The Buckeye, June 2013 Volume 24, Issue 5

June 2013

The Official Publication of the Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association

Vol. 24, Issue 5

balancing WORK and

LIFE

BREAKING

EVEN

SUSTAINABLE

fertilizers

ONLA_Full page 12-12-10 10:32 AM Page 1

AS MANY STYLES AS THERE ARE POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS.

NO OTHER COMPANY CONNECTS LIKE UNILOCK ... with EXCEPTIONAL VARIETY Connect with your clients like never before with the industry’s broadest range of looks, colors and textures.

From traditional to modern, there’s something for everyone. ... with SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE Proprietary technologies include EnduraColor Plus an embedded surface layer of exceptionally strong and resilient minerals, guaranteeing a long-lasting beauty with colors that never fade. ... with UNSURPASSED FIELD SUPPORT Unilock’s field sales force is well equipped with leading-edge selling aids including proprietary 3D Uvision design software, large format Uvision color swatches and readily available samples. Our commitment to customer service excellence is second to none.

Call 1-800-UNILOCK to talk to your local representative.

CONTENTS 11

ONLA Office Update You Won’t Find a More Productive Association

18

Legislative Hotline Senate Subcommittes Consider the Budget

5

Bug Bites

departments 21

Management Today / Marketing Today “We Have Enough...”

27

Educational Update In Hand and Well Managed

32

Grower’s Viewpoint Breaking Even

38

Why Trees Matter Thy Name is OCNT

46

Safety First Don’t Let Safety Training Go on Summer Vacation

Well 27 Managed

David Richards, President-Elect South Ridge Farm

DIRECTORS Jason Bornhorst, Board Member JB Design Group, LLC

President’s Perspective Trees are the Answer

OFFICERS Jim Searcy, President Hyde Park Landscaping, Inc.

Andy Harding, Immediate Past President Herman Losely & Son, Inc.

8

THE FINE PRINT The statements and opinions expressed herein are those of individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the association, directors or staff and do not constitute an endorsement of the products or featured services. Likewise, the appearance of advertisers, or their identification as members of the ONLA does not constitute an endorsement of the products or featured services.

STAFF Kevin Thompson, Executive Director Jennifer Gray, Associate Executive Director Amanda Domsitz, Communiciations Assistant Amy Eldridge, CENTS Manager Roni Petersen, Membership & Certification Heather Eberline, Accounting

Vol. 24, Issue 5

industry news

The Buckeye is published 10 times per year by The Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association, Inc. 72 Dorchester Square Westerville, OH 43081 p 614.899.1195 f 614.899.9489 www.onla.org info@onla.org EDITORIAL / ADVERTISING ISSN 1536-7940 Subscriptions: $75/year jennifergray@onla.org, editor

June 2013

features 5 5 7 13 14 15

Breaking 32 Even

David Listerman, Board Member Listerman & Associates, Inc.

Yellow Poplar Weevil & Beech Blight Aphid Scam Alert: Caution ONLA Members!

On Your Mind ONLA Welcomes New CENTS Manager Boost Your Career Sustainable Fertlizers for Containerized Floriculture Crops

23

Balancing Work and Life: How Women

Entrepreneurs Can Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

26

2013 Ohio Agriculture Women of the Year Awards

37

Bill Mainland, Board Member Klyn Nurseries, Inc.

Stormwater Management Training: New Business Opportunities for Residential Landscape Professionals

Steve Maddox, Board Member Rice’s Nursery & Landscaping, Inc.

43 43

Just the Facts, Ma’am

43 45

Creativity Isn’t Easy

Dr. Hannah Mathers, Board Member The Ohio State University Mark Reiner, Board Member Oakland Nursery, Inc. Mike Satkowiak, Board Member Markman Peat

In the spirit of land stewardship, please consider recycling this publication.

Sustainable 15 Fertilizers

Tax Reform Could Eliminate Cash Basis Accounting

Advantages for the Next Generation: Technology

also in this issue

front cover: vibrant summer

by Jennifer Gray

6 Industry Calendar • 4 Webinars • 19 Annuals Open House • 25 Bus Tour 36 Stormwater Management • 40 Diagnostic Walkabouts • 44 Member Services 46 Classified Ads • 46 Advertiser Index

Green Industry Fix get your

ONLA Webinar Series

AONLAquick, affordable, convenient way to learn is pleased to once again offer a series of 50-minute webinars, in cooperation with OSU extension. These Series Schedule

8:00 a.m. - 8:50 a.m.

May 8, 2013 June 12, 2013 July 10, 2013 August 14, 2013 September 11, 2013 October 9, 2013

educational webinars tell you WHAT you need to know, WHEN you need to know it. We will cover five ‘hot topics’ each webinar, which will be delivered to your computer on the second Wednesday of every month, May 8th through October 9th.

“What Will I Learn?”

Our webinars will cover topics that are prominent this year (ie: impatiens downy mildew), topics that continue to be of interest, and topics that will emerge throughout the growing season. It’s a short course class delivered to your office! Webinars are visual and will include many images of pests and plants. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions before and during the class. Speakers from the Ohio State University Extension Nursery, Landscape & Turf Team will be the hosts for the informative lessons.

You will be given timely and useful information on current and emerging issues critical to your green industry business including: 1. Diseases 2. Insects 3. Plant Selection 4. Current Happenings 5. Q & A from the participants

4 The Buckeye

How it Works:

To get your company involved in these beneficial webinars, you can sign up online at www.onla.org.

Registration is $50 and includes all six webinars.

Registration is priced per computer; but you can have multiple people at each terminal. (System requirements are listed on the registration page.)

After you’ve registered, you will receive instructions on how to access the webinar each month. The week of the webinar, you will receive an agenda of up-to-the-minute topics and you can submit questions before and during the class.

Subscribe Today!

Unable to attend any of the live webinars?

All subscribers will receive a recording of each webinar to view at your convenience.

The webinar series is $50/computer (ONLA member rate) or $125 (non-member rate)

For additional information, contact ONLA at 800.825.5062 or register at onla.org onla.org

Yellow Poplar Weevil & Beech Blight Aphids Dave Shetlar, OSU Department of Entomology, reported that the YELLOW POPLAR WEEVIL (Odontopus (= Prionomerus) calceatus) is making a return appearance to central Ohio. The small (2/16” long), oval-shaped adults are dark brown to black. In the eyes of some people, the weevils look like ticks. Indeed, during past “outbreak” years, Extension offices frequently received telephone calls concerning “flying ticks.”

Of course, ticks are arachnids, like spiders, so they have four pairs of legs, no wings, and no antennae. Weevils are beetles with a snout, and since beetles are insects, they have one pair of antennae and three pairs of legs.

Yellow poplar weevils also have wings and are good flyers, although they most often elect to “play dead” when disturbed and simply drop to the ground. This is a common defensive trait among weevils.

Yellow poplar weevils feed on the foliage of yellow poplar (a.k.a. tuliptree), sassafras, and magnolia as adults, and are leafminers in the leaves of poplar and sassafras as larvae. Adults feed on leaves producing half-moon shaped holes. The holes look vaguely like they were produced by someone using their fingernails. When the adult damage occurs on new leaves, the holes become larger as the leaves expand. Numerous feeding holes can cause leaves to wilt, turn brown, and die. While the larvae produce noticeable blotch mines, the most serious damage is produced by the adults. There is one generation per year.

Yellow poplar weevil populations are extremely cyclic with outbreak years followed by several years with almost no weevils observed. High localized populations were observed last year in central, northeast, and western Ohio.

However, Dave indicated that it›s too early to determine if populations in central Ohio are higher than last year, meaning populations are still on the upswing, or if populations are lower than last season, meaning that weevil numbers peaked last season.

Joe Boggs, OSU Extension, reported that small colonies of BEECH BLIGHT APHIDS (Grylloprociphilus imbricator) are now pirouetting on American beech branches in southwest Ohio. This late-season aphid appears to cause little damage.

Beech blight aphids enshroud themselves in a profuse mass of white, wool-like filaments. Large numbers these woolly aphids will gather together in prominent colonies on twigs and branches of American beech trees. When a colony is disturbed, the aphids twirl their posterior ends in unison. This peculiar behavior has been accurately described as making the aphids look like dancing dust balls doing the “boogie-woogie.”

Aphid colonies are usually relegated to a few branches. However, they are prolific producers of honeydew causing branches, sidewalks, parked cars, slowmoving gardeners, etc., beneath the colonies to become covered in sticky goo.

Indeed, aphid colonies are often found by observing circular or semi-circular spots of sticky honeydew on hard surfaces beneath infested trees. The honeydew on leaves and branches may become heavily colonized by black sooty molds converting the gummy exudate into heaps of black or amber colored accretions.

Despite the aphid›s malevolent sounding common name, their damage appears to cause no approachable harm to the overall health of infested trees. On small trees, they are easily controlled with a focused stream of water effectively converting the aphid›s dance into a cascading water ballet Source: BUCKEYE YARD AND GARDEN LINE 2013-07 B

onla.org

The Official Publication of the Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association

The Buckeye is the nursery and landscape industry’s authoritative voice in Ohio.

Second to none in editorial and graphic quality, The Buckeye publishes a wide range of editorial features on the green industry’s key issues. The Buckeye is another example of how the ONLA leads, promotes, and facilitates the success and growth of green industry businesses.

The Buckeye is published 10 times each year with a circulation of over 5,000 each

issue and an estimated readership of over 10,000.

Advertisers benefit from an industry-specific audience, with distribution to professional nursery, landscape and independent garden center businesses and individuals, certified green industry professionals, educators/researchers, and subscribers.

Access Ohio’s $4.9 billion industry. Contact Jennifer to learn how your business can benefit from becoming an advertiser in The Buckeye.

800.825.5062 jennifergray@onla.org

Scam Alert: Caution ONLA Members!

There have been reports of members being contacted for privileged information regarding their credit card processing services. The caller explains that an adjustment needs made, or your program changed, and they request additional information. The ONLA endorses Merchant Services (www.merchantsvcs.com) as a member service provider. If you are a Merchant Services customer and you receive “uncomfortable” requests for information regarding your credit card processing, please contact the ONLA’s liaison at Merchant Services, Scott Norris, at 602-5681471 or Kevin Thompson at the ONLA office (614-899-1195).

No matter who you work with for your credit card processing, we encourage you to exercise caution when information is requested of you.

June 2013 5

Industry Calendar

View www.onla.org for seminars, events, trade shows and more! O designates qualifying OCNT recertification events O June 27, 2013 Diagnostic Walkabouts for the Green Industry, BGSU Firelands, Huron, Ohio, Tim Malinich, Horticulture Educator with Ohio State University Extension, and other horticulturalists will lead indepth discussions of the art and science of scouting, diagnostics and control of landscape pests. www. onla.org

O July 18, 2013 Diagnostic Walkabouts for the Green Industry, Mingo Park, Delaware, Ohio. Tim Malinich, Horticulture Educator with Ohio State University Extension, and other horticulturalists will lead indepth discussions of the art and science of scouting, diagnostics and control of landscape pests. www. onla.org

O July 9, 2013 Landscaper Training for Stormwater BMPs, Training on new or expanded business opportunities for installation and maintenance of stormwater practices. Location to be determined.

O July 31, 2013 OSU Annuals Trial Open House, The OSU Dept. of Hort. & Crop Science, Columbus, Ohio. OSU’s Annual Trial Garden is where YOU can get info on annuals to include in your sales plans.

July 10, 2013 Get Your Green Industry Fix Webinar, ONLA is pleased to once again offer a series of 50-minute webinars, in cooperation with OSU extension. www.onla.org

August 1, 2013 OCNT Test, Butler County Extension Office, Hamilton, Ohio. The Ohio Nursery Certified Technician (OCNT) Garden Center, Grower & Landscape tests. www.onla.org

O August 1, 2013 Diagnostic Walkabouts for the Green Industry, Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens, Akron, Ohio.

Tim Malinich, Horticulture Educator with Ohio State University Extension, and other horticulturalists will lead indepth discussions of the art and science of scouting, diagnostics and control of landscape pests. www. onla.org August 6, 2013 OCNT Test, Holiday Inn Worthington, Worthington, Ohio. The Ohio Nursery Certified Technician (OCNT) Garden Center, Grower & Landscape tests. www.onla.org August 7-8, 2013 Landscape Industry Certified Technician Test, OSU/ATI in Wooster, Ohio. www. landscapecertifiedohio.org

PERMEABLE CLAY PAVERS When installed in a permeable pavement system, StormPave allows rain water to filter through and dissipate into the soil rather than carry excess pollutants into storm drains and waterways.

