The Scoop - December 2023

D ecem b e r 202 3 • Vol u m e 4 6 I s su e 12

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE MINNESOTA NURSERY & LANDSCAPE ASSOCIATION

The Effect of Drought on Landscape Grasses PLUS Missions and Visions Structuring a Winter Contract

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MNLA.BIZ | DECEMBER 2023

December 2023

Vol 46 Issue 12

CONTENTS

14

14 Three Years of Drought Affects Ornamental Grasses

Mary Hockenberry Meyer shares how the drought has affected grasses at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.

18 Plant-Tech

18

IN THIS ISSUE 9

Events

10

Missions and Visions President Randy Berg highlights the importance of a meaningful mission and vision statement for your business.

Learn how the Montreal Botanical Garden is using phytotechnology to help decontaminate water, prevent the spread of invasive species, and slow erosion.

27

The Dirty Truth: 7 Hidden Reasons Behind Poor Retail Store Cleanliness A clean store is essential for attracting and retaining customers.

31

MNLA Member Profile: Hoffman and McNamara Nursery and Landscaping Get to know Hoffman & McNamara, a landscaping business and wholesale tree nursery.

35

Proposed Minimum Salary Increase for Exempt Employees Learn how proposed changes could increase the base salary requirement and affect your staff.

a Winter Contract 37 Structuring Are you accounting for the proper variables when

31

13

What’s in Store for 2024 MNLA Government Affairs Director, Felipe Illescas, shares the legislative session priorities we will be focusing on in 2024.

30

Green Industry Day on the Hill Join us for the 2024 Day on the Hill!

41

Plant of the Month: Genctiana andrewsii Julie Weisenhorn highlights the uniqueness of the blue bottle gentian.

44

Serving on Your Behalf: Greg Krogstad Learn more about Board of Directors member, Greg Krogstad, and what drew him to MNLA and what he finds valuable.

creating your contracts? Chris Reifsteck discusses what to look out for.

Cover image: Mary Hockenberry Meyer This page: Mary Hockenberry Meyer (left), Landscape Trades (middle), Hoffman and McNamara (right)

DECEMBER 2023 | MNLA.BIZ

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D IR ECTORY

December 2023 | Vol 46 Issue 12

MINNESOTA NURSERY & LANDSCAPE ASSOCIATION

STAFF DIRECTORY

Successful Businesses Grow Here

Executive Director

Cassie Larson, CAE • cassie@mnla.biz

1813 Lexington Ave. N., Roseville, MN 55113 651-633-4987 • Fax: 651-633-4986

Associate Director

Jon Horsman, CAE • jon@mnla.biz

Outside the metro area, toll free: 888-886-MNLA • Fax: 888-266-4986 • MNLA.biz • NorthernGreen.org

Director of Government Affairs

Felipe Illescas • felipe@mnla.biz Education & Certification Manager

Hallie Chasensky • hallie@mnla.biz

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Randy Berg, President

Communications Coordinator

Brianna Burns • brianna@mnla.biz

Greg Krogstad

Berg’s Nursery, Landscape/Garden Center 507-433-2823 • randy@bergsnursery.com

Rainbow Treecare 952-922-3810 • gkrogstad@rainbowtreecare.com

Matt Mallas, Vice-President

Patrick McGuiness

SiteOne Landscape Supply 763-512-2849 • mmallas@siteone.com

Zlimen & McGuiness PLLC 651-331-6500 • pmcguiness@zmattorneys.com

Terri McEnaney, Secretary-Treasurer

John O’Reilly

Regulatory Affairs Manager

Jim Calkins • jim@mnla.biz Foundation Program Manager

Paulette Sorenson • paulette@mnla.biz Administrative Assistant

Louise Nemmers • louise@mnla.biz Accountant

Bailey Nurseries 651-459-9744 • terri.mcenaney@baileynursery.com

Otten Bros. Garden Center and Landscaping 952-473-5425 • j.oreilly@ottenbros.com

Susan Bachman West

Jim Shimon

Advertising Sales

Bachman’s, Inc. 612-861-7600 • sbachman@bachmans.com

Willow River Company — Landscaping & Tree Farm 715-386-3196 • jimshimon@willowrivertree.com

763-295-5420 Advertising Manager

Kim Gaida-Wagener

Cassie Larson

Betsy Pierre • betsy@pierreproductions.com

Rock Hard Landscape Supply 612-619-3312 • kgaida@rockhardmn.com

MNLA Executive Director 651-633-4987 • cassie@mnla.biz

Doug Carnival

Pam Helgeson • accounting@mnla.biz

Legislative Affairs Consultant

ADVERTISERS

6

Amcon & Borgert: TCC Companies................................. 8

Kubota............................................................................ 34

Anderson Nurseries, Inc................................................ 32

Lano Equipment, Inc..................................................... 20

Bachman’s Wholesale Nursery & Hardscapes................ 3

Maguire Agency.............................................................. 36

Bullis Insurance Agency................................................. 12

Minnesota Propane Association................................... 23

Central Landscape Supply............................................. 47

Niebur Tractor & Equipment........................................ 22

Compeer Financial......................................................... 32

Out Back Nursery........................................................... 12

Cushman Motor Company............................................ 28

Plaisted Companies.......................................................... 7

Davey.............................................................................. 12

Rock Hard Landscape Supply........................................ 32

Environmental Design Inc............................................. 47

SiteOne Landscape Supply............................................ 11

Gertens Wholesale & Professional Turf Supply............. 2

SMSC Organics Recycling Facility................................. 36

Glacial Ridge Growers.................................................... 20

The Resultants................................................................ 40

Goodmark Nurseries...................................................... 45

The Tessman Company.................................................. 22

Green Turf Sod Farms...................................................... 4

Tri-State Bobcat, Inc...................................................... 17

Jeff Belzer Chevrolet................................................ 24, 25

Versa-Lok Midwest........................................................ 38

Jeff Martin Auctioneers................................................. 47

Ziegler CAT....................................................... Back Cover

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Jonathan Dorow | Hardscape Sales and Product Manager jdorow@amconconcreteproducts.com | borgertproducts.com 2025 Centre Pointe Blvd, Mendota Heights, MN 55120 | direct: 651.286.1261 | cell: 612.756.4672 MNLA.BIZ | DECEMBER 2023

UPCO MI NG

EVENTS CALENDAR Information on industry events: MNLA.biz/events Free, member-only videos: MNLA.biz/OnlineEducation

January (2024) 19

Green Industry Leadership Institute Application Deadline Become a stronger, more confident leader when you participate in the leadership development program designed with a green industry focus.

23- Northern Green 25 Saint Paul RiverCentre, Saint Paul, MN REGISTER NOW! Join us for the premier event for green industry professionals in the northern region. Exhibit booths are still available. Northerngreen.org

February (2024) 16

MNLA Professional Certification Exam MNLA Office, Roseville, MN

Sit for the exam to become an MNLA Certified Professional in 2024. Additional dates: February 23, March 1 and 8. Registration is limited.

FR E E !

29 Green Industry Day On The Hill Saint Paul Capitol, Saint Paul, MN

The Day on the Hill is a critical opportunity for you to build relationships with elected officials and raise awareness about issues impacting your business, workforce, and the industry as a whole. Sign up to join your colleagues in Saint Paul.

General Networking

Business

Leadership Development

Skills Training

2023 MNLA education generously supported by:

WHOLESALE NURSERY & HARDSCAPES

Your Trusted Partner

Volume 46, Issue 12: The Scoop is issued monthly, 12 times per year.

All original works, articles or formats published in The Scoop are © Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association, 2023, and may not be used without written permission of MNLA, 1813 Lexington Ave N., Roseville, MN 55113. Subscription price is $99 for one year, which is included with member dues.

