pink, highly fragrant blossoms open with large orange centers. Tall graceful plant with lighter flowers rarely requires staking. Retains rich-green foliage quality late in the season.

Excellent for beds, borders and foundation planting. Herbaceous.

Fast grower that blooms in mid-spring prefers full sun exposure.

Grows to 76-91 cm (30-36 in.) tall and 61-91 cm (24-36 in.) wide.

Willowbrook Nurseries

12 Panicum virgatum ‘Hot Rod’ Hot Rod virgatum

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The earliest purple color on any perennial grass we have seen.

Foliage starts blue-green and develops burgundy tips early, turning fully burgundy during the summer. The attractive airy seed heads are burgundy too, and start appearing as early as July. Drought and salt tolerant plant is native and deer resistant. Cut some for dried bouquets, then leave the seed heads on during the winter for the wildlife to enjoy. Cut the whole plant back in March before new growth appears. Good for beds and borders, the plant enjoys full or part sun and blooms in summer. Hardy to Zone 4-10. Grows 91-106 cm (3-4 ft) tall and 61-76 cm (24-30 in.) wide. Willowbrook Nurseries

13 Veronica austriaca ‘Venice Blue’ Venice Blue austrica

Rich, bright blue flower spikes, the largest in its class, are short but multifloral. Flowering in spring, it prefers full sun and is heat tolerant once established. Easy to grow with toothy, bright green foliage.

Hardy to Zone 5. Grows 30 cm tall. Valleybrook

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ELECTRIC START

STIHL BR 450 C Backpack Blower The NEW BR 450 C is STIHL's first professional blower with electric start. By just a press of a button, the BR 450 C is ready to go. When silence is preferable and walking while idling is avoidable, simply turn the engine off for less noise and additional fuel savings. In extremely cold temperatures when the electric start is insufficient to get the engine started, the unit is equipped with the STIHL Easy2Start ™ which ensures a stress-free comfortable start by reducing the number of pulls required to start the engine.

The BR 450 C also features an adjustable length blower tube and handle, eliminating any discomfort when operating.

• • • • •

Adjust the blower tube to any length Handle position can be quickly moved without the need of tools Wide shoulder straps and large back padding provide greater comfort Anti-vibration system reduces vibrations to the lower back Longer air filter life due to the size of the filter

Displacement 63.3 cc

Weight 11.5 kg (25.4 lb)

Power Output 3.9 kW

Sound Level 102 dB(A)

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4-way stretch comfort NEW Wind/water-repellent and breathable Fleece lined Hip and chest zip pockets Abrasion resistant nylon on forearms Rubber protection on shoulders for carrying tools

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QUALITY AT WORK. For 89 years, STIHL has been a world-class innovator in outdoor power equipment. German engineered products featuring the latest pioneering technologies make STIHL the market leader. STIHL products are only available at independent STIHL Dealers who provide expert advice and on-site service. Thank you for supporting the leading team and for making STIHL the Number 1 Selling Brand in Canada.

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new

roses

Hardy, disease-resistant bloomers for Canadian climates.

1 Rosa ‘CNLA 333’ Oscar Peterson rose

1

Oscar Peterson is the latest rose to be introduced in the Canadian Artists series. The plant has an upright growth habit that is easy to maintain and the glossy leaves have a high disease resistance. The striking feature of this Zone 3 rose is the very large (10 cm), semidouble, outfacing, pure white coloured flowers with a yellow centre that appear in June and then again in mid-August. Grows 1 by 1 m.

Bylands Nurseries, J.C. Bakker & Sons, Jeffries Nurseries

2 Rosa ‘RADpastel’ USPPAF, CPBR Peach Lemonade rose

2

This multi-coloured rose is sweet and special. Blooms start out lemon yellow, then fade to a blush pink. Continual blooms and long flowering time mean yellow, white and pink blooms all at the same time! Also exceptionally disease resistant. Requires full sun, is cold hardy to zone 4 and will grow 3 ft. tall x 3 ft. wide in a rounded shape. Van Belle Nursery

3 Rosa ‘WEKbijou’

Koko Loko floribunda rose

The cocoa colour of the Koko Loko is creamy like latte at the outset, but the latte goes loco to finish all lavender. This early to bloom rose has a moderate fragrance. Grows 39 cm (3 ft) and 26 cm (2 ft) wide. J.C. Bakker & Sons

4 Rosa ‘WEKcisfribo’ Oh My! floribunda rose

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The Oh My! rose has a deep red colour bloom that is velvety, bright and long-lasting. The rose has a mild apple fragrance and also features glossy dark red-green leaves with very good disease resistance. Grows 52 cm (4 ft) and 26 cm (2 ft) wide.

J.C. Bakker & Sons

5 Rosa ‘WEKjunjuc’

Sparkle & Shine floribunda rose

A rose with great clusters of flowers on a rounded bushy plant.

Sparkle & Shine features brighter, longer-lasting yellow colour.

The rose also provides bigger, moderately fragrant flowers, glossier foliage and handsome dark red new growth. Grows 39 cm and 29 cm wide. J.C. Bakker & Sons

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INTRODUCING THE NEW 2015 FORD TRANSIT

THE MOST VEHICLE CONFIGURATIONS IN ITS CLASS.* OPEN FOR

BUSINESS A WIDE VARIETY

OF DIMENSIONS The Transit van and wagon are available in 2 different wheelbases, 3 different lengths and 3 different heights.

That makes it easy to choose one that will  t you and your business exactly. And if that’s not enough, it’s also available as a chassis cab and cutaway.

•

OVER

6'5" TALL

The Transit van is available with the best-in-class maximum rear cargo door-opening height.

The doors open a full 237° and the oor is as low as 28 inches.** It’s all about making loading and unloading easier. No matter what your business is.

With an available cargo ceiling taller than some basketball players, the Transit van has loads of room for boxes, tools and you.

That comes in handy if you want a mobile workshop that lets you stand up straight.

And the advantages just keep piling up.

THE NUMBERS DON’T LIE

*Based on body type, body length, and wheelbase and roof height. Class is Full-Size Vans. **When properly equipped. ©2015 Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited. All rights reserved.

•

new

woody plants Blooming plants bred for small spaces continue to be popular.

1Clethra ‘Novacleein’ USPPAF Einstein summersweet

1

Einstein features fragrant white racemes reaching up to 12 inches long. The blooming stems are twisted and curled, reminiscent of Albert Einstein’s wild coiffeur. Native throughout the Eastern U.S., tolerant of a variety of growing conditions and extremely hardy. It is a tough and versatile landscape plant that could work as part of a formal or more natural landscape plan. Limited availability for 2016.

Star Roses and Plants

2 Euonymus fortunei ‘Dandel’ (PBR) Dan’s Delight euonymus

Compact grower with stunning white variegated leaves. Bright colour combination kept year long makes this plant stand out.

Medal winner at Royal Boskoop Horticultural Show. Grows 15 cm.

Canadale Nurseries

Hydrangea arborescens ‘NCHA2’ CPBRAF 3(PPAF, )

‘Invincibelle Spirit II’ hydrangea

2

The second generation of Invincibelle Spirit hydrangea delivers darker foliage, stiffer stems, and larger flowers that are a richer pink that ages to an attractive green. $1 from every plant sold will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Centre. Reliable pink summer flowers that rebloom. A Proven Winners plant for sun to part shade. Hardy to Zone 5, grows 125 cm tall and wide. Sheridan Nurseries

macrophylla ‘SMNKMSIGMA’ USPPAF, CPBRAF 4 Hydrangea Let’s Dance Rave hydrangea

Bright pink blooms, rich violet in acid soil. Strong repeat blooming on a compact shrub. Wilt resistant, this hydrangea is notable for its 61 to 91 cm (2 to 3 ft) mounds loaded with blooms. Grows 30 cm.

Canadale Nurseries

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3 NOVEMBER 2015 12 | NOVEMBER 2015 || LANDSCAPE LANDSCAPETRADES TRADES

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new

woody plants 5

macrophylla ‘Hokomarevo’ 5 Hydrangea PP22260 Everlasting Revolution hydrangea

Sturdy branches of this hydrangea hold large flowers of pink to blue flowers, often both colours at once. Waxy leaves, compact growth and strong repeat bloomer are key features. Grows 40 cm or 30 cm. Canadale Nurseries

6 Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Hortmanwin’ Everlasting Wings hydrangea

6

Wings was named for the large, winged florets (individual flowers) in lime and crisp white that cover the blooms. The plant is medium sized, blooms on new wood and makes the perfect cut hydrangea.

Prune these plants in the late summer after they have bloomed.

They cannot be pruned in the spring when they are preparing to flower, because you will cut off the flower buds. Prefers part sun and afternoon shade, with average garden soil acceptable. Hardy to Zones 5-9. Grows 61-76 cm by 61-72 cm (24-30 in. by 24-30 in.).

Willowbrook Nurseries

7 Hydrangea paniculata ‘SMHPFL’ (PPAF) Fire Light hydrangea

Upright panicles are packed with florets which transform from pure white in summer to rich pomegranate-pink in late summer to fall.