Genuine Clay Pavers—Strong ▪ Durable ▪ Colorfast

O August 12, 2013 NGLCO & ONLA Grower Bus Tour, Lake County, Ohio. Join the Nursery Growers of Lake County Ohio and the Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association for the 2013 Ohio Grower Bus Tour. www.onla.org August 13, 2013 NGLCO Summer Field Day, The Holden Arboretum, Kirtland, OH Sponsored by: NGLCO, www.nglco.com August 13, 2013 OCNT Test, Holden Arboretum, Kirtland, Ohio. The Ohio Nursery Certified Technician (OCNT) Garden Center, Grower & Landscape tests. www.onla.org August 14, 2013 Get Your Green Industry Fix Webinar, ONLA is pleased to once again offer a series of 50-minute webinars, in cooperation with OSU extension. www.onla. org

www.claypaver.com 6 The Buckeye

800­334­8689

O August 15, 2013 Diagnostic Walkabouts for the Green Industry, Toledo Botanical Gardens, Toledo, Ohio.

Tim Malinich, Horticulture Educator with Ohio State University Extension, and other horticulturalists will lead indepth discussions of the art and science of scouting, diagnostics and control of landscape pests. www. onla.org August 21, 2013 Middle Tennessee Nursery Association, 23rd Annual MTNA Horticultural Trade Show. Embassy Suites, Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

September 11, 2013 Get Your Green Industry Fix Webinar, ONLA is pleased to once again offer a series of 50-minute webinars, in cooperation with OSU extension. www.onla.org O September 12, 2013 Diagnostic Walkabouts for the Green Industry, Inniswood Metro Gardens, Westerville, Ohio. Tim Malinich, Horticulture Educator with Ohio State University Extension, and other horticulturalists will lead indepth discussions of the art and science of scouting, diagnostics and control of landscape pests. www. onla.org O September 26, 2013 Diagnostic Walkabouts for the Green Industry, Sunset Memorial Park, North Olmstead, Ohio.

Tim Malinich, Horticulture Educator with Ohio State University Extension, and other horticulturalists will lead indepth discussions of the art and science of scouting, diagnostics and control of landscape pests. www. onla.org October 9, 2013 Get Your Green Industry Fix Webinar, ONLA is pleased to once again offer a series of 50-minute webinars, in cooperation with OSU extension. www.onla.org January 13-15, 2014 CENTS, Columbus Ohio, Attend the Central Environmental Nursery Trade Show (CENTS), with over 225,000 square feet of exhibition space, and soak up the innovation and ideas in an expanded market, www.onla.org B

onla.org

On Your Mind With Gratitude “Thanks so much for coming to our rescue again.... We have put a sign by the entrance gate thanking ONLA and other groups that have helped make [the planting of annuals at the Governor’s Residence] possible.

You all are the best!”

—Hope Taft former Ohio First Lady Cultivating Leadership “On behalf of the 23,000 Ohio FFA members, I would like to thank you for your sponsorship fo the Ohio FFA Foundation.

My favorite activity this year has been Leadership Nights.

Your partnership with Ohio FFA helps make ... this possible.”

—Daniel Zimmerman Ohio FFA State Reporter

onla.org

We Asked.

You Answered.

What do you miss about being a kid? Here are a few of the responses we received via email and on Facebook.

“The smell of fresh cut grass in the summer while playing in the crick!”

“Playing jacks and playing marbles with my brothers.”

“Going with my dad, stopping at the A&W root beer stand.”

“Going to my Grandmother’ house every Saturday with my Dad and jumping out of the car to walk around her garden to see what was in bloom that I could take home with me in a large bouquet. Then cutting

those posies with my Grandmother and Aunt and putting them in buckets because we cut so much! This was probably my introduction to loving plants along with helping my Dad in his veggie gardens.

Such wisdom and I didn’t realize it until much later in life.”

“Jousting on motor bikes.

Don’t ask. Very painful but so much fun.”

“I miss the homemade wood seat notched to sit on the rope over the branch in grandpa’s front yard where I would swing, grandma tatting on the front porch swing. I miss riding my bike all day all summer, sharing a bedroom with my sister, playing Barbies, and sitting down to Mom’s cook-

ing every night with all six of us around the table , and sleeping with the windows open because it was hot.”

“Running after fireflies, the most beautiful lights at night that ever existed.”

“Making clover chains that stretched down the entire length of the driveway.”

“I miss how long summer was as a kid.” B

JOIN THE CONVERSATION Share your thoughts with The Buckeye team by emailing jennifergray@onla.org

QUESTION OF THE MONTH What is your best or favorite technologoy tip? Send your answer to jennifergray@onla.org

June 2013 7

B

President’s Perspective

Trees are the Answer Jim Searcy Hyde Park Landscaping, Inc. ONLA President jim@hydeparklandscaping.com

Trees have been a major part of my life. My parents planted, cultivated, and pruned evergreens in a field which was adjacent to my boyhood home. As a teenager I recall walking those rows with customers selecting their Christmas tree. One particular couple looked for over an hour before making a selection and even though it was a very raw December day, there was no rushing that decision. I believe it may have been their first Christmas as a married couple.

Many years later my wife Linda and I traveled to our Indiana tree farm with our seven children to select our family Christmas tree from the 10,000 White, Scotch, and Austrian Pine, as well as Norway Spruce. Trying to get seven kids to agree on one tree, what were we thinking?! Recently my sister gave me a book on this subject she thought I might enjoy. She was right.

American Canopy, by Eric Rutkow, is an historical approach to trees as they relate specifically to American history. It was an enjoyable and educational read I would like to share with you this month. The

8 The Buckeye

Introduction to this book tells the story of WPN – 114. This tree was a Bristlecone Pine and, as many of you know, it will grow at altitudes that sustain few other life forms. A young graduate student in geography was working on glacier activity by core drilling to determine the age of trees and the variances in growth rings showing climactic changes. It was 1964 and the procedures for the study was to core drill extremely old trees and analyze the growth rings. Many dozens of trees had been entered into the documentation when the student, Donald Currey, came across tree # 114. The magnificence of this tree was stunning. The circumference of the trunk was twenty one feet at 18 inches above the ground and gave immediate notice to an observer that this tree, with only an eleven foot living shoot, was something special.

A circumference of that size means the diameter was over six and onehalf feet. If only Donald Currey had known how special this was.

Currey attempted to sample this tree using his borer which broke. Not

to be discouraged, his reserve borer was put to work and it also was damaged by the hard wood. He knew this tree held the secrets of several thousand years of climate information, and received permission from the national forest park supervisor to cut down the tree. With the benefit of hindsight, we can surely be shocked and maybe rightly critical of the decision. But they did not know at the time what we now know. WPN – 114, when cut and studied, was at least 4,844 years old. And it is very likely it was 5,000 or more years old as the location of the cut was several feet above the base. This tree was a 4500 year old specimen when Columbus came to America, and a 3000 year old specimen at the time of the Roman Empire and the birth of Jesus Christ. Scientist now believe WPN – 114 was the oldest tree ever discovered.

The saga of the Bristlecone Pine grabbed my attention and I was sure this book would hold my interest.

Having always loved history, the connection of the history of our country and trees was fascinating to me. It is please see page 10

onla.org

IT’S WHAT’S INSIDE THAT COUNTS BUY PROVEN RELIABILITY

With millions of miles of Netafim subsurface dripline installed in the U.S., why buy an unproven product?

Techline® CV emitters provide reliable, worry-free operation. Here’s why: ■ Continuous self-flushing design and ■ Flow rates for every soil type anti-siphon feature prevent clogging ■ Built-in check valve for high ■ Physical root barrier eliminates or low pressures ■ Use one dripline for all installations chemical additives; can be buried

BUILT-IN PHYSICAL ROOT BARRIER NO CHEMICALS, NO COPPER GIMMICKS

WWW.NETAFIMUSA.COM OhioNurs&Lndscp_7x5_5-13.indd 1

onla.org

3/19/13 3:28 PM

June 2013 9

continued from page 8

now known that George Washington did not cut down a cherry tree. The story was fabricated (who knew they had “publicists” in those days) to show him to be an honest man who “could not tell a lie.” The irony of the story is that Washington, along with several of the founding fathers, spent much of his life planting trees. When George Washington retired after his term as President, the selection and transplanting of trees and ornamentals became his primary leisure activity.

If you do not know the history of trees in America, you do not know the origins of Central Park in New York City. From the metropolis of New York you can journey to the Great Smokey Mountains and learn of the early history of this great Park. How could we not think of the Giant Sequoias in the Far West or the Flowering Cherries that were shipped to us from Japan to be planted and grace our capitol city of Washington D.C.? An in depth study of these and many other facets of American history influenced by trees are explored in American Canopy. If you enjoy trees as much as I, you will enjoy reading this

10 The Buckeye

book which I highly recommend. Thank you for allowing me to relate my thoughts on this good read.

We enter summer and trust strong spring business was the norm for most of us this year. The staff at the ONLA Headquarters in Westerville has been diligently working to keep our association the best in the nation. The Board of the ONLA is constantly reviewing and planning for future events that will be of interest and educational value to the membership. We encourage you to take part in association activities that are designed to assist owners and employees of our member firms become more successful. Our only interest and our only reason for existence is enhancing your ability to grow as a business and as a member of your community. The ONLA website and this magazine offer information on all the offers you can access as a member of The Ohio Nursery and Landscape Association. Please accept our best wishes for a successful summer season. B Jim Searcy ONLA President jim@hydeparklandscaping.com

onla.org

ONLA Office Update

you won’t find a more productive association We’ve been busy following up on many of the initiatives from the February committee and board meetings while planning programs for 2013 and 2014 CENTS. On May 6 we were excited to welcome Amy Eldridge to the ONLA staff team as our new CENTS Show Manager.

Amy brings a lot of experience, enthusiasm, and salesmanship with her from the Ohio Association for the Education of Young Children. I look forward to introducing her to you.

Membership We currently have 824 members (Category 1-5) plus 372 Individual/ Other members for a total of 1196.

This represents a 94% renewal of Category 1-5 members to date, and a 13% increase in Individual/Other members. At this time last year we had a total of 1210 total members, so 1196 total members puts us 1.2% down from same time last year.

Of those we’ve spoken with, most of the member attrition is a result of companies selling their business or closing their doors. The good news, however, is that we continue to renew or add new members every day, so we’ll keep plugging away.

We plan to launch the “Member Recruit a Member” $50 gas card campaign during the month of June.

(Yes, that’s right, a $50 gas card for every new member recruited!)

onla.org

CENTS Contracts were mailed to all 2013 exhibitors in March with a deadline of May 1st to secure the same space as this year. As of May 1st, we had received 163 contracts for 359 booths. We can’t accurately draw comparisons to last year’s booth sales yet, because the deadline last year was June 1st. But we should have a pretty good idea how we’re doing by the June board meeting.

We’ve spent a lot of time with our marketing team developing new marketing strategies, along with developing new ideas to enhance the CENTS experience. We’ll share many of these ideas with you in the coming months. Others will be a surprise. You’ll have to wait until CENTS to find out.

Education/Events We’ve developed a busy calendar of events for the summer and fall that includes monthly Webinars, Diagnostic Walkabouts, a Bus Tour, Annual Trial Tour, Certification testing, and possible additional tours and webinars.

The “Green Industry Fix” webinar series began May 8th with a slight increase in participants over last year.

Hopefully we can continue to build upon this.

Watch for emails and The Buckeye for updates on all events. A complete calendar of events can be found on the website.

Kevin Thompson ONLA Executive Director kevinthompson@onla.org

Ohio Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant Last year we submitted a Specialty Crop Block Grant for an industry marketing campaign seeking $110,000, but were denied by the ODA. This past week we submitted a revised proposal requesting a $50,000 grant that focuses more on the “PlantSomething” campaign launched by the Arizona Nursery Association, of which we are the exclusive Ohio licensee. Several other states have successfully secured Specialty Crop grants for similar campaigns. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that we can secure some of this much needed funding for marketing Ohio-grown plants.

Advocacy We’ve been very involved legislatively with several issues including the Municipal Tax Reform, Underground Utilities Protection Service, Backflow Certification and Pesticide Applicators Insurance Endorsements. You should have received something in the mail about these first three issues, and there is an article in the May issue of The Buckeye about the insurance issue. please see page 12

June 2013 11

B

continued from page 11

Nursery Stock Select With its successful re-introduction late last year of the Nursery Stock Select, we’ve been promoting the new online plant search (www.nurserystockselect.com). We currently have 51 nurseries listing their plant inventory and statistics show 372 visitors. We’d like to see more activity, but many of those visitors are landscape architects, contractors, government agencies, and other wholesale buyers. The site appears to be serving an important purpose. We just need to get more nurseries taking advantage of this valuable service. You should check the site out if you haven’t yet.

Buckeye Gardening We also recently re-introduced our new consumer website at www.buckeyegardening.com. It’s a work in process that we’ll continue to build upon, especially if we get the ODA grant. Please check it out and let us know what you think.

Social Media We’ve also been very active with our social media activity. Our Communications team of Jen Gray and Amanda Domsitz has done a great job promoting the industry and ONLA through various sites including

Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Houzz. We’ve added hundreds of Facebook fans in the last couple months.

