The Scoop Online - September 2017

Designing to Mitigate Runoff

Also Inside

What Millennials Want

Member Profile Volcano Mulch Out & About

MENTAL TOOLS TO MOVE YOU FORWARD Step Back and Look at the Big Picture

Vol: 40 No: 9 Sept 2017 T H E O F F I C I A L P U B L I C AT I O N O F T H E M I N N E S O TA N U R S E R Y & L A N D S C A P E A S S O C I AT I O N

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Volume 40 No. 9 Sept 2017

CONTENTS

MNL Landscap

20

Why Ent 70

Winning an MNLA Landscape Award increases your ability to:

29

1. Promote the high quality of your work. If you win an award, you “MNLA Award-Winning” to your marketing, plus we’ll provide you your promotional pieces.

IN THIS ISSUE 2. Strengthen customer relationships. Your clients will feel proud th 8

Events

deemed one of the best in the state, and it will re-confirm their ch faith in you as their landscape professional.

3. Motivate employees and improve team

is a great deal of effort that 10 From theperformance.

Executive There Director goes into executing all of the details of a landscape, Interacting online good business - work. and winningisanjust award validates the team’s 4. Build photo library.

Preparing for awards entries exploring the abenefits of social media. gets you in the habit of photographing your work

38

20 What Millennials Want From environmentally friendly to phased projects, Rachel Shuler and Brittany White explore landscape priorities of Millennials.  

24 Volcano Mulch Faith Appelquist discussing best practices for trees and mulch.   

29 Designing Landscapes to Mitigate Negative Effects of Stormwater Runoff Jim Calkins reminds us of the need to manage stormwater runoff, including the role trees and other green infrastructure can play.   

38 Two Mental Tools to Move You and Your Business Forward Northern Green speaker Jones Loflin offers two perspectives to help build a plan to make real progress on your business. 

49 The H-2B Work Visa Attorney Loan Huynh offers tips for H-2B filings in 2018 and provides program updates. 

57 Plants Do That The National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture shows how consumer engagement through plants permeates all aspects of life.     Landscape & Hardscape Install & Design  Garden Services & Landscape Management  Garden Centers  Growers: Nursery & Greenhouse  Irrigation & Water Management  Arborists & Tree Services  All

14 Member (especially Profile construction details), and you never know when you’ll capture that perfect shot that Malmborg’s Garden Center & Greenhouse you’ll use for years to come.

18

• Entrie Judge subm • The si not pa • In any could could not ju rather by jud wheth excee excelle

OnceGreen again this year, SPACES Magazine will feature 42 Northern MNLA Landscape Award winners in an editorial Reviewthe Master Classes, sessions-at-a-glance, package in their spring edition, including a feature story on the Judges’ Choice project. registration packages, and CEO Track options at Northern Green 2018.

52 Blooms & Brews Highlighting photos from this MNLA Foundation Fundraiser.

Plan to enter this year and begin reaping the

55 Foundation News benefits next year and in the years to come!

Ag Teachers’ reviews of a hands-on seminar offered by the MNLA Foundation to increase interest in green industry careers.

LandscapeAwards18-Sept-Promo.indd 1

62 Widmer Golf Tournament Recap Celebrating 27 years of fundraising and still going strong!

70 MNLA Landscape Awards Deadlines approaching! Find out all you need to know to enter a project.

The Scoop, September 2017, Issue 9, is issued monthly, 12 times per year. All original works, articles or formats published in The Scoop are © Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association, 2017, 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. When submitting an article, please contact the publisher at jon@mnla.biz or 651-633-4987.

MNLA reserves the right to edit all Scoop content.

MNLA .biz

Jan. 2, 2

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5. Generate sales. Closing the deal with your Out & About prospects will be easier when they see the value and prestige they will from working with Photos from visits with fivereceive MNLA members. your award-winning firm.

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Nov. 15, Nov. 22Dec. 4-8

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AD LIST MINNESOTA NURSERY & LANDSCAPE ASSOCIATION Successful Businesses Grow Here!

1813 Lexington Ave. N. Roseville, MN 55113 651-633-4987 • Fax: 651-633-4986 Outside the metro area, toll free: 888-886-MNLA, Fax: 888-266-4986 www.MNLA.biz • www.NorthernGreen.org

MISSION: The mission of the Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association is to help members grow successful businesses.

Volume 40 No. 9 Sept 2017

➾ G OS C

A Top Notch Equipment ................................................................................... 28 Albert J. Lauer, Inc. ........................................................................................... 41 Anderson Nurseries, Inc. .................................................................................. 35 Bachman’s Wholesale Nursery & Hardscapes .................................................. 11 Borgert Products, Inc. ....................................................................................... 48 Bridgewater Tree Farms ................................................................................... 12 Bullis Insurance Agency .................................................................................... 17 Carlin Horticultural Supplies/ProGreen Plus ..................................................... 54 Central Landscape Supply ................................................................................ 50

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

herman roerick, president

Central Landscape Supply 320-252-1601 • hermanr@centrallandscape.com

scott frampton, vice-president

Landscape Renovations 651-769-0010 • sframpton@landscaperenovations.com

tim malooly, cid, clia, cic, secretary-treasurer Water in Motion 763-559-7771 • timm@watermotion.com

randy berg, mnla-cp

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

matt mallas

Hedberg Supply 763-512-2849 • mmallas@hedbergaggregates.com

mike mcnamara

Hoffman & McNamara Nursery & Landscaping 651-437-9463 • mike.mcnamara@hoffmanandmcnamara.com

john o'reilly

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

jeff pilla, mnla-cp

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

nick sargent

Sargent’s Landscape Nursery, Inc. 507-289-0022 • njsargent@sargentsgardens.com

cassie larson, cae

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

Cushman Motor Co. Inc ................................................................................... 12 Dayton Bag & Burlap ........................................................................................ 22 Edney Distributing Co., Inc. ............................................................................. 31 Frontier Ag & Turf ............................................................................................. 53 Fury Motors ...................................................................................................... 32 Gertens Wholesale & Professional Turf Supply .................................................. 2 Glacial Ridge Growers ...................................................................................... 67 GM Fleet and Commercial ................................................................................. 3 Gopher State One-Call ..................................................................................... 56 Haag Companies, Inc. ...................................................................................... 19 Hedberg Landscape & Masonry Supplies .......................................................... 4 Hiway Federal Credit Union ............................................................................. 23 Jeff Belzer Chevrolet .................................................................................. 36–37 Klaus Nurseries ................................................................................................. 50 Landscape Alternatives Inc. .............................................................................. 22 Lano Equipment ............................................................................................... 54 Maguire Agency ............................................................................................... 22 McKay Nursery Co. ........................................................................................... 60 Midwest Groundcovers, LLC ............................................................................ 61 Midwest Transmission Center / DBA Clutch & U-joint Proven Force ............... 22 Northern Family Farms ..................................................................................... 69 Northern Salt Inc .............................................................................................. 27 Out Back Nursery ............................................................................................. 58 Plaisted Companies ............................................................................................ 7

STAFF DIRECTORY

executive director:

Cassie Larson, CAE • cassie@mnla.biz

membership director & trade show manager:

Mary Dunn, CEM • mary@mnla.biz communications dir.: Jon Horsman, CAE • jon@mnla.biz education/cert. manager: Susan Flynn • susan@mnla.biz Government Affairs Dir: Larry Johnson • larry@mnla.biz

RDO Equipment Co. ........................................................................................ 27 Resultants for Business, Inc. (RFB) .................................................................... 59 Rock Hard Landscape Supply ........................................................................... 17 SMSC Organics Recycling Facility .................................................................... 54 The Builders Group .......................................................................................... 53 Tri-State Bobcat, Inc. ............................................................................ 16, 51, 68

regulatory affairs manager: Jim Calkins • jim@mnla.biz administrative asst.: Gayle Anderson • gayle@mnla.biz accountant: Kris Peterson • kris@mnla.biz foundation program coordinator:

Truck Utilities, Inc. ............................................................................................. 67

Paulette Sorenson • paulette@mnla.biz

University of Wisconsin — River Falls ............................................................... 58

advertising sales: 952-934-2891 / 763-295-5420

Versa-Lok Midwest ........................................................................................... 64

Faith Jensen, Advertising Rep • faith@pierreproductions.com Betsy Pierre, Advertising Mgr • betsy@pierreproductions.com legislative affairs consultant: Doug Carnival

6

County Materials Corporation .......................................................................... 31

MNLA .biz

september 17

Unilock ............................................................................................................. 13 United Label & Sales ........................................................................................ 69

Wheeler Landscape Supply .............................................................................. 67 Xcel Energy ...................................................................................................... 26 Ziegler CAT ......................................................................................... Back Cover

➾ C ALE N DAR

OCT5 SEPT20

SEPT27

MNLA FOUNDATION SHOOTOUT

SILVERWOOD PARK: DESIGN PRESENTATION & TOUR

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Minnesota Horse & Hunt Club, Prior Lake MNLA.biz

St. Anthony, MN

Don’t miss this annual sporting clays charity event that raises money for scholarships!

The course runs at a beginner’s level — the focus is on fun. Proceeds benefit the MNLA Foundation Scholarship Fund.

MNLA.biz

september 17

Irrigation.org

Choose one of three dates this fall to sit for the exam to become an MNLA Certified Professional.

The 2017 Irrigation Show is the place to be for top-notch professional development and networking opportunities.

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TIFIE

MNLA CERTIFICATION EXAM Roseville, MN

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MNLA.biz

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Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, FL

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Roseville, MN

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MNLA CERTIFICATION EXAM

MNLA.biz

Sponsors:

NOV 6–10 IRRIGATION SHOW & EDUCATION CONFERENCE

St. Paul, MN Please join us for a 2-hour cruise along the Mississippi River.

Enjoy the beautiful fall colors while connecting with your fellow MNLA members. Includes a taco bar and drink ticket.

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A presentation providing insight to the design intent of the gardens and landscapes, and a guided tour

by Arla Carmichiel, Horticulturalist with Three Rivers Park District.

NOV3 ER

2ND ANNUAL HAPPY HOUR CRUISE ABOARD THE JONATHAN PADELFORD

SSIO

MNLA.biz Choose one of three dates this fall to sit for the exam to become an MNLA Certified Professional.

2017 MNLA seminars generously supported by:

SALES • SERVICE • RENTALS • PARTS

OCT27

landscapeprofessionals. org

MNLA.biz Learn state of the art maintenance strategies for parking lots and sidewalks that will save money, time, and the environment.

Opportunity to earn the MPCA Level I Certification in Winter Maintenance.

GIE and Expo’s premier education and networking experience.

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New Brighton Community Center, New Brighton, MN MNLA.biz

Non-MNLA Event

MNLA.biz Choose one of three dates this fall to sit for the exam to become an MNLA Certified Professional.

NOV17 MTGF/MNLA PESTICIDE RECERTIFICATION WORKSHOP

KEY:

MNLA CERTIFICATION EXAM Roseville, MN

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Kentucky Exposition Center, Louisville, KY

Roseville, MN

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LANDSCAPES 2017

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OCT 18–20

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PARKING LOT & SIDEWALK MAINTENANCE WITH REDUCED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

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The workshop meets MDA’s commercial pesticide applicator recertification requirements for Categories A (Core), E (Turf and Ornamentals), P (Vertebrate Pest) and/ or J (Forestry, Rights-ofWay and Natural Areas).

This is the last chance to renew in 2017!

JAN2–4 ➾

NORTHERN GREEN – WHERE OUTDOOR PROS CONNECT & GROW Minneapolis Convention Center Northerngreen.org Attend the premier event for green industry professionals in the northern region. Exhibit contracts are available.

MNLA Education/Event ➾

All information on these and other industry events are online at MNLA.biz.

september 17

MNLA .biz

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➾ F R OM THE EXECUTIVE DI R EC TO R

Interacting Online is Just Good Business Believe it or not, many of our favorite social media tools have been around for a decade now — and Facebook even longer than that (it started in 2004). We’re now ten years into the social media revolution, and MNLA is invested in connecting with you online.

Do you follow MNLA on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram?

Following us is easy and beneficial. We work hard to Cassie Larson ensure the content on our pages is personal, entertaining, MNLA Executive Director relevant, interesting, and interactive — but most importantly, we want it to be valuable and beneficial to YOU! Here are five reasons you should follow us right away: 1. Because You are Part of the MNLA Community

Many of you have been a part of MNLA for a long time and have gotten to know a lot of people. You have been a member for many years and are interested in what the association is doing. When you follow us, you’ll see what the association is up to in real time. After all, we love to keep our members updated — Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are the number one, fastest way we can do that. It’s instant!

2. You Like to Be the First “In-The-Know”

If you are interested in news, employment,

career development, plants, pests, green industry events, etc., following us is an easy way to stay current and share your thoughts on the latest happenings. Recent hashtags promoted by MNLA include #arbormonth, #plantingforpollinators, #smartwatermonth, and #MNLAMember.

3. Because You Want to Get to Know Us Better

Do you wonder who we are and whether membership is the right decision for your business?

Following us socially is a great way to check us out before joining.

4. Because You Want to Interact with Us

As an association, we feel it’s very important to listen and respond. Following us on social media creates a channel where you can interact with the association easily. Do you wish to leave a review? Do you have a question you’d like to ask?

Is there some way we can serve you better? Let (Left): Most months there are overarching themes to our posts, chosen by the association’s Social Media Task Team. In July, there was a focus on water and the hashtags #smartirrigationmonth and #smartwatermonth.