Postmaster: Send address changes to The Scoop, MNLA, 1813 Lexington Ave N., Roseville, MN 55113.

Editorial Contributions: You are invited to share your expertise and perspective.

Article ideas and manuscripts should, whenever possible, reflect real and specific experiences. Before submitting an article, please contact the editor at brianna@mnla.biz or 651-633-4987.

Proper plant selection is critical to long-lived, healthy and sustainable landscapes, and understanding the planting site itself — its soil, light, moisture, exposure, and size — is crucial to choosing plants that will thrive.

The Plant Elements of Design selection program will help you find plants that match the conditions of your landscaping site.

This extensive database of plants includes photos and care information you can use with your clients. Go to www.landscapeplants.extension.umn.edu to try it today!

DECEMBER 2023 | MNLA.BIZ

Plant-Elements-of-Design.indd 1

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8/11/2017 8:34:49 AM

FR OM THE PR ES I D E N T

Randy Berg Berg’s Nursery & Landscape

Missions & Visions Does your company have a mission and vision statement? If so, was it an exercise you completed years ago and pay little or no attention to? The importance of a mission and vision statement became crystal clear to me during our last strategic planning session. These statements need to be a roadmap to guide your business forward. When making decisions regarding the future of your business these statements should provide clear and concise direction.

If you are not familiar with mission/vision statements, you are not alone. Simply put, a vision statement is the overarching dream or vision of where you want your company to be in the future and the mission statement tells how you will get there. In other words, the mission helps you achieve your vision.

Apple’s mission is “to bring the best user experience to customers through innovative hardware, software and services.” Apple’s vision is “to make the best products on the earth and to leave the world better than we found it.” These two short and concise statements make it clear to anyone what Apple’s purpose is. Crafting and creating these statements are hard work. Avoid long drawn-out statements. Be clear. Get to the point and leave no doubt what your business does and where it is going.

iStock.com/alano design

Once you have created your statements, post them for all to see, employees as well as customers. Use your statements to make decisions and ask yourself does the direction we are going fit our mission/vision? If not, it’s the wrong decision. The time and effort spent to create these statements will pay off. They bring to light the true purpose for your company. So, dig in and create.

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MNLA.BIZ | DECEMBER 2023

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GOVERNMEN T A FFA IRS

Felipe Illescas Government Affairs Director felipe@mnla.biz

What’s in Store for 2024 The 2024 Legislative Session is approaching fast. We have heard from you via the member survey, site visits, meetings, committee participation, and other vehicles. You have made it clear that the following are the top priorities for the industry. Some are pretty obvious and ongoing and some are new as we face climate change and other new challenges. Based on your feedback, this is what our legislative agenda looks like for 2024: • • • • • • •

Salt/Liability Protection Backflow Regulation Reform Normalizing Synthetic Turf Ability To Use Gas-Powered Equipment Preventing Expansion of Pesticide Preemption Partnering With State Government to Improve Paid Family & Medical Leave Program Continuing To Work Towards the Expansion of H2 Visas

Our industry continues to become a bigger player at the legislature, and our presence with elected officials keeps growing. We will be working extremely hard this legislative session to ensure that we have another positive outcome this coming year. You can be part of this important process by participating in legislative visits and attending our Green Industry Day On The Hill that will take place on February 29th.

If you want to become more active with your elected officials and/or want to be part of Day On The Hill 2024, please send me a message at felipe@mnla.biz or 612-418-5382.

Thank you so much for your work and support. I look forward to working in partnership with each and every one of you.

DECEMBER 2023 | MNLA.BIZ

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All photos in this article: Mary Hockenberry Meyer, University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum

D R OU GHT & OR N AME N TAL G R AS S E S

Three Years of Drought Affects Ornamental Grasses Mary Hockenberry Meyer, University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum

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MNLA.BIZ | DECEMBER 2023

2023 marks the third year of drought for much of Minnesota, including the Ornamental Grass Collection at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Drought stress is showing up in this 36-year-old collection, which receives no irrigation, except in the first year for new plantings.

Drought-affected plants showed reduced height, fewer flowers, and overall smaller plants. Shorter, smaller plants mean fewer leaves and reduced photosynthesis, resulting in fewer carbohydrates for storage and root growth. Reduced food reserves going into winter can mean slower growth the following summer and perhaps death of the plant. But many grasses, especially those native to the tallgrass prairie, showed minimal drought injury. However, two native grass cultivars, ‘Blackhawks’ big bluestem and Golden Sunset® yellow prairie grass were much shorter.

DRO UGHT & O RNAMENTA L G RA SSES

Drought Stressed Plants Purple moor grass (Molinia caerulea), as a genus was visibly drought stressed. Both tall and shorter cultivars were reduced in height with fewer flowers. Molinia ‘Moorhexe’ showed the worst growth with 80% brown 10-inch-high foliage and almost no flowers by mid-August. It’s unclear why this cultivar showed so much stress and it is uncertain if these plants will be alive in 2024.

Molinia ‘Karl Foerster’, ‘Skyracer’, ‘Stafa’, and ‘Windspiel’ were all shorter and with fewer flowers. We reset several Molinia in 2021 due to vole damage and with the drought, the plants have been slower to recover. Shorter forms (other than ‘Moorhexe’) show less stress than the taller Molinia.

Spodiopogon sibericus (frost grass), was much shorter with reduced flowers in 2023, this was the first year it showed significant drought stress.

Andropogon gerardii ‘Blackhawks’ (big bluestem) and Sorghastrum nutans Golden Sunset® were the two native grass cultivars that showed reduced height due to the lack of moisture. The foliage and flowers were like other years, in fact, ‘Blackhawks’ foliage was cleaner with no leafspot or rust that is common in wetter years. Both are large plants and maybe a shorter version with the drought is not such a bad thing.

Sorghastrum nutans ‘Steel Blue’ and ‘Indian Steel’ (yellow prairie grass) were about 1 foot shorter with fewer flowers; cultivars show minimal effect.

Table 1. Height (inches) of grasses 2020-2023 at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.

Name

2023

2022

2021

2020

Andropogon gerardii ‘Blackhawks’

51”

53”

59”

72”

Molinia ‘Karl Forester’

57”

63”

69”

84”

Miscanthus sinensis ‘Purpurescens’

48”

63”

59”

62”

Miscanthus xgiganteus

85”

102”

102”

108”

Sorghastrum nutans Golden Sunset®

55”

60”

63”

78”

Spodiopogon sibericus

36”

63”

63”

64”

DECEMBER 2023 | MNLA.BIZ

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D R OU GHT & OR N AME N TAL G R AS S E S

Miscanthus sinensis ‘Purpurascens’, ‘Hercules’ ‘Flamingo’ (maiden grass) had much shorter and fewer flowers.

Miscanthus xgiganteus (giant Miscanthus) is 2-4 feet shorter and had no flowers as of October 4, 2023, showing cumulative drought impact.

Sporobolus wrightii (giant sacaton) showed no impact from drought. Just planted in 2022 and although only the second summer, all are looking good, with many flowers and many culms. Will they survive consistently in Minnesota? Time will tell!

Milium effusum ‘Aureum’, Golden Millet, a cool season bright yellow grass, was much reduced in growth, 80% of plants had died by September, likely due to the dry conditions.

Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem), Spartina pectinata and ‘Aureomarginata’, prairie cordgrass, and Sporobolus heterolepis (prairie dropseed), all showed minimal or no drought stress; height and flowers are similar to other years.

Grasses showing minimal or no drought stress Chasmanthium latifolium (River oats, or northern sea oats) showed no stress despite its being native to wet sites. Go figure!