Out and About March 8-9 - I attended PLANET’s Student Career Days in Auburn, Alabama. What a great event. You can read about my experience there in the April Buckeye. I was also officially voted in as a PLANET AEF board member at the AEF board meeting held during the Career Days.

April 2-3 – PLANET invited myself along with 6 other state association executives to participate on a Task Force that met in Baltimore, Maryland. The purpose was to explore ways in which PLANET can better collaborate with the state associations to best serve the industry.

There was no action taken, but lots of ideas to be taken back to the PLANET board for review.

May 22-24 – I’ll be attending the Nursery & Landscape Association Executives annual conference in Scottsdale, Arizona. This is a great meeting of my colleagues from around the country where we attend workshops, discuss collaborative opportunities, and share ideas.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions. We hope all of you are enjoying a great spring! B

NEW! from

CALL YOUR BUSINESS PARTNERS Dick Posey, Josh Posey, Judd Posey, Jake Posey, Tony Sciambi or Jason Grimmett

smart phone phone Scan with smart

800-443-8203

www.BuckeyeResources.com

For complete listing & product descriptions, visit

www.BuckeyeResources.com

12 The Buckeye

onla.org

Feature

ONLA Welcomes New CENTS Manager: Amy Eldridge The Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association is pleased to announce its recent hire of Amy Eldridge, who joins the ONLA team as CENTS Manager. In this role, Eldridge will develop and manage strategies to provide top-flight exhibitor and attendee experiences at the Midwest’s premier nursery, landscape, and garden center convention.

CENTS Marketplace is scheduled for January 14-16, 2013 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.

CENTS is offered annually to green industry professionals to provide business knowledge about sales, operations and profitability along with continuing education through the esteemed The Ohio State University Nursery Short Course. The convention draws exhibitors and attendees including: Growers, Independent Garden Centers, Landscape Contractors, Arborists, Turf, and Pest Management professionals.

“I am excited to serve ONLA members and industry partners. Their professional success is my top priority,” Eldridge said. “Creating the best experience possible for every CENTS exhibitor and attendee is my goal. I want everyone affiliated with CENTS to emerge motivated, energized, and inspired.”

Eldridge comes to ONLA with more than a decade’s experience in the convention and expo field. Most recently, Eldridge worked as event director for the Ohio Association for the onla.org

Education of Young Children. There, she led exhibitor and attendee engagement initiatives, including sales and marketing, education, and event planning. This experience has made Eldridge’s early days with ONLA smooth.

“Martin Luther King once said, ‘Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?’ I intend to apply this credo, along with my background in association service and my experience in managing large conventions to CENTS and open new business doors for exhibitors, help industry professionals network and learn, and redefine the CENTS experience.”

Eldridge will manage all aspects of CENTS, from sales of exhibit space to the development of exhibitor education materials, from efficient move-in and move-out to on-theshow-floor learning experiences.

Eldridge will ensure that CENTS, the oldest, largest, and most respected nursery, landscape, and garden center trade show in the Midwest, continues to provide customized experiences to motivate green industry professionals, improve industry performance and sales, and create collaborative learning and networking opportunities.

An industry show for industry people, CENTS provides tools and resources on mission-critical business and green industry issues, trends and opportunities. From lead generation and operations information to pre-

season buying incentives and Short Course educational programs, CENTS creates a high-energy forum where attendees can buy, sell, learn and meet.

CENTS goes beyond the green side of the business to the business side of the business, to help the industry survive and prosper. For more information, call (800) 825-5062.

About ONLA The Ohio Nursery and Landscape Association (ONLA) leads, promotes and facilitates the success and growth of green industry businesses. ONLA is a non-profit trade association, incorporated in the State of Ohio, representing the interests of the state’s nursery, garden center and landscape industry. Membership is comprised of nursery stock growers, landscape contractors and maintenance firms, garden centers, arborists and allied suppliers. With over 1,200 members, ONLA seeks to enhance the environment and quality of life for all. B

June 2013 13

B

B

Feature

Boost Your Career Everybody knows that “M.D.” following an individual’s name means they’re a medical doctor. And “C.P.A.” signifies the individual has met standards and fulfilled requirements to be a certified public accountant. Thousands of associations utilize more than a few cryptic initials in professional certification to recognize individuals for their dedication to their chosen career and their ability to perform to set standards. Ask a certified professional “why?” and they’ll tell you that the certification process is one of the single most important steps you can make in career development. Here are the top ten reasons you should consider professional certification: 1. Certification demonstrates your commitment to the profession.

Receiving your certification shows your peers, supervisors, and, in turn, the general public your commitment to your chosen career and your ability to perform to set standards. Since university degrees can no longer represent the full measure of professional knowledge and competence in today’s evolving job market, certification sets you apart as a leader in your field.

2. Certification enhances the profession’s image.

Association certification programs seek to grow, promote, and develop certified professionals, who can stand “out in front” as examples of excellence in the industry or field.

3. Certification reflects achievement.

And not only professional achievement, but personal achievement. A certified professional has displayed excellence in their field and fulfilled set standards and requirements.

14 The Buckeye

4. Certification builds selfesteem.

Association certification programs create a standard for a particular profession, complete with performance standards, ethics, and career paths. You’ll begin to define yourself beyond a job description or academic degree. You’ll see yourself as a certified professional who can control his or her own professional destiny and find a deep sense of personal satisfaction.

5. Certification establishes professional credentials.

Since it recognizes your individual accomplishments, certification stands above your resume, serving as an impartial, third-party endorsement to your knowledge and experience. And when the public looks for individuals qualified to perform services, they seek individuals like you who have achieved certification.

6. Certification improves career opportunities and advancement.

Certification gives you the “edge” when being considered for a promotion or other career opportunities.

Certification clearly identifies you as an employee who can adapt to changes in work, technology, business practices, and innovation.

7. Certification prepares you for greater on-the-job responsibilities.

Since certification is a voluntary professional commitment to an industry or field of knowledge, it is a clear indicator of your willingness to invest

in your own professional development.

Certified professionals are aware of the constantly changing environment around their profession and possess the needed tools to anticipate and respond to change.

8. Certification provides for greater earnings potential.

As a certified professional, you can expect many benefits, but for today’s down-sized, right-sized, topsy-turvy working world, salary increases speak for themselves. Many employers offer monetary incentives to certified employees such as higher starting wages, higher earnings potential, and bonuses.

9. Certification improves skills and knowledge.

Ideally, achieving certification shows your individual competence by confirming proficiency and career involvement and assuring knowledge.

10. Certification offers greater professional recognition from peers.

Hear that applause? It’s all for YOU! As a certified professional you can expect increased recognition from your peers for taking that extra step in your professional development.

Check into certification soon. It will give your career and professional life a real boost, making your climb up the ladder of success a breeze.

Adapted with permission from the Michigan Society of Association Executives. B

Ohio Certified Nursery Technician

Exam applications are now available for summer testing.

Download them at www.onla.org or call Roni at 614.899.1195 onla.org

Feature

B

Sustainable Fertilizers for Containerized Floriculture Crops Organic, inorganic, natural, artificial…

These and similar, popular terms like chemical, mineral, synthetic, sustainable, etc. can be confusing due to the use of many undefined words.

Chemically speaking, organic compounds include the carbon atom in their chemical composition regardless of their source. Inorganic chemicals, then, are those without carbon. For example, propane gas is an organic compound because its molecule is composed of three atoms of carbon and eight atoms of hydrogen.

Are “organic fertilizers” those that contain carbon?

Not necessarily. Things have become more complicated than that. Years ago, the term “organic” meant that something was pesticide free but government regulation has created a whole new bureaucratic vocabulary. For example, limestone, mined rock phosphate, and Chilean saltpeter are inorganic chemicals whose use government regulation permits in organic agriculture.

Sustainable Fertilizers For the purpose of this Fact Sheet, we will use the term sustainable fertilizer to describe those derived from animal and plant byproducts such as manures, blood, bones, compost, cottonseed meal, etc., produced in manufacturing and farming (Table 1).

All these materials are chemically organic regardless of being approved by federal government’s Organic Materi-

Figure 1. Petunia plants grown with Miracle Gro Organic Choice All Purpose 7-1-2 at a rate of 5.9 grams per pot (left), Sustane 8-2-4 at a rate of 5.1 grams per pot (center) and Osmocote 15-9-12 at a rate of 2.7 grams per pot (right). Top = side view; Bottom = top view.

als Review Institute (OMRI). Fertilizers derived from animal and plant byproducts are only minimally processed and their nutrients remain in their natural forms as opposed to being industrially separated and purified.

Sustainable vs. Organic Growing It has been shown that individuals interested in buying products that have been grown in a sustainable way comprise a substantial portion of the ornamental market.

Furthermore, these customers are even willing to pay slightly more for these products. Greenhouse growers do not have to be “organic growers” to use sustainable fertilizers. Growers can simply replace the water soluble mineral fertilizers (e.g. 20-10-20) of a portion of their crops with sustainable fertilizers and still continue with their traditional cultural practices. It is important, however, to let consumers know which plants were grown with what fertilizer in order for them to choose. It please see page 16

onla.org

June 2013 15

continued from page 15

is also good marketing to let consumers know when crops involve sustainable practices and materials.

Nutrient Ratios Sustainable fertilizers tend to have smaller nutrient ratios. Examples of sustainable fertilizers are: Sustane 8-4-4, Scotts Miracle-Gro Organic Choice Plant Food 7-1-2, and Daniels 10-4-3. A list of commercially available sustainable fertilizers can be seen in Table 2. On the other hand, ratios of mineral fertilizers tend to be larger, such as the case of one the most-used fertilizers in greenhouse containerized floriculture: Peters 20-10-20 watersoluble fertilizer.

fertilizers is not always provided. Anecdotal information indicates that longevity of sustainable fertilizers is shorter than for controlled-release fertilizers.

Factors, like temperature and water availability, influence microbial activity that in turn will influence nutrient availability. In fact, temperature and water availability are crucial: soils that are too dry or too wet, to cold or too hot will reduce microbial activity and hence nutrient availability. Some of the products used to produce sustainable fertilizers may increase the substrate salt levels above acceptable levels making electrical conductivity (EC) monitoring very important.

Of Plant Origin Alfalfa meal 2-1-2 Corn Gluten meal Cotton seed meal 6-0.5-1.5 Dried manure variable Kelp powder 1-0.5-8 Soybean meal 9-0-0

How Do Sustainable Fertilizers Work?

Sustainable fertilizers sold under a brand are, most likely, the result of a high quality compost process.

When applied to substrates, these products are degraded by micro-organisms making the nutrients available to plants. As a consequence, these fertilizers can be classified as “slow release� fertilizers because they supply nutrients in small quantities over a longer period of time.

Companies producing and selling sustainable fertilizers should provide information about their longevity (the time it takes for all nutrients, at a given temperature, to be totally released). Unfortunately, longevity of sustainable

Of Animal Origin Bat guano 10-3-1 Blood meal 12-1-0.5 Bone meal 3-15-0 Crab meal 10-05-01 Feather meal 12-0-0 Fish emulsion5-2-2 Fish meal 10-5-1 Guano 12-11-2.5

Table 1. Non-branded materials that can be used as sustainable fertilizers and their estimated analysis (N-P-K). Nutrient levels are approximate because they can change from batch to batch and from year to year.

Table 2. Some examples of commercially available sustainable fertilizers, their analyses, and material sources used in their production. Some of them may only be sold at retail stores for the home gardeners.

Brand Bradfield Organics All Purpose

Analysis 5-5-5

Daniels

10-4-3

Earthworks Espoma Garden Tone

5-4-5 3-4-4

Miracle Gro Organic Choice All Purpose Miracle Gro Organic Choice Steamed Bone-meal Organica Plant Booster

7-1-2 6-9-0 8-2-4

Pearl Valley Perdue Agricycle w/ masking agent Sustane 4-6-4

4-3-2 4-3-3 4-6-4

Sustane 8-4-4

8-4-4

16  The Buckeye

Source Material Meat meal, alfalfa, potash, molasses, soft rock phosphate, fish meal, blood meal Organic base of soybean extract that is fortified with NPK and micronutrients Caged layer manure Hydrolyzed Feather Meal, Pasteurized Poultry Manure, Cocoa Meal, Bone Meal, Alfalfa meal, green sand, humates, Sulfate of Potash, and Sulfate of Potash Magnesia Pasteurized pelleted poultry litter and feather meal.

Bone Meal Feather Meal, Steamed Bone Meal and sulfate of potash Composted caged layer manure Broiler litter crumbled pellets Aerobically composted turkey litter, hydrolyzed feather meal and sulfate of potash Aerobically composted turkey litter, hydrolyzed feather meal and sulfate of potash onla.org

Figure 2. (Top Left) Seed geranium plants grown with a water soluble fertilizer Peters 20-10-20 at a rate of 100 ppm N applied with irrigation as needed (left) or with a single application of Sustane 8-4-4 of 2.6 grams per 4.5 inch container (right).