Hardy to Zones 3-9. Grows to 152 cm (5 ft) with a spread of 152 cm (5 ft). J.C. Bakker & Sons

paniculata ‘SMHPRZEP’ 8 Hydrangea (PPAF, CPBRAF) ‘Zinfin Doll’ hydrangea

7

Large conical flowers for this hydrangea that is hot-pink at base with white tips that are very showy. A Proven Winners plant that is hardy to Zone 5. Thrives in sun to part shade and should be pruned hard each spring. Grows to 200 cm tall and wide. Sheridan Nurseries

periclymenum ‘Scentsation’ 9 Lonicera USPP 16,240 Scentsation honeysuckle vine

Very fragrant bright yellow blooms of this staked honeysuckle vine are born in abundance in mid-spring and in waves all summer and into fall. Attracts hummingbirds, butterflies. Canadale Nurseries

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10

10 Malus x adstringens ‘Jefmist’ Royal Mist rosybloom crabapple

An upright rosybloom resulting from a cross between ‘Shaughnessy Cohen’ and ‘Thunderchild’. Outstanding deeppink flowers in spring. Purple spring foliage turns bronze green in summer. Medium-sized fruit falls in early autumn. Grows 6 m tall by 3 m wide (20 ft by 9 ft). Hardy to Zone 2. Jeffries Nurseries

11 Picea pungens ‘ByJohn’

Bylands Blue dwarf spruce A dwarf, very compact blue Colorado blue spruce that retains its globe-shape because of its multiple growing points resulting in a symmetrical form. Bylands Blue has short, medium blue coloured needles, requires no pruning since it does not bolt into a single leader. The growth rate is slow (30 per cent less than P. pungens ‘Globosa’) and consistent. Excellent accent evergreen for small spaces. Grows 1 m tall by 1 m wide. Hardy to Zone 2.

Bylands Nurseries

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12 Syringa x ‘Pink Perfume’

Bloomerang Pink Perfume lilac The most recent addition to the Bloomerang series but this time the flowers are pink. Pink Perfume continues the tradition of fragrant blooms and blooming twice in a season, spring and midsummer to fall. Prune after the spring bloom and apply slow release fertilizer or compost for consistent all season feeding.

Deer resistant. Grows 1.5 m tall by 1.5 m wide. Hardy to Zone 3.

Bylands, Sheridan Nurseries

13 Vaccinium ‘Perpetua’

Brazelberry Perpetua blueberry Perpetua is a new concept to blueberries with the ability to flower on new growth without any chilling. It still retains the usual blueberry features of attractive flowers, and dark green, glossy leaves that turn a deep red in fall. The plant has a vigorous growth rate, is vase-shaped and maintains a compact plant habit. The delicious tasting fruit is mature in late summer to early fall. Hardy to Zone 5. Grows to 1 m tall and wide. Bylands Nurseries

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15

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A DV E RT O R I A L

QUALITY, VISION & VALUES BY:

BRENT & TERECE TEDDY Nearly twenty years ago, starting out exclusively as a lawn maintenance business, it didn’t take long for Teddy’s Lawn & Landscape to transition and extend their roster of services; it was only two years later when they added full landscape installation and snow and ice management to their service offerings.

Understanding the importance of increasing their bottom line, this Michiganbased company has been on the road to success ever since. Now in 2015, the company has several full-time landscape designers and certified landscape technicians on staff, as well as a snow management team like no other in the business.

One of their secrets behind all of this success? Using real-time technology to improve the company’s productivity, efficiency and sales. Brent and Terece Teddy, share their insights and talk about the current success of their business: Q: Can you describe a success story for us?

A: Before we started relying on technology, everything was done the ‘old fashioned way’ (with paper), and it was challenging to keep track of where our crew members were and what project they were on. Back in February 2015, Michigan was hit with the third largest snow storm in history, known as the ‘super bowl’ storm. Thankfully we had already implemented LMN software! During the storm, being able to track all of our assets in real-time, we were able to make critical decisions and move equipment around as necessary to ensure all of our clients were serviced effectively.

Now, thanks to LMN, whether it is the person answering the phone or managers on the road during the day: anyone can log in and see where the crews are and know what jobs are being completed and when. If the schedule has to be changed on the fly, the online tools are easy to use – and any changes can quickly and efficiently be made.

One of the challenges after a storm of this size is also the billing and reporting.

With LMN’s GPS verification, the real- time reporting gives us the necessary back-up if customers have any questions on any services performed on their site.

Q: What types of challenges has your company overcome?

A: During the snow season, dispatching a large number of employees can be a challenging task. The set up for the LMN system for snow removal is easy to enter, track and manage. From simple data, to setting up the tasks for that specific job is critical during a snow event.

LMN also allows you to download a site map that a crew can use, where you can see the boundary lines, and any other notes needed on a site. If a change needs to be made for the next event, it is easy to go into that job and change it.

It is a necessity for crew members to leave detailed notes about how the job was completed and if they noticed anything on a site while they were there. LMN allows you to do this, and everything is documented quickly, so the team can complete a job and not spend time filling out unnecessary paperwork.

Q: How does Teddy’s handle their maintenance business?

A: Teddy’s has a growing landscape maintenance division that requires our crews to complete multiple jobs per crew every single day. Specific details for each maintenance job is essential to make sure every job is completed correctly.

Without these notes, this would require call backs, complaints and so on because

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the job was not completed as promised to the client.

LMN allows you to put in these notes and specs. Landscape maintenance requires you to return to complete the same task over and over at the same site during the season whether it is weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. The notes are saved in the system until you change them. If you have your initial data put in correctly you never have to change it, post to a schedule for a particular day and you are ready to get the work done.

Also, with being able to see where our crew is in real-time, stress levels go down because you are not always wondering what is done and where your people are.

Instead of wondering you start looking at how long it is taking them, how much material they used and are they hitting the budget for particular properties. This is something before that you would not know until days if not weeks later.

mobile estimating & timesheet software Software that takes the paperwork out of running a landscape company.

Q: With the upcoming snow season right around the corner, how will your company leave the competition in the drifts?

A: No more snow binders - Hallelujah! The amount of time and money that was spent on snow binders will pay for your LMN. This year will not be spent modifying snow binders; instead if a change or addition is made, we will simply add it to the system.

At Teddy’s, we consider ourselves one of the top snow management firms in Southeast Michigan. This is why we are looking at adding LMN’s Jobsite Watch.

This will help keep us as a leader in snow management in our market. We believe that clients will come to expect this from a professional snow management firm.

Q: Have you ever attend a workshop led by LMN? A: We attended a workshop last February at Schoolcraft College. This workshop benefited us greatly as we learned how to set up a budget which included equipment cost recovery, actual staff costs and overhead recovery. Once you are actually looking at the real numbers in front of you for what a piece of equipment actually costs you and an hourly employee including overtime, taxes, and insurance you will learn one or two things. You will have been lying to yourself for years for what it actually costs you and that you can actually afford to invest in some equipment, making you more productive and profitable!

Q: What other online resources have helped your company’s success?

A: We love LMN’s free demo/instructional videos on www.learnlmn.com; they are a great tool for new staff and getting them up to speed on the system without having to involve other staff members to train them, or pay to send them for training like with other systems in the market.

Last, we also like how LMN takes your suggestions into consideration. If you think of something that could be more beneficial to your company, the LMN team will take your idea and try to incorporate it. Anything that would make sense that they did not think of before is heard and considered to be implemented into the system. We have made numerous suggestions since we have started using the program and we appreciate that some of them have been implemented and we are using them today.

Q: If you could ‘forecast the future’, what do you see down the pipeline for your company? Is there any exciting news that you could share with the readers of these publications?

A: Teddy’s is excited for the future as we continue to grow at a substantial rate.

It’s not about how much we can grow a year, its more about how much we can grow while keeping focused on our quality, vision and values. We are growing at a healthy 40-50% per year and are excited to invest in staff, technology and equipment to keep our company on top.

One of the things that we have wanted to add is an internship program. We enjoy passing along the knowledge we have learned and believe that our company would be a great place for future horticulturists and snow specialists to learn.

Teddy’s Lawn & Landscape was established in 1996 by Brent Teddy.

Starting mainly as a lawn maintenance business, Teddy’s Lawn & Landscape now has full-time landscape designers and certified landscape technicians on staff, as well as a snow management team like no other in the business. Teddy’s has always maintained its image as a family-owned, local southeast Michigan business and pride ourselves on being honest and professional.

Learn more at www.teddyslandscape.com

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14

new

woody plants

14 Weigela florida

Sonic Bloom ‘Pink’ weigela Deciduous shrub with a mounded habit produces loads of hot pink flowers in May followed by waves of blooms until frost. No deadheading is needed to see strong reblooming. The Sonic Bloom attracts hummingbirds and is a deer resistant plant.

Exposure can be part sun to full sun. Hardy to Zones 5-8.

Grows 123-152 cm (48-60 in.) tall by 152-178 cm (60-70 in.) wide.

Willowbrook Nurseries

15 Weigela x Slingco 2 PPAF, CPBRAF 15

Maroon Swoon weigela Deepest red-maroon bell shaped flowers born in abundance on compact shrub to 3 to 4 ft. Rich green foliage set off the flowers of this weigela. Grows 40 cm. Canadale Nurseries

Plant Sources Aris Horticulture Ball Horticultural Company Benary Bylands Nurseries Canadale Nurseries Hort Couture JC Bakker & Sons Nurseries Jeffries Nurseries Pan American Seed Proven Winners Sakata Sheridan Nurseries Star Roses and Plants Terra Nova Nurseries Van Belle Nursery Valleybrook Gardens Willowbrook Nurseries

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Striking functionality

new

annuals

Breeders are developing sturdy, weather-resistant annuals for landscape use.

1 Asclepias PPAF

Monarch Promise milkweed

1

This Asclepias has green and white variegated foliage that is tinged with red, orange and pink tips of the leaves. The bright orangered flower attracts Monarch butterflies and many other species of butterflies, bees and hummingbirds. Flowers have average water needs, average fertilizer feed and require full sun to part shade.