(Right): In addition to our monthly theme which crosses platforms, we also post timely updates, reminders and information such as the pest or weed of the month and reminders of legal requirements like Minnesota’s rain sensor law.

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MNLA .biz

september 17

➾ F RO M T H E E XE CU T I V E D IR ECT O R

Our goal is to interact with members, not simply push out information. Here you can see members interacting by providing us with photos of pollinators loving a variety of plant materials. Helping members learn which plants are most attractive to bees and butterflies will help increase pollinator habitat.

us know and we’ll do the best we can to improve or educate you more fully to the best of our ability.

5. It Helps Your Own Marketing Strategy

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Fall Cleanup

A final advantage to following us is that we can help tell your clients and customers that you’re part of the region’s largest green industry association, MNLA, online. Tag us if your business is featured in the media, and we’ll come together and celebrate and spread the message widely. Use it to your marketing advantage.

Please take the time to follow us on social media today. You’ll be glad you did!

Bonus Idea: If you use Houzz to promote your business you can now add an MNLA Member badge to your profile! Check it out today.

CASSIE LARSON can

cassie@mnla.biz.

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➾ ME MBER PROFILE

MEMBER PROFILE MALMBORG ’ S G AR D EN C EN TER AN D G RE E N H O U S E

(Left to right) Delmy Rodriguez, Laura Lopez, Peggy Nehrenz, Diane Strong.

Katie Mills Giorgio

Photos courtesy of Malmborg’s Garden Center and Greenhouse

Troy Lucht, President of Malmborg’s Garden Center and Greenhouse.

COMPAN Y SN APSH O T

Company Name: Malmborg’s Garden Center and Greenhouse Owner: George (CEO) and Troy (President) Lucht Date Company started: 1958 Location: Rogers and Blaine, Minnesota Number of Employees in Peak Season: 125 Areas Served: Minnesota and seven state regions Member Category: Greenhouse/Herbaceous Grower and Retail Nursery/Garden Center Website: http://www.malmborgsinc.com/

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MNLA .biz

september 17

Malmborg’s Garden Center, established in 1958, operates garden centers and greenhouses — featuring a huge selection of annuals, vegetables and herbs — which serve retail customers in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area. Malmborg’s also operates a wholesale division that provides plant materials to garden centers and other customers around the country. It is truly a family owned business, run by George Lucht as CEO and his son Troy Lucht as President and also employing the help of several other family members, including George’s grandchildren.

The business was purchased by George in 1972 after he had worked for the Malmborg’s family for many years. Malmborg’s Garden Center had earned an excellent reputation in the community and George decided to keep the name “Malmborg’s” and add “Geraniums by George” as his own personal touch after purchasing the business.

Each year at Malmborg’s they root some 1,300 varieties of products, producing over five million plants, which are brought in from around the world. And they pride themselves on bringing in new varieties for both their retail and wholesale business. We chatted with Troy to learn more about what has made Malmborg’s successful over the years.

Q. Troy, thank you for making time to talk with The Scoop. So tell us what makes Malmborg’s unique?

A. Geraniums have long been one of our specialties here at Malmborg’s. When my father George bought the business in 1972 our focus became the production and sale of young plants, especially geraniums, to other greenhouses. At that time, the whole process was done in house — you grew your own stock plants, took your own cuttings, you rooted the cuttings and then you sold them. This really got started back in the ’60s and was driven by

I believe the most important thing is thinking about how we make our consumer successful.

George, while he worked for then owner Lloyd Malmborg which is where the name of our business comes from. By the early 80s, Malmborg’s was the first location that started working with off-shore geraniums.

They were coming from Germany at the time and this was before FedEx. It was done on airlines, and it was a difficult process. So really we’ve been doing geraniums off-shore for 35 years.

But, we have two parts of our wholesale: young plants/starter plants with a focus on vegetative cuttings for spring annuals and mums for fall. This week, for example, we are prepping 175,000 mums; we do a little over a million mums in all. The other part of our wholesale business is finished material and product not only for our own garden center but also for other garden centers that are typically within a few hundred miles of us.

Q. What makes Malmborg’s distinct among the competition?

A. When it comes to our young plant business it’s offering small increments.

A customer can order just 25 of an item from us even though we have to buy them as unrooted cuttings in quantities of 100.

And we source a wide variety of genetics. I’d say we carry almost 1,100 different items. We are using five or six different production farms now as sources of product which allows us to carry a wide variety of genetics. And it’s constantly changing.

Next year, for example, I can already see that we have 150 new items and 150 dropped items on our list. That constant change is very common from year to year.

Another thing that sets us apart is that we grow plants from a slightly bigger plug than higher volume companies so that it’s a more established plant. But selling in small increments and offering such a wide variety are truly key.

Also because we have a retail side and our young plant business, we are able to

Van Cooley, Retail Manager, attending to customer check out.

keep more staff working for us full-time.

We might have 35 to 40 full-time employees for the garden center but by the time the garden center starts to wind down then we ramp up with the young plant business, a lot of those people can move into the greenhouse for three to four months. It allows continuity of people and more full-time positions. We are able to keep good employees on longer.

Q. What is a business value that you uphold as important at Malmborg’s?

A. I believe the most important thing is thinking about how we make our consumer successful. We can’t assume they know what to do. I feel part of my job in planning our production is to be out looking for those products that will help my customer be successful. There’s a lot of pretty stuff but if there’s something that has a really short shelf life or you have to have just the right conditions to make it grow, I’m not helping my customer be successful. They are going to be frus-

trated. Part of what I need to do is take a product, put it in the right container with the right sort of labeling or marketing and create the package that the customer goes, “Ah, there’s my answer, that’s what I’m looking for.”

We can get caught up in our industry too often on the dollars. The reality is that if it’s a solution or a product that performs, it’s generally not about the price. You can’t make it perfect because people still have to take care of things. But our job is to make them successful so they will come back and keep trying new items. We don’t want them to give up. We want to have solutions for people. And that helps all of us in the long run because then they are more willing to visit independent garden centers. We as producers, retailers, and growers can’t think about whether a plant looks pretty for us to sell; it’s about the ease of care and the performance for the customer throughout the summer.

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➾ ME MBER PROFILE

…[T]he difficulty for an independent garden center is that you have to try to be all things for all people.

Q. Can you share examples of creativity or innovation at Malmborg’s?

A. There are some good gardeners out there and there are things they want that we know take more attention and experience to grow. But there are other customers who don’t have the time and the knowledge. We have more shoppers today that come in to buy what is pretty. They don’t have time to plan it out before-hand.

So we at Malmborg’s are trying to find more ways to get more information into their hands whether we do a better job with our labels and signage or we provide materials explaining difference in tomatoes and peppers. What we are seeing is that more and more people want new stuff, but there are so many options that they can be overwhelmed with the choices. People are afraid to make mistakes because they see it as a waste of money. It’s so important that the products we offer will be successful for them.

And the difficulty for an independent garden center is that you have to try to be all things for all people. I have to offer combo planters but I have to offer all the components to go in combo planters. You have customers that have the pots and they are creative and they want to have all the elements to do their own.

But there are other customers who don’t have time for that and are there for their half an hour on Saturday and want to buy their combo planter and their veggies and put them on their deck and “bam” they are done. In their mind they are gardening. And on the other hand there are people who spend two hours at the garden center laying it all out on their cart. You have to be able to serve both. Everyone has to decide how you manage that.

One example is that we’ll pick a compact cherry tomato variety that only grows 18 inches and put it in a cage pot, because it can stay in this cage pot and it’s easy growing for people that put it out on their patio, harvest their 250 cherry tomatoes and that’s it. We have a vertical farmer program where we put veggies — like cucumbers and peppers — in 14 inch pots. So many people are growing on their deck or they live in a condo or townhouse where they only have a 10 × 10 square out back so we are doing a lot more of that kind of stuff.

Q. How are retail and wholesale customers similar or different?

A. Some principles apply to both types of customers but you have to back down on the wholesale side because they are in the industry and they need to make the choices that are best for their business, especially when you are serving a wide geographic area and we don’t know their growing factors as well. I find the best way to operate is that when someone asks you directly about a product, you don’t try to get the sale. You give them the honest answer and let them decide what will be best for them. You have to have integrity in this business. You have to be more of a plantsman. It’s about the love of what we do more than the plants we are trying to sell. What people want from you is to help them be successful by giving honest answers.

INTERESTED IN BEING PROFILED IN THE SCOOP? Our

writer is always looking for a good story. Email jon@mnla.biz and we’ll discuss the next steps.

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➾ OUT & ABOUT

&

AN INITIATIVE OF THE MNLA MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE IS TO STAY IN TOUCH AND THANK MEMBERS WITH OCCASIONAL VISITS

MNLA Executive Director Cassie Larson, right, presented Dennis and Caption Roxanne Dahler of Best Irrigation with a new MNLA member plaque during a site visit.

CaptionStaff Cassie Larson, left, and Mary Dunn, right, hand delivered a MNLA $150 prize for early membership renewal to Bob and Judy Wilts of Bob & Judy’s Farm Market in Big Lake.

Caption of the Professional Lawn Care Workshop listen intently.

Attendees

Mary Dunn and Jon Horsman congratulate Steve Hedberg (center) on Caption 30 years in business.

Derek Lynde and Trevor Bredenberg of Lynde Greenhouse & Nursery, Caption Inc. welcomed MNLA Education & Certification Director Sue Flynn, center, and provided a short tour and history of the company.

Ryan Bartz and Tom Hanson of Rum River Tree Farm and Nursery are Caption pictured with MNLA Communications Director Jon Horsman, center, with their field in the background.

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WHAT MILLENNIALS WANT Rachael Shuler and Brittany White | Reprinted with permission from Colorado Green, published by the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado, [Volume 33, No. 3, May/June 2017]

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Environmental Designs delivers in small spaces

Most of our millennial clients are in the city where the outdoor space is limited — but a small space does not limit creative solutions.

These customers embrace outdoor living and they also care about sustainability. Though budgets are usually a little tight in this group, we have found that they are often serious about phasing a project to get what they want and to improve the value of their homes.

Outdoor entertaining is important for this group. They want fire pits and fire places.

Many also want vegetable beds. Millennials love the idea of growing their own food.

Time will tell if this practice continues or not, due to very busy lifestyles.

Environmentally friendly choices

Millennials are more environmentally conscious than older generations, requesting plants that require less water and recycled materials.

Using recycled materials can be a challenge when the client believes there should be money savings, so we help educate and explain that re-use of materials can actually increase labor costs. Even when this is the case, millennials will still opt to reuse materials because it is the environmentally responsible choice.

Outdoor priorities

Outdoor entertaining is important for this group. They want fire pits and fire places. Many also want vegetable beds. Millennials love the idea of growing their own food. Time will tell if this practice continues or not, due to very busy lifestyles.

What’s in

This group seems to be just fine with landscape maintenance. That preference stems from a need to keep expenses down and a love for being outside. It is also possible that some of their willingness to do

maintenance comes from not realizing what it really takes to keep a yard healthy and beautiful the way they want it.

Anything that can be done from a smartphone is also important among our millennial clients. Smart irrigation controllers and lighting systems are big sellers with this group. As this is a younger group, using outdoor space at night is important and landscape lighting, if it’s in the budget, can play an important role. Landscape lighting is becoming more efficient and more user-friendly. Programming and zoning of different lights is very easy now through the use of smartphone applications.

What’s out

What we don’t see, are requests for pools, hot tubs and water features. These are expensive and high on water usage. They also require regular maintenance. The group is out of the house more and on the move traveling so they don’t want anything that will prevent them from taking off for a long weekend in the mountains. september 17

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NEW

SCOOP COMING In January, MNLA will be introducing a redesigned Scoop. Our goal is to provide even greater value to you, the member, through this vital communication service. To do that, we need to know what your current needs are! We would like to gather your feedback on how you read The Scoop, which content you value most, and what you wish we would include. Please take five minutes and give us your opinions via a quick 5-question survey found here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ScoopFeedback. If you’d rather forward your comments via email, send those to jon@mnla.biz.

WRITERS WANTED We’re also looking for members who love to write – members who want to share useful information, ideas, and innovations with their fellow members in the association’s monthly magazine. Write from the perspective of your industry segment (landscape install, garden center, grower, etc.); share knowledge on business management or human resources; or offer insights via our soon-to-premiere features “Ideas That Work” and “My Favorite Tool.” To offer your services and/or receive information on deadlines and other parameters, email susan@mnla.biz or call Sue Flynn or Jon Horsman at 651-633-4987.

BRIAN FERGASON, CPCU 651.635.2781 612.247.7346 Cell bfergason@maguireagency.com www.maguireagency.com 1970 Oakcrest Avenue, Suite 300 Roseville, MN 55113 38

www.MNLA.biz | ocTober 2012

➾ MI LLEN N IALS

Many millennials have young children and in the past, this meant devoting a large portion of the yard to a playset. Not so with millennials. We see them meeting up with other young parents in the park across the street.

What comprises a play area is also changing. We rarely install a standard playset anymore. Millennial clients favor “nature play” using decorative boulders and logs as a functional play area.

We look forward to participating in the MNLA Shootout. Hope to see you there!