Figure 3. (Top Right) Basil plants grown with a water soluble fertilizer solution of a Peters 20-10-20 at a rate of 100 ppm N applied with irrigation as needed (left) and three rates of Miracle Gro Organic Choice (from left to right): 5.9, 4.5, or 3 grams per 4.5 inch container.

Figure 4. (Bottom) New Guinea impatient plants grown with (from left to right): water soluble fertilizer Peters 20-1020 at a rate of 100 ppm N applied with irrigation as needed; Osmocote 15-9-12 at a rate of 3.2 grams per pot; and three rates of Miracle Gro Organic Choice (from left to right): 2.2, 3.0, or 5.9 grams per 4.5 inch container.

Numerous brands of sustainable fertilizers can be found on the market.

Each fertilizer responds differently than the water soluble fertilizers used in the greenhouse industry. As a consequence, there are no clear standards for managing nutrition when using sustainable fertilizers on soilless growing mixes.

Mode of Application Most sustainable fertilizers are dry and are applied as powders or small granules to the growing mixes either before or after planting. Other fertilizers are applied as liquids (e.g. Daniels) or liquid emulsions (fish emulsion).

Liquid fertilizers can be applied using injectors making multiple applications during the life of the crop possible.

Variability There is the potential for variability between batches of the products used to make sustainable fertilizers (Table 1) because many of them are derived

onla.org

primarily from waste materials. Only companies selling consistent products will be successful because greenhouse growers expect consistent sustainable fertilizers.

Storage Bio-reactions can occur during the storage of these materials. Sustainable fertilizers with high carbon-to-nitrogen ratios and adequate microbiology in the presence of moisture could begin to decompose. Should decomposition occur, the macronutrient content as well as other key attributes of the organic fertilizer could become altered. Sustainable fertilizers should be stored in a dry environment and in containers that protect the fertilizers from the vermin that can feed on these materilas.

How to Start Using Sustainable Fertilizers It is a good idea, for growers who have limited experience with sustainable fertilizers, to start small. Select-

ing a crop or a portion of a crop, and becoming familiar with the new cultural practice would be prudent. After that, slowly expand to more crops/ areas.

Always read the label of the product and consult your fertilizer sales representative or your Extension Educator if you have any doubts.

At The Ohio State University, we have grown numerous bedding and container floriculture crops and some herbs with a single (initial) application of sustainable fertilizers (Figures 1-4). We were able to show that these fertilizers can be used to produce quality crops. In some cases, with sustainable fertilizers, the plants were slightly smaller but still marketable. Under certain circumstances, smaller plants may be desirable to avoid the application of plant growth regulators. B Dr. Claudio Pasian Floriculture Extension Specialist Department of Horticulture and Crop Science

June 2013  17

B

Legislative Hotline

Senate Subcommittees Consider The Budget

Belinda Jones ONLA Legislative Consultant bjones@capitol-consulting.net

Dan Jones ONLA Legislative Consultant djones@capitol-consulting.net

Having passed the Ohio House, the state operating budget bill, HB 59, is now pending in the Ohio Senate. The House made dramatic changes to Governor’s version of the budget and now it is time for the Senate to put their thumbprint on the bill. The Senate has been holding substantive and numerous subcommittee and committee hearings on the bill. At deadline, the Senate is in the process of considering their first round of amendments which will result in yet another substitute bill at the end of the month. Following a second round of amendments, the Senate will likely pass the budget on June 5. The month of June will be spent with Conference Committee working to find middle ground between the three versions of the bill.

On the tax front, the Senate is likely to reinsert the small business tax cut (or something substantially similar) as proposed by the Governor. At this point it is unclear how the Senate will “pay” for this small business tax cut; however, it is likely that they will use funding from the House version’s income tax cut. In conference committee members will work from revised revenue estimates that will likely allow for additional individual and small business tax relief. Although the Administration’s sales tax expansion plan is off the table for now, the House and Senate will continue broader tax reform talks throughout the year and will likely make shifts to an end user consumption tax (broadening the taxable sales and service taxes) and an additional review of expenditures that stem from myriad exemptions. The 4,300 plus page budget bill sets the tone for the balance sheet of the near $64 billion in GRF ($120 billion in “all funds”) for the next biennium that begins July 1 of this year.

BWC Update: A Billion Back The Bureau of Workers Compensation under the Kasich Administration continues to make improvements. Although far from perfect, the recent changes at BWC are worth mentioning, including “Billion Back” press release.

BWC Administrator Steve Buehrer and Governor John R. Kasich recently announces

18 The Buckeye

a proposal to a provide a $1 billion rebate to 210,000 Ohio private sector employers and public employer taxing districts. The plan also triples investments in worker safety grants and makes significant changes in modernizing operations that are likely to result in lower rates. Specifically, the proposal: “Requests that the BWC Board of Directors authorize a one-time dividend of $1 billion for private employers and public-taxing districts.

Expands the agency’s successful Safety Grant Program from $5 million to $15 million to support expanded statewide efforts to promote workplace safety and encourage further investment in protecting Ohio’s workers.

Asks the Legislature to modernize the premium collection model by authorizing BWC to move toward a prospective-payment system and subsequently requesting the board issue an additional $900 million to mitigate transition costs. This switch would also result in rate reductions of 2 percent for private employers and 4 percent for public employers.”

The proposal stems at least in part from a recent court decision in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court which ruled in favor of 270,000 Ohio employers. BWC was ordered to pay 860 million to non-group employers that were booted from group plans from 2001 to 2008.

As you know, the ONLA has taken an active interest in this issue. In fact, past president and former ONLA Legislative Committee Chairman Bill Gerhardt has been vocal in raising the level of awareness of the inconsistencies and the inequalities of the system. About the court ruling, Gerhardt says, “The court found that the non-group employers were subsidizing the group employers by 30-35 percent of the non-group premiums. If you did not opt-out of the class action law suit, you may be entitled to some funding.”

How much are you owed? Go to www. paynowbwc.com and enter your BWC policy number. Enter the symbol “#” before and after your number (example: #111111#). It is noteworthy that the State is appealing the ruling. Gerhardt urges “Ohio employers to please see page 20 onla.org

u n n A

l a i r T s al

H n o e use p O

growth habit tolerances

visual characteristcs Register Today! Space is Limited! $10 on or before July 22nd; $15 after July 22nd (includes lunch, program, handouts, parking permit, refreshments)

sponsored by

July 31, 2013

OSU’s Annual Trial Garden is where YOU can get info on annuals to include in your sales plans. Growers, independent garden center buyers, landscape designers and installers are encouraged to visit and take note of the new varieties being grown and to observe and study the different growth habits, tolerances and visual characteristics of the many different varieties that have been put on display. In addition, 2013’s trial celebrates the Year of the Coreopsis, and attendees will have access to the Ornamental Plant Germplasm Center’s coreopsis displays and research.

A wide variety of annual plant material will be presented so industry professionals can evaluate and note those that have commercial application in Ohio.

Return this form, along with checks payable to the Ohio State University (attention Claudio Pasian), 2001 Fyffe Court, Columbus, OH 43210. Ph: (614) 292.9941.

Name(s): __________________________________________________________________________ Company Name: ____________________________________________________________________

annuals in ground beds and containers trial

JULY 31, 2013

The Ohio State University Department of Horticulture & Crop Science 2001 Fyffe Court Columbus, OH 43210 Schedule of Events 10:00 a.m.: Trials Presentation 10:30 a.m.: Trials Tour (Annuals in ground beds and in containers) 12:00 p.m.: Box Lunch (included with registration) 1:00 - 3:30 p.m.: Classes* *three sessions to be announced; 1 OCNT credit, 1 HSW credit, Landscape Industry Certified credit available; pesticide certification credits pending

Address: __________________________________________________________________________ City, State & Zip: ____________________________________________________________________ Email (required): ____________________________________________________________________ Phone: (_____) ____________________________ Fax: (_____)_____________________________

onla.org

For additional information, contact Dr. Pasian at 614.292.9941 or pasian.1@osu.edu or Lindsay Pangborn at 614.292.3319 or diewald.10@osu.edu

June 2013 19

continued from page 18 contact the Governor, Lt. Governor, and Steven Buehrer, BWC administrator, and your legislator to encourage them to release your funds.”

For more information on the Billion Back, see: ohiobwc.com/home/current/images/ABillionBack.pdf

Keep Your Ears to the Ground: The Worry of the Local Ordinance Former US House Speaker Tip O’Neill’s famous quote is timeless: “All politics is local.” Having only been a child during the O’Neill tenure, I cannot speak his exact rationale but I can say unequivocally that the phrase still applies today.

I believe that Speaker O’Neill used it in the sense that a “politician’s success is directly tied to his ability to understand and influence the issues of his constituents (voters).” In the green industry, it can mean something more. Let’s look at Cuyahoga County.

Last year, with little opportunity for input from stakeholders, the newly established Cuyahoga County Council adopted Ordinance Number O2011-0047 which “prohibits the use of pesticides on property owned by Cuyahoga County and requiring the adoption of an Integrated Pest Management Program for County-owned properties.” At first blush, you

BOULDERS DIRECT “Supplying Nature Stone Products” - SANDSTONE PRODUCTS - OUTCROPPINGS - BOULDERS - HAND STACK /LARGE WALL STONE - FLAGSTONE - NATURAL STEPS - MACHINE CUT/SAWN STEPS - VENEER - CUT DRYWALL

......................................

MI GRANITE FIELDSTONE BOULDERS AND COBBLESTONE TENNESSEE & MARYLAND BUILDING STONE PRODUCTS DECORATIVE AGGREGATES

......................................

Lower Cost Bulk Freight Shipping Available on Most Products Long Hauls Welcome

Boulders Direct

330-324-5336

E-Mail: Bedrock109@sbcglobal.net

20 The Buckeye

may not think this is a “big deal” given the fact that it only applies to county owned properties. But upon further scrutiny, the danger in this precedent is overwhelming.

First, the ordinance butts up against (if it does not violate) Ohio’s long-established pre-emption statute. The Ohio Revised Code provides that no local ordinance may be passed that places a burden on an applicator that is more stringent than the state statute and it declares the ODA as the governing agency of pesticide registration and use. The validity of this ordinance was supported by an Ohio Attorney General’s opinion that supports state pre-emption. While the Cuyahoga County Ordinance stops short of placing an undue burden on applicators, it’s prohibitive vernacular clearly takes a “tool out of the tool box” of licensed applicators.

Second, the ordinance is overly broad. For example, the term “pesticide” as defined as “any spray adjuvant, substance or mixture of synthetic chemical substances, which is intended to be used for defoliating plants, regulating plant growth or for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest which may infest or be detrimental to vegetation, man, animals or households, or be present in any agricultural or non-agricultural environment, including fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, nematicides, rodenticides, desiccants, defoliants, and plant growth regulators.” To look at only one end of the continuum, clearly, this definition includes antimicrobial pesticides. As such, products that are used to kill bacteria or fungus (which may be detrimental to man) are registered pesticides and would be prohibited unless expressly approved by Cleveland Department of Public Health or the Cuyahoga County Board of Health (who may or may have licensed pesticide applicators on their staff).

Third, the ordinance includes an IPM program that violates ODA regulations on the same subject.

Fourth, the exorbitant cost of the mandatory organic program is a question in search of an answer. ODA keeps track of pesticide complaints and their statistics do not support a need for the prohibition of traditional methods.

Frankly, space in this article does not allow a complete and thorough delineation of all of the myriad problems with the ordinance. Unfortunately, other uninformed local governments in Cuyahoga County are considering adoption of the same ordinance….which is where you come in.

It is incumbent on all of us to keep our ears and eyes open for any opportunity to be a resource for local government officials. If lawmakers only hear one side of the story, they are likely to act based upon the information they have. The antipesticide movement is organized and active. They are quick to speak anecdotally in forums where the licensed applicator community is not present to discuss the facts.

While the situation in Cuyahoga County only applies to you if you do work on county property, as other communities follow suit, the precedent can become far reaching.

Please contact us if you hear of any proposed local ordinance pertaining to pesticides or fertilizers. B

onla.org

M a n a g e m e n t To d a y / M a r k e t i n g To d a y

“We Have Enough...”

The odds were unsurmountable. The Chicago Bulls were in the first round of the NBA playoffs, up against the Brooklyn Nets. All season, the Bulls played without their superstar, Derrick Rose.

Somehow, they made it to the playoffs, but the injuries kept piling up.

Mark Mayberry The Mayberry Group mark@markmayberry.com

The Shazzam Challenge Do your Team Members feel that they “have enough” to achieve their goals? What can you do to inspire them?

Joakim Noah had plantar fasciitis, which is a pain that I am familiar with.

