The Official Publication of The Tennessee Nursery and Landscape Association
85 Years of U.S. Big Tree History
Plus, Highlights from TNGRO
85 Years of U.S. Big Tree History
12 10 8
The Tennessee Nursery and Landscape Association serves its members in the industry through education, promotion and representation. The statements and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the association, its staff, or its board of directors, Tennessee Greentimes, or its editors. Likewise, the appearance of advertisers, or their identification as Tennessee Nursery and Landscape Association members, does not constitute an endorsement of the products or services featured in this, past or subsequent issues of this quarterly publication. Copyright ©2025 by the Tennessee Nursery and Landscape Association. Tennessee Greentimes is published quarterly. Subscriptions are complimentary to members of the Tennessee Nursery and Landscape Association. Third-class postage is paid at Jefferson City, MO. Printed in the U.S.A. Reprints and Submissions: Tennessee Greentimes allows reprinting of material. Permission requests should be directed to the Tennessee Nursery and Landscape Association. We are not responsible for unsolicited freelance manuscripts and photographs. Contact the managing editor for contribution information. Advertising: For display and classified advertising rates and insertions, please contact Leading Edge Communications, LLC, 206 Bridge Street, Suite 200, Franklin, TN 37064, (615) 790-3718, Fax (615) 794-4524.
TNLA Golf Classic
Winterthur Viburnum
American Boxwood
Green Giant & Nigra Arbs
Sullivan Cypress
Gem Box Inkberry
Nova Taxus
Green Mtn. Boxwood
Sprinter Boxwood
Excelsa Arb
Uptight Boxwood
Green Gem Boxwood Steeds Holly Popcorn Viburnum
Hicksi Taxus Chicagoland Green Boxwood
Firelight Hydrangeas & Sprinter Boxwoods Densiformis Taxus Pragense Viburnum
Wintergem Boxwood Polar Gold Arb & Sky Pencil Holly
TNLA would like to thank the following companies for being Membership Sponsors
GOLD Membership Sponsors
BASF
Blankenship Farms and Nursery
BWI of Memphis
Cam Too Camellia Nursery, Inc.
Drees Plant Wholesalers
Flower City Nurseries
H & R Agri-Power Farm & Turf
Home Nursery, Inc.
Lawn Doctor
Legacy Labor
Mid-South Nursery
Randall Walker Farms
Riverbend Nurseries, LLC
Southern Agriculture Insecticides
Tennessee Valley Nursery, Inc.
Warren County Nursery, Inc.
Woodbury Insurance Agency
Youngblood Farms, LLC
SILVER Membership Sponsors
Dayton Bag & Burlap Co.
Kinsey Gardens, Inc.
Mize Farm And Garden
Old Courthouse Nursery
Rusty Mangrum Nursery
Turf Mountain Sod
From the President
Ozzy Lopez
This is my last President’s message. And I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make our industry and association better. It’s been a pleasure to serve as your TNLA President. I look forward to the future as Sam Kinsey will take over on January 1st. We will have several big events next year including our Field Day at UT Gardens, our annual golf tournament, and TNGRO ’26 is back on October 15 – 16th at the Farm Bureau Expo Center
Before I go I will take you on a little trip down memory lane. This past year has been very busy for the board and I want to share the highlights in case you missed it. We published a new Buyer’s Guide for the first time in over a decade, revamped our website, re-started our 5 consecutive year plan to have TNGRO at the Farm Bureau Expo Center, held our annual golf tournament at Fall Creek Falls, supported the state FFA program, planted a green screen at a local High School soccer field, held our annual Field Day at UT Gardens, delivered aid and donations to those affected by Hurricane Helene in East Tennessee and North Carolina including donations to rebuild a high school greenhouse that was destroyed, lobbied for regular order in the pear tree ban being contemplated by the state legislature, lobbied Governor Lee for an Ag Expo Center for Warren County, began working towards a unification plan with MTNA, and so much more!