It had normal height and flowers. The same was observed for Hakonechloa macra (Japanese forest grass) which was overall in good shape, excellent for ‘Albo-strata’ and okay for others. Both grasses are known for preferring moist sites.

Sesleria (autumn moor grass), all species, do not seem affected by drought. New plants were added in May 2022, so they were watered last year, but not watered at all in 2023. The plants established well, and the flowers and size were similar to past years.

Calamagrostis (feather reed grass), all cultivars and species seem fine, variegated and ‘Karl Foerster’ showed minimal drought stress.

Panicum virgatum (switchgrass), showed minimal or no drought impact. The overall impact might be 6-10 inches shorter, some with rolled foliage, but overall growth was very similar to other years.

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MNLA.BIZ | DECEMBER 2023

Andropogon gerardii (big bluestem) with most selections of big bluestem such as ‘Wind Walker’, ‘Indian Warrior’, ‘Lone Ranger’, ‘Lord Snowden’, ‘Dancing Wind’, and ‘Red October’ were fine and showed no drought impact. The exception was ‘Blackhawks’.

The upside is big bluestem foliage was much cleaner due to less moisture, so leaf spots and rust were minimal this year.

Miscanthus sinensis ‘Blondo’, ‘Silver Feather’, ‘Zebrinus’, and ‘Zwergelifant’ were like other years in height and flowers.

The Ornamental Grass Collection at the Arboretum is open most every day of the year and is on Three-Mile Drive just past the maze. There is free access to the collection with gate admission. See www.arboretum.umn.edu for more information.

Mary Hockenberry Meyer is Professor Emeritus and Grass Collection Curator at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Dr. Meyer can be contacted at meyer023@umn.edu.

NEGAT IVE REVIEWS

DECEMBER 2023 | MNLA.BIZ

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PL A NT-TEC H

Plant-Tech Karina Sinclair Reprinted with permission from Landscape Trades.

Montreal Botanical Garden protects biodiversity with phytotechnology.

All photos in this article courtesy of Landscape Trades

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MNLA.BIZ | DECEMBER 2023

Beauty and brawn. Can plants have both? When used to solve heavy-duty environmental problems, like controlling invasive species, decontaminating soil, or preventing erosion, plants truly are ecological powerhouses. This application of plants is called phytotechnology, and it’s being used across the country with a high success rate while providing multiple ecosystem benefits.

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EXP led the rehabilitation and restoration of the Frederic Back Tree Pavilion to protect and enhance its biodiversity.

You might already be familiar with how well trees and turf help filter the air, but there’s a lot to be done from the ground down.

These techniques are being tested and implemented — in place of or alongside traditional engineering methods — to improve soil and water conditions in different environments.

Controlling invasive species The Pathway to Phytotechnologies project at the Montreal Botanical Garden (MBG) in Montreal, Que., showcases three phytotechnology stations (three more are to be completed by 2026). These stations, built in partnership with scientists from Space for Life, aim to solve specific environmental problems, such as removing surplus phosphorus and nitrogen from wetlands, limiting nutrient run-off of rainwater, and degrading contaminants from excavated soil.

“The Botanical Garden is one of the jewels of Space for Life and of Montreal. We are happy to be able to count on its experts and researchers, who find adapted and creative solutions to the challenges of biodiversity,” Jocelyn Pauzé, associate advisor at Space for Life, said in a press release. “It is clear that phytotechnology is a promising approach that will contribute to concretely combating environmental problems.”

The MBG station for controlling invasive plants recently earned a Living Green for Water Award from the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH). The AIPH World Green City Awards celebrate ambitious nature-based solutions

to city design and operation. To win means to have successfully incorporated plants and nature to improve a city’s economic, social, and environmental resilience.

To address the surge of undesirable aquatic and semiaquatic plants, a buffer of diverse native grasses, perennials and shrubs was installed on the banks of the pond in 2021. This helped block competition from invasive species and secured the shoreline from wave erosion with minimum maintenance.

Floating rafts of plants, anchored near the south and southwest banks, shift with the wind, and cast shade, limiting the growth of sun-dependent algae.

Phytofiltration Phytotechnology can also clean toxins from groundwater or aqueous waste; this process is called phytofiltration. Floating treatment wetlands (FTWs) have been successfully used in shallow lakes, such as Pelican Lake in Manitoba. Woven from large emergent plants like cattails, these floating islands absorb excess nitrogen and phosphorus in water and sediment caused by stormwater run-off and municipal wastewater. The cattails thrive from consuming the extra nutrients while limiting the growth of microscopic algae. In addition, the floating islands serve as habitat for fish and wildlife.

Researchers estimated it was possible to reduce phosphorus levels by half by covering only five per cent of the lake with floating islands. Combining this method with traditional

DECEMBER 2023 | MNLA.BIZ

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Develop the Next Leader in Your Business in 2024 This unique leadership development program was custom designed with a green industry focus. It is open to selected candidates (maximum 14) each year. The curriculum is founded on the power skills (referred to by many as “soft skills”) needed for leaders in today’s workplace. Each student will complete a project that impacts the company.

• The course meets one time per month from February to December (except for May). This consistent schedule allows the students to take away a concept from the class and gives them time between meetings to apply and experience it APPLICATION within the work environment.

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MNLA.BIZ | DECEMBER 2023

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remediation helped create a healthy environment more quickly.

Similarly, Olds College in Alberta launched a project to determine if floating islands of native wetland plants could absorb contaminants in farm feedlot ponds muddied with manure. The goal is to clean the water back to irrigation or livestock drinking water standards.

Phytoremediation Another promising form of phytotechnology is phytoremediation. As plant roots explore through the soil, not only do they aerate, moderate moisture levels, and support microbial activity, but they can also absorb toxic compounds and heavy metals. This is an alternative to mechanical or physio-chemical techniques to remediate soil, such as soil incineration, excavation and landfill, or solidification. However, those techniques are expensive and may even introduce secondary pollutants while making irreversible changes to the biological properties of the soil.

Heavy metals are mostly insoluble, but plants can change the rhizosphere pH and increase that solubility. The metal ions eventually become absorbed and distributed throughout the plant cells, where chemical changes lessen the toxicity. Deeprooted native grasses are proving particularly good at this, as The MBG station for controlling invasive plants recently earned a Living Green for Water award from the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH).

PARTNERS FUND INVES TING IN THE FU TURE OF THE GREEN INDUS TRY

Contribute to the MNLA Foundation Workforce Development Partners Fund at a participating supplier.

Your voluntary donation of ½ of 1% (0.5%) on purchases is used to grow a brighter future for the industry.

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10/8/2023 8:34:37 PM

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MNLA.BIZ | DECEMBER 2023

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MBG is planning more experiments to tackle challenges such as reducing the heat island effect from the parking lot and lessening the impact of city noise.

are poplar trees. Phytoremediation can be applied on a large scale — fields at a time — to not only remove contaminants from the soil but improve soil fertility by enriching the organic nature of the soil.

A future station at the Montreal Botanical Garden will use this method to extract contaminants from soil excavated during construction. If proven here, the City of Montreal can apply the process to four hectares of polluted brownfield in the city’s east end. It would be the largest phytoremediation project in Canada to date.

“We therefore have a duty to find sustainable solutions in harmony with nature,” said Julie Jodoin, acting director of Space for Life. “As part of Space for Life’s commitment to protecting biodiversity, and thanks to the support of the Space for Life Foundation, phytotechnologies represent concrete solutions that are in line with the vision of the Montreal 2030 strategic plan.”

Wide application possibilities At the botanical gardens, more experiments are planned to tackle challenges such as reducing the heat island effect from the parking lot and lessening the impact of city noise.