It’s a pain that makes it hard just to walk, let alone play basketball at this level. Luol Deng was in the hospital, with possible spinal meningitis. Deng’s condition was so serious that he had a spinal tap. Kirt Hinrich had a severely bruised calf. Rose, Deng and Hinrich were out. Noah was playing in spite of the incredible pain. The odds were stacked against the Chicago Bulls.

Somehow, the Bulls took a three games to two lead in the series, with game six at home. There was hope. But things went sour, and the Bulls lost game six on their own court, and had to play the deciding seventh game in Brooklyn.

In spite of all the injuries, the Bulls rallied and won game seven. Their reward?

They got to play the Miami Heat, with the league MVP, LeBron James.

After their victory in game seven of the opening series, there was great jubilation among Bulls’ fans. The fans were ecstatic that the Bulls had won the first round, and most gave them no hope against LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the rest of the Heat. In a press conference with Bulls’ head coach, Tom Thibodeau, the tone was “You won an impossible series. You have too many injuries to win even one game against the Heat. But - Congratulations for getting this far.” Thibodeau would have

onla.org

none of it. His response – “We have enough.”

When I heard Thibodeau’s answer, I wondered to myself, “Is this man crazy?” The Miami Heat had just won 41 of their last 43 games. The Heat were healthy. The Bulls were without their superstar and two other starters. The Heat had home-court advantage. How could the Bulls’ coach make such a statement – “We have enough!”

As I write this story, the Bulls just won the first game of their series against the Heat – in Miami. Nate Robinson collided with LeBron James and had to get 10 stitches on his lip. He returned to the court. Against all odds, the Bulls won game one. The Heat may win the next 4 games. You’ll know the answer by the time you read this article. No matter what, the Bulls had a successful season.

Tom Thibodeau’s charge, “We have enough,” is truly inspiring. How would you feel if you played on this Bulls’ team, and you were about to face the Goliath of the NBA – the Miami Heat.

There was no way that you could win, even if everyone was healthy. But then you hear your coach say, “We have enough.

The next time you feel that things are stacked against you, and your Team Members feel that the odds are too much to overcome, remember Tom Thibodeau.

Be the person that gives your Team the confidence they need to achieve “the impossible.” B Mark Mayberry The Mayberry Group mark@markmayberry.com

June 2013 21

B

WHAT OUTDOOR LIVING SHOULD BE®

www.oberfields.com www.discoverrosetta.com 614-252-0955 • 740-369-7644 • 419-225-6761 • 937-885-3711 • 800-845-7644

Feature

B

Balancing Work and Life: How Women Entrepreneurs Can Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle As a woman entrepreneur who travels a lot for work, I know it’s hard to balance work and life. Because I travel so much, I constantly find myself watching the behavior of other people. The variety of personalities always astounds me.

During a recent two week stint where I spoke at five different engagements in 4 different states, I couldn’t help but zero in on individuals who couldn’t sit still.

Cell phone and impassioned discussions with work counterparts fill the air as the talkers stride down the airport halls. I’ve heard individuals have cell phone conversations in bathroom stalls, along the street and during their grocery shopping excursions. I swear competitions will evolve around who has the fastest draw off the belt in answering that urgent ring.

hospital the next. When the physician told him to take six weeks off work, Jake’s immediate response was “I can’t! The backlog of work will be too much and probably give me another heart attack from the stress of playing catch up!” The physician, with obvious misgivings, shortened the recovery period to two weeks and included strict dietary instructions.

He was making the conscious choice to put his work over his own health. Now what are you committed to?

8 Commitments To Help Achieve A Positive Lifestyle Today: 1. Take inventory of what makes you genuinely happy.

As you list each item, evaluate what you do every day to ensure that joy remains solidly in your life. Also list things you do that jeopardize your ability to be happy. Sometimes we are our own worst enemies and don’t even know it.

2. Be accountable for the decisions you make. Every time you say “just a minute while I finish these e-mails” and you please see page 24

Two Important Questions: 1. Do we really have to be that available?

2. What happened to “down” time?

During the fourteen day tour of bookings, other work surfaced.

Now faced with handling the keynote and training sessions as well as those business items piling up at home, stress continued to mount.

N U R S E R Y

How did I know I was stressed?

I woke up at 3:00 AM five nights in a row to make sure I hadn’t over slept the 6 AM wake-up call. No peaceful rest for me...there was business to attend to!

Is Your Desire to Succeed Harming Your Health?

Our need to succeed and be perceived as competent, efficient and effective often interferes with our duty to take care of our bodies, minds and families. In fact, Fast Company’s magazine recently cited research indicating that only 1 out of 10 people would actually change their lifestyle if they knew they were going to die without making the necessary changes.

For example, a good friend of mine, Jake, recently suffered a severe heart attack. He was healthy one moment and in the

onla.org

Quality and Service G A R D E N C E N T E R is the Nature L A N D S C A P E of our Business

Call Us for all your nursery needs including Quotes, Availability or a Catalog

1-877-722-7337 411 N. State Route 235 Fax 937-845-9731

New Carlisle, OH 45344 www.scarffs.com

June 2013 23

continued from page 23 end up missing dinner with your spouse, understand you chose to stay “plugged in” to the business. It doesn’t control you... you control your choices.

3. Learn to turn off the phone. Voice mail was created for a reason. Use it wisely.

4. Laugh at the absurdities that otherwise contribute to your stress level. A young lady in shorts, sitting next to me at the airport terminal, was the recent victim of a walk-by sneezing. Another passenger inadvertently spit on her leg in his convulsion. He ambled on oblivious. She, however, quietly dug in her purse and pulled out a tissue. She wiped her leg, careful to shield her actions from others... Except I caught her eye and we both howled with laughter. Bless her heart, she showed class in an awkward situation and exemplified the statement “Stuff happens...deal with it!”

5. Learn to say “NO” with love and affection. Only you know what your priorities and life goals are. Evaluate what others ask you to do, and then determine your response in terms of how it interfaces with your plans.

6. Find out how your behaviors affect the ones you love most. Sometimes a mirror held up before us can tell us more than what our mind eye chooses to rationalize. It may not be pretty, but at least you will have an honest starting point on which to make your lifestyle decisions.

7. Handle your business tasks correctly the first time you deal with them. Quite frequently I consult with clients who feel like the rats in the race are winning. They are overwhelmed by the volume of work they deal with so they do the same tasks over and over again. My advice is simple - slow down and check twice. Not a bad motto to live by.

8. Balance your high-tech and low-tech mentality. Using email exclusively only broadens the distance between us and our clients. Find ways to make your contact personal. A warm voice over the phone or a quick face to face visit can go a long way to cement a relationship. I’ve learned that it’s the eyes, body language, and tone of voice that speaks volumes – imparting information that e-mail could never provide.

We have to define how far we are willing to push ourselves before we damage the positive aspects of our lives that give us true satisfaction and joy.

It’s my choice. It’s your choice... business as usual or live your life like you mean it. Choose well. B Karel Murray (www.Karel.com) is a Certified Speaking Professional, author of “Hitting Our Stride: Women, Work and What Matters” and business trainer who helps women entrepreneurs and executives resolve interpersonal issues and balance their work/personal lives.

Now, you can listen to her exciting, free interviews that will help you maintain and sustain a healthy business and a healthy lifestyle at www.

JustForAMomentPodcast.com

Tiny Tuff Stuff

™

Mountain Hydrangea Spring Meadow Nursery is your liner source for all 200 Proven Winners® shrub varieties. Call us today to add these profitable new plants to your production plans.

Sara Gordon, Sales Representative 616-223-3376 www.springmeadownursery.com 800-633-8859

100c / 0m / 81y / 66k

45c / 15m / 90y / 20

ONLA_TinyTuffStuff_HalfPg.indd 1

24 The Buckeye

5/9/13 8:11 AM

onla.org

r u o T s u B o i h 2013 O ent

Pres NGLCO & ONLA

r e t n e C n e d r a Retail/G 3

01 2 , 2 1 t s u g u A , y Monda

Join the Nursery Growers of Lake County Ohio and the Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association for the 2013 Ohio Retail/ Garden Center Bus Tour, Monday, August 12, 2013. Here are some key reasons why you should attend this event: AgriBUSiness – As an agribusiness professional, your mission-critical knowledge encompasses more than just business acumen. Attending this bus tour gives you the opportunity to find new methods to increase your profits.

RoBUSt – Whether it’s marketing, technology, or human resources, you’re bound to find common ground with your peers on this tour. Increase your effectiveness as a leader by brainstorming with top performers.

OverBUSy – In a business culture that thrives on a narrow window of opportunity, we know your time is limited. Take advantage of the networking opportunities you’ll have with fellow bus tourists!

BlockBUSter – A full schedule of stops at a mix of destination garden centers and quality growers. Different products, different styles, different scale, different marketing, means you’ll drive away from this tour with new ideas and new enthusiasm.

Here’s a tentative schedule of the day:

Registration Form

Earlybird Registration: $20/person by July 26 Late Registration: $25/person after July 26 Last day to register: August 2

This is THE tour for owners, managers, crew leaders, garden center managers, garden center staff, production managers, growers, greenhouse managers...

DON’T MISS IT! Space is very limited; register today!

REGISTRANTS: Complete the following information and return this form, to the NGLCO office (address below).

Company Name: ______________________________________________ Names of Attendees: __________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Address:_____________________________________________________

8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. (bus departs at 9!)

Registration at Dino’s Catering & Restaurant, Rt. 306; bus boarding

City, State & Zip: ______________________________________________

9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Art Form Nursery tour

Email: ______________________________________________________

11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Breezewood Garden Center tour

12:30 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Lunch (included with registration) at Petitti Garden Center

1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Petitti Garden Center tour

2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Lowes Greenhouse & Garden Center tour

4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Bremec Greenhouse & Nursery

5:30 p.m.

Return to Dino’s Catering & Restaurant

No. of Attendees ____ x $____ (either $20 or $25) = ________ Return this form, along with check payable to NGLCO, P.O. Box 555, Perry, OH 44081. Ph: (440) 241-7969.

For those out-of-town tourists attending the NGLCO Field Day on August 13th, special rates are available at two hotels on Rt 306 in Willoughby: Red Roof Inn (866-356-6852) and Days Inn (440-9460500).

For additional information, contact Annette Howard at (440) 241-7969

onla.org

Phone: (______) ________________ Fax: (______) ________________

PAYMENT INFORMATION:

June 2013 25

B

Feature

2013 Ohio Agriculture Women of the Year Awards Ohio First Lady Karen W. Kasich and Ohio Agriculture Director David T. Daniels today announced they are accepting nominations for the 2013 Ohio Agriculture Women of the Year Awards. The award program is administered through the Ohio Department of Agriculture and the Office of the First Lady.

“Last year, I was honored to meet and introduce our first four outstanding women chosen as Ohio Agriculture Women of the Year. Each woman was an amazing testament to strength, personal integrity, and success,” said Mrs. Kasich. “In the second full year of this program, I am looking forward to hearing the stories and celebrating the achievements of more strong women in agriculture.”

Nominations must be submitted by June 21st and will be reviewed by a diverse committee of industry leaders. Winners will be selected on the basis of their outstanding contributions to Ohio agriculture, leadership and advocacy in the agricultural community and significant impact on the agriculture industry as a whole.

26 The Buckeye

Recipients will be recognized by Mrs. Kasich and Director Daniels during an awards reception at the Ohio Governor’s Residence and Heritage Gardens.

Each awardee will have her name engraved on a plaque for permanent display at the Ohio Department of Agriculture and receive a commendation from the Governor and First Lady. Recipients may also serve as members of the selection committee the following year.

“We don’t often get the chance to honor those who have made measureable impacts on the state’s most important industry – food and agriculture,” said Daniels. “Women have made significant strides in the great success of agriculture in our state, and I’m proud to be a part of this program that provides some of the recognition they deserve.”

Nomination materials are available on the department’s website at http://www.agri.ohio.gov/ TopNews/AgricultureWomenOfTheYear/. B

onla.org

Educational Update

This article is provided to you as a benefit of membership in the Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association.

Content for this issue provided by: Tim Rhodus, Professor Department of Horticulture & Crop Science The Ohio State University rhodus.1@osu.edu

In Hand and Well Managed Have you received an email newsletter or browsed a website that would be helpful in your business the next time a customer asks about a specific plant, pest or product? Do you have a pile of papers, photos, newspaper or magazine stories stacked on your desk waiting to be shared with employees? Lastly, have you had a great idea come to mind or seen something that was interesting and not be able to write it down or capture the experience?

I think these three situations describe where many of us currently exist both professionally and personally - plenty of important information that needs to be

archived and retrieved later, arriving in numerous formats and often times showing up unexpectedly.

In addition, because we (and our customers) are becoming increasingly mobile, it is important that this collection be accessible 24/7 from a smart phone or tablet.