This plant is a very important introduction and hoped will raise awareness about monarch butterflies and will inspire consumers to get involved in butterfly gardening. Hardy to Zone 11-12. Grows to 60-75 cm (24-30 in.) tall and 30-39 cm (12-15 in.) wide. Hort Couture

2 Begonia boliviensis

Santa Cruz ‘San Francisco’ begonia

2

Begonia Santa Cruz has been very popular with landscapers because of its incredible weather tolerance. This year Benary introduced a new colour that is just easy to grow and weather tolerant called Begonia San Francisco. This begonia has even larger, warm salmon-pink flowers. Benary

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3

3

Calibrachoa hybrid

Superbells ‘Garden Rose’ calibrachoa The groundbreaking Superbells Garden Rose is the first in a new line of calibrachoa bred for landscape use rather than containers. It is extremely vigorous and blooms all summer without deadheading. It exhibits outstanding heat and humidity tolerance and has been screened specifically for resistance to Thielaviopsis.

Watch for additional colours to come in the future. Covers 61-91 cm (2-3 ft) of ground. Proven Winners

4 Celosia

Dragon’s Breath celosia Sakata’s Dragon’s Breath celosia made its debut at this year’s California Spring Trials and visitors admired its unique combination of green-red foliage and blazing-red, long-lasting flowers. Dragon’s Breath is great in containers, beds and large landscapes. This celosia exhibits even more red foliage and flowers under adverse conditions like heat, humidity and infrequent watering. Sakata

4

5

5 Cleome

Senorita Mi Amor cleome The soft pink blooms are quite a contrast to the dark lilac pink blooms of her sister, Senorita Rosalita, but that is where the differences end. Gardeners can expect the same vigour and performance as Senorita Rosalita, with this heat and drought tolerant plant that is thornless, non-sticky and odorless. Best in full sun. Grows to 60-125 cm (24-48 in.), with a spread of 46-61 cm (1824 in.). Proven Winners

6 Euphorbia graminea

Glamour euphorbia The first landscape euphorbia from seed, Glamour is vigorous, resilient and durable from the start. It gives pro landscapers a reliable and ready-to-go option. Holds well in the resale yard and at retail for less loss and less shrink. Glamour fills in fast to make a soft “hedge” in mass plantings, mixes well with other vigorous flowering annuals, and shines in large cityscape containers. Ball Horticultural Company, Pan American Seed

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7

new

7 Gomphrena

annuals

Budacious ‘Radiant Red,’ ‘Outrageous Orange,’ ‘Prismatic Purple’ gomphrena A new series boasting three new colours, Budacious gomphrena can be used in container combinations, as cut flowers and in the landscape. They are heat and drought tolerant and are great for use in full sun. Flowers have low to average water needs, low to average fertilizer feed and require full sun. Hardy to Zone 10-11.

Grows to 61-76 cm (24-30 in.) tall and 20-25 cm (8-10 in.) wide.

Hort Couture

8 Hibiscus H2 USPPAF 8

Tradewinds ‘Bali Sunrise’ hibiscus A first for the Tradewinds brand – double flowers. Showy 11-13 cm (4.5 to 5 in.) orange blooms accented with red tone. Each bloom is unique as buds unfurl into stunning, fluffy flowers, while strong stems hold flowers upright. The hibiscus features superior branching and high bud count for abundant flowering. The tidy, compact plant habit with glossy green foliage is perfect for containers or in the landscape. Aris Horticulture

9 Impatiens

SunPatiens ‘Spreading’ impatiens SunPatiens Spreading welcomes three colours to the eleven-colour collection: Clear Orange, Lavender and Tropical Orange. The new colours bring more diversity to the collection and are excellent for mixes. Clear Orange and Lavender produce an array of vibrant blooms with dark green foliage, while Tropical Orange offers the same flower vibrancy along with variegated foliage. Sakata

10 Lantana 9

Luscious ‘Pinkberry Blend’ lantana This impressively vigorous, landscape-sized Lantana forms a mounding then trailing mass of dark green foliage dotted with pretty pink and light yellow bicolour blooms all season with minimal seed set. Use it as a groundcover, in mono pots, or in large containers with other very vigorous plants. Provide high light and warm conditions for best growth. Full sun. Grows 50-60 cm (20-24 in.) tall with a 60-90 cm (24-36 in.) spread. Proven Winners

11 Petunia x hybrida

Petunia ‘Easy Wave’ Yellow An elegant colour for the versatile Easy Wave spreading petunia series. Easy Wave Yellow blooms full with slight veining. Its strong rooting and more branching offers better performance compared to vegetative yellow petunias. Perfect for hanging baskets and landscape beds. Ball Horticultural Company, Wave

10

22 | NOVEMBER 2015 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

11

12

12 Salvia guarantica

Salvia ‘Black & Bloom’ Black & Bloom salvia delivers thicker leaves, larger blooms and darker stems. It has an eye-catching flower form; great for midborder colour with continuous flowers from spring to frost. It’s a “tough as nails” performer thriving in heat, drought and humidity.

This salvia is low-maintenance care and attracts hummingbirds.

Ball Horticultural Company, Ball FloraPlant

13 Tagetes

Proud Mari marigold

The Proud Mari marigold series provides fully double flowers that have a uniform bloom time and height across all three vibrant colours. Plus, their thick, sturdy stems provide the extra support needed to withstand the stress of the elements and hold beautifully in the landscape. Sakata

13

14

14

Verbena bonariensis

Meteor Shower ‘Lilac’ verbena Meteor Shower Lilac’s denser, more vigorous growth habit equals more manageable and attractive plants in the landscape. The plants set little seed and won’t become invasive like most verbenas of this type. Best in full sun. Heat and drought tolerant and deer resistant. Grows 75-90 cm (30-36 in.) with a spread of 30-40 cm (12-16 in.). Proven Winners

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23

Consumer trends

drive

ornamental plants Research sheds light on changing attitudes about gardening

BY DR. ALEXANDRA GRYGORCZYK

M

arketing, including branding and advertising, is an important part of a successful product launch and can have a big impact on sales. However, there is often an over-looked phase of launching a successful product which comes before a product is released, before the marketing materials are designed and even before a product is developed: that’s consumer research. Consumer research enables you to know your audience, identify and understand their needs so you can adjust your products and marketing accordingly. Knowing your customers’ needs and preferences identifies new market opportunities and ensures you have the right product before you jump in with both feet.

Consumer preferences can be predicted by testing a series of real or hypothetical product concepts with consumers and observing how every change in product attributes afVineland’s Canadian Hardy Rose Breeding Program is just one fects consumer response. of the consumer research programs to guide production trials for plants.

Using consumer research, it’s possible to map out consumer preferences to guide product selection and ensure that products have the right features to outsell competition.

24 | NOVEMBER 2015 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

Before identifying consumer preferences for specific plant features, consumer research needs to understand the market more broadly. This article will provide background information on two trends that currently impact the plant retail sector. Upcoming Vineland Research and Innovation Centre (Vineland) consumer research projects on ornamental crops, which will dig deeper into consumer preferences, will also be highlighted.

LIFESTYLE INTEGRATION Traditionally, the purpose of a beautiful garden was to admire it as you relaxed in your yard, but this trend is changing; modern consumers no longer want their garden to be a “plant museum.” Instead they want their gardens to be an integrated part of their lifestyle. There’s an increasing interest in kid-friendly and pet-friendly garden plants that speak to a gardener’s values. The grow-yourown movement is a perfect example of a gardening trend that is interactive, includes children and expresses individuality. For example, consumers may choose to grow edibles as a means to eating local or organic, to express love of food and home cooking with fresh ingredients or to connect with their cultural heritage by growing fruits and vegetables from their country of origin, which may not be stocked in local stores. There is a big trend in Europe to use edible flowers in bakery treats, yogurts, jams and other foods. This trend is reaching North America, with edible flowers being featured in culinary magazines such as Bon Appétit. Sensient

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Technologies’ flavour forecast predicts a rise in the popularity of wild flower flavours for 2015. To help the nursery sector meet this growing demand for edible garden plants, the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association is partnering with Vineland to conduct consumer research to identify the edible ornamental plants that consumers would most like to see on the market.

The information will guide future production trials in order to supply these crops through the Canadian value chain.

The demand for locallygrown products has also been increasing in the last few years and presents an opportunity to draw Garlands of fresh marigolds and crossandra adorn a parade float in customers by educating the at Toronto’s annual Khalsa Day parade, April 2015 public on the benefits of Canadian-grown plants. Locally-grown nursery plants are better adapted to Canadian growing conditions and are grown according to Canada’s stringent pesticide regulations, which ban many pesticides allowed internationally. Research shows that benefit statements (e.g. bee-friendly, environmen-

tally-friendly, locally produced) are more effective than risk-reduction statements (e.g. lower use of pesticides). Sometimes riskreduction statements draw customers’ attention to a potential risk they hadn’t considered, rather than focusing on the benefit. Technical jargon including phrases such as “plant breeding” and “biocontrol” should be avoided. Our research at Vineland shows that only 10 per cent of consumers have a clear understanding of plant breeding and the majority (approximately 60 per cent) believe that it refers to a farming practice like pesticide-free.

Many consumers are also unfamiliar with the word biocontrol. We have found that when using the term “biological agent”, as many as 30 per cent of consumers guess that it refers to pesticides and another 10 per cent assume that it refers to Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). Alternatively, we found that the phrase “pests’ natural predators” is more acceptable to consumers.

CANADA’S CHANGING FACE Statistics Canada predicts that visible minorities will represent about 55 per cent of consumers residing in Toronto, and half of

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consumers in Vancouver, in 2017. In fact, the two largest visible minority groups in Canada today are South Asians and Chinese, representing 1.6 and 1.3 million Canadians, respectively. South Asians in particular represent the largest and fastest growing segment of visible minorities.