The potential power of phytotechnologies has yet to be fully realized but shows much promise for strengthening the green infrastructure of the future.

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End of article DECEMBER 2023 | MNLA.BIZ

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MNLA.BIZ | DECEMBER 2023

DECEMBER 2023 | MNLA.BIZ

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NORTHERN GREEN 2024

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO 1

Our new venue is the Saint Paul RiverCentre and the Roy Wilkins Auditorium & Exhibit Hall (175 West Kellogg Blvd, St Paul, MN 55102). There are many options for parking, and we will also run a shuttle from the InterContinental hotel.

The most convenient spot is the RiverCentre Parking Ramp on 150 West Kellogg Blvd. This parking ramp is located directly across the street from Saint Paul RiverCentre and is connected via skyway system.

There are many other parking options as well, indicated on the map below with a blue box:

P

= A shuttle between the InterContinental Saint Paul Riverfront Hotel and the Saint Paul RiverCentre will run every 15-20 minutes during the event.

= Skyway = Tunnel

2

The Village social hours will be at 317 on Rice Park, right next to the RiverCentre. Check your Village schedule for timing.

3

Access into the RiverCentre is: A

From the Parking Ramp Skyway

B

Along the street level of Kellogg Ave.

C

From the Rice Park entrance (between the Ordway and Herbie’s on the Park)

Flag Signs will point you to REGISTRATION

to pick up your badge and begin your day!

C

Flag REGISTRATION

A B

B

Kellogg Boulevard

4 26

The Saint Paul RiverCentre is a cashless venue. Please plan accordingly if you need to purchase food or beverage.

MNLA.BIZ | DECEMBER 2023

B

iStock.com/Supirloko89

RETAI L CLEA NLINESS

The Dirty Truth: 7 Hidden Reasons Behind Poor Retail Store Cleanliness Bob Phibbs, The Retail Doctor

Despite tens of thousands of viral TikTok #CleanTok videos, many retailers still show a psychological barrier toward cleaning or requiring their staff to maintain the cleanliness of their store. Yet retail stores are the face of a brand, where customers interact with products and make buying decisions based on how well they are presented. Despite this, many retail stores seem lax in training their employees to properly clean and maintain a store.

Consumer Reports said that nothing turns off customers as much as dirty stores. With fewer shoppers entering stores, you can’t afford anyone to meet anything that turns them off.

2. Psychological barriers to cleaning:

Associates often find it challenging to maintain cleanliness due to several psychological factors. Procrastination, for instance, is a common hurdle, as cleaning tasks are put off, with “I had to wait on customers” instead. That continues with each shift until the situation becomes overwhelming. Associates who consider themselves not responsible for the store’s cleanliness led to the “bystander effect,” or diffusion of responsibility, where everyone assumes someone else will take care of the issue.

Solution: Managers should foster a sense of ownership and

Ever walked into a dirty store or restaurant bathroom? It makes customers want to turn and run for the nearest exit. It can damage your brand image and even the bottom line. Before you get to the dirt, let’s get to why it accumulates...

responsibility among employees by clearly communicating expectations and assigning specific cleaning tasks to each staff member. They can also encourage teamwork and recognize employees who excel at maintaining a clean environment, but it is a balance. You don’t want to keep giving out stars for cleaning over bonuses for selling.

7 Hidden Reasons Behind Poor Retail Store Cleanliness

3. Absence of a cleaning culture:

1. Insufficient training and lack of importance:

A store’s environment and culture play a significant role in shaping employee behavior. If management doesn’t actively promote a cleaning culture, then employees won’t either.

One of the biggest reasons for poor retail store cleanliness is that store owners and managers don’t prioritize cleanliness training for their staff. This lack of emphasis conveys that cleanliness is not a high retail management priority and is overlooked when allocating time and resources for employee training. If you don’t train them that everyone is responsible for cleanliness during onboarding, they’ll look at you with shock when you ask them to “Go clean the bathroom.”

Solution: One of the best ways to achieve this is to make

your shift lead or assistant in charge of the program. They can create a culture of cleanliness by leading by example, regularly monitoring store cleanliness, and providing ongoing feedback to employees.

4. Time constraints and competing priorities:

Solution: Managers should invest in training programs with

checklists emphasizing store cleanliness’s importance. Those learning aids must be based on clear guidelines on how to maintain a clean and organized store. This includes establishing routines, schedules, and accountability measures.

No matter how many or few shoppers are in the store, employees are often pressed for time and may prioritize tasks like fulfillment or inventory management over-cleaning.

This leads to cleanliness falling by the wayside as other responsibilities take precedence.

DECEMBER 2023 | MNLA.BIZ

27

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MNLA.BIZ | DECEMBER 2023

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RETAI L CLEA NLINESS Solution: Managers should allocate adequate time in

employees’ schedules for cleaning tasks and ensure that these tasks are not viewed as less important than others. They can also encourage multitasking and integrating cleaning into everyday duties to ensure it becomes routine in-store operations. I like to teach that if you can accomplish it within a minute - do it. Don’t take the time to write it on a list.

5. Clear communication of expectations and consequences:

Like poor selling or customer service, one of the reasons associates may ignore cleanliness is a lack of understanding of the expectations and the consequences of failing to meet those expectations. What does success look like, and what happens if that doesn’t happen? Managers should clearly communicate the importance of cleanliness and outline the consequences of non-compliance, such as disciplinary actions or negative performance reviews.

make necessary adjustments to the store’s cleaning policies and procedures.

In a conversation with Consumer Reports, Dennis O’Brien, president of the Cleaning Services Group, highlighted several key factors that indicated cleanliness from a consumer’s perspective and provided a road map to the answer, “What does success look like?”

Indicators of a clean store include:

1.

2.

3.

Solution: Store leaders need to tell associates how to keep

the store clean and what they expect. They can hold morning huddles to discuss cleanliness standards, address concerns, and provide updates on any changes in protocol.

4.

6. Implementing a buddy system:

Sometimes, employees may not pay attention to cleaning because they feel isolated or unsupported. Implementing a buddy system can help employees feel more accountable and motivated to maintain a clean store.

5.

Solution: Managers can pair experienced staff members

with newer employees to provide guidance, support, and encouragement in maintaining store cleanliness. A sense of camaraderie can make it more likely that employees will prioritize cleaning tasks. Be careful, though, you don’t need two people to empty the trash.

7. Regular audits and progress tracking:

Employees may ignore cleanliness if they believe their efforts go unnoticed or are not evaluated. Regular audits and tracking progress can help managers identify areas of improvement and provide feedback to employees, ensuring that cleanliness remains a priority.

Solution: Managers should conduct regular cleanliness audits.

They can use this information to provide constructive feedback, recognize exceptional performance, and address any areas of concern. We’ve all seen the sheet on the back of a bathroom door where associates should initial they did a visual check.

Of course, if the last one was a week ago, it doesn’t help.

Tracking progress over time will also help identify trends and

6.

Impeccable sidewalks: Customers value clean and wellmaintained sidewalks and steps before even stepping foot inside a store. Grocery store cleaning companies often employ power washing to keep these areas pristine.

Spotless entryway: A squeaky-clean entrance, from the floor mats to the windows, is essential. Debris, like cigarette butts, gum, and mysterious stains, can raise concerns about infrequent cleaning practices.

Clear cleanliness signs: Consumers appreciate visible signs that a company prioritizes cleanliness, such as readily available trash cans, recycling bins, hand sanitizer, and hand wipes. This is particularly important for stores with shopping carts and baskets, which can harbor germs.

Gleaming floors: Freshly polished and sparkling floors create an instant impression of a clean environment.

Conversely, scuffed and dirty floors can leave customers questioning the overall cleanliness of the store.