In this article, I will present some of our past projects aimed at collecting and organizing information for the benefit of businesses, institutions and individuals who are interested in horticulture. I will discuss some of the current trends in online services and mobile apps aimed at providing answers to your questions and close with please see page 28

EDUCATIONAL UPDATE

Figure 1. This early attempt to organize information from the Internet for use by garden center employees relied on a 3-ring binder consisting of weekly packets of documents sent through the post office. While not too speedy, this project was designed to assemble a custom set of documents (fact sheets selected for their relevance to recent customer inquiries) in a format (notebook) for the benefit of those who needed to share the information with customers on an “as needed” basis.

a discussion of Evernote, a cloud application that allows you to design and develop your own solution for keeping all of your content in hand and well managed.

sheets were assembled as supporting information for garden center employees dealing with questions like, “How do I care for strawberries?” to “How do I remove Poison Ivy?”

The Wealth of the Internet

Websites That Answer Questions

continued from page 27

In 1997, our team created the Factsheet Database Search website. This site allowed users to: “Search the Internet for information related to horticulture and crop science from 50 different colleges and universities across the United States and Canada.”

Over 13,000 pages of information are frequently updated in order to provide the most concentrated source of plant-related information available for answering your questions, assisting you in gaining an education, or helping you teach others about plants.”

At that time, there were a handful of competing search engines under development but the idea of a custom search for just horticultural fact sheets and bulletins from across the U.S. and Canada was a unique contribution to early Horticulture online services.

During the spring and summer of 1998, a project was developed to explore the feasibility of combining frequently asked questions (FAQs) gathered from nursery managers at The Andersons, Inc. General Stores located in Columbus and Maumee, Ohio with selected fact sheets indexed by the Factsheet Database and assembled in a 3-ring binder that was located at each of the stores for employee use. Weekly questions were compiled and submitted to Dr. Rhodus and his team who browsed the web and identified appropriate fact sheets that could be copied and sent back to each store. By the end of the season, a total of 80 fact 28

Plantfacts Garden Tips - plantfacts.osu.edu/faq/ By 2003, our team had expanded the Factsheet Database to the PlantFacts collection of digital and online resources.

The layout for each GardenTips article included: • Question • Answer • Photo (usually) • Links to OSUE publications • Links to other websites • Pre-programmed search of our Factsheet Database • Short assessment question Over the years, other websites have been created to handle horticulture-related questions. As a designer of online collections, it is interesting to examine the: degree of integration with other resources on the Internet (or their own site), ease of finding information, integration with mobile devices and advertising. Of course, getting the answer right is the most important feature of a good FAQ site but after that, what else does the site offer? Let’s take a look at two other current sites. eXtension - extension.org/horticulture/faqs Pronounced e-extension, this site is the national portal for gathering and presenting online resources from Extension, in all states. The “one look” for

The Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association’s The Buckeye, June 2013

all Extension sites was developed in order to bring out the the best of the best from partner institutions.

Watch out on this site, browsing a topic can quickly turn from reading Answers to reading Articles or News or Resources. The separation of content types is very thin and not at all obvious. This uncertainty is compounded by the wide variation in topics being presented - this is not just a gardening, horticulture or crops resource.

EDUCATIONAL UPDATE

Better Homes and Gardens - bhg.com/advice/gardening As for content, BHG.com is sitting on a gold mine due to their Better Homes and Gardens magazine being the 4th best selling magazine in the U.S. BHG does a good job of keeping the gardening content separate from other sections as you browse their articles.

External links, especially to University resources are nonexistent. Watch out for the pop-up ads, they are lurking everywhere.

Tags That Direct You to Content Over the past two years, I have written “Rise of the Mobile Apps” and “Scanning For New Technology: QR Code” in The Buckeye. These stories discussed the popularity of mobile apps and using QR (or other 2D barcodes) on plant tags.

please see page 30

Top: Plantfacts Garden Tips Middle: Better Homes and Gardens Bottom: eXtension

Above: In this example, scanning the Microsoft Tag (lower right corner) with the Microsoft Tag app on a smart phone takes you to the Lowe’s website formatted appropriately for a cell phone user. While not actually a FAQ resource, the interaction between the tag and website makes a very effective experience for the user.

The Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association’s The Buckeye, June 2013

29

continued from page 29

EDUCATIONAL UPDATE

Evernote - Develop Your Own Solution I started this article talking about the challenge of managing information. That was followed with a discussion of our Andersons’ project in 1998 designed to support a garden center’s customer service program. I then presented three examples of websites that contain answers to frequently asked garden questions. Lastly, I discussed the use of QR codes to automatically link a customer to detailed information provided by a retailer.

Now, let’s see what is missing in this environment.

None of the examples presented allow one to assemble/organize in-house and online information into a customized archive that can be accessed using an app on a smart phone or tablet or using a browser on a laptop or workstation. I’m NOT talking about a list of favorite web links on a piece of paper, in a notebook or on a website but a fully-indexed and searchable system that allows a manager, a supervisor, a training specialist or any interested individual to easily send content to the system with appropriate tags that simplify searching the collection.

Adding a new note is simple and just clicking on “Add Note” button and starting to type. Pictures and other files (PDF, Word, PPT, Excel or audio) can ALL be attached to the same note. I mentioned above the use of the web clipper plugin. This allows you to browse a web page and click a button in your browser software to send the current page (or just and article) to your Evenote account. My favorite option for creating a new note is to forward an email message to an Evernote email address belonging to my account. That way, I can immediately send the content of an email

newsletter to my favorite Evernote Notebook. My other favorite is to take an article from the Buckeye Yard and Garden onLine Newsletter and click on the Clip to Evernote link. Once again, the article is immediately sent to my Evernote account.

Sharing Your Notebooks So far, I’ve only talked about authoring or collecting articles, documents and photos to my own Notebooks (no limit on creating Notebooks). However, any Notebook (and its content can be shared to other Evernote users. This would be very appropriate for employees in a garden center, nursery, or landscape company to see what others are posting and to share their postings. Each person can be allowed authoring and editing permissions. This way, the collection of Notes can be grown and expanded over time to include ALL the situations that employees or customers frequently ask about. Sharing of a Note can also be on the web or sent to a Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn account.

Using Evernote

Now that you have started collecting/creating Notes (in one or more Notebooks) and added one or more Tags to help catalog key topics, it is time to realize the benefits of Evernote - searching for content. As soon as a Note is created and synchronized to your account, the content can be found on any of your Evernoteenabled devices and by anyone with whom you share a Notebook. For example, assume you are tracking customer questions about plants in their home landscape. Begin the process by adding Notes that capture their questions. Identify appropriate resources from the Internet and “clip” the website pages that will be helpful. Combine web clipping with authoring your own Notes using your expertise on the subject and that of your employees. Now, you have the ability to retrieve all Notes under a single keyword or doing a text search and finding all notes matching that keyword.

This is the exciting part about creating your own Evernote Customer Resource Center or Garden Journal or Plant Encyclopedia.

By using Evernote, you create a fully searchable index that is online, mobile-friendly, visually appealing and totally under your control. No need to wait on other website to This is Evernote on my desktop or laptop computer using the free address your questions or figure out that they Evernote software for creating, editing and organizing Notebooks need photos to properly inform others what and Notes. The software can be downloaded from: evernote.com. they are talking about. With Evernote, you Copying a web page into Evernote is handled by downloading the can create the type of “Answer” that contains Evernote web clipper plugin for Safari, Firefox, Chrome or Explorwhat you expect. er browser programs on Mac or PC. 30

The Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association’s The Buckeye, June 2013

While I have much more to say about the use of Evernote, this article has reached its limit. Over the next few months, I will be developing a Portfolio course for the Ohio State iTunes U service at www.itunes.osu. edu. This is an open course and available for anyone at no cost. The lessons and examples will be developed for using Evernote to create an academic portfolio. However, the same instructions would easily allow one to create a Gardening Q&A Resource, a Garden Journal or an Employee training solution.

Good luck!

EDUCATIONAL UPDATE

This is the Evernote app on my iPad. Things look a little different but everything is up-to-date with the software version because the Evernote service is a “cloud” service that can keep all your devices (Mac and PC) computers or (iPad/iPhone and Android) mobile devices synchronized to your account settings.

STONE DIVISION

InVirtual Perspective Technology Team The OSU inVirtual Perspective Technology Team consists of Dr. Tim Rhodus, Professor; Bud Witney, Systems Manager, and Elaine Eberlin, Systems Specialist. The team is responsible for the design and maintenance of the systems, databases, and much of the content contained in the numerous web sites positioned within Horticulture in Virtual Perspective, OSU PlantFacts, and American Society for Horticultural Science. B

The Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association’s The Buckeye, June 2013

31

B

Grower’s Viewpoint

Breaking Even

Mark Gilson, OCNT Gilson Gardens, President

Image 1: Where is the pie-chart cost analysis for this tree?

32 The Buckeye

At the ONLA meeting of the Nursery Grower Committee in February, the problem with ‘Industry Pricing’ was a consistent theme. As we discussed and identified the major issues facing our industry, this topic along with the related issue of lean or nonexistent profit margins impacted matters such as ‘aging workforce,’ ‘attracting young people,’ ‘industry marketing,’ and ‘industry survival.’

While macro-matters such as weather and the overall economy are beyond our influence, pricing is a decision made by each individual grower and landscaper.

We tend to avoid conversations about ‘industry pricing,’ especially within the context of a trade association, because of anti-trust rules and the appropriate avoidance of anything that could be construed as ‘price fixing.’ No one at ONLA or in member firms is advocating that. What we can talk about, and should, is industry

“

In this world there is no room for companies that do not understand and control their costs.”

‘costing’ and break-even analysis. Other than looking at the bottom line at the end of the year, how do companies determine how much it costs to provide a plant or a service?

Our ‘break-even-point’ is a magical yet nebulous intersection on the graph of sales and costs. When we are over our breakeven-point, we are smart and we can do no wrong. We are the marvel of friends, competitors and loved-ones. At family reunions and nursery meetings, people like onla.org

to be around us and they whisper to one another: ‘he has a head for business.’ When we are below that magical nexus, the sun ceases to shine. None of our smart decisions seem to work. People whisper we’re ‘in trouble.’

Even the dog sits at the other end of the couch. Most of us have experienced both sides of the formula.

During the 1980s when I returned to the industry from several years as a Certified Public Accountant, the secret was easy. Grow more. Our economy’s expanding appetite for plants enabled us to add a few poly-houses every year. During the 1990s, there was a ‘perennial boom’ and everyone was gardening. Martha Stewart talked about lilacs one month, paeonies another, and the phones would ring for garden centers and landscapers everywhere. We added more houses and more fields. We bought a used Buick Park Avenue and pretended to be smart and rich.

But by 1998 we sensed a softening in the marketplace.

Growers from the East Coast and the South were calling on our customers. By 2006, The Ohio State University Extension published an industry economic survey that indicated while overall sales were increasing, sales by wholesale nurseries in Ohio were declining by approximately 4% per year. Things got worse. Martha Stewart went to jail for insider trading. People were ‘flipping’ houses like burgers, rather than living in them. Doesn’t gardening require a commitment? Then in 2008 the bottom fell out of our economy. Our industry faced a triple-punch. First, the good years had led to ‘additional capacity’ in the form of all those new poly-houses.

Second, demand fell as housing collapsed and disposable income shrank. Third, I believe, was a change in consumer trends. The public stopped gardening. Recent studies indicate that people view gardening as ‘work.’

The devastating effect of increased browsing by insatiable white-tail deer didn’t help. Even those homeowners who landscape or purchase landscaping services seem to have a reduced appetite for plants. Decks, pavers and outdoor kitchens are keeping the landscape industry viable, and that’s a good thing. But what about greenscape?

While I remain optimistic for our industry, I don’t think we will ever be able to solve our problems again simply by adding more growing area, more trucks, more crews. Shortages of plant material will be filled more quickly because of liner specialty firms and improved technologies. Dr. Charles Hall calls us a ‘mature industry.’ Product differentiation and improved service will distinguish the successful players. In this new world there is no room for companies that do not understand and control their costs.

As an auditor I saw myriad approaches to cost accounting. Some companies use ‘standard cost systems’ with a standardized value based on engineering estimates, sometimes extended to four decimal points. Actual results that run over or under the ‘standard’ are reported as ‘variances’ that management can analyze. Some use ‘job costing’ onla.org

Image 2: Colored pots and royalty fees must be priced into the ‘branded products’.

that applies costs to specific products or services. Manufacturers often utilize some form of ‘process cost accounting’ that accumulates costs within the various steps in production. ‘Full absorption costing’ is a method that allocates even some indirect ‘fixed’ or ‘semi-variable’ costs to the product. Most of us never deal with formal ‘cost accounting systems’ since growers are considered agricultural and therefore not required by IRS to inventory and value growing crops. We utilize ‘cash basis accounting’ under ‘Financial Guidelines for Agricultural Producers’ (FGAP) as opposed to ‘Generally Accepted Accounting Principles’ (GAAP). This makes life easier for tax and financial reporting, but it absolves us of having to understand the cost of producing a particular product!