These new Canadians bring strong cultural traditions, many of which are different from those of Europeans, who dominated Canadian immigration in the past. Consider the fame of Chinese gardens and the beautiful imagery of lotuses and other flowers in Hindu traditions and you will quickly realize that there is a whole world of plants used by the ethnic community that is not being tapped into by the Canadian horticulture sector. For example, in many Asian cultures cut flowers are not only used in bouquets but also in garlands strung together to make floral jewellery or to decorate living spaces and temples during festivities. For some holidays, Hindu consumers also use flower heads and petals to create geometrical patterns on the floor, called rangoli. Practicing Hindus and Buddhists also keep small altars in their homes for daily prayers and offer-

ings typically including food, drink and, when possible, flowers. These flowers are often either potted plants or loose flowers picked from gardens during the summer. Interestingly, several holidays celebrated by many South Asian consumers fall in the traditional “down times” for the floriculture sector — between late summer and Christmas.

The grocery chain Longo’s is partnering with Vineland to Flower heads and flower petals used to make a rangoli design support research on this topic.

Using consumer and economics research, Vineland’s consumer insights team plants. Understanding how to meet the will identify the flower crops and qualities needs of modern consumers can be chaldesired by Canadian-Asians that have the lenging, so it’s essential to get input from the biggest potential for the Canadian horticul- most important part of the puzzle early on LT — the consumer. ture sector.

THE BOTTOM LINE The nursery sector is in a constant state of flux due to changing customer needs. A number of factors, ranging from basic demographics to a shift in customer values, influence how people are buying garden

Dr. Alexandra Grygorczyk is a Research Scientist, Consumer Insights at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre in Vineland, Ont.

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27

roadtosuccess

The basics, once again I was delivering a lecture on garden centre management in Portage la Prairie, Man., several years ago. I looked out into the audience; sitting front row and centre was my longtime friend, Jan Pederson.

Jan’s father had worked at Shelmerdine’s in Winnipeg for years, and typical of most immigrant fathers, he took his son to work. Jan started in the trade as a box boy at Shelmerdine’s and years later, he was one of the owners. He truly grew up in the trade.

After I had finished my seminar, I asked Jan why he was there, noting, “You could have delivered that seminar as easily as I did.” Jan was a wonderful garden centre operator. He told me that attending my seminar was similar to attending church. “I already believe, but I like to hear the gospel being preached again and again.”

Jan made me laugh. I had never seen myself as a preacher though my three sons have often asserted that I do sermonize, hold court and speak from a soap box. Kids, huh?

What you are about to read, as this column progresses, is not rocket science. I have never attempted to reinvent the wheel or claim that I once did. What I do is observe.

I watch how things are done, how people behave and I take note and I write about those events.

Years ago, in the late ’90s, I had a column in The Regina Free Press about everyday life.

It was my take on what often passes unnoticed, yet still exists. A friend once asked how and where I got my ideas. My response was that when I was stuck (writer’s block), I simply went down to a coffee shop in Cathedral, the funky, artsy part of our city, took a window seat and I watched people walk by. “After one hour, I have at least three ideas for a story, just by watching the action on the street.”

That is the set-up for today’s column. I mentor and advise several young people.

Most are from our trade, but a handful 28 | NOVEMBER 2015 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

own other businesses. One even manages a nonprofit organization. They call, ask questions and discuss concerns. Fair enough. I hear things from their calls that remind me of when I was in my 20s, starting out, and how many wrong paths I followed. I often think that I blundered my way onto the success road but, in reality, I have to acknowledge that there were elders who guided me when I needed help the most. Here is a sampling of a few issues discussed with younger members of the business community this year. None of the topics are all that new to seasoned vets, but all are important.

A jaw dropper Recently, I had a young landscaper drop by for a chat. He had been speaking to a retired landscaper who had told him that written contracts and estimates were not a necessity. “A verbal contract is worth as much as a written one,” he had said.

I blew a gasket. Nothing could have gotten my juices going as that piece of stupidity.

A contested verbal agreement is reduced to nothing more than a ‘you said, did not, yes you did’ exchange. All, not some, business deals should be in writing, and if something is mentioned in passing, even just once, and it is not part of the body of work, it should be noted in the written part. “Work does not include repairing the eaves trough.”

I gave that advice to a fellow ten years ago.

He was in the home repair business. He came to regret not having followed it. A customer had hired him to do some basic patch and paint. She asked for pricing for each area.

When they arrived at her back hallway, it was a tricky area, expensive to complete and she felt the price was too high and she said not to paint it. He gave her a verbal quote and when he had completed the work, she asserted he was to have painted the hallway, claiming no memory of her previous instructions. He said to me, “I should have written it down

BY ROD McDONALD

that she did not want the hallway done and included it in the estimate.” He was right. No verbal agreements.

Go with your gut If you are doing an estimate and you start picking up a vibe that something is not above board with the job or the customer, walk away. Your gut is often smarter than your brain. You are probably sensing a predator, someone who will eat you alive, once they have you in their grasp. At least three times a year, I have this conversation with younger contractors, regarding uneasy feelings they have when bidding a job. Most predatory customers never call experienced tradespeople. They usually call the newbies who don’t know any better. There was a young man opening a brand new greenhouse and he had received an order worth $70,000 from a garden centre. He was ecstatic. One problem: The ordering garden centre had a reputation for rarely paying its bills, often seeking out the new operators who were not aware of that reputation. Life sucks when you don’t get paid.

When I receive a call from someone I mentor, they are often complaining about some aspect of a job. The job has gone over budget; the customer has been extra fussy; employees have not shown up for work and so on. I get it because I have lived it. You can do many, many things to improve how you run your business, you can install all sorts of safeguards, but that does not mean everything will go according to plan every day. Be prepared to have things not go as planned, no matter how much planning you have done. As my mother, the Scottish farm girl, used to say, “Some years you get corn, some years you don’t.”

Don’t play the blame game Along these same lines of plans not always working out, be very careful with expla-

nations to your customer. Perhaps one of your staff was incompetent and you have to redo his work. Do not, I say imperatively, ever explain this to your customer. It makes you look like a fool — someone unable to supervise or control staff. If you need to fix something that has already been done, simply explain, “I am not happy with the way it turned out so I am redoing it.” That makes you sound as if you have high standards and you care about the work you are doing for the customer. Customers buy products and service, not excuses.

There was a fellow, fairly new to the grounds maintenance business, and he was complaining loudly about his customer, a wealthy, retired businessman. He had given the man a fixed monthly fee, and the customer was always demanding more and more. I laughed. The same customer had burnt me back around 1982. I had to tell the young man that he was not the only one to suffer from this man’s incessant cheapness and demands. I asked him if he had realized that every year there was a new maintenance firm at the yard. He had not. Walk away.

Life is just too short.

I was visiting one of my mentees on a job site. The cost to the customer was $80,000. I looked around and took the fellow aside. I pointed out that his brick work, paths and

grading were impeccable. “Did you spend around $6,000 just for the gravel and another couple of thousand on topsoil?” I asked.

He had. “So, you spent $8,000 for something the customer will never see, yet you only spent around a thousand for small plants that are quite visible?” My mentee justified that he spent so much on the gravel to provide a lasting base and I understood. “But, when the customer pays you the $8,000, and all he sees is small plants that he could have easily purchased at any box store, he or she is not happy. Nothing special and where is your ‘wow’ factor?” It is always easier to collect your bill from a customer who has been overwhelmed by what you have done for him. Always leave them saying ‘wow’.

A perennial conversation I have is the one that goes, “I should have handled things differently.” Join the line, brother. I cannot begin to count the number of times, in the last 40 years, that I wished I would have said or acted differently, either to a customer or a staff member. I often think that experience is a fancy word we old guys use to explain that we have screwed up more often than other people. Never speak when you are enraged, indignant or upset. The adage is that When you speak in haste you recant at leisure.

Way back in 1987, I spoke in haste out of frustration, to a customer who had annoyed

me. I was wrong to say what I did. The customer still holds hard feelings.

These are a handful of the issues that I have noticed and the conversations that I have had with others this past year. Again, not rocket science, but basic rules of business.

Talk with others within the trade and those you respect from other business areas. Read, think and reevaluate what it is you do, continually. Always remember that when you break the basic rules of business, you pay a price for that decision. Make your choices wisely and you will stay on the road LT to success.

Rod McDonald owned and operated Lakeview Gardens, a successful garden centre/ landscape firm in Regina, Sask., for 28 years. He now works full-time in the world of fine arts, writing, acting and producing in film, television and stage.

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www.beavervalleystone.com NOVEMBER 2015 | LANDSCAPE TRADES |

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legalmatters

Collection strategies during construction My last column discussed ways contractors, subcontractors and suppliers might address debt collection, to better protect themselves if accounts become overdue, during the pre-construction, bidding and negotiation phases of a contract. This article will discuss the steps contractors can take during the life of the project, as construction progresses.

If you are a subcontractor or supplier, I recommend that, in the industrial, commercial or institutional contexts, you inquire to determine if a labour and material payment bond has been posted by the contractor in relation to the project. If a bond has been posted, you should obtain a copy, so you understand any time limitations imposed on a claim under the bond and so, in the event you have not been paid, you will have the particulars for giving your notice right at hand. While the owner and contractor will generally cooperate in providing you with a copy of the bond, construction lien legislation, such as the Construction Lien Act, section 39, in Ontario, allows you to require them to deliver a copy, upon request, from the moment you commence your supply of services or materials.

I also recommend contractors and subcontractors have their contracts and subcontracts at hand during the life of a project, and that they consider either highlighting or summarizing the various notice requirements under those documents. In this way, in the event of non-payment or a dispute, you will have at hand the particulars of the form of any notice required, along with how it should be provided, and when it must be received. This way, you can hope to avoid an argument over whether or not you failed to meet a key notice provision under the contract. Also, to the extent that subcontractors are bound by the provisions of the Prime 30 | NOVEMBER 2015 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

Contract (between the owner and contractor) a copy of that contract (with highlights or summaries) might also be set aside.

It is also important that you understand what role, if any, the owner’s consultant will play on the project. This, again, will generally be spelled out in the Prime Contract.