The future also looks bright. We are working on a new outside marketing campaign for TNGRO. We remain engaged in the Ag Expo Center for Warren County. We are working steadfast with MTNA on a way forward. Join us on the board. Serve on a committee. Get involved in your association. Thank you for all that you do to make the nursery business in Tennessee the best it can be.
The Tennessee Greentimes is the official publication of
The Tennessee Nursery & Landscape Association, Inc.
115 Lyon Street
McMinnville, TN 37110
(931) 473-3951
Fax (931) 473-5883
www.tnla.com
Email: mail@tnla.com
Published By
Leading Edge Communications
206 Bridge Street, Suite 200 Franklin, Tennessee 37064 (615) 790-3718
Fax (615) 794-4524
Email: info@leadingedge communications.com
Editors
Dr. Bill Klingeman
Dr. Amy Fulcher
Associate Editors
Dr. Karla Addesso
Dr. Becky Bowling
Dr. Midhula Gireesh
Dr. Nar Ranabhat
TNLA Officers
President Ozzy Lopez
Ozzy’s Lawncare and Hardscape Services
1st Vice President
Sam Kinsey
Kinsey Gardens
2nd Vice President
Trista Pirtle
Pirtle Nursery
3rd Vice President
Jason Peace
Home Nursery, Inc.
Secretary-Treasurer
Bryan Tate
Mid-South Nursery
Associate Director
Eli Eldridge
EBE Land Services
Ex-Officio
Jon Flanders
Botanico, Inc. &
3F - Flanders Family Farm
Executive Director
Ozzy Lopez
TNLA President
Danae Bouldin
Assistant Director
Blake Higgins
Meet Dr. Hannah Wright-Smith
UT Plant Sciences’ New Extension Specialist for Forage and Horticultural Weed Management
Hello Tennessee, it’s great to be here! My name is Hannah Wright-Smith, and I recently joined the UT Plant Sciences Department as an Assistant Professor and Extension Weed Specialist. My areas of focus are forage and horticultural crop weed management, and I look forward to utilizing my expertise to support Tennessee’s nurseries.
I am originally from the mountains northeast Georgia/western South Carolina and grew up on a farm (really a glorified garden) where we grew vegetables for restaurants in town. In 2016, I graduated from Mississippi State University with a degree in Agribusiness and went to the University of Arkansas to obtain an MS in weed science. My thesis project was evaluating a new herbicide for use in rice, though I gained experience in multiple other row crops throughout my studies as well. After completing my MS, I went to the University of Georgia for my PhD, also in weed science. While at UGA I worked with numerous row and vegetable crops, evaluating herbicide application timing and new herbicide uses in these crops. Once I completed my PhD in the fall of 2022, I returned to the University of Arkansas as an Assistant Professor and Extension Weed Specialist for turfgrass, vegetation management, and specialty crops. There my efforts were focused on herbicide application timing efficiency and communicating best weed management practices to county agents, turfgrass managers, cattle and hay producers, and fruit and vegetable growers. I was also fortunate to work with the ornamental specialist on research trials exploring novel herbicides for use in ornamental container and field production. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my husband, Tyler, and our dog, Doug, or listening to a good audiobook while crocheting or knitting.
In October I had the opportunity to attend the TNLA trade show and connect with several nurserymen from across the state. I’m excited to continue making connections with stakeholders and learning more about Tennessee nursery crop production and the weed management needs of Tennessee nurseries. Additionally, I’m looking forward to working with my colleagues at UT and TSU to provide useful and timely training on weed control in nursery crops. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at hwrightsmith@utk.edu!