Phasing for the long term

We tell our clients that this is a three to five year relationship, on average. We often provide a phasing plan for our clients so they can enjoy the landscape now and still have a plan for moving forward when they can afford it. If they opt out of our maintenance program and do the work themselves, they can apply what they have saved to future changes in their long-term plan.

Style

Most of our millennial clients prefer a modern aesthetic with clean, straight lines. This tends to maximize small spaces, but can also highlight inconsistencies, like property lines that are not parallel.

Newer city homes are often made with several different materials which can also be a challenge. Traditionally a home is one material such as brick. New construction takes advantage of several materials like wood, siding, stucco and stone all on the same home. Incorporating those materials along with client favorites such as the old barn door or the copper trim, may be too busy and not appropriate for the space. We educate clients that the landscape should complement the home, not fight it. This is also important when designing landscapes for older homes that may have been flipped and have a mix of materials and aesthetics. All are reasons why working with a professional and having a solid design are important. is the head of design and sales at Environmental Designs, Inc. in Henderson, CO. RACHAEL SHULER

is a designer at Environmental Designs, Inc. in Henderson, CO.

BRITTANY WHITE

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VOLCANO MULCH … TILL DEATH DO US PART

“ Girdling roots … frequently caused by careless transplanting … aggravated by an excess of organic matter applied near the trunk.”

1942, Rush Marshall. Care of Damaged Shade Trees USDA Farmers’ Bulletin No. 1986

Faith Appelquist | Tree Quality LLC

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What is normal? You never see trees in the forests with piles of mulch around the base of the trunk. Most trees in nature exhibit a characteristic flaring of the stem near the ground, such as this healthy elm.

S

ometimes the best way to begin a story is with the ending.

A typical spring storm has just toppled your front yard maple tree, snapping at the ground. Not just your tree, but many in the neighborhood as well. Luckily no one was injured. You call around for bids to remove the remains of a tree that was alive just a few hours before, sick at the thought of how long will this take and how much it will cost. The tree you loved and tended, that blocked the afternoon sun that birds nested in. How strange, the weather was not that bad? Why isn’t everyone’s tree down? You start over with a new tree and the clock begins again until it too falls over.

What appears to be killing the tree may be masking a much more deadly cause. You may think the wind felled the tree, but it’s the condition of the roots. The obvious cause of death gets the blame, letting the initial cause of decline off the hook. The bottom line is that small stresses can add up to one serious problem.

Placing organic or hardwood mulch where is shouldn’t be is devastating for trees. Piling mulch high against the stem creates the ideal conditions for growing roots where they don’t belong; against the stem. Roots follow the path of least resistance, encircling the trunk, never changing direction into the soil. Over time, the trunk decays at the point of compression and roots cannot anchor the tree because they are growing in a circle. A tree is only as strong and stable as its weakest point, and a decayed, compressed stem is weak.

Every year is a ticking time bomb of strangulation, where one day it too will fall.

Properly applied hardwood mulch is a wonderful thing for trees.

Mulch should be in the shape of a doughnut, not a volcano. Mulch

After the excessive mulch has washed away, a mess of circling roots can be seen.

Mulch should never be more than 3 to 4 inches deep when first placed, and should never touch the bark of the trunk. Do not place mulch over the root ball. I often tell clients don’t use less mulch, just spread it out over a wider area. A quick Google search revealed 275,000 results about the damaging practice of Mulch Volcanos. The information is out there. protects the tree from lawn mower or string trimmer damage, while keeping the soil moist and stabilizing the temperature in summer and winter. Organic mulches eventually decompose and improve the soil structure.

Mulch should never be more than 3 to 4 inches deep when first placed, and should never touch the bark of the trunk. Do not place mulch over the root ball. I often tell clients don’t use less mulch, just spread it out over a wider area. A quick Google search revealed 275,000 results about the damaging practice of Mulch Volcanos.

The information is out there.

Yet I see mulch volcanos everywhere, especially in contractor planted landscapes such as McDonalds and Home Depot that should know better. Sending out seasonal workers to “mulch the trees” leaves a lot of room for interpretation. And why would homeseptember 17

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➾ M UL C H

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As you wrap up your irrigation systems for the season don’t miss out on our Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) rebates. Ranging from $400 - $8,000 these rebates help lower the upfront costs of installing VFDs on water well pumping systems. The following well pumping applications qualify for VFD rebates — municipal water supply, golf course, agricultural and landscape irrigation. Other systems may also qualify. For more information contact an energy efficiency specialist at 855.839.8862 or visit xcelenergy.com/ MotorEfficiency.

Typical mulch volcano on a stressed out tree.

It could be the person applying the mulch doesn’t want to smother the grass, so they place it as close to the tree as possible.

Girdling roots killed this tree, not the wind.

The roots grew in the mulch that was maintained over the root ball and on the trunk for many years. Roots enjoy growing in mulch so keep it at least 12 inches from the trunk so this does not happen.

If mulch is properly applied, in the shape of a doughnut, the root flare is visible.

Every year is the chance to get it wrong. This makes volcano mulching a perennial problem.

owners do any different when they see contractor mulch volcanos and think more is better.

Creating specifications for applying mulch and checking on the finished product is a first step. Educating the public is another.

Trees die for all sorts of reasons. Unfortunately, it’s the little things we do that can make the difference between life and death for a tree.

is an ISA Board Certified Master Arborist, an ISA Municipal Specialist MN, and an ASCA Registered Consulting Arborist®. Faith can be reached at faith@ treequality.com.

FAITH APPELQUIST

© 2017 Xcel Energy Inc.

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DESIGNING LANDSCAPES TO MITIGATE THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF

STORMWATER RUNOFF Dr. James Calkins, Research Information Director | MNLA Foundation

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➾ RU NOFF

T

he heavy rains we experienced this spring are a clear reminder of the need to manage stormwater runoff and the role trees and other green infrastructure can play.

The heavy rains experienced across much of the Upper Midwest during the third week of May and the resulting runoff highlight the importance of managing stormwater runoff in developed areas where increased impervious land cover (buildings, streets, sidewalks, parking lots, etc.) and compacted soils are typically the norm. According to my rain gage, just over six inches of rain fell at my house during this period and, as a result, the six-hundred-acre wetland that I live on (part of the Minnehaha Creek corridor) has risen quickly and dramatically. In total, it rose approximately 15 inches (which is 750 acre feet, 32.67 million cubic feet, or 244.39 million gallons of flowing water).

Although monthly rainfall amounts can vary significantly from year to year, it is still interesting to note that the amount of rainfall received during this period is nearly twice what would normally be expected for the entire month of May (30-year average = 3.35 inches). As a consequence of the resulting stormwater runoff and the subsequent bounce in surface water levels in the Minnehaha Creek watershed, portions of my yard are flooded and large numbers of common carp (Cyprinus carpio; also called European carp, and a non-native species) are frolicking among the trees and shrubs in parts of my backyard landscape.

An Important Role for the Green Industry

These recent rain events and the resulting runoff, high water levels, and flooding, combined with the additional negative impacts to surface water quality that can result from urban runoff, should also remind us of the increasingly important role the green industry can play in reducing stormwater runoff from designed landscapes.

We can mitigate the negative effects of increased runoff rates and volumes on flooding, erosion, and water quality. Whether from rain events or snowmelt, every landscape should be designed and implemented to reduce and manage stormwater runoff on site by including a mixture of stormwater best management practices (BMPs) and low impact development (LID) techniques to achieve these important stormwater management goals.

Examples of the types of stormwater BMPs and LID techniques that can be used to improve the environmental and economical sustainability of designed landscapes through improved stormwater management include: • preventing soil compaction and mitigating compacted soils, • minimizing landscape imperviousness, • maximizing the infiltration of runoff from impervious areas, • capturing and storing stormwater runoff for later use (cisterns), • designing landscape plantings to take advantage of their ability to intercept and manage runoff, • and many others.

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Techniques for Mimicking Predevelopment Hydrology

The ultimate goal is to create landscapes that mimic predevelopment hydrology by detaining, capturing, storing, filtering, infiltrating, and evaporating stormwater runoff as close to its source as possible.

Examples of specific techniques that can be employed to achieve this goal include: • trees and other vegetation, • rain gardens, • tree trenches, • infiltration planters, • French drains, • green roofs and walls, • vegetated swales (bioswales), • permeable paving (e.g., permeable concrete, brick, and plastic pavers, pervious concrete, porous asphalt, and resinbound aggregates), • reinforced gravel and turf “pavement” systems, • and capture and reuse (rain barrels and larger cisterns).

Resin-bound aggregates are a newer technology wherein a variety of aggregate types, including stone aggregates, recycled rubber tire chips, and recycled glass, are stabilized with a resin binder. I had the opportunity to observe the use of resin-bound aggregates (tire chips) in combination with structural soil intended to provide enhanced rooting volumes as a stormwater management and improved urban tree survival tool in downtown Minneapolis earlier this spring on a guided walking tour sponsored by the MNLA and led by Dr. Gary Johnson and Chad Giblin from the University of Minnesota and Craig Pinkalla from the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board’s Forestry Division (Trees in an Urban Setting: The 2017 Tour de Subterrane — Guided Walking Tour; April 7, 2017). The result was innovative, attractive, and, thus far, appears to be functioning as intended.

It is encouraging to see these new technologies being implemented in real world situations and that the effectiveness of these types of green infrastructure are being increasingly well-documented by a growing body of research. With the goal of improved stormwater management in mind, green industry professionals may be interested in what recent research findings tell us about green infrastructure and stormwater management.

Recent Research on Green Infrastructure and Stormwater Management

A article in Stormwater (October 2016) and a subsequent webinar (February 8, 2017) do a nice job of reviewing recent research focused on the benefits of trees and other vegetation relative to stormwater management and the role vegetation can play in mitigating the effects of stormwater runoff from designed landscapes (see resources below). Without getting into too much detail, some of the key research findings highlighted include:

0053_0817_MNLA The Scoop 4.75” x 4.75” Due Date: 6/20/17 • Contractor • Trees and other vegetation play a central role in reducing the volume of runoff generated by storm events and mitigating the effects of stormwater runoff by intercepting precipitation, slowing the flow of water to the ground, and evapotranspirational (evaporation and transpiration) effects. As a result, trees (and vegetation, in general) are increasingly being recognized and given credit as valuable components of green infrastructure and an important low-impact development practice.

• Research focused on trees and their role in stormwater management is gradually providing the speciesspecific data needed to quantify the volumes of water from rain and snow intercepted and retained by the canopies (foliage, branches, and tree trunks) of a growing number of tree species. Research is also documenting the species-specific effects of tree canopies on storm water runoff lag times, peak flows, and runoff velocities, the volumes of water removed from the soil and transpired back into the atmosphere, and nutrient uptake (the ability of trees to reduce the negative effects of excess phosphorus and nitrogen on water quality). While the documentation of species-specific transpiration rates can be used to quantify the stormwater management benefits of trees, it can also play a role in choosing trees for water conservation purposes.

• Significant amounts of rain (and snow) can be captured and retained by tree canopies and never reach the ground as it is evaporated directly back into the atmosphere. Although variable by species, location, and rainfall intensity and amount, the precipitation retained and evaporated by tree canopies can reduce annual stormwater runoff by as much as 80% or more with 20% being a reasonable average. Leaf area is the primary factor involved and species-

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• Although dependent on tree species, climate, and soil moisture conditions, urban trees can transpire up to 2.2 millimeters of soil water per day per square meter of tree canopy and thereby help manage stormwater runoff by removing water from the soil. This allows soils to absorb more water and thereby reduce runoff from future rain events.

• Compacted soils are common in designed landscapes and can have a negative influence (through direct and indirect effects) on plant growth and performance, water infiltration capacity (reduced), soil water-holding capacity (decreased), and stormwater runoff (increased). This can result in droughty soils and an increased need for supplemental irrigation. As a result of these effects, preventing compaction first and foremost, and mitigating compaction when it occurs, are important strategies from both a plant performance and stormwater management perspective.

Minnesota Stormwater Manual

Figure 1. A residential rain gage documents a significant rain event (just under 3.7 inches). A wet spring reminds us that landscapes designed and implemented with stormwater management as a goal can play an important role in reducing stormwater runoff and its effects on flooding and water quality (Photo Credit: Jim Calkins).

specific foliage (leaf area, density, surface characteristics, etc.) and bark characteristics play a role, with evergreens (foliage present year-round) and rough-barked species having a greater impact. Larger trees and open-grown landscape trees tend to have greater leaf area and are able to retain larger volumes of stormwater. On a volume basis, tree canopies can capture and retain up to nearly two-tenths of an inch of water for individual rain events.

• Once the ability of the foliage to retain stormwater is exceeded, excess water drips downward through the canopy by a process called “throughfall,” or it flows along the branches and down the trunk to the ground (stemflow). Although these processes are also influenced by tree species and the intensity of storm events, throughfall can be delayed by as much as 10 minutes during more intense events and by as much as three hours during less intense events. The intensity of rainfall (measured in inches over time) can be reduced by 15-20% by tree canopies. These effects slow the water down and can thereby improve the effectiveness of other stormwater management practices by increasing detention times, increasing infiltration, and reducing runoff rates and volumes.