Hygienic restrooms: Restrooms should be well-lit, freshsmelling, and fully stocked with essentials like toilet paper and paper towels. A study found that 86% of restaurant customers associate a dirty restroom with a dirty kitchen, and 75% would avoid returning to an establishment with an unclean bathroom.

Prompt spill management: Customers judge a company’s commitment to cleanliness based on how quickly spills are addressed. Ideally, spills should be attended to within minutes. It’s crucial for stores to have staff members or external cleaning services constantly monitoring their retail floors for spills and stains.

In Sum

By paying attention to these indicators, retailers can convey a strong sense of cleanliness and enhance the overall shopping experience for their customers.

A clean retail store is essential for attracting and retaining customers and maintaining a positive brand image. By addressing the psychological barriers to cleaning, providing comprehensive training, and promoting a culture of cleanliness, managers can motivate their employees to maintain a clean and inviting store environment.

DECEMBER 2023 | MNLA.BIZ

29

2023 GREEN INDUSTRY DAY ON THE HILL Thursday, March 2nd

Join green industry professionals from around the state for a day of information-sharing and advocacy!

Our Day on the Hill is a critical opportunity for YOU to build relationships with elected officials and raise awareness about issues impacting your business, workforce, and the industry as a whole.

Members of MNLA’s Government Affairs Team and Day on the Hill “pros” will guide you through the day’s events, helping foster connections between attendees and ensuring you’re prepared for successful legislative visits.

Event Schedule:

Best Western Capitol Ridge, Capitol Hall • 8:00-8:30 – Check-in & Complimentary Continental Breakfast • 8:30-9:20 – Issue & Advocacy Orientation • 9:20-9:45 – Small Group “Sessions” Capitol Complex, Senate & State Office Buildings • 9:45-4:00 – Meetings with your elected officials

Be sure to register by this year’s deadline – Wednesday, February 14th!

Register online at the MNLA.biz Day on the Hill event page or download the form and submit to Felipe Illescas via email at felipe@mnla.biz or fax to 651-633-4986.

We look forward to advocating alongside you to grow results in government affairs!

Thanks to our MNLA Day on the Hill Sponsors:

30

MNLA.BIZ | DECEMBER 2023

MEMB ER PROFILE

MNLA Member Profile: Hoffman & McNamara Nursery and Landscaping

By Katie Mills Giorgio Company name: Hoffman and McNamara Nursery and Landscaping Company location: Hastings, MN Company owner: Mike McNamara Year the company was founded: 1977 Key employee names: Mike McNamara (President), Mark Volkenant (COO), Brian McNamara (Project Superintendent), Josh Connor (Sales & Marketing Leader), Pete Hoffman (Senior Project Manager), Aaron Smith (Nursery Leader), Ken Partch (Finance/Office/EEO Manager) Number of employees in peak season: 60 Areas served: Upper Midwest Type of business: Public Space Landscaping and Wholesale Tree Nursery

Hoffman and McNamara Nursery and Landscaping in Hastings was founded more than 45 years ago. Over the last four-plus decades, they have carved out a niche working with municipalities, public entities, and government organizations providing public space landscaping—working in transportation oriented public spaces such as public libraries and schools, streetscapes, parkways, airport terminals, bus terminals, light rail lines, and things like freeway interchanges and living snow fences. While they work strictly on the planting portion of such projects, they also have a wholesale tree nursery which makes up about 30% of their business, selling to contractors and rewholesalers and for their own use. We chatted with owner Mike McNamara to learn more about what it’s like to work in this landscaping niche.

trimming contractor, doing a lot of work during the Dutch Elm crisis of the late 1970s and early 1980s. We were in the business of working with municipalities to remove diseased elm trees.

But those municipalities started asking about replanting trees, and so we started replanting trees, too. We did both until the late 1980s and early 1990s when we just focused on landscape installations and creating the wholesale nursery business.

Q. What are the values that are important to you all in doing business?

A. Efficiency is one of our core values. We strive to be really organized on each job site and in our nursery as well as in the office which can sometimes be really hard given our short planting season and the short window of time in which we do our work. And we also have a lot of experience. We have been around for a long time and have a lot of staff who have been with us for a long time. We have learned a lot from all our projects over the years. We try really hard to leverage that learning. And then another core value is to be flexible and nimble. Some of that has to do with the weather and having to adjust to different situations. But we are also flexible and nimble because we are sometimes part of a much bigger project and

Q. Tell us about how your company got started.

A. A gentleman by the name of Gary Hoffman and his lifelong friend Dennis McNamara founded our company in the spring of 1977. We actually started out as a tree removal and tree

The nursery crew hard at work.

All photos in this article courtesy of Hoffman and McNamara Nursery and Landscaping

DECEMBER 2023 | MNLA.BIZ

31

NEWS & NOTES Annual Meeting Notice: February 7, 2024 Notice is hereby given that the annual membership meeting of the Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association will be held at 10:00 am on Wednesday, February 7, 2024, at 10:00 am via Zoom online meeting. During the annual meeting, the results of the Board of Directors election will be announced. An electronic ballot will be sent the first week in December to the primary contact provided to MNLA by each business member.

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MEMB ER PROFILE

there are other schedules that dictate our situation so we try to be ready to face that. We also like to believe we have a really good reputation of being customer-focused and we work really hard to understand what our customers need. And then I would add that on the wholesale side of the business, we are logistically strong as well. We do a lot of transplanting over fairly long distances so we take our packaging of plants very seriously in our wholesale nursery. We have a lot of customers in different parts of Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and certainly all over Minnesota. So when we ship plants to those customers we take care of the logistics behind that as we are basically shipping a perishable and we want to be prepared.

An aerial view of Hoffman and McNamara Nursery and Landscaping.

Q. What are some ways that you all have innovated over the years?

A. We really try to set the standard and be innovative pioneers in the work we do, really be industry leaders. So one of the things I would share is that a lot of our contracts come along with maintenance obligations. So for us, that’s not necessarily just mowing grass or something like that. These plantings can be fairly extensive on the sides of roadways. So we’ll be responsible for weeding and watering and we’ve had some pretty dry seasons here, three years of dry conditions. So we do a lot of tanker watering and hand weeding around our plantings so the roadside doesn’t just get taken over. Some contractors approach our type of work and they view it as being just an installation and once they complete the planting they move on. We are unique in that for us, the planting is just the start of the project and there will be ongoing work to make sure it stays looking nice. Another example of creative solutions and innovative practices happened this spring with complications of the weather. We had a crazy spring this year and it kind of was like winter and then all of a sudden five days later, it was spring. It was nuts and the plants really reacted to that. It gets really complicated with our tree harvest. Our team really rallied around the need to work diligently to get all of our trees harvested. And we were able to successfully continue to harvest our trees and take orders despite the weather. We are really proud of that. I will also mention that recently we have started

implementing LEAN principles to our work. You often times see this being used in manufacturing settings, but we’re trying to incorporate it into our landscape and nursery operations. We are really leaning into it, pun intended.

Q. Talk about how you all handle human resources.

A. We really do what we can to make good careers for our employees. They are the face of our organization. They are the people that interact with our customers. We have been lucky with really good employees over the last 45 years and we feel like we do some things that are pretty innovative with HR as well. We have had profit sharing in place for over 40 years for our employees. So some of our employees have pensions that are 100% company funded and they’ve made some nice retirement accounts being landscapers which is pretty uncommon in our industry. That was very unique when our founders started the company. We also established pretty early on health insurance for landscape contractors and nursery workers which was not commonplace for a really long time. We have PTO even for our seasonal workers. We celebrate safety and recognize our employees. And of course, we have a Christmas party and a family picnic each year. We work pretty hard to try to take care of our team because we know in turn they will take good care of our customers.