Landscape firms can utilize new technology to improve job costing systems. GPS devices can now track individual crews. Related software applies the hours and travel time to each job. Design time and purchases can likewise be attributed to specific projects. Overhead costs of maintaining an office, a maintenance facility, a holding yard, must be applied to jobs based on various assumptions, but most expenditures are ‘direct’ in nature so reliable and reasonable results can be attained. Growers face a different task. Establishing some sort of ‘process cost accounting system’ is expensive in terms of time and resources. No one makes us do it. Our biggest cost is usually payroll, so any successful system must track employee hours by specific task throughout the day in increments of an hour or less. The more accurate the system, the more detail is required. It can become a ‘paper mill’.

Inevitably, estimates and assumptions must be used when we apply overhead costs to specific processes. Management must understand the process in order to evaluate the results. As a result, many if not most growers operate please see page 34

June 2013 33

continued from page 33

Online Availability klynnurseries.com Visit our website Sales Staff Availability* Hot List* Klyn Catalog 2013* Quote Form Photo Gallery E-mail addresses About Us Directions *Contact us for user name and password

KLYN NURSERIES, Inc. 3322 SOUTH RIDGE RD. • P.O. BOX 343 PERRY, OHIO 44081

TELEPHONE: (440) 259-3811 FAX: (440) 259-3338 1-800-860-8104 Web Site: klynnurseries.com E-Mail: klyn@klynnurseries.com

34 The Buckeye

without a formal cost accounting system.

What many growers utilize instead is what I refer to as a ‘cost snapshot’. We include the cost of the liner, the pot, the soil, other direct production costs, some estimate of potting labor. Perhaps we consider how long the plant will remain in our nursery and how much space it will take up. The result is a fairly meaningless and misleading number that we often use for pricing decisions. What’s missing? This method tends to understate ‘process costs’ such as weeding, spraying, fertilizing and shipping, plus ‘overhead costs’ like maintaining an office and an organization to process the sale. Where do we apply the cost of maintaining our website, sponsoring the local girl’s softball team or sending workers to CENTS? The ‘snapshot’ tends to emerge out in space somewhere, independent of our overall financial picture.

We don’t have an elaborate cost accounting system at our nursery. We analyze our biggest cost, payroll, and apply it to specific tasks in production. We put this on the back of our Container Manager, who spends a few minutes each week going over the time cards and applying everyone’s hours to specific tasks like production, weeding, spacing, trimming, etc, based on where he assigned them. It’s not perfect, but once we enter the information on a spreadsheet, include applicable pay rates and add the numbers up, we arrive at the end of the year at a pie chart with hours and costs for the entire production facility. I love pie charts. Actual indirect costs are pulled from our financial statements and then incorporated in the pie chart. Presto…full absorption costing…and more! It’s important to remember that our ‘system’ is based on estimates and assumptions. We only go out to one decimal point, or we would confer a presumption of accuracy that does not exist.

What else can a small company do to understand its costs? One of our audit techniques in public accounting involved ‘analytical review procedures’. Look at the comparative numbers over time…watch key operative ratios over time. These analytics can provide a wealth of information to management. We provide ten years of comparatives on our financial statements. It’s amazing how trends and problems become apparent! Additional years are only a spreadsheet away. When I look back at profitable years in the mid-1990s, although we were a smaller company then, I can see that the relationship between pay rates and prices was more favorable, improving our access to break-even operations. The key to comparatives is consistency. Make sure any needed changes to your chart-of-accounts can be compared and contrasted with prior years.

Textbooks provide traditional ratios for looking at operations. But once you get solid year-end financial and production numbers, the analytics are limited only by your imagination. Sometimes I have to stand on my head to get the information I want. What is he going to onla.org

do with it? But metrics like ‘production value per payroll hour’ are a great way to evaluate our managers, or determine whether that used potting machine is really paying for itself in three years. It is. Tracking your ‘average price per unit’ can be illuminating.

Compare your ‘weeding payroll costs’ to ‘herbicide expenditures’. Contrast the ‘production goal’ with ‘actual production’ for the prior year. If there’s a big difference, maybe your pie-in-the-sky goals are causing you to buy in too many pots and too much media.

Price last year’s sales at last year’s prices…and then compare the total with last year’s sales at this year’s prices. That identifies your ‘price variance’ as opposed to the ‘volume variance’ from year-to-year.

Are price increases really keeping up with increased costs? Simple stuff…but you have to sit down and look at it. This kind of thing is ‘important, but not urgent’ for a manager, referring to the wisdom in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Too often we never get to it.

Pricing decisions are up to individual companies.

But understanding costs is an industry issue. B Mark Gilson (Gilson Gardens, President) is the current ONLA Nursery Grower Committee Chair, a Past ONLA Board Member, an NGLCO Past President, and treasurer of the Ohio Invasive Plants Council. Mark is a recovering (former) Certified Public Accountant.

Manage m™re with less… with Soil Moist™ Nothing helps stretch budgets like Soil Moist Water Management Polymers and Mycorrhizal Products: to reduce water maintenance and plant stress, increase growth rates, improve soil porosity and do more with less… beautifully.

Available in the forms, formulas and customer without with blends you need, eco-safe Soil Moist granules,disks, Mycorrhizal Mycorrhizal tabs and spikes absorb water, then release it gradually as soil dries. So each watering lasts up to 50% longer, for 3-5 years.

Whether it’s original Soil Moist, Soil Moist Mycorrhizal for strong root development, or Soil Moist Plus nutrient blends, there’s never been a better time to call for technical data and expert advice.

JRM Chemical, Inc. 4881 NEO Parkway, Cleveland, OH 44128 1-800-926-4010 • 216-475-8488 fax: 216-475-6517 www.soilmoist.com

onla.org

June 2013 35

ONLA PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

July 9, 2013 Presented in Partnership by THE OHIO NURSERY AND LANDSCAPE ASSOCIATION CHAGRIN RIVER WATERSHED PARTNERS OHIO EPA NE OHIO STORMWATER TRAINING COUNCIL OHIO LANDSCAPE ASSOCIATION HOLDEN ARBORETUM NE OHIO REGIONAL SEWER DISTRICT COUNTY SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICTS

Held at Cuyahoga Community College - Eastern Campus Highland Hills, OH

Classroom 8:30 am to 12:00 pm

Bus Tour 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Attendees will learn about the local regulations related to stormwater control measures (SCMs), including those associated with downspout disconnections, rain barrels and downspout diverters, mowing regulations, riparian setbacks, grading permits, and tree codes. You will receive SCM factsheets, operational guidance documents, and maintenance checklists to assist you in the selection and implementation of the SCMs at your client’s sites. By attending these sessions, landscape contractors will gain expertise in design and maintenance of stormwater management practices and can expect business growth and job creation.

This event is FREE and will include a tour of stormwater management practices at different locations. Register Early Space is limited for the bus tour portion of this training. Lunch is on your own and is not provided.

Qualifies for 1 OCNT Credit, up to 6.5 HSW and 6 CEUs for Landscape Industry Certified

Watch for announcements of part two of this training on commercial applications that will be held October 1, 2013.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Deadline to Register: June 21, 2013 Company Contact Address City State Zip Phone ( ) Email NAME OF ATTENDEE

EMAIL ADDRESS

SELECTION Classroom

Tour

Both

Classroom

Tour

Both

Classroom

Tour

Both

Send to: The Ohio Nursery and Landscape Association / 72 Dorchester Square / Westerville, Ohio 43081 / Ph (614) 899-1195 / F (614) 899-9489 / onla.org

Feature

Stormwater Management Training on New Business Opportunities for Residential Landscape Professionals Join us for a training on new or expanded business opportunities for installation and maintenance of stormwater practices. The training will include details on design, construction, and maintenance of common stormwater control measures and a tour of selected practices. This event is FREE and will be held on July 9, 2013 at the Tri-C Eastern Campus from 8:30 to 4:00. Sign up now as space is limited for the tour portion of this training.

be given introductions to the NEORSD Stormwater Fee Credit Program and the Ohio EPA’s stormwater management program. Training will include a discussion of the basic design, installation, maintenance, and selection of plants for different types of residential stormwater management SCMs, including bioretention cells, rain gardens, rain barrels, downspout disconnections to vegetated filter strips, pervious pavement, existing stormwater basins, and the management of riparian corridors.

Stormwater runoff from developed areas leads to increased flooding, streambank erosion, water pollution, and costly improvements to stormwater treatment structures such as pipes and ponds. Many residential landowners suffer from drainage problems associated with increased stormwater and have become interested in ways to reduce stormwater runoff from their property by using stormwater management practices. These include filtration through the use of soil and vegetation, evapotranspiration, and recycling of stormwater runoff. These practices can also enhance the beauty of yards and neighborhoods, and any of them have a significant landscaping component.

In 2013 the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) began to assess a stormwater fee to residents located in the District’s service area based on the amount of impervious surface area on their property. Impervious surface areas include driveways, rooftops, parking lots and other hard surfaces that do not allow water to absorb into the ground. To allow customers to reduce their stormwater fee, the NEORSD has established a stormwater fee credit program that allows residents to implement stormwater control measures (SCMs) to reduce the amount of stormwater runoff from their property. Eligible SCMs include rain gardens, stormwater storage (rain barrels and cisterns), pervious pavement, and vegetated filter strips. Residents may also receive a fee credit if they have an existing stormwater basin on their property.

Many local communities regulated under the Ohio EPA’s stormwater program also require maintenance and inspection of installed stormwater SCMs. The increased use of stormwater SCMs has created a demand for landscape professionals with the knowledge and specific skills needed for the successful selection, design, installation, and maintenance of these practices. Attendees of this residentially-focused training session will

Attendees will learn about the local regulations related to stormwater SCMS, including those associated with downspout disconnections, rain barrels and downspout diverters, mowing regulations, riparian setbacks, grading permits, and tree codes. They will receive stormwater SCM factsheets, operational guidance documents, and maintenance checklists to assist them in the selection and implementation of the SCMs at their clients’ sites.

onla.org

By attending these sessions, landscaping contractors will gain expertise in design and maintenance of stormwater management practices and can expect business growth and job creation. This training will be beneficial to landscape professionals who will need to meet the demand of emerging stormwater management markets such as the NEORSD Stormwater Fee Credit Program.

Attendees will learn how to properly assist their clients in the design, installation, and maintenance of stormwater SCMs on their properties.

This training is free and funded in part by a grant from the Ohio Environmental Education Fund in partnership with ONLA. This training session is the first of a twopart training series for landscape professionals on stormwater management practices. Attendees of this session are encouraged to participate in the second part of the series that will focus on the stormwater management for larger commercial sites on October 1, 2013 at the Cleveland Metroparks West Creek Watershed Stewardship Center.

Participating individual landscape professionals will be offered LACES, Landscape Industry Certified, and Ohio Certified Nursery Technician training credits. B

June 2013 37

B

B

W h y Tr e e s M a t t e r

Thy Name is OCNT The Ohio Certified Nursery Technician program is an important member and outreach service of the Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association.

This was driven home to me recently when teaching at the Madison Correctional Institute in Jim Hoskin’s horticulture class. Jim is doing a great job (disclosure: Jim is my brother-inlaw) working with selected inmates, for whom this class is an opportunity to develop skills for possible future job opportunities. Their time spent learning about landscape design, pest management, lawn care, plant selection, and basic botany for practical horticulture is time that they treasure.

Here are their words, sent in a follow-up letter after my teaching day there. “As budding horticulturists we eagerly look forward to entering this expanding industry as productive citizens, contributing to the growth of our respective communities. Each of

the topics you addressed and the advice that you offered served to further inspire us to explore the many possibilities that exist in the field.”

Believe me, they take their studies seriously. To continue with the class, they must receive 85% or better on practice exams, the same type of test that require a 72% percent rate for passage to the general OCNT students. They are motivated, alert to discrepancies, curious...great students really. They had many questions that day in April, among them about the practical botany and plant name section of the OCNT curriculum, a joint venture of ONLA and a group of Ohio State University Extension Nursery Landscape and Turf Team (ENLTT) authors. It was great to see the study materials in action and with such dedicated attention of the students.

As a class and as individuals,

they knew that a genus is a group of related species and that a plant family is a group of related genera (plural for genus). They knew the difference between the Latin names of plants as per the Botanical Code of Nomenclature, the cultivar names (cultivated varieties) as per the Horticultural Code of Nomenclature, and the nuances of patents and trademarks. They knew about the difference between different buckeye and horsechestnut species and cultivars and hybrids in the genus Aesculus, they appreciated the beauty of Latin names such as Liriodendron tulipifera for tuliptree and Liquidambar syraciflua for sweetgum An example of what they, and you, study was from their OCNT Study Guide about the importance of plant families.