This would seem to be a good time to highlight the Minnesota Stormwater Manual (see resources below). The Minnesota Stormwater Manual is a comprehensive, research-based, online, stormwater management resource that contains a wide variety of up-to-date information related to stormwater management including stormwater management BMPs, models, and regulations. The manual is updated on a regular basis as new information becomes available and has been updated extensively since the information in the original (2008), print-format manual was transitioned and made available in an online format in 2013. Since then, significant updates have been implemented each year including a number of important updates that have been added this year (e.g., a comprehensive section on stormwater and rainwater harvest and use/reuse, a growing area of interest, was added in January 2017). The Minnesota Stormwater Manual is a valuable resource for anyone interested in stormwater management and the design of stormwater management facilities, including nursery and landscape professionals.

In addition to the information included in the manual itself, future webinars related to the Minnesota Stormwwater Manual are posted on the stormwater manual website and a number of archived webinars are also available online (see resources below). Recent webinar titles include Infiltration Practices, Stormwater Harvest and Use/Reuse, Updates to the Minimal Impact Design Standards (MIDS) Calculator, and Bioretention From the Ground Up. These webinars are free and webinars that address nursery and landscape issues and practices, whether participated in live or through archived resources, can be used by MNLA members to satisfy the ongoing certification requirements needed to maintain their MNLA Certified Professional status through continuing education. A typical webinar counts as one continuing education unit (CEU) and one recertification point in the MNLA Certified Professional program and MNLA members are encouraged to take advantage of these learning opportunities.

The Value of Trees as Green Infrastructure

For those who haven’t already investigated its potential uses and september 17

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âžž RU NOFF

benefits, another resource that may be of interest is i-Tree, a state-ofthe-art, peer-reviewed software suite developed by the USDA Forest Service that includes a variety of tools that can be used to document and analyze the benefits of individual trees and tree canopy on different scales. A variety of benefits can be assessed including the value of trees as green infrastructure for the purpose of stormwater management. Initially released in 2006, i-Tree has subsequently been improved and greatly expanded. The i-Tree software includes a variety of i-Tree Tools that can help individuals, including landscape designers, and municipalities strengthen their tree and forest management and advocacy efforts by quantifying the structure of trees and forests and the environmental services that trees provide using a variety of i-Tree applications (analysis and utility tools) including iTree Hydro, i-Tree Design, i-Tree Canopy, i-Tree Species, and others (see resources below). i-Tree Hydro is an application that simulates the effects of changes in urban tree cover and impervious surfaces on the hydrological cycle, including streamflow and water quality, for watershed and non-watershed areas. i-Tree Design facilitates the estimation and comparison of the benefits provided by individual and/or multiple existing or proposed trees, from a landscape design perspective. i-Tree Canopy helps the user define land cover types and percent tree cover based on Google maps imagery and the output can also be used to estimate the land cover inputs for i-Tree Hydro. i-Tree Species is one of the newest applications that creates ranked lists of tree species based on cold hardiness, mature height, and desired functionality (e.g., storm water management, air pollution mitigation, temperature reduction, carbon sequestration, and energy conservation) for tree selection purposes. These are just four of the 10 applications included in the i-Tree software; visit the i-Tree website to learn more about these and other applications.

Finally, at a time when a growing number of municipalities and private landowners are just beginning to understand and respond to the threat of emerald ash borer (EAB; Agrilus planipennis), it should also be noted that science and practical experience tells us that the indiscriminate removal of large, mature boulevard and other landscape trees, including the preemptive removal of healthy ash trees in areas that are potentially threatened by emerald ash borer, is usually a bad idea and strategically unjustified as a primary method of EAB management. Given the value of existing, mature ash trees from a stormwater management perspective alone, and more broadly given the many other environmental, societal, and economic benefits associated with trees and other vegetation in designed landscapes and native ecosystems, treating valuable existing ash trees to extend their functional lifetimes is likely the wiser choice in most situations. Examples of the benefits provided by trees, and especially larger trees, include aesthetics, shading (UV protection and cooling), wildlife habitat, human well-being, and pollutant removal functions and i-Tree is a tool that can help document the value of these benefits. As should have been learned from our experience with the devastating effects of Dutch elm disease (DED; Ophiostoma ulmi and subsequently Ophiostoma novo-ulmi) on public and private landscapes in the 1970s, it will take multiple decades for replacement trees to recapture the value of the many benefits provided by the larger ash trees growing in landscapes and along boulevards 34

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today. In the case of trees killed by DED, their replacements have not yet fully mitigated the loss of their predecessors, not to mention the value of the benefits lost during the interim, and the same will be true for healthy ash trees removed in a wholesale manner today.

This existing/replacement tree analysis includes the treatment costs that would be needed to protect existing ash trees and the benefits they provide long enough to implement a more strategic approach to removal and replacement that maximizes the benefits provided by existing, high-value trees while allowing for controlled removal and replacement. In general, research supports this approach as the best way to maintain the significant value of existing trees and promote the increased species diversity needed to reduce the potential for continued, damaging and widespread impacts from existing threats like EAB and future threats from other introduced and native pests.

Utilizing Rain Water Where it Falls

Research tells us managing stormwater on a local basis where it is generated does a better job of mimicking natural hydrology and is more sustainable and superior to regional stormwater management practices in achieving the goals of reduced flooding and water quality protection and improvement. This is good news for the green industry which is increasingly recognizing the role it can play in reducing stormwater runoff by designing and implementing landscapes that include stormwater management as a measure of success. Having a general commitment to improving the environment, and more specifically a commitment to managing stormwater runoff with the ultimate goal of retaining this valuable commodity on site to support plant growth, reduce the need for supplemental irrigation, and protect and improve water quality are achievements the nursery and landscape industry can be proud of. Keeping up with the latest stormwater management research specific to designed landscapes and the application of the most current stormwater management techniques under real world conditions is an integral part of achieving these important goals.

Cited Resources: Teague, A. and E. Kuehler. 2016. Give Me the Numbers: How Trees and Urban Forest Systems Really Affect Stormwater Runoff. Stormwater 17(7):8-17 (October 2016). http://foresternetwork.com/stormwatermagazine/sw-water/sw-stormwater/give-me-the-numbers/ (Accessed May 25, 2017) Kuehler, E. and A. Teague. 2017. Give Me the Numbers: How Trees and Urban Forests Really Affect Stormwater Runoff. Urban Forest Connections Webinar Series, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service. February 8, 2017. https://www.fs.fed.us/research/urbanwebinars/give-me-the-numbers/ (Accessed May 26, 2017) Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. 2013-2017; updated regularly).

Minnesota Stormwater Manual. https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/ index.php?title=Main_Page (Accessed May 26, 2017) Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Minnesota Stormwater Manual Webinars; https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index. php?title=Stormwater_Manual_webinars (Accessed May 26, 2017) Infiltration Practices (December 15, 2016); Presenters – Greg Wilson (Barr Engineering), Anne Gelbmann (Minnesota Pollution Control Agency/MPCA), and Mike Trojan (MPCA).

Stormwater Harvest and Use/Reuse (January 25, 2017); Presenters – Meghan Funke and Brett Emmons, Emmons & Olivier Resources/EOR), Anne Gelbmann (MPCA), and Mike Trojan (MPCA).

Updates to the Minimal Impact Design Standards (MIDS) Calculator (March 15, 2017); Presenters – Anne Gelbmann (MPCA) and Mike Trojan (MPCA).

Bioretention From the Ground Up (May 30, 2017); Presenters – Fred Rozumalski (Registered Landscape Architect, Barr Engineering), Marcy Bean (Professional Landscape Architect, Mississippi Watershed Management Organization/MWMO), and Mike Isensee (Administrator, Middle St. Croix Watershed Management Organization/MSCWMO).

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service. i-Tree: Tools for Assessing and Managing Forests & Community Trees. http:// www.itreetools.org/ (Accessed May 30, 2017) United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service. i-Tree Hydro (Version 5). http://www.itreetools.org/hydro/index.php (Accessed May 30, 2017) United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service. i-Tree Design. https://design.itreetools.org/ (Accessed May 30, 2017) United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service. i-Tree Canopy. https://canopy.itreetools.org/ (Accessed May 30, 2017) United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service. i-Tree Species. https://species.itreetools.org/ (Accessed May 30, 2017) United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Stormwater to Street Trees: Engineering Urban Forests for Stormwater Management. https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi/P100H2RQ. PDF?Dockey=P100H2RQ.PDF (Accessed May 26, 2017)

Livesley, S.J., B. Baudinette, and D. Glover. 2014. Rainfall Interception and Stem Flow by Eucalypt Street Trees – The Impacts of Canopy Density and Bark Type. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 13(1):192–97. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1618866713000952 (abstract only) Pataki, D.E., H.R. McCarthy, E. Litvak, and S. Pincetl. 2011. Transpiration of Urban Forests in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area. Ecological Applications 21(3):661–77. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1890/091717.1/abstract (abstract only) Wang, H., X. Wang, P. Zhao, H. Zheng, Y. Ren, F. Gao, and Z. Ouyang.

2012. Transpiration Rates of Urban Trees, Aesculus chinensis. Journal of Environmental Sciences 24(7):1278–87. http://www.sciencedirect.com/ science/article/pii/S1001074211609376 (abstract only) Chen, Y.J., S.D. Day, A.F. Wick, and K.J. McGuire. 2014. Influence of Urban Land Development and Subsequent Soil Rehabilitation on Soil Aggregates, Carbon, and Hydraulic Conductivity. Science of the Total Environment 494:329-336. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969714009723 (abstract only) Freni, G., G. Manina, and G. Viviani. 2010. Urban Stormwater Quality Management: Centralized Versus Source Control. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management 136(2):26878. http://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/%28ASCE%2907339496%282010%29136%3A2%28268%29 (abstract only)

TO COMMENT ON THIS RESEARCH UPDATE,

suggest research topics of interest, or pass along a piece of research-based information to your industry colleagues, please email us at Research@MNLA.biz.

Seeley, M. 2017. Persistent Rain in May. Mark Seeley’s WeatherTalk; University of Minnesota Extension (May 26, 2017). http://blog-weathertalk. extension.umn.edu/ For additional recent research-based information related to stormwater management and the role of trees in stormwater management, consult the following selected references: Denman, E.C., P.B. May, and G.M. Moore. 2016. The Potential Role of Urban Forests in Removing Nutrients from Stormwater. Journal of Environmental Quality 45(1):207–14. https://dl.sciencesocieties.org/ publications/jeq/abstracts/45/1/207 (abstract only) United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NCRS). 2000. Urban Soil Compaction. Soil Quality – Urban Technical Note No. 2. https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/ FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs142p2_053278.pdf (Accessed May 31, 2017) Teague, A. and E. Kuehler. 2016. Foliar Rainfall Factors: How Trees and Urban Forest Systems Really Affect Stormwater Runoff. Forester Daily News; November 10, 2016. http://foresternetwork.com/daily/water/ stormwater/foliar-rainfall-factors/ (Accessed May 25, 2017) Kuehler, E., J. Hathaway, and A. Tirpak. 2017. Quantifying the Benefits of Urban Forest Systems as a Component of the Green Infrastructure Stormwater Treatment Network. Ecohydrology 10(3). http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/eco.1813/abstract (abstract only) Xiao, Q., and E.G. McPherson. 2016. Surface Water Storage Capacity of Twenty Tree Species in Davis, California. Journal of Environmental Quality 45(1):188–98. https://dl.sciencesocieties.org/publications/jeq/ abstracts/45/1/188 (abstract only) Inkilainen, E.N.M., M.R. McHale, G.B. Blank, A.L. James, and E. Nikinmaa. 2013. The Role of the Residential Urban Forest in Regulating Throughfall: A Case Study in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. Landscape and Urban Planning 119:91–103. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204613001308 (abstract only)

september 17

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➾ ME NTAL TOOLS

TWO “MENTAL TOOLS” TO MOVE YOU

AND YOUR BUSINE

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Jones Loflin | Helping Others Prepare for Excellence, Inc.

ESS FORWARD In my conversations with small business owners, there are two challenges I hear more than any other. They are: “ I just can’t find enough hours in the day.” “ I wish I was working more on my business than in my business.”

While there are any number of physical actions you can take to attempt to solve these dilemmas, I find that it’s most helpful to step back and look at the bigger picture. Giving yourself some mental distance is hard, but is necessary if we are to come up with more long-term solutions.

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➾ ME NTAL TOOLS

I

f you’re ready to grow forward, here are two perspectives you can use to help build a plan to make real progress in achieving the outcomes most important to you.

Problem: I can’t find enough hours in the day.

Solution: Manage your work and life more like a circus.

I hear you laughing. You’re already thinking about who the “clowns” are on your team, and hearing calliope music playing in your head. That’s a good thing. It shows that you’re beginning to apply the model to your specific situation. Now let’s look at some key principles from the circus to apply to your work and life.

The ringmaster can’t be in all three rings at once. If you’re feeling spread too thin, ask yourself where your attention is most needed right now. What could you possibly delegate or outsource that would create more space for you to work on more important things?

The key to either of these solutions is to give yourself permission to step out of your insanely busy routine and think a little differently.

Now add family members, friends, and people in the community.

Are you pleased with their level of “performance?” If you’re finding that there are individuals who need to take on more responsibility, be better trained, or just know that you are counting on them, create a plan to address those issues as soon as possible. Part of your “time poverty” may be the result of not working as effectively as you should with those around you. Their poor quality performance is putting more strain on you.

The key to the success of the circus is having quality acts in all three rings. If you took a moment and drew 3 rings in front of

you, and labeled one of them “Work,” another “Self,” and the last one “Relationships,” which one would you say is most important?