Q. Why do you feel that being a member of MNLA is important to running your business?

A. Denny McNamara, one of our founders, served as president of MNLA. So really MNLA has been an integral part of our success over the past 40 years. We have tried to support and remain engaged with the association. We have other past presidents of the organization from within our company, as well as board members, foundation members, and committee members. This past January one of our employees was part of a group that was recognized as the Volunteer of the Year for MNLA. And we’ve been active in supporting scholarships and high school programs. We advertise in The Scoop and participate in the winter tradeshow. And we have active members on at least one MNLA committee right now. So we stay involved but we also see it as an education resource, especially since we really focus on that during our off-season. And we are proud to say that we have graduated eight employees from the Green Industry Leadership Institute. That has been pivotal in their careers and their personal development. So yes, MNLA continues to be an important part of our business after all these years.

Interested in being profiled in the Scoop? Our writer is always looking for a good story. Email brianna@mnla.biz to be considered for inclusion.

DECEMBER 2023 | MNLA.BIZ

33

GET

FOR

To get the Northern Green event app, download Whova on your mobile device.

Job Boards are no longer part of the physical show—they’re now in the app. Your listing stays posted before and after the show! Click on Community at the bottom, then scroll down to Job Openings.

Search openings already posted, or fill in the form to post opportunities at your company.

WHOVA EVENT CODE:

northerngreen

• Explore the professional profiles of speakers and attendees • Send in-app messages and exchange contact info • Network and find attendees with common affiliations, shared networks, and social profiles • Receive update notifications from organizers • Access the event agenda, GPS guidance, maps, and parking directions at your fingertips

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MNLA.BIZ | DECEMBER 2023

CMYK

S AL ARY INCREA SE

iStock.com/Nuthawut Somsuk

Proposed Minimum Salary Increase for Exempt Employees Ellie Sammon, Zlimen & McGuiness, PLLC

Understanding the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

Highly Compensated Employees

The Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) is the federal law that serves as a safeguard for the majority of employees in our workforce.

It employs a federal minimum wage and mandates overtime pay for employees who work over 40 hours a week. It is important to note that there are exemptions to these protections for certain administrative, professional, and executive employees. Foreman and Site-Leads still cannot be paid on a salary basis.

Additionally, the FLSA recognizes “Highly compensated employee[s]” as exempt from its provisions. These individuals must either satisfy the duties test or execute job functions characteristic of an exempt executive, administrative, or professional employee. Presently, they must make at least $107,432 annually, with a minimum weekly salary or fee basis of $684. This means, if an employee is paid $684 a week the employer may include commission, nondiscretionary bonuses, or other nondiscretionary compensation to meet the total compensation requirement. The new proposal would raise the annual compensation threshold to $143,988 with the stipulation that the employee must be paid at least $1,059 per week on a salary or fee basis.

Exemptions Criteria

To qualify for these exemptions, employees must pass three distinct tests. First, the administrative, professional, or executive employee must meet the “salary-level test,” which establishes a minimum salary requirement. Second, the employer must satisfy the “salary-basis test,” meaning employees are paid a consistent salary regardless of the volume or quality of the work. The third test, “the duties test,” necessitates that an employee’s primary duties meet a certain criterion, meaning it must relate to direct management or business operations of the employer. Working foremen and site leaders do not qualify for any of these exemptions. The Dept. of Labor fact sheet 17i specifically states that ‘Blue Collar’ workers do not fall within these exemptions.

The Salary-Level Test

On August 30, 2023, a new proposed overtime exemption rule was admitted for consideration. This proposal directly affects the first test by increasing the minimum salary requirement.

Currently, an employee must meet the minimum salary of $684 per week, equivalent to $35,568 annually. The proposed adjustment seeks to elevate this weekly figure to $1,059, consequently inflating the previous annual salary to $55,068.

Summary

In essence, the proposed changes to the FLSA narrow the scope of exempt employees by raising the base salary requirement. If implemented, exempt employees must satisfy the duties test requirements, receive their full salary amount on a weekly basis, and meet the new salary requirement of $1,059 per week, or alternatively, earn over $143,988 annually with a minimum weekly salary or fee basis of $1,059.

This article provides general information on employment law matters and should not be relied upon as legal advice. A qualified attorney must analyze all relevant facts and apply the applicable law to any matter before legal advice can be given.

Ellie Sammon is a law clerk at Zlimen & McGuiness, PLLC. If you would like more information regarding employment law or other legal matters, please contact Zlimen & McGuiness, PLLC at 651-331-6500 or www.zmattorneys.com DECEMBER 2023 | MNLA.BIZ

35

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MNLA.BIZ | DECEMBER 2023

iStock.com/Rudzhan Nagiev

WI NT ER CONTRACTS

Running an efficient and profitable business during the winter season is a challenging and stressful endeavor. A lot of companies come and go due to not having a good handle on how many variables need to be accounted for to maintain profitability. Structuring winter contracts for clients is paramount in setting yourself up for success. Everyone has their own way of doing this, but I want to touch on some tools and concepts that can help any person/company create a path to success.

Long gone are the days of putting proposals together with pen and paper. When I started in the industry 20-plus years ago, this was commonplace, and we ended up doing a lot of work with very little profit or sometimes even losing money. With increasing labor issues, equipment shortages/availability, and material pricing and availability changing daily, we can no longer afford to make too many mistakes without the risk of having to close the doors permanently. That being said, the green industry now has a plethora of resources that can be utilized to dial in the process.

Software technology and the internet are great places to start. We now have programs that will help us build proposals accurately and cut down the time it takes to build the proposal itself. Aspire, LMN, and Service Autopilot are a few examples of software programs that are being utilized. These programs are set up to help you account for all the variables that go into performing a service and to make sure that your profit goal is reachable. Accurately measuring sites is an important first step in being able to build a proposal accurately. Being on-site with a measuring wheel is still effective in some instances, but a lot of this can be done through the internet now. Property Intel, Go iLawn, Sod Solutions, and Google Maps Area Calculator are

Structuring a Winter Contract Chris Reifsteck – CSP, Organic Lawns By LUNSETH

a few examples of websites where measuring can be done. Some sites may have a fee for using their service to keep records of the sites you measure, while others are free if you only need a one-time measurement. Google Earth is also a good resource for looking at overhead and street views of areas that you are bidding on. Last but not least, the Snow and Ice Management Association (SIMA) is an excellent resource to refine your skills and knowledge within the snow industry.

When structuring a winter contract, there are many variables to account for. All of these variables need to be represented to make sure you are recouping the cost of everything it takes to run your business. The big-picture variables include overhead, budget, labor, equipment, materials, subcontractors, production rates, and taxes. Each person/company has their own detailed list of what needs to be accounted for, but this is a good place to start.

1.

Overhead: Salaried employees, office supplies, turning the lights on every day, etc. Having a complete understanding of what it takes and how much it costs for these items will give you a good number to work with.

2.

Budgets: How much work is your company willing to take on and how are you going to get there? Finding out your overhead number will play a part in what your budget needs to be.

3.

Labor: The cost of labor is going up, but you still need to stay competitive so you don’t drive yourself out of the market. Make sure labor costs are accurately represented in your winter contracts.

DECEMBER 2023 | MNLA.BIZ

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WI NT ER CONTRACTS

4.

Equipment: Consider the cost of ownership/leasing, fuel, maintenance, and mobilization fees when figuring out how much to charge the client for each piece of equipment that will be used on site.

5.

Materials: Are you using sand, salt (many varieties and pricing), brine, or a combination? What is the cost of each of these items?

6.