These provisions will determine the extent to which (and how) the Consultant will approve shop drawings, change orders and payment certificates. They will also spell out the extent to which the Consultant will be involved in inspections, deficiency correction and dispute resolution. In each case, having a clear understanding of who is to do what at hand will help you follow the contract provisions, and remove any excuse your client might have for not paying you.

Stay sharp on the jobsite Another good piece of advice is to simply pay attention to what is happening on a job — beyond our own work. In many cases, there are warning signs that something has gone wrong. Delay is one example. In many circumstances, of course, delays will not be an issue and everyone will be paid. In other cases, delays will result in a cash crunch and, ultimately, claims. So what can we look for?

If a project is significantly behind schedule, subcontractors and suppliers might ask around (at trade meetings or the coffee truck) to see if you can find out why. If the delay is attributable to the contractor or its forces, there might be a problem. If it is arguably the owner’s fault, you might find out if the contractor has made a claim for additional compensation and, if so, whether or not that claim has been approved or settled.

An unresolved delay claim is a sign that, all too often, the contractor’s costs will escalate, creating a cash crunch. On the other hand, where the contractor is arguably at fault, the

BY ROBERT KENNALEY

owner may assess backcharges against him, which can only exacerbate the situation.

Suppliers and subcontractors should also be concerned if one or more trades do not appear to have enough manpower on site.

Where many trades are under-manned, it may be that no-one is getting paid on time.

Where one trade is under-manned, this trade might be the cause of significant delay.

It is a particularly bad sign if it is the person who owes you the money who is undermanned and potentially delaying the job.

If there’s a problem So what do we do when we see, or hear, that problems are developing on a site? First, we should become more reluctant than we otherwise would to perform extra work without having all necessary approvals in place. The approvals should specify both the change and the price of the change, if possible. Second, we should remember that by continuing to provide services or materials when we have not been paid, we are becoming a creditor. When problems develop on site, we should be less willing to advance such “credit” than we otherwise might be.

The person who owes us money on a job will often, of course, promise that the money is coming from the person above him. We will be asked to keep working, so as to not slow down the project. By way of example, let’s assume you are the landscape subcontractor who is owed money by the general contractor. In dealing with the contractor’s request that you keep working, there are a couple of things we can do. For example, in Ontario, s. 39 of the Construction Lien Act allows us to ask the owner what the status of the account is between the owner and the contractor. We can thus determine if the contractor is telling us the truth about what is owed to him. We may find that the

contractor is really only hoping that a disputed claim will be approved. (Similar s. 39 requests can be made of contractors and subcontractors, as well as owners).

We can also insist that the person who owes us the money provide a direction that we be paid first. In our example, the contractor could provide the owner with an irrevocable direction that the owner pay us the monies it owes to the contractor, until we are paid. We should remember, however, that the direction will only help us if the owner agrees that it owes monies. If we are to use this option, we should ensure that the owner will honour the direction before we agree to provide additional services or materials.

Finally, during the life of the project, we might also consider utilizing the written notice of lien to put pressure on those above us in the pyramid to get us paid. The written notice of lien option was dealt with in a prior column, however, and will not be reviewed here. My next column, in January Landscape Trades, will look at collection issues when LT your work or supply is complete.

Robert Kennaley is a former landscape design build contractor and an Honorary Member of Landscape Ontario who now practices construction law in Toronto.

He can be reached at 416-368-2522 or at kennaley@mclauchlin.ca.

This material is for information purposes and is not intended to provide legal advice. Readers who have concerns about any particular circumstance are encouraged to seek independent legal advice in that regard.

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managementsolutions

Performance metrics promote accountability When it comes to estimating and executing our jobs, good measurements are one of the foundations of success.

You can’t build a good landscape, or price it properly, without good measurements.

On install work, accurate measurement of layouts and grades is critical to successfully realizing a creative vision. For maintenance work, companies measure properties down to the square or linear foot, in well-inten-

tioned attempts to create estimates that are as realistic as possible. But, when it comes to our field staff, most companies don’t have any measurements at all. Perhaps this is one of the primary reasons this industry faces such an uphill battle attracting and keeping good staff.

Measuring staff isn’t easy, and there are plenty of excuses to avoid it. Ranging from the honest, “We don’t have the time or staff

BY MARK BRADLEY

to keep the numbers up-to-date,” to the (slightly) paranoid, “If I share my information with my crews, they’ll go start their own companies.” It’s all too common to see landscape companies failing to measure their most important resource — their field staff.

Yet field staff are the heartbeat of our companies. When they slow down, or fail, the company stops producing income and billable work. Without measuring the success

USEFUL METRICS: MEASURE IT TO MANAGE IT DAILY METRICS METRIC: Timesheet/paperwork review PREPARED BY: Office manager DESCRIPTION: A simple report tells me which crews didn’t submit a timesheet from yesterday, or start one this morning. Using our timesheet app, I have the luxury of seeing, in real time, who has yet to submit or start a timesheet. With paperwork, the best result is that it was all turned in from the night before.

METRIC: Job costing report PREPARED BY: Accounting DESCRIPTION: A detailed job cost report from Quickbooks showing all active jobs.

WHY I NEED IT: Shows revenue vs. costs to-date for all active jobs.

Ensures my staff are keeping invoicing and cost-entry current and that minor problems (e.g. missed invoicing) are noticed before they become major problems.

WHY I NEED IT: Missing or late paperwork causes significant problems.

People miss getting paid, get paid for too many hours, jobcosting reports aren’t accurate, changes and extras get missed, billing gets delayed, and information is not completed accurately. If your crews are not consistently submitting accurate daily reports, this report is a must-have.

METRIC: Human resource reports PREPARED BY: HR administrator

METRIC: Daily Four PREPARED BY: One report per foreman

WHY I NEED IT:When we don’t monitor training, crews stop taking training. The safety report ensures I see the causes of near misses/accidents, and that we have every reasonable measure in place to prevent these types of issues from occurring.

DESCRIPTION: Four simple questions. 1. What are the top three priorities you’re working on? 2. What got completed today? 3. Which obstacles are getting in the way of progress? 4. What do you need from me?

WHY I NEED IT: It forces field staff to establish daily goals and work to those goals. It gives me project updates. It reveals recurring problems each and every day. It builds accountability to the estimate.

WEEKLY METRICS METRIC: Job progress report (sample at right) PREPARED BY: Office manager DESCRIPTION: Estimated vs. actual hours for jobs WHY I NEED IT: To identify jobs that are, or have the potential to, go over budget. This report pre-emptively solves jobsite, labour, equipment or material issues that could improve the likelihood of on-time/on-budget completion.

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DESCRIPTION: List of active employees. Training progress by employee (courses assigned vs. completed). Safety report (Near misses/accidents to date, active WSIB claims).

METRIC: Unbilled vs. billable hours PREPARED BY: HR administrator DESCRIPTION: A breakdown of hours allocated to unbillable time (shop/yard work, material deliveries etc.) vs. billable time (time spent on jobsites completing work) WHY I NEED IT: Our company’s biggest bottleneck is available, productive field labour hours. With a limited number of good foremen and crews, we need to ensure that their time is maximized installing work for which we are getting paid. Their job velocity determines the speed and capacity of the entire company.

JOB PROGRESS (ESTIMATED VS. ACTUAL HOURS) TASK PROGRESS Excavation Change orders and extras Mobilization TOTAL

ESTIMATED ACTUAL EFFICIENCY 90 124.07 137.9% 220 93.27 42.4% 0 10.5 n/a 310 227.83

Sample Job Progress Report

(and failure) of our field staff, we are choosing to ignore the lifeline of our companies.

As my company has grown, I’ve had to learn to replace conversations and bootson-the-ground inspections with numbers, metrics and measurements. I can’t be everywhere all at once, but I can hold people accountable to clearly-established goals and metrics. I’ve outlined some of the regular numbers that my staff produce, so that we can be more accountable to one another, and to the bottom line.

There are hundreds of different Key Performance Indicators available and different people will have different priorities. I find these reports most valuable to help manage my time effectively. I only have so many hours in the day to focus on identifying and solving bottlenecks and issues. With these reports, I’m able to spot issues or inefficiencies without long meetings or site visits with staff and crews, to uncover problems staff are likely trying to hide or minimize. It’s human nature to show off the good and hide the bad. These reports provide the numbers that give me a clear scoreboard for LT my business.

Mark Bradley is president of TBG Landscape and the Landscape Management Network (LMN), in Ontario.

2016 Introduction

Oscar Peterson Rose Since 1949

1360 Third Street, St. Catharines, ON Canada L2R 6P9 T: 1.877.816.6608 F: 905.935.9921 E: nursery@jcbakker.com W: www.jcbakker.com NOVEMBER 2015 | LANDSCAPE TRADES |

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mentormoment

Seasonality solved!

This month’s mentor is Bruce Kay of OnGrowing Works in Cochrane, Alta. Kay has held many leadership roles within the industry and sits on the Alberta Apprenticeship Industry and Training PAC. He has been the Landscape Alberta rep through the National Occupational Standards development process and helped create the Red Seal Standard for the Landscape Horticulturist Trade.

Put all this together and our clients’ experience is that they have cool people working on their property doing cool stuff. It’s great!

Q. Can you tell us a bit about your background, your company,

and how you came to work in the green trades?

A. In the spirit of Be Know Do, it became clear to me that laying off people each November and expecting them to come back to work for us in March was narrowing the career pool for the company. We needed to promote careers, not just jobs, and it wasn’t good business to lay talented people off each year.

So in 2008, I took the plunge and committed to keeping my people working on construction projects throughout the winter. With a focus on hardscapes this became doable. We’ve created a system that allows our crews to build 12 months of the year. Our system was vetted by engineers to make sure there was no compromising the quality and integrity of the work, as we definitely don’t want to have to go back and fix warranty issues.