Then reflect on the last 30 days. Have your actions shown that what you said was important is what actually got done? Neglecting the relationships in our life that nourish us mentally and emotionally, or avoiding personal wellness at the expense of getting more work done is rarely a wise long-term decision. Planning for all three rings is critical to our overall success.

There is no shortage of acts for the circus. You’re never going to “catch up” or have windows of time magically open to you. There’s always something else that could be done. But should it be done? Do you have clear purposes and goals established for your business and your personal life? Or do you just hope that working long days and accepting whatever task is in front of you next will get you to where you want to be?

The relationship between the ringmaster and the performers affects the quality of the circus. Make a quick mental list of all the

people you have expectations of at work, including your vendors.

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september 17

Problem: I wish I was working more on my business.

Solution: Think like a gardener.

You’re intimately familiar with many of the concepts related to gardening, and here are two key words you can use to start planning how to get more of the results you want from your business.

Grow

An oversimplified definition of grow is to, “Create conditions where something can thrive.” As you think about your business ask yourself these four questions to see if you have what it takes to put your ideas into action: Soil (Right environment): How well do you respond to new ideas from others? Are you willing to try new things? Is your company culture supportive of new directions?

Nutrients/Water (Resources): What’s needed for you or your team members to grow forward? More money may come to mind first, but dig a little deeper. Is it training, time, skills, or information?

Sunlight (Vision/Goals): Nobody has time for “one more thing to

do.” They are, however, driven by the desire to accomplish a common purpose or goal. How do these new actions you want to take connect to their own personal goals?

Temperature (Sense of urgency): Seeds won’t germinate unless they experience the right temperature and people don’t typically change until they experience the right motivation. How discontent are you with the status quo? What’s a compelling reason for you (and others) to change?

Prune

Pruning is a “reallocation of resources.” You and your team have limited time and energy. Any change in your company will place additional demands on already strained resources. Where can you “cut back to grow forward?” What changes can you make to give your ideas the physical, mental, and even financial space to grow?

The key to either of these solutions is to give yourself permission to step out of your insanely busy routine and think a little differently. If you need a little motivation that this time will be worth it, I close this article with the words of someone who really knew how to create something of value (which I believe is your goal as well): Every now and then go away and have a little relaxation. To remain constantly at work will diminish your judgment. Go some distance away, because work will be in perspective and a lack of harmony is more readily seen.

— Leonardo Da Vinci

JONES LOFLIN,

Helping Others Prepare for Excellence, Inc., has made it his life’s work to deliver powerful ideas and practical solutions to individuals around the world so they can achieve more of what is most important to them. His books are described as “illuminating” and his presentations as “unforgettable.” In his 22 years as a speaker and trainer, he has helped countless people regain confidence in their ability to achieve greater success in work and life.

JOIN US AT NORTHERN GREEN on Thursday, January 4th where Loflin will present two sessions: How to Lead your Team to Better Results in 2018; and Finding the Right Time to Get the Right Things Done.

How to Lead your Team to Better Results in 2018 will provide information to help you increase the capacity of every member of your team and teach you to look at leadership in a whole new way.

You will leave Finding the Right Time to Get the Right Things Done learning how to prioritize, and with a concrete plan that will ensure that more of your time is spent on what matters most.

Loflin’s sessions are a “must attend” at Northern Green 2018 — Unforgettable information that will help you grow your business and your bottom line!

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MASTER

CLASSES

Tuesday, January 2, 2018 Grow your skills as a green industry professional and attend one of the excellent full-day Northern Green Master Classes on Tuesday.

NEW FOR 2018: ONE, TWO & THREE DAY REGISTRATION OPTIONS AVAILABLE! See www.NorthernGreen.org for details.

1 Low Voltage Landscape Lighting Design and Irrigation Technology – PLT Relicensure Instructed by Dick Johnson, PLT Services, Inc., and Gerry De La Vega, TerraDek Lighting, Inc. Pending DOLI approval, this class satisfies eight hours of continuing education requirements for the Power Limited Training Licensure, including 2 hours of code and 6 hours of technical training. The information provided during this class is orientated specifically towards the landscape industry, and will focus on principles of landscape lighting design and irrigation technology.

Time: 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

2 Pesticide Recertification (Categories A, E, F or P) This workshop meets MDA’s Commercial Pesticide Applicator requirements for category A (Core) and E (Turf and Ornamentals). Recertification for optional Categories F (Aquatics) and P (Vertebrate Pest) will also be offered as part of this workshop.

This workshop has been approved by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA).

Licensed applicators with Categories A and E who last attended a recertification workshop in 2016, and new-licensed pesticide applicators in 2017, must attend an MDAapproved workshop by 12/31/2018. By attending the Pesticide Recertification track and completing the on-site attendance documentation, applicators will obtain recertification credit.

For licensed applicators to receive credit for Category F – Aquatics or Category P – Vertebrate Pest, they must attend the entire Pesticide Recertification track (Category A and E, and F or P) and complete on-site attendance documentation.

Category F and P (Choose One): 7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

Categories A and E: 9:15 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

3 Revolution in Planting Design | a master class with Thomas Rainer and Larry Weaner Presented by Thomas Rainer, Grounded Design and Larry Weaner, Larry Weaner Landscape Associates Spend a day learning from two nationally known landscape design professionals: Thomas Rainer and Larry Weaner. Rainer is a specialist in applying innovative planting concepts to create ecologically-functional designed landscapes. His recent work focuses on the artful interpretation of wild plant communities into designed plantings that thrive in the context of towns and cities.

Weaner is nationally recognized for combining environmental science with the rich artistic traditions of landscape design. His firm assesses a site’s ecology to determine a plant palette that provides visually compelling compositions and meets their client’s functional needs. His designs are patterned after naturally occurring plant communities, with species selected for their functions as well as their ornamental qualities, resulting in dynamic, resilient landscapes that thrive with a minimum of care.

Time: 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

4 Urban Turfgrass: Benefits, Management, Environmental Issues Presented by: Dr. Brian Horgan, University of Minnesota Dr. Eric Watkins, University of Minnesota Sam Bauer, University of Minnesota Dr. Jon Trappe, University of Minnesota Andrew Hollman, University of Minnesota Dr. Dominic Petrella, University of Minnesota Dr. Paul Koch, University of Wisconsin-Madison The MTGF Master Class will be a Turfgrass Short Course with possible certification. Those taking care of parks, playfields, golf courses and school grounds will benefit from the training provided by this Turfgrass Short Course.

Time: 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

5 The Great Game of Business & The Great Game of Landscaping Presented by Dave Scholten, The Great Game of Business, and Jason Rathe, Field Outdoor Spaces Learn about the theory of The Great Game of Business: The best, most efficient, most profitable way to operate a business is to give everybody in the company a voice in saying how the company is run and a stake in the financial outcome, good or bad.

Workshop attendees will spend the morning gaining a basic understanding of the origins and application of open-book management and learn how to create a custom, ready-to-implement incentive program that can be implemented in any type of organization.

In the afternoon, the Great Game of Landscaping will be presented by Jason Rathe. Rathe will share his company’s 5-year effort to utilize open-book management. He will describe their use of project “Scorecards” and a cumulative “Scoreboard” to help them know how they are doing at any given time, motivate and create competition between crews, and provide incentives.

Rathe will share lessons learned and difficulties encountered when taking on this project.

Time: 9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

WEDNESDAY at a Glance COLOR KEY:

Premium Content Concurrent Session Ticketed Event Trade Show Campfire, Sandbox, or Theater Session

Legislative Breakfast | A panel discussion of local, statewide, and national issues | 101 FG 7:30 AM University of Minnesota Turf Research Update 8:20 AM Sam Bauer, Brian Horgan, Eric Watkins | Aud 3 7:15 AM 8:15 AM

8:30 AM 9:45 AM

OPENING KEYNOTE: Emotional Intelligence: Learn How to Interact, Communicate, and Collaborate Successfully with All Types of People | Dave Durham Main Aud | All attendees and exhibitors welcome!

10:00 AM 5:00 PM

Trade Show Open

10:00 AM 11:00 AM

Why Pavers are Your Best Choice | Bill Gardocki | 200 ABC

High Tech / Low Budget Jason Haines | Innovation Theater Putting the Fire in Musclewood: the Origins of Firespire(R), Fire King(R), and Wisconsin Red(TM) Carpinus carolinana Michael Yanny | Lakeshore Campfire Top 10 Green Industry Legal Pitfalls to Watch Out For Patrick McGuiness | Backyard Campfire

2:00 PM 3:00 PM

Hardscape Challenge Round 3 | The Sandbox

2:20 PM 2:50 PM

Northern Green Game Show: Industry Trends in a Family Feud Format | Innovation Theater Responsible Watering—How to Teach the Homeowner Julie Weisenhorn | Lakeshore Campfire Arborist/Treecare Networking Backyard Campfire

3:00 PM 4:00 PM

YouTube Your Landscape/Hardscape Business Tom Gardocki | 200 ABC Tree Injection Best Management Practices Shawn Bernick | Aud 2

Opportunistic Plant Selection | Michael Yanny | Aud 2 Critter Control | John Loegering | 200 DE

Rain Gardens: Evaluating 5-10 Year-Old Rain Gardens. What Worked? | Fred Rozulmalski | 200 DE

It’s a Brave New Landscape World…Again!

Parry Webb | 101 CDE

MLSN Guidelines and Growth Potential Jason Haines | Aud 3

Wicked Worms: New Approaches to Managing Difficult Earthworms | Ben McGraw | Aud 3

New Perennials from Around the World Dan Heims | Aud 1

Pest Management Update: New Research, New Products and Pests We are Seeing Suzanne Wainwright Evans | Aud 1

A Not So Sustainable Landscape Parry Webb | 101 CDE

11:10 AM 12:10 PM

CEO PREMIUM CONTENT: Are You a Fierce Competitor? | Bill Arman and Ed Laflamme | 101 AB

10:05 AM 10:35 AM

Next, Please: FFA’s Role in Preparing Young People for Careers in the Green Industry Juleah Tolosky | Lakeshore Campfire MNLA Certification Exam Study Tips Certification Task Team | Backyard Campfire

10:05 AM 11:05 AM

Hardscape Challenge Round 1 | The Sandbox

10:40 AM 11:10 AM

New Plant Forum | Debbie Lonnee | Innovation Theater LED Lighting | Lakeshore Campfire

11:15 AM 11:45 AM

Climbing Demo | Climbers Corner

11:20 AM 11:50 AM

New Plant Forum | Debbie Lonnee | Innovation Theater Top 10 Tips—Landscaping for Wildlife John Loegering | Lakeshore Campfire Landscape Contractor/Hardscape Contractor Networking | Backyard Campfire

12:05 PM 1:05 PM

Hardscape Challenge Round 2 | The Sandbox

12:15 PM 12:45 PM

New Plant Forum | Debbie Lonnee | Innovation Theater Maintenance of No Mow Lawns Andrew Hollman | Backyard Campfire

1:00 PM 1:30 PM

Beekeeping for Golf Courses Ben McGraw | Innovation Theater Professional Gardening Networking Lakeshore Campfire Building Credibility - A Story For Success Bill and Tom Gardocki | Backyard Campfire

1:15 PM 1:45 PM

1:45 PM 2:15 PM

Climbing Demo | Climbers Corner

3:00 PM 4:00 PM

CEO PREMIUM CONTENT: Recruiting to the Rescue: How to Find, Attract, Get Onboard and Keep the Right People | Bill Arman and Ed Laflamme | 101 AB

3:15 PM 3:45 PM

Pruning Demo | Climbers Corner

3:05 PM 3:35 PM

MNLA Foundation Grant Update—Clarification of the Identity, Epidemiology, and Host Range of Xanthomonas Blight of Hydrangea Angela Orshinsky | Lakeshore Campfire IPM and Organic Management for 10 Landscape and 10 Garden Insects | Vera Krischik | Backyard Campfire

3:40 PM 4:10 PM

University of Minnesota Stormwater U Workshop Series & Certification Shahram Missaughi | Lakeshore Campfire Walkabout: What’s New in Hardscape?