“The more than one company agency”
HOOVER & SON INSURANCE
“Since 1901”
114 S. COURT SQUARE • P.O. BOX 669 M c MINNVILLE, TN 37111 (931) 473-2200 • CELL (931) 212-9856
E-Mail: Hooverins@benlomand.net • www.hooverins.com
(503) 645-1342
Fax (503) 645-6856
sales@motzandson.com
11445 N.W. Skyline Blvd. Portland, Oregon 97231 www.motzandson.com
FRED LEE HOOVER
Growers of Fruit Trees • Shade & Flowering Trees • Deciduous Shrubs
TNGRO 2025
Gold Sponsors
Silver Sponsors
Bronze Sponsors
Best of Show Green Goods
1st Place – Turner & Sons Nursery
Best of Show Green Goods 3rd Place – Warren County Nursery Best of Show Hard Goods 2nd Place – TriGreen Equipment
Best of Show Hard Goods 3rd Place – H & R Agri Power Farm & Turf
Best of Show Hard Goods
1st Place – Barky Beaver Mulch & Soil
Best of Show Green Goods
2nd Place – Easy Tree Nursery
2025 Award Winners
Young Nursery Professional of the Year
Keith Youngblood, Youngblood Farms, LLC presented by President Ozzy Lopez
Nurseryman of the Year
Beth Blankenship, Blankenship Farms & Nursery (First woman to receive this award in 120 year history) presented by daughter, KatieBeth Stanfield
Floyd MacDonald Scholarship Recipient Ashley Barrow and Presenter Dr. Douglas Airhart
William James “Bil” Reilly, Jr. Salesman of the Year
Dot Reilly, Cam Too Camellia Nursery, Inc. by 2nd Vice President Trista Pirtle
Landscape Contractor of the Year
Willow Ridge Garden Center & Landscaping presented 1st President Sam Kinsey
Green Goods Distributor of the Year Center Hill Nursery presented to Jason Poss by Ex-Officio Jon Flanders
Committee Chair of the Year
Dr. Midhula Gireesh presented by 3rd Vice President Jason Peace
Hall of Fame – Louree Walker presented by Secretary Treasurer Bryan Tate
Hall of Fame – Dr. Nick Gawel presented by Ex-Officio Jon Flanders
2025 TNLA Golf Classic
Golf Sponsors 2025
3F Flanders Family Farm
Bob Young’s Nursery
Botanico, Inc.
BWI
Carpe Diem Farms
Citizen’s Tri County Bank
Dayton Bag & Burlap
Faron Green Nursery
Harrell’s
Haston Farm Nursery
Heather Farms Nursery
ICL Growing Solutions
John Holmlund Nursery
Kirby Realty
Mid South Nursery
Morton’s Horticultural Products
Pirtle Nursery, LLC
Randall Walker Farms
Scenic Hills Nursery
Southern Blue
Tennessee Valley Nursery
Triangle Nursery
3rd Place – Kirby Realty
4th Place –Dayton Bag & Burlap
1st Place – Mid South Nursery
4th Place –ICL Growing Solutions
2nd Place – Kelley Konstruction
TENNESSEE
Nursery
Landscape
Garden
Landscape
National Champion Tree Program makes available an archive of historical registers and documents Interested in 85 Years of U.S. Big Tree History?
By Jaq Payne, NCTP Director and Dr. Sharon Jean-Philippe, Professor in the UT School of Natural Resources
“One of the most tragic stories in the history of American forests is now in the making. It hasn’t been written in its final form, but our children will live to see that day unless something is done. I refer to the gradual disappearance of our most magnificent remaining tree specimens.”
– Joseph Stearns
(1940)
When Mr. Stearns shared these concerns in American Forests Magazine, he wasn’t writing about the beloved, famous, protected redwoods on the West Coast. The “most magnificent remaining trees” that he called attention to were the oaks, sweetgums, sycamores, and pines distributed throughout America’s few remaining old-growth forest stands (Figure 1).
These oft-unsung heroes of our environment are remarkable not only for their beauty, for the shade that they cast, and for the stormwater they filter – these trees are a living connection between our past and the future. The National Champion Rocky Mountain Juniper, the “Jardine Juniper”, has been documented at over 1,500 years old (Figure 2). If adequately protected, this well-protected specimen will likely join the eldest of its brethren by hanging around for another 1,500 years. We stand today in the present, remembering the seedling that became this monarch and that will (hopefully) grow past us into distant future.
Stearns’ call for recognizing and protecting the largest specimen of each tree species in the United States became the “American Forestry Association’s 1941 Report on American Big Trees”, a list of 76 trees documented as the largest of their species. As of 2023, the National Champion Tree program has found a new home at the University of Tennessee.