It was a huge moment for us — a bit risky at first, but it has brought us a lot of success. Initially we offered a better rate to get our clients to buy into the idea of winter construction, but sales became easy as clients saw we could work in their yard at a time they were unable to use it, allowing them to enjoy their property all summer. This solved our HR problem and allowed our crews to work 12 months of the year. Actually, for the most part in Alberta, our winter months have more predictable weather to work in than our spring months. We have much more down time in April, May and June due to rain, than due to snow in winter.

The other thing we did was to stop working six or seven days a week. Occasionally we work the odd Saturday, but we try to cater our work week to families. Our employees’ average age is older than other companies — we have the cream of the crop! If our staff experience is great, they pass it on, so our clients’ experience is great as well. Just recently a client purchased 10, $50 gift cards for our staff working on his site in appreciation for their dedication to their work.

A. Sure, my first job in the industry was in 1984, as an interim stop on my way to a career in the health-care field. I thought I wanted to be a paramedic, but found I didn’t enjoy the program. I got a job cutting grass and pulling weeds, and my employer soon approached me about enrolling in the apprenticeship program at Olds College.

In my early career I was fortunate to work with The Saskatoon Farm, which offered landscape design, construction maintenance and food production, and gradually developed its own garden centre.

It was a fantastic opportunity for me to experience a lot of aspects of the industry. Over the years I moved on to work for a couple of other companies and then started my own business, OnGrowing Bruce Kay, OnGrowing Works Works Limited, in 1999.

We are a design-build landscape company with 25 year-round staff. In addition to our landscape construction team and designers, we employ other trades, including stone masons and carpenters. OnGrowing Works is about people and a shared commitment to growth. We promote education to staff and offer an experienced knowledge base to our customers.

Our company philosophy is Be Know Do. Be is all about the character of people. We look for people of principle and hold them to a standard of ethical and trustworthy behavior. Be the person you say you are going to be.

Know relates to the commitment the company makes to continually develop its staff. All our staff stays current in their respective fields.

Do is what we ask our folks to do every day. It requires putting the other two principles together and working to the best of their abilities each day.

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Q. Is there one specific moment or action you can pinpoint

that took your company to the next level?

What prompted you to make that change?

Q. ​ How do you find the money and make the time

to train people?

A. I take the approach that we can’t afford not to train people. It’s not about the money or time, it’s because we have an obligation to our clients to ensure our people are industry leaders. We do pretty interesting projects that require craftspeople for the hardscape, timberframe and masonry work. Our staff travel all over to catch learning opportunities in their fields.

Q. Which business problem keeps you up at night?

Q. Any business books to recommend?

A. Years ago my mentor said, “Bruce, if you can write a cheque to make a problem go away, then you DON’T have a problem. Bruce, how’s your health, how’s your wife and children?” So, I try not to worry about the small stuff, but the thought of one of my people getting hurt on the job, and me having to tell their partner they aren’t coming home, honestly gives me nightmares.

We have a good safety program in place. We have a Certificate of Recognition through the Alberta Construction Safety Association, but really that is just paperwork. We need to be practicing it every day. Our employees drive our safety program. It has to be theirs if we are going to be successful.

A. Great question! I have a few. Make Good Art by Neil Gaiman was given to me by a client. In it Gaiman encourages people to think outside the box and make ‘fantastic mistakes.’ It is actually the transcript of a commencement address he made in 2012, so Google Neil Gaiman and just listen to him. It is worth taking 20 minutes to hear what he has to say. I also recommend Crucial Conversations by Joseph Grenny, Kerry Patterson and Ron McMillan, and anything by Malcom Gladwell. Years ago a mentor gave me Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, which has become my business Bible.

But, if I had to choose just one book that speaks to me, it would be The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. His rules are: Be impeccable with your word; don’t take anything personally; don’t make assumptions; and always do your best. I have read it over and over and it is a good calming tool. So much of what I do is dealing with people. When something has gone wrong in my day, I can think back to the four agreements, and usually can see where I went wrong. It LT has been a good guide for me over the years.

Q. How do you avoid wasting time on dead-end calls?

What is a professional way to prequalify customers?

A. This is tough, as we get a lot of calls because of our company’s reputation. Our sales manager prescreens and educates potential clients before we get too involved in the process. He begins by talking about price and budget, then speaks about our people who will be working on site and the process we have developed that will give clients a quality project for fair value. All this is to build perspective about what the project is going to cost. Most clients want the relationships we offer and our commitment to the end result.

If the client isn’t right fit for us, we have several other contractors we can steer work to. We have developed relationships with landscape companies who may be set up a bit differently than we are, or who are looking for very specific work. The collaboration goes both ways, as sometimes they call us in on a job they need help with as well.

If there is a question you’d like to see answered, or have a suggestion for a leader to feature in an upcoming issue, please email editor@landscapetrades.com.

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industrynews CPP overpayment rebates available The Canadian Nursery Landscape Association has called attention to a serious issue. Are you deducting CPP premiums on behalf of seasonal workers according to the tax tables supplied by Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)? If so, CPP overpayment has most likely occurred!

All employees are required to pay into CPP based on earnings, and premiums are deducted from paycheques. Employers are also required to contribute an equal amount on behalf of every employee.

Deduction amounts are based on the assumption that the employee will continue making the same income for all 52 weeks of the year. When an overpayment occurs, the employee’s share is refunded on his income tax.

What happens to the employer’s share?

CRA does not feel responsible to inform employers of overpayments, even though it refunded an identical amount to their employees. Most small business owners assume that correct amounts were remitted, but the reality is YOU as an employer must discover overpayments and request rebates!

To obtain refunds you must submit Form PD24-14e for EACH employee, including payroll details, even though that information has already been supplied to CRA on T4s.

Congress 2016 offers education and networking Join over 13,000 of your colleagues and friends next year at Landscape Ontario’s Congress trade show and Conference, held January 12-14, 2016 at the Toronto Congress Centre.

The three-day show offers many opportunities for industry professionals to meet face-toface to network, learn from leaders and discover new products and techniques to help you make money.

New on the trade show floor this year is the Hardscape Demo area, presented by Landscape Ontario’s Hardscape Committee. Pat McCrindle, a hardscape contractor and ICPI instructor, will offer hands-on educational sessions daily at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Dig Safe presents Speaker’s Corner, where delegates are invited to stop by and hear reallife accounts of disasters that could have been averted by calling before digging. There will be a number of informal presentations each day.

The three-day Conference program features 36 | NOVEMBER 2015 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

Congress 2016 hosts three days of conferences, networking with suppliers and lunchtime workshops to help make your business more successful.

keynotes from business coach Ron Rosenburg and Disney’s Eric Darden, along with educational seminars including the popular Owners Only workshops and Lunch & Learn sessions.

The Conference is preceded by the annual IPM Symposium and Landscape Designer Conference on Jan. 11.

After a day of seeing suppliers and seminars, it is time to relax and enjoy the social side of Congress, with the Awards of Excellence ceremony on Jan. 12, and the one-of-a-kind Tailgate Party on Jan. 13. Tickets must be purchased for the Awards ceremony, but admittance to the Tailgate party is free with your trade show badge.

Be sure to ask suppliers for your digital VIP pass, providing free admission to the trade show floor. Registration and more details about Congress 2016 are available at locongress.com.

Canadian peat moss harvest “adequate”

are close to achieving expected amounts.

In Québec’s North and South Shores, results are well below expectations. This is primarily due to a later start and continuous, often heavy rain throughout the balance of the season.

In the Maritime provinces (New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island), the largest peat producing region in Canada, the industry has achieved its expected harvest volumes. More favourable weather conditions allowed for longer stretches of harvesting and a normal harvest year.

Currently, due to a relatively low entry inventory level and regional harvest shortages, the supply of product, particularly from the East, may suffer. Customers may see product from non-regional shipping points and, as a result, higher transportation costs. The Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association (CSPMA), members represent approximately 95 per cent of all North American peat production.

A survey of Canadian Spaghnum Peat Moss Association (CSPMA) members was conducted on August, regarding their 2015 Actual Harvest (including an estimate of what can be expected to be harvested for the remainder of the season) as a percentage of their 2015 Expected Harvest. In general, the harvest season has been adequate, but the lack of a strong harvest overall may challenge peat availability.

The Prairie provinces experienced early favourable weather conditions and a strong start to the year. This helped to minimize periodic negative weather-related conditions during the balance of the harvest season, and harvest numbers

Kam’s Growers Supply announced the addition of Kelsey Cunningham as Technical Sales Representative for the South West Ontario area. Cunningham is a University of Guelph agriculture graduate, and Kelsey Cunningham comes from a farming family in the Thamesville, Ont., area. She had over three seasons of field experience working with farmers as an Area Supervisor during her tenure with DuPont Pioneer.

Sales appointment at Kam’s

Almere applies to host Floriade 2022 The International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) has finalised agreements with the city of Almere and the Nederlandse Tuinbouwraad’ (NTR) for Floriade Amsterdam Almere 2022. With the theme Growing Green Cities, the expo will cover over 60 hectares and focus on the role of horticulture in city construction. Almere Floriade aims to develop a district showcasing examples of green cities, showing genuine solutions to genuine problems. Bernard Oosterom, vice president of AIPH, says, “This is a great way to show the world what green is and what the horticulture sector is able to do.

The Netherlands has a great heritage of Floriade Expos and I am confident that Almere will do a great job in continuing this tradition.”

Dutch-Canadian friendship gardens blossom next spring 140 communities and organizations will receive 70th Anniversary Dutch-Canadian Friendship Tulip Gardens celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the first gift of 100,000 Dutch tulip bulbs. The bulbs were sent to Canada in 1945 as a symbol of appreciation for the role Canadian soldiers played in liberating the Netherlands, and the hospitality Canada provided to the Dutch Royal Family in Ottawa during WWII. More than 400 garden applications were submitted to the Canadian Garden Council.