Scott Frampton | Backyard Campfire

4:00 PM 5:00 PM

Hardscape Challenge Round 4 | The Sandbox

4:15 PM 5:15 PM

CEO PREMIUM CONTENT: Nothing Happens Without A Sale! | Bill Arman and Ed Laflamme | 101 AB

4:15 PM 5:15 PM

Garden Center Panel: Events to Increase Sales Karen Bachman-Thul, Scott Endres, Scott Moon, Kelsey Sparks, Jeff Pilla-Moderator | 200 AB Minnesota’s Stormwater Manual - Connecting Stormwater Management to the Landscape Michael Trojan | 101 CDE Turfhacking Minimalism | Jason Haines | Aud 3 Protecting and Creating Pollinator Habitat in Lawns Sam Bauer | 200 DE Flash and Splash — Building the Color Story Dan Heims | Aud 1 Tree Safety | John Ball | Aud 2

THURSDAY at a Glance COLOR KEY:

Premium Content Concurrent Session Ticketed Event Trade Show Campfire, Sandbox, or Theater Session

7:00 AM 8:00 AM

High Performance Putting Surfaces Frank Rossi | Aud 3

8:00 AM 8:50 AM

Colour in the Contemporary Garden | Andrew Wilson | 200 ABC All About That Base: A Healthy Tree Story Begins Underground | Gary Johnson | Aud 2 Sports Turf Topic | Jerad Minnick | 101 CDE How to Properly Install Natural Gas Features Irv Geffre | Aud 1

Minneapolis Convention Center www.NorthernGreen.org

11:20 AM 11:50 AM

12:15 PM 12:45 PM

Landscape Awards Presentations | Innovation Theater Landscape Diseases of 2017 Michelle Grabowski | Lakeshore Campfire

12:15 PM 12:45 PM

Climbing Demo | Climber’s Corner

1:00 PM 1:30 PM

Landscape Awards Presentations | Innovation Theater OSHA Overview: An Overview of OSHA As a State Plan in Minnesota and Do the Regulations Apply to You? Lee Craig | Lakeshore Campfire Garden Center Networking | Backyard Campfire

Immigration & Health Care | Craig Regelbrugge | 200 DE Managing Safe Fields without Pesticides Frank Rossi | Aud 3 8:00 AM 10:00 AM

INTERACTIVE TRACK: Soils/Water/Irrigation – Handson Soils for the Green Industry Professional Dan Wheeler | 101 AB

1:30 PM 3:30 PM

9:00 AM 4:00 PM

Trade Show Open

1:45 PM 2:15 PM

9:05 AM 10:05 AM

Small is Beautiful | Andrew Wilson | 200 ABC How to Lead your Team to Better Results in 2018 Jones Loflin | 200 DE Trees as a Stormwater Management Tool Randy Neprash | 101 CDE Ponds/Waterfalls/Pondless Waterfalls | Irv Geffre | Aud 1 Tree Risk Assessment Qualification Tom Smiley | Aud 2 Precision Disease Management for Golf Courses: Present Strategies and Future Research Needs Paul Koch | Aud 3

9:10 AM 9:40 AM

Flower Grower Networking | Lakeshore Campfire Research for the Real World: The Year in Review Jim Calkins | Backyard Campfire

9:45 AM 10:15 AM

The Evolution of a Container Garden Scott Endres | Innovation Theater Managing Japanese Beetles in Residential Turf Jeff Hahn | Lakeshore Campfire

10:00 AM 11:00 AM

Hardscape Challenge Round 5 | The Sandbox

10:40 AM 11:10 AM

11:15 AM 11:45 AM

Garden Center Technology & Change John Daniels, Jeff Pilla | Innovation Theater Landscape Design Networking Lakeshore Campfire The Challenges of Adopting New Technology Frank Rossi | Backyard Campfire Climbing Demo | Climber’s Corner

Apps for the Green Industry Brandon Gallagher | Innovation Theater Women in Leadership Heidi Heiland | Lakeshore Campfire Invasive Species/Noxious Weed Status Update Jim Calkins | Backyard Campfire

INTERACTIVE TRACK: Soils/Water/Irrigation – Saving Water, What to Tell your Customers, and Hands-on Irrigation | Sam Bauer | 101 AB Landscape Awards Presentations | Innovation Theater Annuals that Attract Pollinators Julie Weisenhorn | Lakeshore Campfire The White Menace: Strategies for Surviving Winter Injury on your Golf Course Paul Koch | Backyard Campfire

2:00 PM 3:30 PM

Hardscape Challenge Championship | The Sandbox

2:15 PM 2:45 PM

Pruning Demo | Climbers Corner

2:30 PM 3:00 PM

Waterworks Park in Minneapolis Tom Whitlock | Innovation Theater Fountains and Aerators Todd Dilley | Lakeshore Campfire The Top 10 Color Shrubs for Minnesota Landscapes Debbie Lonnee | Backyard Campfire

3:00 PM 4:00 PM

3:10 PM 4:00 PM

Designing a Chelsea Flower Show Garden Andrew Wilson | 200 ABC Finding the Right Time to Get the Right Things Done Jones Loflin | 200 DE Fraze Mowing | Jerad Minnick | 101 CDE Growing Vegetables: In Focus Dean Engelmann | Aud 2 Reduced Risk Disease Control: How To Do It and Why It’s Important | Paul Koch | Aud 3 MN State Building Code, Municipal Regulations & Difficult Sites | Roger Axel | Aud 1 Closing Keynote: Fun Is Good – Creating Joy & Passion in Your Workplace and Career Mike Veeck | Innovation Theater

REGISTRATION OPTIONS FEATURES PRE-REGISTER (ON OR BEFORE DEC. 20, 2017*)

3-Day Reg. 2-Day Reg. 2-Day Reg. 2-Day Reg. 1-Day Reg. 1-Day Reg. 1-Day Reg. (Tue–Th) (Tue/Wed) (Wed/Thur) (Tue/Thur) (Tue) (Wed) (Thur)

Student Trade Reg. Show Only (Wed/Thur) (Wed/Thur)

$327

$228

$168

$228

$159

$99

$99

$35

$40

$347

$248

$188

$248

$179

$119

$119

$40

$40

$427

$328

$268

$328

$259

$199

$199

$45

$50

REG. ONSITE NON-MEMBER

$447

$348

$288

$348

$279

$219

$219

$45

$50

Choice of 1 Tuesday Master Class (formerly Super Tuesday)

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Wednesday Concurrent Educational Sessions

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Thursday Concurrent Educational Sessions

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Tuesday’s Trade Show Preview Party

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All exhibits/trade show pass

PRE-REG. NON-MEMBER

REGISTER ONSITE (JAN. 2-4, 2018)

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Access to Free Lunch on the Trade Show floor**

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Access to Campfire mini sessions on the trade show floor

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Access to Hardscape Challenge, The Sandbox, and Tech Lab

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Access to sessions in Innovation & Inspiration Theater

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 UPGRADES & EXTRAS

ADVANCED PRICE

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ONSITE PRICE

CEO TRACK UPGRADE (Wednesday) - Requires Wed. Registration above

Member: $79 Non-Member: $99 Member: $99 Non-Member: $109

INTERACTIVE TRACK UPGRADE (Thursday) - Requires Thurs. Registration above

Member: $79 Non-Member: $99 Member: $99 Non-Member: $109

GREEN INDUSTRY AWARDS CELEBRATION TICKET (Tuesday)

$40

N/A

LEGISLATIVE BREAKFAST TICKET (Wednesday)

$35

N/A

GET YOUR BEST PRICE NOW. Go to www.NorthernGreen.org!

January 2–4, 2018

Minneapolis Convention Center info@NorthernGreen.org | 651.633.4987

*Name badges will be mailed to those who register by December 1st...no waiting in line! Those who register between December 2nd and 20th will receive an email with their badge information. Bring the emailed badge information with you to the show and visit one of our Self Check-In kiosks in the Registration Center. **Available to the first 2,000 attendees on Wednesday.

More information on Northern Green at WWW.NORTHERNGREEN.ORG. 46

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GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY:

C E O

TRACK Exclusive Content for Owners, CEOs, Managers and TopLevel Leaders, including access to the CEO Lounge.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3, 2018

TAKE YOUR LANDSCAPE BUSINESS TO THE NEXT LEVEL Ed LaFlamme and Bill Arman Harvest Group Landscape Business Consulting

Stressed out and overwhelmed from running your landscape business? Struggling to grow and sustain your landscape business profitably? Having a hard time finding, hiring and keeping the right people?

This track can help you: • • • •

Grow your landscape business and increase your profit Find, train and keep the right people Create a sustainable, money-making company Learn strategies to make running your business easier

The CEO Premium Track includes the following topics:

Special Ticketed Events Access to each event requires a separate ticket for an additional fee, regardless of registration pass. You can purchase tickets when registering for Northern Green, or by visiting the event’s page on NorthernGreen.org.

GREEN INDUSTRY AWARDS

CELEBRATI0N

RECOGNIZING E XCELLENCE IN MINNESOTA’S GREEN INDUSTRY

TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2018

In the Innovation & Inspiration Theater

A joint effort by MNLA and MTGF, this event will utilize the Innovation & Inspiration Theater on the trade show floor, which includes a giant rear-projected screen allowing for a fantastic visual display. There will be dinner, drinks, a master of cermonies to act as a host for the evening’s festivities, and lots to celebrate! We’ll recognize a number of deserving individuals and companies for their service to the green industry, their research, their excellence in landscape and sports field work, for receiving and sponsoring scholarships, and for completion of the Green Industry Leadership Institute.

Ticket price: $40

Are you a Fierce Competitor?

Harvesters Bill Arman and Ed Laflamme will lead this session on what it takes to be a Fierce Competitor in any market including yours. The session will focus on learning the 10 traits that you and your organization need to learn and practice to be a fierce competitor. These 10 traits will lead you and your organization to success even in the toughest of competitive markets.

Recruiting to the Rescue: How to Find, Attract, Get Onboard and Keep the Right People

Find out how to set up a comprehensive recruitment program, including how to: source, screen and select the right people. Learn the 10-step process to build your organization into a “Recruiting Machine!” Harvester Bill has successfully used these 10 steps for the past 40 years to find the best this industry has to offer. You’ll learn a whole new “way of life” thinking on recruiting and hiring.

Nothing Happens Without a Sale!

Your phone rings from referrals and your marketing program but are you getting your share of the work? Are you: • Losing too many sales to “low ballers?”

• Unsure about the sales process?

• Giving a ton of proposals but not getting the jobs?

Harvester Ed is a master at the sales process. You’ll leave this session learning: • The basics of the sales process.

• How to give your potential customers trust so you win the jobs.

• How to close more deals!

LEGISLATIVE BREAKFAST

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3, 2018 The 2018 Minnesota State Legislature will reconvene on February 20th, and Northern Green gives green industry professionals a perfect opportunity to gain insight into the many issues facing us, as well as ways to get involved and grow results in government affairs.

Come and learn about how you can have a voice on important issues that affect your business!

The Northern Green 2018 Legislative Breakfast is brought to you by the members of the MNLA Government Affairs Committee and our generous supporters.

Ticket price: $35

YOUR DESIGNS CRAFTED BY BORGERT Unmatched durability. Premium quality. Limitless designs.

For more than 90 years, we’ve delivered the features you need.

That’s why those in the industry choose Borgert.

Crafting your vision.

Visit our showroom at: IMS, Suite 12C | For more information or for a FREE Borgert catalog call 800.622.4952 | borgertproducts.com

THE H-2B WORK VISA Tips for H-2B Filings in 2018 and Program Updates

Loan T. Huynh | Attorney, Fredrikson & Byron

T

he H-2B nonagricultural temporary visa program allows employers to sponsor foreign workers if they can document the need is temporary and there is a shortage of able willing U.S. workers to fill the position(s). H-2B employers experienced another tumultuous year with the H-2B visa program in 2017 due to uncertainties with the H-2B laws (i.e. the provision exempting returning H-2B employees from being subject to the H-2B cap that was brought back in 2016 went away at the start of the 2017 fiscal year) and the fact that 66,000 H-2B visas per fiscal year simply does not meet the seasonal labor needs of U.S. employers.

The H-2B cap for Fiscal Year 2017 (October 1, 2016- September 30, 2017) was reached on March 13, 2017, less than one month before the second half of the fiscal year 2017 even started. Any employer whose date of need for temporary workers fell on April 8 or later had no chance to obtain H-2B temporary workers, since the earliest they could file their H-2B petitions with the DOL was January 8, 2017. By that date, DOL had essentially received 2,971 H-2B labor certification applications requesting for more than 51,000 workers. USCIS only releases 33,000 visas for each fiscal half and the 33,000 H-2B visas for the first half of the fiscal year had already been used before the end of December 2016. As a result, many employers who depend on H-2B workers to meet their labor needs were simply left out in the cold.

There are no current changes in the H-2B process, at DOL, or USCIS that would indicate any improvements in the H-2B process.

It is expected that there will be a greater shortage of H-2B numbers in 2018 due to the build up from the visa shortage in 2017. It is

imperative for employers to ensure their H-2B applications are filed at 90 days before the start date of need. Employers should examine their date of temporary need and be prepared to have their H-2B applications ready for filing as soon as permissible under the regulations. For example, employers with a start date of need for April 1 can file on January 1.

Time to Start Preparing for H-2B Filings for 2018 Start Dates

Summer also signals the start of preparations for H-2B filings under the second half (for start date of need between April 1, 2018-September 1, 2018) Fiscal Year 2018. Employers will be able to file H-2B petitions on January 1, 2018 if they have an April 1st start date for their temporary need.

There is no reason to not expect another deluge of filing the first week of January 2018 unless Congress implements changes in the H-2B program between now and January 2018. In order to obtain an H-2B visa for a foreign national, an employer must show the following: • The job and the employer’s need must be one time, seasonal, peak load or intermittent; • The need must be full-time (35 hours a week) for 10 months or less (up to three years for some one-time occurrence applications); and • There must be no qualified and willing U.S. workers available for the job.

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➾ H - 2 B W O RK V I S A

The 2017 budget lifted the moratorium on H-2B audits. In the meantime, H-2B employers need to prepare for the coming year and brace themselves for increased H-2B audits pursuant to President Trump’s “Buy America, Hire America” Executive Order.

The first step in the H-2B sponsorship process is to obtain a prevailing wage determination for the H-2B position(s) from the Department of Labor (DOL). Preparations for 2018 dates of need should start immediately once DOL releases new prevailing wages in early July. Once the new wage rates are released, DOL will issue prevailing wage determinations which are valid until June 30, 2018 or 90 days for those wage determinations issued within 90 days of June 30, 2018 until the new wage rates are issued. Employers who will be sponsoring H-2B workers in 2018 should obtain a prevailing wage determination as soon as possible as it will take approximately 30 days for DOL to issue a wage determination. DOL has warned that employers may face delays in obtaining a wage determination if they wait closer to the January 1 filing date since prevailing wage requests substantially increase as the filing date for the second half of the fiscal year approaches.