Figure 1. Joseph Stearns. Original photo caption: All that remains of the world’s largest tulip, or yellow poplar. Located near Weaverville, North Carolina, it was killed by fire in 1934.
Photo Credit: Southern Hardwood Product, Inc.
PERENNIAL
Today’s reports occur biannually with the officially title as the “National Register of Champion Trees”. The 2024 Register features 547 big trees located across the United States (Figure 3). Although this relatively brief history pales in comparison to that of the Jardine Juniper, 85 years of history is nothing to sneeze at. The records that are now publicly and readily available span time of administrations of fifteen different presidents, nineteen Summer Olympic games, and a
dizzying array of technological advancements, including the first human breaking the sound barrier, the development of Velcro, the microwave oven, and the Slinky.
For the first time since the program’s inception, all past Registers of Champion Trees are now available for public viewing. These records are the vibrant history of our relationship with our arboreal giants and, more broadly, the history of Americans and our remarkable trees (Figure 4).
At the beginning of the archive, a major concern of 1940s conservationists was widespread deforestation that occurred with World War II. As the few remaining unlogged American forests were becoming assets used to meet the raw material demands of war, foresters were becoming concerned; if the largest, strongest, healthiest specimens in the forest were repeatedly sought for cutting, then the nation would lose the genetic stock resources that would re-grow large, strong, healthy trees for future generations. In the following era of increased globalization, foresters were soon recognizing early signs of invasive pests like Hemlock Wooly Adelgid, which was first recorded in Virginia in the 1950s but present in U.S. western states since the ‘20s. The archive shows that relocated pests and disease species were becoming a larger part of industry conversations.
The decisions we make today will shape the landscape hundreds of years from now. As these foresters of the past looked toward the future, they understood the legacy of their work. As you scan through the online historical archive, you’ll find that registers are listed by year. Some featuring different milestones, such as the 50th anniversary in 1990, and the first online version in 2010 that replaced the print version, marking a transition that was not well received by big tree fans. The records also include notes about changes that occurred in the registers across time, along with messages and letters.
We are the inheritors of their helpful and harmful choices, and we hold a great responsibility to future generations to do everything within our power to ensure that our children receive the same abundance that was handed to us: a country full to the brim of natural wonders, both those stewarded from ages past and those being planted in the soil today and legacy landscapes and urban forests that hold many magnificent specimen trees; and sometimes State and National Champion tree species.
Foresters in the 1940s came together to imagine this possibility: that we could become a society that recognizes the arboreal treasures around us, a culture that celebrates and venerates trees, and a country that advocates for and protects our stalwart giants. We are their torchbearers now.
As Bill Rooney wrote in the 50th anniversary edition of the Register of Champion Trees in 1990, more than three decades ago:
“These monuments to natural order serve as measuring sticks for our own survival. As long as we can see such trees linking sky and earth, as long as they provide quiet places for the young to dream and the not-so-young to remember old dreams and build new ones, we humans too will be able both to stay rooted in the earth and to reach for the sky.”
Figure 3. NCTP online resource is a publicly available historical archive of resources dating back to its 1940 inception.
Figure 4. NCTP’s new online Archives include the most current 2024 National Register of Champion Trees with details and photos of more than 547 trees, including several from Tennessee.
Bowling’s Nursery, Inc. Inside Front Cover www.bowlingsnursery.com
Brown’s Nursery.....................................................5 Greene County Fertilizer Co. .......................... 15 www.greenecountyfert.com
Hoover & Son Insurance 7 www.hooverins.com
Jelitto Perennial Seeds 13 www.jelitto.com
King’s Industries Back Cover
Leading Edge Communications 11, 13 www.LeadingEdgeCommunications.com
Motz & Son Nursery 7 www.motzandson.com
Pender Nursery, Inc. 11 www.pendernursery.com
Richey Nursery Company, LLC 15 www.richeynursery.com
www.rustymangrumnursery.com
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