Subcontractors: This is a whole separate category that we could talk about for days. Basic information for the winter contract comes down to whether you are paying them per hour or a flat rate. As the contractor, you want to make sure you are still keeping a little money on the back end, so pricing needs to be accurate while keeping the subcontractor profitable and happy.

7.

Production Rates: How long does it take each piece of equipment to do the job? How much material is needed for 1,000 square feet? How many square feet is a person expected to cover in an hour with a push salt spreader?

These are the types of questions you need to ask yourself, so the contract is accurate and billed correctly. I’m going to expand on understanding this later.

8.

Taxes: Most winter services are not taxable. The Minnesota Department of Revenue has detailed lists of what services are taxable and which ones aren’t. Utilize their website www.revenue.state.mn.us to find out more information.

For the most part, these variables are common knowledge, and it just takes some time and understanding to get all your ducks in a row to put together accurate numbers. Production rates vary greatly depending on who is doing the work. You, the owner, or the manager probably got your position because you are good at doing the work, have been doing it for a long time, and know how to get things done efficiently. The goal for your employees is to have the same level of efficiency and knowledge that you bring but that’s probably not realistic. Training and scorecards are vitally important to ensuring that your contract numbers match the work that is being produced.

Employee training should be done often. Especially in the green industry, we offer a wide variety of services depending on what time of year we are in. Before the snow starts flying, we should have training time dedicated to making sure employees understand expectations, have some time with the equipment they will be operating, and show them the sites that they will be working on. This lines everyone up for success and provides a higher quality of service to the customer. As the winter season progresses, patterns will start to form if employees are meeting their times or not. If times are not being met, more training

opportunities should be available to talk about why this is happening and how we can improve.

Scorecards are a valuable reference point especially when building a contract renewal. We can have all the production rates we want and sometimes things don’t work out as expected.

Building a winter contract can be as complicated as you want to make it. The more complicated it becomes, the more room for error we have. Scorecards will give you data for past events such as the amount of snow, type of precipitation (ex. heavy and wet versus dry and light), shoveling or plowing times, amount of salt used, etc. Based on your data, you can then determine if the numbers you put together are accurately represented in the contract.

In summary, structuring your winter contract is vital to the success of your business. It can be very complicated the deeper you dive into it but start simple and build from there. Take the time to make sure you have all variables accounted for and the numbers match how much you are paying out versus what you are charging the customer. If you can hone these skills, your company will be set up for success and longevity.

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DECEMBER 2023 | MNLA.BIZ

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Hotels for Northern Green

Book Now!

A limited number of discounted room rates have been secured for Northern Green 2024 at the hotels below. We encourage you to book your rooms early to ensure you get the ideal room and rate for your circumstances. Space and discounted rates are limited at each hotel, so book early to get your first choice.

Note: Prices at most hotels will go up after December 20, 2023. Book early for the best rates!

HAMPTON INN & SUITES 200 7th Street W, St. Paul, MN 55102 Rate: $115 (single/double rate) Reservation Line: 651-224-7400 Parking: Self parking not available. Valet: $20.

THE SAINT PAUL HOTEL 350 N Market Street, St. Paul, MN 55102 Rate: $139 (standard room) Reservation Line: 651-292-9292 or 800-2929292 (Ask for the 2024 Northern Green rate) Online Reservation Link under “rate type” choose “I have a code” and enter 12123MNLA. Parking: Self parking not available.

Valet: Rates vary (call for information).

GROWING STRONG, HEALTHY LEADERSHIP TEAMS IS WHAT WE DO BEST theResultants.com Connect@theResultants.com 40

MNLA.BIZ | DECEMBER 2023

HOLIDAY INN ST. PAUL DOWNTOWN 175 West 7th Street, St. Paul, MN 55102 Rate: $134 (single/double rate) Reservation Line: 651-225-1515 Parking: Onsite parking in connected ramp ($21 per day).

Offsite parking directly across the street (prices vary).

INTERCONTINENTAL ST. PAUL RIVERFRONT 11 East Kellogg Blvd, St. Paul, MN 55101 Rate: $112 (single/double rate) Reservation Line: 651-292-1900 or 866-686-2867 (identify yourself as a Northern Green participant) Parking: Self parking not available. Valet: $32.

"Working with The Resultants Team has been critical to getting our Leadership Team talking and aligning around a common vision and future for Margolis Company. The gentle reminders for us to focus time to work “on the business” versus “in the business,” have been key to making continual progress and improvements for our team."

Chad E. Buran, ASLA|PLA Owner

commons.m.wikimedia.org, wackybadger, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic

S OIL LTH PL ANT O F THEHEA MONTH

Plant of the Month: Gentiana andrewsii Julie Weisenhorn, University of Minnesota Extension Horticulture I am not sentimental about many plants, but I am about the blue bottle gentian Gentiana andrewsii. My first plant came from Ambergate Gardens, owned by über plant people Mike and Jean Heger. My second plants (note the plural) were acquired from a northern Minnesota nursery I visited with my mom (she also bought gentian plants for her garden). More plants came from Prairie Moon Nursery. I had not intended to buy them, but there they were in the online catalog, and I could not turn them down. I gush when I come across G. andrewsii in bloom whether in natural woodlands, managed landscapes, or, most recently, in the Foodscape / Meadow for Sharing here in at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum (and yes, I purchased them for this new landscape and co-mingled them in with Geum triflorum, prairie smoke).

What infatuates me so about this plant are the flower form and color, the late bloom time, and the fact that bumblebees are gentian’s chief pollinators. Each tubular flower is comprised of five sepals that never actually open. They grow in a cluster of three to as many as 20+ flowers at the end of the stem. Leaves are whorled at intervals along the stem. Each flower turns tan and becomes papery and produces thousands of seeds, so it’s good to leave the seedheads on the stem through winter.

The blue bottle gentian is a deep true-blue color – so vivid and eye-catching – and something for which I am a total sucker.

True blue flowers are just not that common, especially in autumn when shades of yellow, orange, and red abound in our landscapes. And then there are the pollinators: very large, very strong native bumblebees. The bee pries apart the closed bottle

DECEMBER 2023 | MNLA.BIZ

41

PRE-REGISTER TODAY AND $AVE! 1

Register on or before January 15 to receive your best price for all Northern Green 2024 tickets. Go to www.NorthernGreen.org and click on REGISTER NOW today!

2

Members of the following associations receive a $20 discount: MNLA, MGCSA, MPSFMA, MAC, MASMS, MSA, MTA, and MTSC.

3

Save 10% more when registering 10 or more people for a 1-Day educational pass or greater! Not valid for student or trade show only passes. Valid only for pre-registration completed online with all registrants entered in one registration.

NORTHERN GREEN

2024 Northern Green registration badges generously supported by: WHOLESALE NURSERY & HARDSCAPES

Your Trusted Partner

Wish you could lock in your best rate, but are worried about a snow event on a show date?

We’ve got you covered with our “Snow Insurance” Rate Lock! Pay $30 now and lock in the pre-registration rate for your onsite registration! Offer only available for Northern Green

Tuesday & Thursday, and must be purchased during pre-registration dates. Choice of registration RATE LOCK on must still be selected. If ticket holder cannot attend show, the $30 payment is non-refundable.

Missed the deadline? If you miss the Jan. 15 pre-reg. deadline, you must register onsite Jan. 23-25, and pay the onsite rates.

Pre-conference? To attend Monday’s pre-conference sessions (PLT or Pest. Recert.) you MUST pre-register before Jan. 15.

Where do I pick up my badge? When you register by January 2, your badge will be mailed to you in advance.

If you register between January 3-15, you must print a badge at the Self-Check-In kiosk onsite.

MNLA Certified Professional Fellows

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Other questions? Contact the Northern Green office for assistance at 651-633-4987.