H-2B Provisions Under the 2017 Consolidated Appropriation Bill

Despite urgent calls by H-2B employers, Congress did not reinstate the returning worker provision which exempted H-2B workers within the past three years from the H-2B cap. Instead, Congress passed the buck to USCIS and authorized it to raise the number of H-2B visas needed if USCIS determined there is a need for additional H-2B visa numbers in the U.S. labor market. As of July 4, USCIS has yet to act on this authorization. In addition, Congress allocated $20 million to DOL especially for H-2 program improvements. It is not exactly clear how the additional funding will impact the H-2 program except that we can expect a re-start of H-2B audits. The 2017 budget lifted the moratorium on H-2B audits. In the meantime, H-2B employers need to prepare for the coming year and brace themselves for increased H-2B audits pursuant to President Trump’s “Buy America, Hire America” Executive Order.

LOAN T. HUYNH is an immigration attorney at Fredrikson & Byron, PA in Minneapolis, MN. She has practiced exclusively in the immigration field for more than 20 years and partners with U.S. employers to navigate the U.S. immigration system and to defend them in worksite audits/investigations. She writes and speaks frequently on the H-2B and H-2A work visa programs. She is currently H-2 ViceChair for the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s DOL Liaison Committee where she meets quarterly with the DOL on H-2 issues.

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Lawn Mower

Grapple Bucket

Excavator

Forks

Why buy, lease or rent an Avant?

• Versatile - Compact and lightweight • Unique - Over 100 attachments to handle any job • Powerful - Excellent lift to weight ratio • Economical - Low operating and maintenance costs • Practical - Easy to operate with telescopic boom • Maneuverable - Articulated steering

Call or stop in to speak to an Avant Sales Specialist who can schedule a FREE DEMO and recommend the best equipment for your needs!

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1200 Highway 13 East, Burnsville, MN 55337 952-894-0894 3101 Spruce Street, Little Canada, MN 55117 651-407-3727 588 Outpost Circle, Hudson, WI 54016 715-531-0801

➾ B LOOMS & BREWS

ON JULY 18, Minnesota’s best blooming week, Blooms and Brews brought together over 40 members to get a private tour of Noerenberg Gardens, from designer and Horticulture Supervisor Arla Carmichiel who was joined by Bee Squad members from the University of Minnesota. Following the tour, at a meetup at Excelsior Brewing Company, colleagues enjoyed complimentary beverages and snacks. Thanks to our sponsor Hoffman and McNamara Nursery & Landscaping and to everyone who supported this MNLA Foundation fundraiser to support green industry careers!

&

Arla Charmichiel, Designer and Horticulture Supervisor for Noerenberg Gardens provided a tour of the site.

Some beautiful blooms enjoyed by attendees at Noerenberg Gardens.

The University of Minnesota Bee Squad was present to answer questions and network with attendees.

The view from the gazebo at Noerenberg Gardens.

Kari Line and Wanda Penner from Otten Bros. enjoying a brew at Excelsior Brewing following the garden tour.

MNLA Foundation Trustees Dennis Ullom, left, and John O’Reilly, right, enjoy networking with Heidi Heiland at Excelsior Brewing.

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CAN YOU DIG IT? 50G

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• 35.9 Net Horsepower • 19ft. 7in. Digging Reach • 11ft. 7in. Digging Depth • 10,560lb. Operating Weight

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Our “Uptime Inspections” are basically an “Uptime Guarantee.”

SIGN UP FOR AN UPTIME INSPECTION NOW AND SAVE! See your local service department for details!

EXPLORE YOUR FRONTIER

If you experience a downtime failure, you will recieve priority for an “Uptime Support Unit.” In addition, you will have the piece of mind knowing your equipment is ready when you need it! See our website for loaner units, locations, and information!

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Check Cab Lights Check Dash Lights Check Dash Gauges Check Starting System Check Wiring Condition Check Charging System Check & Load Test Battery

Miscellaneous

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EX PLORE YOUR FRONTIER

Cannon Falls, MN (507) 263-4238 Rosemount, MN (651) 423-2274

Hastings, MN (651) 437-7747 New Richmond, WI (715) 246-6565

frontieragturf.com

Osceola, WI (715) 294-2191 Turtle Lake, WI (715) 986-4403

1 Monthly payment listed based on 4.5% for 72 months with 10% down payment. Bucket and Hydraulic Clamp not included in price. Financing subject to John Deere Financial Installment Credit Approval. Some restrictions apply. Programs subject to change without notice. Offer ends 9/30/17. See dealer for details.

7X50MNL-4C-CWP

The GO-TO source for all of your residential & commercial landscaping needs!

Products Offered:

- 100% Compost and Compost Blends - Athletic Field and Golf Course Top Dressing Blends - Erosion Control Products - Formulation of Customized Product Blends - Natural and Colored Mulch

Services Provided:

- Municipal Wood Site Management - Wood Grinding - Material Screening - Free Drop-Off of Logs/Brush/Wood Chips

952.233.9191 | smscorf.com 1905 Mystic Lake Drive S, Shakopee, MN Owned and Operated by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community

➾ MNLA FOUN DATION

FOUNDATION NEWS AG TEAC H ER WO R K SH O P

ON JUNE 28, 2017, the MNLA Foundation hosted a hands-on workshop to promote horticulture to students. Here’s what teacher attendees had to say...

The landscape workshop really opened my eyes to the passionate people within the horticulture and landscape industry. They are determined to keep their industries alive by filling the job demand with high quality students. Jay gave us insight about what he teaches at the Hennepin Technical College, and Seth and his crew gave us a glimpse into real world scenarios on what a day in the life of a landscape installer is all about. I now feel comfortable teaching my students what it would be like for them to pursue a career where the job outlook is excellent and the benefits are worthwhile.

Hayley Faber Ag Teacher/FFA Advisor Mountain Lake Public Schools

Attending this workshop was such a worthwhile experience! We had a chance to “tour” great curriculum that we can utilize in a wide range of courses as well as work with expert landscapers. I am glad I attended and can’t wait to use the skills I learned to teach my students.

Mary S. Hoffmann MAAE Past President Sleepy Eye Ag Teacher/FFA Advisor

Thank you so much for this incredible opportunity. I really enjoyed learning about the horticulture curriculum and hope to implement at least part of it in a horticulture, landscape design, or floriculture course once I complete my license. As someone brand new to the agriculture education community, I benefited enormously not just from the training (which was fantastic!) but from the opportunity to meet so many outstanding teachers and community partners. I was so impressed with how connected and generous Minnesota’s agriculture teachers are. The two days we spent together made a huge impact not just on what I will teach once I am licensed in agriculture, but on my decision to complete the portfolio.

Thanks again!

Megan Olivia Hall 2013–2014 Minnesota Teacher of the Year Open World Learning Community

The two-day training, we experienced was fabulous. I have been looking for a cohesive and systematic way to teach landscaping

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➾ M N L A F O U N D AT I O N

techniques. I’m excited about the resources I got from the workshop.

The “hands on” project was an excellent way to learn and it gave us all a chance to share some of the methods we are currently incorporating in our classrooms that are working and some that did not work as well. We talked about possible pitfalls and how to handle them. This was just so good! I loved the resources and so very much appreciate the efforts involved to make it happen!

Pat Tax, Ag Teacher Pierz, MN

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#PLANTSDOTHAT HORTICULTURE: THE ART, SCIENCE, & BUSINESS OF PLANTS Horticulture contributes $196 billion to the US economy across a diverse array of businesses. But the story doesn’t end there. Horticulture benefits the wealth and health of every citizen and every community in the US.

Used with permission: National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture.

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A Deeper Shade of Green Local Genetic Origins

TM

➾ P L A N T S D O T H AT

Native Minnesota Woody & Herbaceous (651) 438-2771 • Fax (651) 438-3816

www.outbacknursery.com

Call us first for all your native planting needs

Horticulture

H

orticulture positively affects people’s lives where they live, work, shop and play, according to a new report from the National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture (NICH). The benefits of consumer horticulture are spotlighted in “#PlantsDoThat, Horticulture: The Art, Science, & Business of Plants.” The infographic illustrates how consumer horticulture contributes $196 billion to the U.S. economy and creates more than 2 million jobs.

“The story doesn’t just stop at direct economic impact,” said Casey Sclar, NICH Chair. “Consumer and society engagement through plants permeates all aspects of our lives, from providing the aesthetic backdrop to directly enriching our health and well-being.”

According to the NICH report, plants benefit society in many ways: • Plants in the workplace reduce employee sick time by 14% • Well-landscaped homes are more valuable; since homes represent 25% of personal wealth, outdoor plants pack a powerful personal finance punch • Americans are growing more of their own food—25% of all Americans grow berries, veggies or fruit trees • Shaded roadways save 60% of repaving costs

Launch Launch aa rewarding rewarding career career related related to to plants, plants, food food and and the the environment. environment.

--Enhancing Enhancingand andsustaining sustainingthe the environment environmentthrough throughplants plants --Creating Creatingsustainable sustainablelandscapes landscapes --Locally Locallyand andglobally globallyfeeding feedingthe theworld worldthrough throughfruits fruitsand andvegetables vegetables --Improving Improvinghealth healthand andsocial socialwell-being well-being of ofpeople peoplethrough throughplants plants ••Affordable Affordable ••Individualized Individualizedadvising advising ••Bachelor Bachelorof ofScience Sciencedegree degree ••30 30minutes minuteseast eastof ofSt. St.Paul Paul Email: Email:pes@uwrf.edu pes@uwrf.edu www.uwrf.edu/pes/horticulture/ www.uwrf.edu/pes/horticulture/

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AA/EOE AA/EOE

• America’s public gardens generate $2.3 billion in tourism spending The infographic, developed by the NICH Economic Committee, uses data gathered by Dr. Charlie Hall, the Ellison Endowed Chair in International Floriculture at Texas A&M University. It’s the first of a number of infographics to showcase the power of plants to improve life. The infographic series is available to companies, institutions and individuals for use in outreach to horticulture industry and non-industry members. “We envision the infographics as a tool showcasing the power of consumer horticulture for the purpose

of building support for more plants in our personal and public spaces,” says Debbie Hamrick, NICH Economic Committee chair.

For instance, Hamrick says the infographic could be used by a landscaper speaking before a City Council about a new or renovated development, or by nurserymen on Capitol Hill making the case for research, or an environmental engineer arguing for using vegetated plant systems instead of or in conjunction with gray infrastructure.

The National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture (NICH) is a consortium of industry leaders who are promoting the benefits and value of horticulture. NICH brings together academia, government, industry, and nonprofits to cultivate the growth and development of a healthy world through landscapes, gardens and plants — indoors and out. The Mission of NICH is to grow a healthy world through plants, gardens, and landscapes. on PRWEB, authored by Susan McCoy of Garden Media Group, and is available in its original format.

THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED

FREE DISPOSAL DISPOSE OF WASTE PESTICIDE FREE — MDA The collection, management, and disposal of unwanted and unusable pesticides are very costly. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) provides payment for waste pesticides collected by collaborating counties and through MDA singleday events.

MDA receives and distributes funding for this program per MN Statute 18B.065. It is important that all pesticide users have an equal opportunity to properly dispose of their waste pesticides. Therefore, MDA limits the amount that a participant may dispose of for free. 300 pounds are accepted annually at no charge, and after that, participants will be asked to help pay a portion of the costs for additional waste. Some exceptions apply. If you have questions please contact Stan Kaminski at 651-2016562 or stan.kaminski@state.mn.us.

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➾ M E M BE R N E W S

Try our app!

IN MEMORIAM JIM R. COOPER Jim Cooper, Jr. Landscaping Cooper, Jim R. Age 59, of Richfield. Preceded in death by his father James; and sister Merna. Survived by his wife Barbara; children Julie (Ryan) Cooper-Fortin, Jordan, Tyler, and Cody; grandson Jamie; mother Marie; brother Tom (Kelly); and many loving relatives, friends, and hunting buddy Kona. A Celebration of Life took place on June 7th.

It’s easy, it’s free, and it will help you make the most efficient use of your time!

• Organize your schedule.

• Access session handouts.

• Bookmark exhibitors and sessions you’re planning to visit.

• Use the Activity Stream to follow the action.

• Lighten your load – no need to carry around anything more than your mobile device.

CLASSIFIEDS RED BOSS Tree Spades 16" to 105", Planters, Tree Tiers (up to 110"), Stump Diggers. Tree Boss. Nursery and Landscaping Equipment is our specialty. All made in USA. info@redbosstreespades.com www.redbosstreespades.com

Plus, follow us on Twitter:

@NorthernGreenMN Use the hashtag #NorthernGreen.

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P.O. Box 185, 750 South Monroe Street, Waterloo, WI 53594 800-236-4242 ▪ Fax: 920-478-3615 ▪ www.mckaynursery.com

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It’s time to go mobile, and this is priced to get you there!

Accelerate repeat visits with your own app by offering rewards for your most loyal customers - all they need is their phone!

Plus, your branded app can easily promote upcoming events and sales. Sign up today to set up an online demo. Contact Jon Horsman at 651-633-4987 or jon@mnla.biz to get started.