Each garden contains 700 red and white tulips, thanks a the generous contribution from Vesey’s Bulbs of P.E.I. The 140 gardens will be symbolically linked to a 70th Anniversary Dutch-Canadian Friendship Tulip Garden, to be planted this fall in Ottawa by the National Capital Commission.

The garden will feature 7,000 red and white tulips, also donated by Vesey’s. All gardens will also be featured on the 2016 edition of Canada’s Garden Route.

Professor Marla DeRosa and her team are testing fertilizer capsules that release nutrients to plants when needed.

izer,” says DeRosa. “Our goal is to make fertilizer smart so that it delivers its nutrients to a crop only when the crop needs it.”

The smart fertilizer technology is based on aptamers, small, single-stranded nucleic acids that can bind to large or small target molecules.

In human medicine, this approach is being used to detect damaged cells and distinguish them from healthy ones, so therapy is only delivered to diseased cells. Crops like wheat and canola release chemical signals when they need nitrogen; the researchers believe aptamers can provide targeted nutrient delivery.

It was through partnering with Monreal, who is also a research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, that DeRosa and her team

learned the identity of some of those signals — which allows DeRosa to program the coating of special biodegradable fertilizer capsules she’s developed to release the nutrients only when the plants need it.

Following successful development of the coating and capsule and lab-based testing, DeRosa and Monreal are now moving their concept into a greenhouse setting to see how well it performs with real soil and plants.

This project has received support from Coop Fédérée and Agrium, as well as Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Alberta Innovates Bio Solutions.

New JCB dealer in Alberta Deerland, headquartered in Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., has joined JCB’s dealer network as Deerland JCB. The company offers JCB equipment including Loadall telescopic handlers, wheel loaders, Telemasters, and skid steers and compact track loaders with JCB’s unique side-entry doors. Deerland JCB has two additional Alberta locations in Vegreville and Athabasca.

LT

Carleton profs developing smart fertilizer Carleton University chemistry professor Maria DeRosa and adjunct professor Carlos Monreal are developing a smart fertilizer that waits to release its nutrients until crops tell it to do so.

Currently, unused or excess fertilizer often ends up in lakes and water ways where it creates algae blooms.

“If a crop isn’t ready to take up fertilizer when it is applied, it is wasted, and it’s estimated we waste about $1 billion per year in unused fertilNOVEMBER 2015 | LANDSCAPE TRADES |

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cnlanews Tour Canada’s greenest city This spring, CNLA invites you to join us for the International Association of Horticulture Producers Green City Conference and Tours taking place in Vancouver, B.C. A day-and-a-half conference will be followed by a day-and-a-half of tours. World-renowned speakers will educate delegates on the latest technologies and trends relating to the green city movement. The tours will take attendees out of the hotel and on to the streets of Vancouver, which is set to be the world’s greenest city by 2020.

Join fellow delegates on a walking tour of the city. Explore Coal Harbour and the Vancouver Convention Centre, home to Canada’s largest green roof with an area of six acres. Visit the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel’s rooftop garden and apiary, which supports the hotel’s organic menu. Take the Canada Line down to Olympic Village, home to the 2010 Olympic athletes and today, over 1,000 residential units, parks and retail outlets. The Village uses innovative energy efficiency and sustainability systems. Finish the day by walking through Historic Gastown, one of Canada’s first cities, and home to distinctive architecture.

On Friday, delegates will be taken on a bus tour of some of the greenest sites in the city.

You will have the opportunity to see the largest green wall at the Guildford Shopping Centre, as well as the award-winning converted brownfield site, Westminster Pier Park. Also on the tour is the VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre and Discovery Hall, which is a living building and 100 per cent water independent.

An optional canopy walk is offered to delegates who would like to explore the West Coast forest 50 feet in the air! Another stop is the world famous Granville Market, full of local food and homemade products. The tour concludes at the LEED Gold-Certified Vancouver Aquarium for an amazing dinner.

These are just some of the things you can see and do at the International Green City Conference, taking place March 14 to 18, 2016. For more information or to register, visit www.cnlaacpp.ca/greencity.

Caterpillar increases member discount At the National Awards of Landscape Excellence in August, Caterpillar representative John Janes announced that Caterpillar is increas38 | NOVEMBER 2015 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

ing its CNLA member discount, effective immediately. CNLA members from all provincial associations receive a $2,750 discount on qualifying Cat backhoe loaders, wheel loaders, mini excavators, multi terrain loaders, skid steer loaders, compact track loaders, telehandlers or small dozers. In addition, members can save an additional $250 on select attachments. Visit cnla-acpp.ca/benefits to take advantage of this exclusive offer.

World Skills in São Paulo (An excerpt from the ELCA Study Trip to Brazil report) The 43rd World Skills competition held in São Paolo, Brazil, was the biggest ever. More than a thousand people competed in 50 different skilled trades, and over a thousand experts took part from more than 60 countries or regions.

The event attracted 259,000 visitors. In the landscaping competition, the task was demanding and all the competing pairs struggled to complete it, as time was running out. The work included creating a wall from local natural stone, installing a concrete stone wall, preparing a level surface from two kinds of differently-coloured natural stone, constructing a water feature, and adding a lot of plants according to taste. Italy won the competition, with Switzerland and the United Kingdom sharing second place. Team Canada contestants, Gabriel Tessier and Gabriel Lévesque, competed well, finishing 12th overall.

The next World Skills competition will be held in Abu Dhabi in 2017.

Skills Canada is the only annual national competition in the country that promotes landscape gardening. It attracts thousands of young Canadians every year to compete in a wide variety of skilled trades competitions. However, due to lack of participation, the Landscape Gardening competition is on notice for cancellation in 2016. Get in touch with your provincial association to see how you can help support this important initiative.

Support the National Apprenticeship Survey If you were an apprentice between 2011 and 2013, Statistics Canada may contact you to complete the National Apprenticeship Survey.

We highly encourage everyone who is contacted to take the time to participate to help improve the Canadian apprenticeship experience overall.

Attend an industry trade show We are in the heart of trade show season, a great time to network, learn and exhibit. No matter what part of the country you are in, there is sure to be a show near you in the next few months. Trade shows are often paired with professional development seminars and events that are ideal for staff and owners alike. Use it as a staff appreciation day, a cost-effective and valuable experience for the whole company. The following trade shows are taking place now: l Green Industry Show and Conference: Calgary, Alta. BMO Centre at Stampede Park, Nov. 19 to 20, 2015. l HortEast Trade Show and Conference: Moncton, N.B., Coliseum Complex, Nov. 23 to 25, 2015. l Landscape Ontario’s Congress: Toronto, Ont., Toronto Congress Centre, Jan. 12 to 14, 2016.

Second chances don’t come around often Over the past 10 months, CNLA partnered with the provincial associations to collect relevant wage rate data to provide industry-driven Labour Market Information (LMI) to employers, employees, the provincial associations, educators and government agencies. The information is extremely valuable, but more participation is needed to improve validity of the data.

Doesn’t everyone want to ensure the most accurate information is made available to the entire sector? Employment and Social Development Canada has given the project a second chance to do just that.

Thank you to the many volunteers who have helped make this happen; thank you to the respondents who took the time to complete the survey so far; if you haven’t already done so, now is your chance to contribute. Participate by sending an email to respond@wagesurvey. ca or visit cnla-acpp.ca/industryhr for more information. The wage information you provide will be held in strictest confidence.

LT

The Canadian Nursery Landscape Association is the federation of Canada’s provincial horticultural trade associations.

Visit cnla-acpp.ca for more information.

newproducts Spreader attachment for utility vehicle Bobcat introduces a new spreader specifically designed for use with model year 15 3400, 3600 and 3650 utility vehicles. Powered by a 12-volt DC drive motor, the new spreader can distribute salt or sand from five to 38 feet, where larger vehicles often cannot access because of space restrictions. Two variablespeed dials allow for independent adjustment of the auger and spinner control, and a three-stage baffle allows material flow to be adjusted as well.

Bobcat Company www.bobcat.com

Spinner chute for spreaders A new lane control spinner chute for SaltDogg hydraulic spreaders can be controlled from inside the cab. An LED lane indicator on the controller displays the spreader position for greater user control. The controller provides three material distribution options which saves material by allowing the user to apply material where it is needed most. The chute height can be adjusted to accommodate various mounting heights. A gas spring assist helps store and position the chute with minimal operator effort.

SaltDogg www.saltdogg.com

Biofertilizers BioWorks has three new Verdanta fertilizers. K-Vita is a 100 per cent organic-based granular fertilizer (2-0-20) in a form, whereby nutrients are released slowly and continuously by microbial activity. PL-2 is a 100 per cent organic-based liquid suspension fertilizer (2-0-6). PL-2 provides supplemental potassium with a low salt index for lower ECs in the growing medium. OFE is a foliar iron fertilizer with seaweed extract (3-0-0 + 3 per cent iron). It is derived from both organic and mineral sources, and contains urea to help move iron into the plant leaf tissue.

BioWorks www.bioworksinc.com

Ride-on zero turn mower Jacobsen has launched a new Professional Series of commercialgrade mowers and utility vehicles.

The flagship of the series is the RZT line of ride-on zero turn mowers; the RZT mows up to 5.3 acres per hour with either a 25 or 27 horsepower Kawasaki FX engine or a fuel-efficient 27 horsepower Kohler EFI engine.

Jacobsen
 www.jacobsen.com NOVEMBER 2015 | LANDSCAPE TRADES |

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NOVEMBER 2015 | LANDSCAPE TRADES |

39

newproducts Truck body Rugby Manufacturing has introduced a new Rugby HD Rancher Body, ideal for heavier duty construction and landscape applications.