F E L L O W

The Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association has instituted a Certified Professional Fellow designation for MNLA Certified Professionals who are in good standing (e.g., not lapsed or expired), and who have maintained their status as an MNLA Certified Professional for at least 20 consecutive years.

Certified Professional Fellows are longstanding nursery and landscape professionals and are recognized as industry leaders. Their commitment to uphold, improve and promote standards of professional excellence, and consistent participation in professional development activities and service to the green industry is being recognized with this Fellow designation. MNLA would like to congratulate the following Certified Professionals who achieved the Fellow designation as of March 2023:

• Donna Atallian, Lynde Greenhouse & Nursery, Inc. • Dale Bachman, Bachman’s Inc. • Richard Brickley, Jr., Bachman’s Inc. • Renae Chesley, Bachman's Inc. • Marty Claussen, Tree Top Nursery • Ron Davidson, Amity Creek Landscaping of Duluth • Ken Dehkes, Hamline University • Scott Endres, Tangletown Gardens • Dean Engelmann, Tangletown Gardens • Terry Ferriss - retired, Univ. of Wisc. River Falls • Kimberly Gaida-Wagener, Rock Hard Landscape Supply • Tom Haugo - retired, Bachman's Inc. • Steven Hutton • David Lange, Lange’s Nursery & Landscaping, Inc. • David Lewis, Sargent’s Nursery, Inc. • Debbie Lonnee, Bailey Nurseries, Inc. 42

MNLA.BIZ | DECEMBER 2023

• Jeff Pilla, Professional Turf, Inc. • Michael Porwoll, Bachman's, Inc. • Lori Reiland, Custom Retaining Walls & Landscaping, Inc. • Rich Schillinger, Professional Turf, Inc. • Scott Solomonson, Living Space Landscapes, Inc. • Joni Stapfer, Green Valley Greenhouse • Bert Swanson, Swanson Nursery Consulting • Amy Voight, A Team Landscaping, Inc. • Cory Whitmer, The Mustard Seed Landscaping & Garden Center • Cheryle Wilke, Flying W Gardens LLP • Paulette Wozniak, Environmental Care Nursery & Landscaping • Gary Zahrbock, Macalester College • Bruce Zeman, Lakeside Lawn & Landscape, Inc.

PL ANT O F THE MONTH

gentian’s flowers and crawls inside, searching for nectar. The petals close around the bee, concealing the bee as it forages.

Once satisfied, the bee, now carrying pollen, backs out of the flower and moves on to the next thus pollinating the plant.

Where to see it: Gentiana andrewsii can be found at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in the Iris Garden, in the Pollinator Garden surrounding the Tashjian Bee and Pollinator Center, and in the new Foodscape Gardens around the Myers Education Center.

References 1 Nemec, Josh. Plant of the Week: Closed Bottle Gentian (Gentiana andrewsii). U.S. Forest Service. https://www.fs.usda.gov/ wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/gentiana_andrewsii.shtml.

2 Plant Finder, Missouri Botanical Garden. Gentiana andrewsii. https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/ PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=k320.

The genus Gentiana honors King Gentius of Illyria, a region of the Balkan Peninsula, who reputedly discovered that the roots of the yellow gentian (G. lutea) had a positive effect on his troops who were stricken with malaria 1,2.

The specific epithet honors English botanical artist Henry C. Andrews 2. Native to Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Manitoba, Saskatchewan 3. Roots and leaves are bitter tasting to animals, so they are only occasionally browsed 1.

commons.m.wikimedia.org, Joshua Mayer, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0

commons.m.wikimedia.org, Krzysztof Ziarnek, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0

3 USDA Plant Database. Gentiana andrewsii Griseb. var. dakotica A. Nelson. https://plants.usda.gov/home/ plantProfile?symbol=GEAND.

Plant facts Common names: Andrew’s bottle gentian, Dakota gentian, closed gentian Hardiness zone: 3-6 Height: 12 – 24 in.

Spread: 12 – 18 in.

Flower: decumbent (erect), dark blue, pale blue, white; bloom time in Minnesota is mid-September to early October Light: Part sun Soil: Moist, rich, cool, organic, well-drained; tolerates clay soil.

Julie Weisenhorn is a Horticultural Extension Educator at the University of Minnesota Extension office.

She can be reached at jweisenhorn@umn.edu.

DECEMBER 2023 | MNLA.BIZ

43

SER VI NG ON YOUR B E H ALF

Greg Krogstad Rainbow Companies

Serving on Your Behalf: Greg Krogstad What drew you to your work with MNLA? About 20 years ago a group of local arborist leaders organized themselves with the intention of making a difference in the local arborist market through advocating for the industry. From this group of local arborist businesses came an event called “The Festival of Trees” and a local civic project at Fort Snelling Cemetery. It was through this group of arborists that I was first introduced to the MNLA, as an organization that represented green industry businesses. It quickly became apparent that the MNLA was an association that the arborists could contribute to, and likewise, the MNLA could support the arborist companies by advancing the industry and advocating for the issue that supported thriving businesses.

Unlike any of the national arborist associations, the MNLA has the ability to support green industry businesses.

Through membership, the MNLA provided access to having a voice on critical issues within state government and state agencies. Like many in the green industry, Minnesota arborists have been grappling with changes in our environment, more regulations, and invasive insects like EAB that are changing our urban forests. I believe the strength of the MNLA, in all aspects like engaged membership, meaningful education, and effective advocacy is directly related to the health and vitality of the green industry in Minnesota and our regional members. I want to serve the MNLA for that purpose.

What changes have you seen during your years serving with MNLA? I know the MNLA is an adaptable association, and members need it to be in a quickly changing world. The MNLA also keeps in existence the things that are working well, and that is equally important. One of the most recent changes I have seen is moving the highly valued and attended Northern Green to a new location. This was not an easy change, and it would be easier to keep the status quo, but that would not allow for the Northern Green to continue to thrive.

What has impressed you during your service with MNLA? First, I have always been impressed by the passion of MNLA volunteers. There is such a strong commitment to the ongoing improvement of the association and the industry. Secondly, the scope and diversity of what MNLA member businesses do. MNLA member companies do so many things, from creating visions and designs that transform landscapes to growing beautiful plants to installing outdoor environments, irrigation, maintaining our landscapes, and so much more.

What MNLA project has had the most impact on you personally over the last 3-5 years?

The MNLA Day on the Hill has impacted me personally the most. The Day on the Hill is not a project, but a very powerful annual event. The Day on the Hill has changed my perspective on State Government and on

44

MNLA.BIZ | DECEMBER 2023

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SER VI NG ON YOUR B E H ALF

the importance of our collective industry voice within government. This day provides an opportunity to show legislators the significant difference our industry makes to our communities and the environment. Every time I have participated, I walked away with new friends and felt that I made a difference.

Krogstad (third from the left) with his team at the 2022 Green Industry Day on the Hill visiting with Senator Carla Nelson (third from the right).

What personal/business project has had the most impact on you over the last 3-5 years?

One of the most rewarding projects that had an impact on me was the formulation and building of Saluting Branches. Saluting Branches organizes arborists from around the country to take care of trees and landscapes at U.S. Veteran Cemeteries and other land dedicated to U.S. Veterans. With its origins at Fort Snelling, Saluting Branches has approximately 4,000 volunteers each year.

Celebrating volunteers at a cemetery site for Saluting Branches in 2022.

What excites you about the future of MNLA? I’m excited about what Northern Green could look like in 2024 and beyond. I also think there is a great opportunity to have MNLA members engage with a new fall program that would bring members new business ideas, equipment offerings, etc. This could be viewed by MNLA members as a launch into their annual planning and budgeting.

46

MNLA.BIZ | DECEMBER 2023

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