Introductory Offer: $75/month + $525 one-time setup fee

p.o. box 748 • st. charles, il 60174 847.742.1790 • fax 847.742.2655 www.midwestgroundcovers.com

➾ G OLF OUTIN G

2017

CELEBRATING 27 YEARS OF GOLF! Thank you to all who joined us for the 27th Annual Widmer Golf Tournament on July 25. An overcast, but great day was spent at Phalen Golf Course in St. Paul. Funds raised from the golf tournament support the MNLA Foundation Research Fund.

t Tournamen CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS!

Caption

Caption

First Place Team: Michael Keenan, Urban Ecosystems Brian Olsen, Ramsey Conservation District Brian Nelson, Nelco Landscaping Adam Tremaine, Tremaine Design

Second Place Team: Brett Nutting, JLM Mark Peterson, Belgard Nick Fogle, Warner’s Outdoor Solutions Ryan Jaegar, Yellow Brick Road

Prize sponsored by Bailey Nurseries.

Prize sponsored by Ziegler CAT. Caption

Caption

Closest to Pin Winner: Adam Eull Carlin Sales/ProGreen Plus

Longest Drive Winner: James Stelten Urban Designs

Prize sponsored by Caption Belgard Hardscapes.

Prize sponsored by GM Fleet and Commercial.

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Longest Putt Winner: Jeremy Bickner Rochester Concrete Products Prize sponsored by Caption Bachman’s Wholesale Nursery and Hardscapes.

Hit the Keg Winner: Seamus Walsh Vineland Treecare Prize sponsored by Gertens Wholesale & Professional Turf Supply.

THANK YOU WIDMER GOLF TOURNAMENT SPONSORS!

Getting ready to head to the hole.

Beverage Cart:

Prize for Champion Team:

Prize for Second Place Team:

Longest Drive Contest:

Closest to Pin Contest:

Longest Putt Contest:

Dinner:

Hit the Keg Contest:

Hole Sponsors:

The team from Twisted Elements stopped for a pose.

The Mega Putt Challenge — ready, set, putt!

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VERSA-LOK

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• VERSA-LOK retaining walls • Willow Creek pavers and kits • Unilock pavers • Natural stone, flagstone, steppers, wall stone and more • Accessories, including lights, sealers, polymeric sand, edging and geogrid • Easy in/out yards with knowledgeable staff and convenient hours

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➾ ME MBER N EWS

COMMITTEE OPENINGS The MNLA Board of Directors forms committees to carry out the strategic direction of the organization. Below is a summary of the committees with current openings, and a summary of their mission. Are you interested in learning more about the committee’s task or time commitment involved? For more information, contact a board member, a committee chair, an MNLA staff member, or to submit a volunteer application online, visit www.MNLA.biz.

Membership Committee: Current openings: 10 Chair: Van Cooley, Malmborg’s Garden Center and Greenhouse

Trade Show Committee: Current openings: 3 Chair: Dave Kemp, The Catholic Cemeteries

An outreach team which personally shares information about the value of membership, and acts as a conduit for gathering insight and ideas from members and prospective members.

Ensure the presentation of a world-class commerce and networking event at the most exhibitor-friendly green industry trade show in the country.

Communications + Technology Committee: Current openings: 6 Chair: Randy Berg, Berg’s Nursery, Landscapers/Garden Center

Networking Committee: Current openings: 7 Chair: Matt Mallas, Hedberg Landscape Supply

Develop MNLA into a critical hub of vital and unique knowledge for members.

Create and support member-to-member business connections and networking to foster camaraderie and commerce.

Government Affairs Committee: Current openings: 5 Chair: Timothy Malooly, Water in Motion

Education & Certification Committee: Current openings: 2 Chair: Debbie Lonnee, Bailey Nurseries, Inc.

Protect and advance the collective interests of members through legislative and regulatory involvement.

INTRODUCING THE NEXT PROGRAM IN MNLA’S GREEN INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP SERIES:

If you’re looking for a highly effective and affordable soft skills development tool for your emerging leaders and a way to enhance your retention program, MNLA’s Peer Insight Groups is your solution. Peer Insight is the perfect tool for connecting the content in a formal training program with the context of how to use it in your career.

What will participants walk away with?

• Progression in career • Personal development • Expanded personal and professional connections • Growth in the soft skills vital to your company’s success Details • Each course includes six Tuesday sessions over three months.

• Deadline for applying for the January course is Friday, December 8.

• $595 per participant Application Each applicant will need to complete the application form at www.MNLA.biz/leadership.

2018 WINTER COURSE (JAN.-MAR.):

Teams

(Executive teams, management teams, and crews) This course will include discussions around Teams, Collaboration, Attitude, Empowered Teams, and Resilience.

Limited seats are available for each course!

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➾ MNLA BOARD

NOMINATIONS FOR MNLA BOARD SUBMIT N O M I N ATI O N S FO R M N L A B O A RD O F D I RE CT O RS N O W

As a member-driven organization, the MNLA solicits candidates to fill the open seats on the Board of Directors. The MNLA Board Development Committee is now accepting board nominations through Monday, October 16, 2017.

Board members represent the interests of the MNLA membership and help promote the growth and success of the green industry.

The following criterion for participation as a board member is required in the MNLA bylaws: Eight years of MNLA membership immediately preceding the election Business member status; and Appropriate dues paid.

In addition, MNLA seeks to maintain a strong, balanced, strategicthinking board that accurately represents the varied companies found in the green industry. Skills in the following areas will also be considered for new board seats:

SERVING ON THE MNLA BOARD OF DIRECTORS IS VOLUNTARY BUT REQUIRES THE FOLLOWING TIME COMMITMENT A Board term is two years.

The Board meets a minimum of four times per year generally in March, June, September and December. Responsibilities include reading agenda and supporting materials prior to attending.

Special meetings, conference calls, electronic votes, and strategic planning sessions are sometimes convened.

Board members receive no compensation for their time.

Leadership experience

2018 MNLA ELECTION TIMELINE

Dedication to the association

October 2017 — Candidates are interviewed and recommended for the ballot by MNLA Board Development Committee.

Government relations/advocacy Finance experience Strategic perspective Entrepreneurship Business ethics Industry experience

IF YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS about

December 2017 — The Board of Directors approves the ballot presented and an Online board and officer election is held.

January 3, 2018 — Candidates are ratified at the MNLA Annual Meeting and announced to the membership.

SUBMIT YOUR NOMINATION TODAY If you or someone you know is interested in working with others to ensure the growth and success of the green industry, please submit your nomination online at www.

MNLA.biz or via email to cassie@mnla.biz no later than Monday, October 16, 2017.

the election process, feel free to contact MNLA Executive Director Cassie Larson at 651-633-4987.

Thank you in advance for your interest and support of the green industry.

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CHIP IT. GRIND IT.

RENT IT.

TREES, BRANCHES, LIMBS AND STUMPS ARE NO MATCH FOR A BANDIT! Rent the brush chippers and stump grinders that are the choice of tree care professionals for their performance and dependability!

There are many types and sizes of machines to suit every job.

Chippers have capacities from 6 inches all the way up to 21 inches and we have stump grinders small and nimble enough for yards or large and powerful enough for high production work.

Call or stop in to speak to a Rentals Specialist who will recommend the best equipment for your needs!

1200 Highway 13 East Hwy. 13 and 12th Ave Burnsville, MN 55337 952-894-0894

www.tristatebobcat.com

3101 Spruce Street Little Canada, MN 55117 651-407-3727

588 Outpost Circle I-94 and Hwy. 12 Hudson, WI 54016 715-531-0801

âž¾ ME MBER N EWS

WELCOME NEW MNLA MEMBERS! Biersch Bros Construction, Inc. Aaron Bierschbach St. Augusta, MN, 320-980-0553

Hydro Engineering, Inc. Mike McPadden Norwood Young America, MN, 952-467-3100

Sharper Homes Karen Doherty Ham Lake, MN, 763-783-1000

Carlstad Construction, Inc. Jeff Stadfelt Ramsey, MN, 763-274-9299

Jberd Mechanical Contractor, Inc. Chris Potthoff St. Cloud, MN, 320-656-1007

Todd Hansford Co. Todd Hansford Maplewood, MN, 651-210-8757

Clymer Design Mary Lou Clymer Afton, MN, 651-329-0906

Julie Granroth Company Julie Granroth Oak Grove, MN, 763-370-7022

Vogel Mechanical, Inc. Bonnie Vogel Roseville, MN, 651-430-9992

Crysteel Truck Equipment Chad Wiens Lake Crystal, MN, 507-726-6041

Keith Geislinger Company Keith Geislinger Champlin, MN, 612-369-3090

Wayne Lindstrom Company Wayne Lindstrom Plymouth, MN, 763-559-7258

Greenview Lawns LLC Jesse Richter Oak Grove, MN, 763-226-3828

NDB Nathan Baker Angola, IN, 260-316-7680

Zac Spates Pottery Zach Spates Hudson, WI, 612-205-0914

Helmes Realty Team Charles Helmes White Bear Lake, MN, 612-839-6792

S.B. Restoration Service, Inc. John Muller Waite Park, MN, 320-255-0076

Ziembo Construction Timothy Ziembo Big Lake, MN, 612-986-8700

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Shade Trees

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Ornamental Trees

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Topiary

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Fruit Trees

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Evergreens

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Flowering Shrubs

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Shrub, Climbing & Patio Roses

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Small Fruits

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Christmas Trees

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Wreaths & Garlands

800.826.7094

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W10757 Jeffrey Road, Merrillan, WI 54754

sales@northernfamilyfarms.com

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www.northernfamilyfarms.com

Proud to be a HGTV HOME Plant Collection Partner

september 17

MNLA .biz

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➾ LA NDSCAPE AWARDS

MNLA Landscape Awards

Why Enter?

2018

Winning an MNLA Landscape Award increases your ability to: 1. Promote the high quality of your work. If you win an award, you’ll be able to add “MNLA Award-Winning” to your marketing, plus we’ll provide you with artwork to use in your promotional pieces.

2. Strengthen customer relationships. Your clients will feel proud that their property was deemed one of the best in the state, and it will re-confirm their choice of putting their faith in you as their landscape professional.

3. Motivate employees and improve team performance. There is a great deal of effort that goes into executing all of the details of a landscape, and winning an award validates the team’s work.

4. Build a photo library. Preparing for awards entries gets you in the habit of photographing your work (especially construction details), and you never know when you’ll capture that perfect shot that you’ll use for years to come.

5. Generate sales. Closing the deal with your prospects will be easier when they see the value and prestige they will receive from working with your award-winning firm.

Once again this year, SPACES Magazine will feature the MNLA Landscape Award winners in an editorial package in their spring edition, including a feature story on the Judges’ Choice project.

Plan to enter this year and begin reaping the benefits next year and in the years to come!

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MNLA .biz

september 17

Notable dates:

Nov. 15, 2017: Submission Deadline Nov. 22-Nov. 29, 2017: Entry Judging Dec. 4-8, 2017: Entry Status Notifications Jan. 2, 2018: Green Industry Awards Celebration

Judging Reminders • Entries are judged anonymously.

Judges do not know who submitted the projects.

• The size and cost of a project are not part of the criteria for judging.

• In any given year, ALL entries could win awards, or NO entries could win an award. Entries are not judged against each other; rather each entry is evaluated by judges who must determine whether an entry meets or exceeds the standards of excellence.

MNLA FOUNDATION Improving the Environment by Investing in Research and Education

1813 LEXINGTON AVE. N | ROSEVILLE, MN 55113 | 651-633-4987 | FAX 651-633-4986 | MNLA@MNLA.BIZ | WWW.MNLAFOUNDATION.COM

PARTNERS FUND You are encouraged to participate in the Research & Education Partners Fund at one of the participating suppliers recognized below. Your voluntary donation of ¼ of 1% (0.25%) on purchases of plants and other nursery, greenhouse and landscape products at these suppliers is used by the MNLA Foundation to grow a brighter future for the industry.

On an invoice totaling $1,000 at one of these suppliers, your contribution will be only $2.50. Your individual contribution is small, but collectively these small contributions will add up to make a real difference!

WHOLESALE NURSERY & HARDSCAPES

YOUR TRUSTED PARTNER

Research for the Real World

Career Development & Promotion

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L A N D S C A P E + M A S O N RY

Scholarships

LEASE FOR

$599 PER MONTH, 60 MONTHS

$

0 DOWN

UNBELIEVABLE PAYMENTS.

BELIEVABLE PERFORMANCE. Lease a new Cat 239D Compact Track Loader. ®

Ziegler CAT lease packages as low as $599 per month deliver Cat reliability and durability with no money down and an affordable monthly payment. Plus, our industry-leading standard of customer service and product support will keep you on the job.

THE OFFER INCLUDES:

One-year full machine warranty Five-year / 2,500-hour powertrain warranty Cab, heat, and air conditioning Bluetooth radio Backup camera 72” general purpose bucket Quick coupler

Offer good for qualifying customers in Ziegler CAT (Minnesota and Iowa) service territory. Payment shown is based on a 60-month lease, 500 hours usage per year (2,500 hours total), does not include sales tax, and is based on current interest rates. In Iowa, sales tax is based on machine sale price, not payment. Contact your Ziegler representative for details or to learn about buyout or lease extension options.

Offer is subject to credit approval and may be changed or cancelled without notice.

888.981.9311

www.zieglercat.com/239