Designed for maximum durability, the HD Rancher offers several enhanced features including an upgraded 3/16-in. tread plate floor, 7 gauge formed crossmembers with 12-inch spacing, 12-gauge bulkhead sheet and a 3/8-in. tie down rail. The HD Rancher is also available with a B&W turnoverball gooseneck hitch that allows a flat surface with no cutouts in the floor.

Rugby Manufacturing www.rugbymfg.com

Compact skid steer loader The new TS80 skid steer loaders from Takeuchi-US are available in both radial and vertical loader arrangements. A 74 hp Final Tier 4 Deutz engine delivers 192 ft. lb. of torque at 1,800 rpm, with a maintenance-free Diesel Oxidation Catalyst (DOC) that does not require regeneration, cleaning, or Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF). The TS80R2 features an operating weight of 7,950 lbs. and a rated operating capacity of 2,825 lbs. The TS80V2 is heavier than its radial counterpart with an operating weight of 8,965 lbs. and a rated operating capacity of 3,500 lbs.

Takeuchi-US www.takeuchi-us.com

Cordless trimmer The new DUR364LZ cordless trimmer from Makita features quiet operation while cutting around public areas, hospitals, golf courses, rest homes and anywhere that noise is a concern.

Its dual battery gauges gives the operator the state of charge at a glance. The blower uses two 18-volt batteries in series to obtain 36 volts. Soft start feature protects the motor by reducing heavy torque startup, and a brushless motor provides longer motor life, less heat buildup and longer runtime.

Makita www.makita.ca

Propane stand-on mower Exmark’s new Vantage S-Series Propane stand-on rider uses a state-of-the-art Kohler EFI propane power plant that the manufacturer claims delivers significant increases in fuel economy, performance and reliability. The engine’s automotive-style closed-loop EFI system precisely adjusts fuel/air mixture settings in real time for optimal performance at any altitude, any temperature, in any conditions. The Vantage S-Series Propane model is available with a 52-inch UltraCut Series 4 cutting deck.

Exmark Exmark.com 40 | NOVEMBER 2015 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

Irrigation drip tape Toro’s Aqua-Traxx drip tape is now available in the popular 0.13 GPH emitter flow rate, which the manufacturer claims allows even longer lengths of run, and lower application rates, than ever before. This new flow rate is available in 5/8-, 7/8- and 1 3/8-inch internal diameters; 6-, 8-, 10-, 12- and 15-ml wall thicknesses; and 12- and 24-inch emitter spacing options.

With Aqua-Traxx FC, growers get improved uniformity compared to turbulent-flow devices, and superior ability to control the overall system flow rate compared to pressure-compensating devices.

The Toro Company www.toro.com

comingevents November 19-20, Green Industry Show and Conference, BMO Centre, Calgary, Alta. www.greenindustryshow.com

January 11-13, CENTS 2016, Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, Ohio www.centsmarketplace.com

November 23-25, HortEast Conference and Trade Show, Moncton Coliseum Complex, Moncton, N.B. www.horteast.com

January 11-15, CGSA/WCTA Canadian International Turfgrass Conference and Trade Show, Toronto, Ont. www.golfsupers.com

December 2-4, New England Grows, Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, Boston, Mass. www.newenglandgrows.org

January 12-14, Congress 2016, Toronto Congress Centre, Toronto, Ont. www.locongress.com

January 26-29, International Plant Fair, Essen, Germany, www.ipm-messe.de

2016

January 13-15, Northern Green Expo, Minneapolis Convention Center, Minneapolis, Minn. www.northerngreenexpo.org

January 31-February 4, Toronto Spring Gift Fair, International Centre and Congress Centre, Toronto, Ont. www.cgta.org

January 18-20, Your Next Level, Hyatt Pier 66, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. www.yournextlevel.org

February 3-5, iLandscape: The Illinois Landscape Show, Renaissance Schaumberg Conference Centre, Schaumburg, Ill. www.ilandscapeshow.com LT

January 6-8, The Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show, Baltimore Convention Center, Md. www.mants.com January 6-8, Indiana Green Expo, Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis, Ind. www.indianagreenexpo.com

January 20-22, The Tropical Plant Industry Exhibition (TPIE), Greater Fort Lauderdale/ Broward County Convention Center, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. www.fngla.org/tpie January 25-27, Great Lakes Trade Exposition (GLTE), Lansing Centre, Lansing, Mich. www.glte.org

January 19-22, Sports Turf Managers Association 27th Annual Conference and Exhibition, San Diego, Calif. www.stma.org

classifieds EQUIPMENT

FINN Hydroseeders & Bark Blowers New and Used • Flex Guard FRM • Soil Guard BFM • Erosion Control Blanket Seed & Fertilizer Prefilled and Unfilled Filter Sock Toll free: (888) 298-9911 • Fax: (905) 761-7959 www.fibramulch.com

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING INFORMATION:

All classified ads must be pre-paid by credit card.

Rates: $62.15 (includes HST) per column inch (approx. 25 words). Minimum charge $62.15.

Deadline: 10th day of the month prior to issue date. January deadline is Nov. 15. Space is limited to a first-come, first-served basis. Paid ads are also posted to the website for the same month they appear in the printed magazine. To advertise: E-mail your name, phone number and ad to Robert at classifieds@landscapeontario.com.

Online advertising also available. Minimum cost is $67.80 HST included for association members and $90.40 HST included for non-members, up to 325 words. If over 325 words, an additional $20.00 fee applies. For more ads and full details, visit www.landscapetrades.com/classifieds

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

WORKING LANDSCAPE SUPERVISOR Husky Landscaping Services currently has an exciting opportunity for an experienced landscape professional. You will work in the Markham and North York area and be responsible for; Overseeing, training and working alongside 3 landscaping crews, client consultations, landscape design and installation, estimating, budgeting, scheduling and reporting.

The position requires snow plowing and salting over the winter season. Applicants must have a minimum of 2-3 years experience, possess a Horticulturist Trade Certificate, have some College and or vocational or technical training, a strong knowledge of computer hardware and software, a valid G license, demonstrate strong communication skills and an ability to prioritize, and want to make a valuable contribution to a well respected company.

Permanent full time, $40,000-$50,000/year.

Send resume to huskylandscping@yahoo.com or call 416-494-8439

2 GUELPH-AREA BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES TURN-KEY GARDEN CENTRE FOR SALE: on 9 acres of owned land, with on-site luxury home for owner/manager. Established in 1988; market leader in the Guelph area; profitable with potential to become much more so in the years ahead. A true once in a lifetime opportunity for the right buyer!

LOST HORIZONS PERENNIALS NURSERY: Renowned throughout Southern Ontario and beyond as THE go-to source for rare perennials - over 3,000 varieties in-stock.

5.53 acres including 2.5 acre public display gardens and upgraded heritage residence.

Original owner will assist in the transition.

For details on eitherof these great business opportunities, go to prosper.ca or phone Steve Dawkins, Sales Representative with REMAX Real Estate Centre Inc, Brokerage Toll Free: 1-855-95-REMAX

View these ads and more online at www.landscapetrades.com/classifieds NOVEMBER 2015 | LANDSCAPE TRADES |

41

where to find it COMPANY

PAGE

PHONE

EMAIL

WEBSITE

Allstone Quarry Products Inc 20

800-263-1270

info@allstonequarry.com

www.allstonequarry.com

Atlas Polar Company Ltd 27

888-799-4422

info@atlaspolar.com

www.atlaspolar.com

Beaver Valley Stone Ltd 29

416-222-2424

info@beavervalleystone.com

www.beavervalleystone.com

Bobcat Company 13

infocenter@bobcat.com

www.bobcat.com

Fibertop 21

905-203-0816

sales@fibertop.ca

www.fibertop.ca

Ford Motor Company of Canada Ltd 11

905-845-2511

www.ford.ca

Gravely 2

800-472-8359

info@ariens.com

www.gravely.com

Husqvarna North America 19

800-HUSKY62

scatalano@husqvarna.com

www.husqvarna.ca

Hustler Turf Equipment 37

800-395-4757

sales@hustlerturf.com

www.hustlerturf.com

JC Bakker & Sons Ltd 33

877-816-6608

nursery@jcbakker.com

www.jcbakker.com

Landscape Management Network 16, 17

888-347-9864

info@golmn.com

www.golmn.com

Permacon Group Inc 44

800-463-9278

www.permacon.ca

PRO Landscape by Drafix Software 23

800-231-8574

sales@prolandscape.com

www.prolandscape.com

Proven Winners ColorChoice 43

800-633-8859

sales@springmeadownursery.com

www.provenwinners-shrubs.com

Stihl Limited 9

519-681-3000

info.canada@stihl.ca

www.stihl.ca

Thames Valley Brick & Building Products 39

905-637-6997

info@thamesvalleybrick.com

www.thamesvalleybrick.com

The Salt Depot 18

905-479-1177

info@saltdepot.ca

www.saltdepot.ca

Unilock Limited 5

800-UNILOCK

georgetown@unilock.com

www.unilock.com

United Agri Products (UAP) 31

800-265-5444

www.uap.ca

Winkelmolen Nursery Ltd 31

519-647-3912

sales@winkelmolen.com

www.winkelmolen.com

Zander Sod Co Ltd 26

877-727-2100

info@zandersod.com

www.zandersod.com LANDSC APE TRA DES SOU RCE BOO K 201 5

CONNECT with your customers.. with a FREE product listing in Landscape Trades Source Book.

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To advertise in the Source Book, visit landscapetrades.com/advertise 42 | NOVEMBER 2015 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

5 11:5 0:56

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Dwarf Buddleia

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Download the iBook at: http://springmeadownursery.com/catalog Learn about these and other Proven Winners plants with the new iBook for landscapers. Easy-toread overviews of each genus lead to detailed, downloadable pdf sheets for individual varieties.

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To learn more about this revolutionary system with unprecedented ease of use and incredible design possibilities visit permacon.ca