Plant families are groups of related genera. Here are a few examples: Let’s look at the very important

Words and Photos by Jim Chatfield The Ohio State University Extension Nursery Landscape and Turf Team chatfield.1@osu.edu

38 The Buckeye

onla.org

rose family (Rosaceae) which includes such genera as: Amelanchier --- serviceberry Aronia --- chokecherry Cotoneaster --- cotoneaster Crataegus --- hawthorn Malus --- crabapple Potentilla --- potentilla or cinquefoil Prunus --- cherry, almond, plum Pyracantha --- firethorn Pyrus --- pear Sorbus --- mountainash Rosa --- rose Spiraea --- spiraea If you think about the flowers of these genera (forget for a moment the amazing diversity of some of the cultivated roses and think instead of some of the shrub roses) you will note that they are very similar. Think of how similar each crabapple flower is to a hawthorn flower or a Callery pear flower, or for that matter to individual mountainash florets. In fact if you think of each floret of a mountainash flower it is quite easy to see that it is far more related to a spiraea or a firethorn than it is to any of the true ashes in the genus Fraxinus, which are in the

Oleaceae. It should come as no surprise that the reproductive parts of the plants: the fruits, seeds and flower provide clues to the relatedness of plants in a given family. It is easy to fool people on plant identification quizzes with the unusual rose-salmon fruits with bright orange seeds of Euonymus europaeus, but when you ask what roadside weed it looks related to, someone in the crowd always says American bittersweet (Celastrus scandens). Both Celastrus and Euonymus indeed are in the bittersweet family (Celastraceae).

This familial relatedness can be used in many ways in practical horticulture.

For example, the disease bacterial fireblight, caused by the bacterium Erwinia amylovora, occurs only on plants in the rose family, especially on Pyracantha, Malus, and Pyrus spp., Symptoms of this disease include blighted shoots of discolored leaves that are bent at the ends in the pattern of a shepherd’s crook.

This symptom can also, of course, be caused by other factors. It is a great diagnostic aid, however, to be able to rule out fireblight, even if plants have crooked blighted shoots, if the plant is a maple (Acer spp.) or an ash (Fraxi-

nus spp.), knowing that these plants are not in the Rosaceae. Or, conversely, to consider fireblight as a possibility if the plant is a mountainash (Sorbus spp.) or a chokeberry (Aronia spp.), which are in the Rosaceae.

Another practical benefit of knowing plant families occurs when there are cultural requirements that sometimes cover most of the plants of a family. A classic case of this is with the heath family, the Ericaceae. Although members of the Ericaceae do vary in terms of their characterization as acid-loving plants, it is not too bad of a generalization to be concerned about planting ericaceous plants such as azaleas and rhododendrons (Rhododendron), Enkianthus, Pieris, mountainlaurel (Kalmia), and blueberry (Vaccinium) in alkaline soils.

Other horticultural practices limited by familial relationships occur as well, from the likelihood of being able to make intergeneric crosses (difficult at best but more possible between genera in a family), to the likelihood of being able to graft a scion onto a rootstock (if from different genera, more likely between genera in the same family).

Some families contain only one geplease see page 41

2

3

4 onla.org

5 June 2013  39

DiagnosticforWalkabouts the green industry Join ONLA, OSU & AGI for a critical look at landscape and turf during early morning landscape walks throughout Ohio. Tim Malinich, Horticulture Educator with Ohio State University Extension, and other horticulturalists will lead indepth discussions of the art and science of scouting, diagnostics and control of landscape pests. This is for commercial horticulturalists only, 2 hours of ODA recertification credit, 2 hours of ISA credit, 1 OCNT renewal credit, 1 HSW credit and 2 Landscape Industry Certified credits are available for each session.

The walks are offered seven times during the season and cover the problems prevalent during that part of the season – no two will be the same.

PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED: $35.00 Per Session. To assure a better learning experience, the walks are limited to 30 persons per session, so register early!

Register Today!

Space is Limited!

Each walkabout is $35/person (ONLA member) or $50/person (non-member)

Return this form, along with payment, to the Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association, 72 Dorchester Square, Westerville, OH 43081. Ph: (614) 899-1195. Fax: (614) 899-9489. Checks made payable to the Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association. MasterCard and Visa payment accepted.

June 6

June 27

July 18

Aug. 1

Aug. 15

Sept. 12

Sept. 26

Name(s): __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________

Company Name: _____________________________________________________________ Address: ____________________________________________________________________ City, State & Zip: ______________________________________________________________ Email: _______________________________________________________________________ Phone: (_____) ________________________ Fax: (_____)____________________________ PAYMENT INFORMATION:

Check

Visa

MasterCard

Card Number: ___________________________________________ Exp. Date: ___________ Cardholder Name/Signature: ____________________________________________________

40  The Buckeye

June 6, 2013 7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.

Cleveland Metropark Zoo 3900 Wildlife Way Cleveland, OH 44109 (Core [1/2 hour], 6A, 8) June 27, 2013 7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.

BGSU Firelands 1 University Dr Huron, OH 44839 (Core [1/2 hour], 3A, 6A, 8) July 18, 2013 7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.

Mingo Park 500 East Lincoln Delaware, OH 43015 (Core [1/2 hour], 6A, 8) August 1, 2013 7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.

Stan Hywet Hall And Gardens 714 N. Portage Path Akron, OH 44303 (Core [1/2 hour], 5, 6A, 8) August 15, 2013 7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.

Toledo Botanical Gardens 5403 Elmer Dr Toledo, OH 43615 (Core [1/2 hour], 6A, 8) September 12, 2013 7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.

Inniswood Metro Gardens 940 South Hempstead Road Westerville, OH 43081 (Core [1 hour], 6A, 8) September 26, 2013 7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.

Sunset Memorial Park 6265 Columbia Road North Olmsted, OH 44070 (Core [1 hour], 6A, 8) onla.org

continued from page 39

nus, or even one species, such as Cercidiphyllum japonicum (katsuratree) in the Cercidiphyllaceae. More often than not, though, it is possible to note interesting similarities, for example of fruits, between the multiple genera in a given plant family, such as all the ornamentals in the soil nitrogen-fixing bean family (Fabaceae) including: Cercis (redbud), Cladrastis (yellowwood), Gleditsia (honeylocust), Gymnocladus (Kentucky coffeetree), Laburnum (golden-chaintree), Sophora (Japanese pagodatree) and many more. Think of the bean-like fruits on these trees.

The students also knew about Linnaeus.

“The beginning of wisdom…is knowing things by their right name.”

This saying from the Chinese philosopher Krishtalka is a good lead-in to this discussion of how Linnaeus has helped horticulture. Linnaeus gave us the first organized system of Latin binomials for naming living organisms.

Before you take his name in vain or in the vein of ”Latin is a language/ as dead as dead can be/first it killed the Romans/and now its killing me,” think of how it was before Linnaeus.

The system of Linnaeus, laid out in Systema Plantarum (The Species of Plants) in 1753 helped reduce confusion. As Michael Dirr points out in his Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, there are over 245 names for the white water lily (Nymphaea alba) in the English, Dutch, German, and French languages alone. All for one single plant - Nymphaea alba, named in fact by Linnaeus. Latin was used for the universal language of science at the time.

So Latin helped alleviate the confusion between, for example, French and English botanists (and subsequently horticulturists). Usage of an official two-part name then helped reduce confusion and the written form of logorrhea that existed up until 1753 in which, for example, the briar rose (according to Linnaeus named Rosa canina) was described by some as Rosa sylvestris inodora seu canina or onla.org

by others as Rosa sylvestris alba cum rubore, folio glabro.

I think you can agree that the system of Linnaeus was easier to use. Linnaeus also arranged species and genera (groups of related species) into a hierarchical system, with bigger groups of plants in classes and orders and kingdoms - such as the Plant Kingdom and Animal Kingdom.

At the core of the system is the idea of species = reproductively isolated populations of organisms. Species are represented by a Latin binomial, a two-part Latin name, comprised of the genus name (with the first letter capitalized) and the specific epithet (with the first letter not capitalized).

Both parts of the name are italicized or underlined. Quercus alba is the Latin binomial for the species we also know as white oak. Populus alba is the white poplar. Quercus alba is white oak and Quercus palustris is pin oak.

The system works for animals as well: Agrilus plannipennis is the emerald ash borer, Agrilus anxius is the bronze birch borer, and Homo sapiens is us - the species known as human beings. None of these species will mate with each other; they are reproductively isolated from each other.

Occasionally nature is a bit messy, of course. Acer rubrum or red maple is considered to be a good species by plant classifiers, and so is Acer saccharinum, the silver maple. Nevertheless, as horticulturists we know that sometimes these two species do indeed hybridize, and we know these as Freeman maples, designated either as Acer rubrum x Acer saccharinum or as Acer Xfreemanii. Popular types of Freeman maples include Acer Xfreemanii Autumn Blaze™ and Acer Xfreemanii ‘Armstrong.’

Biologically related (but yet reproductively isolated) species, such as red maple (Acer rubrum) and Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) are in the genus Acer. Again, a genus is a group of related species. Related genera were later put into a new classification category known as a “family”

not described by Linnaeus in 1753.

This information of relatedness also comes in handy, for example, when you consider early host studies conducted once the emerald ash borer became a problem in North America.

Plants in the olive family (Oleaceae) include such genera as Forsythia, Syringa (lilac), Chionanthus (fringetree), several others and Fraxinus (the true ashes). The first place to check to see if the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) had a broader host range was to do feeding studies on genera related to Fraxinus in the Oleaceae family.

So, forsythia and lilac and others were checked. None seem to be hosts in nature for the emerald ash borer, which is restricted to the genus Fraxinus (true ashes). Note that mountainash (Sorbus) was not looked at as a potential alternate host in the studies, since even though it has “ash” as part of its name due to some similarities in its leaf structure (compound), it is not in any way closely related to true ashes, and indeed as you saw above Sorbus (in the Rosaceae) is not in the same plant family as Fraxinus (in the Oleaceae).

Linnaeus truly did love to organize, being the original naming authority for over 4000 animals and 8000 plants, and even developed a soon-abandoned system for giving Latin binomial names for rocks!

He did hate fungi, since they were mostly microscopic, hard to study in the 1700s, and often hard to link up their sexual and asexual stages. He therefore declared in exasperation that there was only one species of fungus - Chaos fungorum. Fortunately we have come a long way since then, and the Latin binomial system is now used for fungi, for example Venturia inaequalis for the apple scab fungus and Ceratocystis fagacearum for the oak wilt fungus.

Linnaeus was proud of his classification and naming expertise and somewhat grandly declared of his efforts: Deus creavit; Linnaeus disposuit (God creates; Linnaeus organizes).

please see page 42

June 2013 41

continued from page 41

He did however have his humble streak, knowing his (and everyone’s) place in the world. As related in a wonderful essay by Kennedy Warne in the May 2007 issue of Smithsonian magazine that marked the 300th anniversary of the birth of Linnaeus: in 1762, when Linnaeus was made a member of the Swedish nobility and given the name von Linne, “he chose for his heraldic emblem an unprepossessing Lapland flower, Linnaea borealis, a plant named after him and described by him as ‘lowly, insignificant, disregarded, flowering for a brief space…from Linnaeus who resembles it.”

As indicated, Jim Hoskins teaches the entire OCNT curriculum with his class at the Madison Correctional Institute, and ONLA and ENLTT should be proud of their programs put into such rehabilitative action.

Let’s close with a poem from one of the students. An Ode to Carl (Linneaus): Biological Anarchy Beforehand Prevailed Until Linnaues, The Swede, Into History Did Sail.

‘Twas Late Fifty-Three In His Book Did He Pen A Binomial System Given To Men.

By Which Each Critter Henceforth Shall Be Known, Rather Than Lumped… …Hap-Hazardly Thrown.

Carl, Oh How The Chaos Did Spare Flora, and Fauna, Fitted Neatly and Square.

Orderly Families Evenly Placed.

Every Flower and Bee Properly Placed.

Hail To This Swede, A Brillliant Old Gent For Devising A System, So Elegant. B

6

7

1. Red buckeye (Aesculus pavia) with its five leaves and red flower buds.

2. What a wonderful Latin name for sweetgum – Liquidambar styraciflua, named for gums in the sap. Here note the equally fascinating male flowers and female flower below which becomes the oft-maligned gumball fruit.

3. An equally wonderful Latin name for tuliptree – Lirodendron tulipifera. Here with new tulip-shaped leaves emerging this Spring.

4. Eastern redbuds are named Cercis Canadensis.

5. Katsuratrees, with their heart-shaped leaves, are in the genus Cercidiphyllum, for their Cercis-like leaves (“phylum” is from the Greek “phyllon,” meaning leaf).

6. Is different from the related horsechestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) type shown here with its seven leaves.

7. Scarlet Brandywine™ crabapple easily demonstrates that the genjus for apples and crabapples (Malus) is in the Rosaceae family.

8. ‘Strawberry Parfait’ crabapple has a excellent apple scab resistance, and a distinct shape, and when a rounded tree with no pink in the new leaves and flowers was delivered in Ohio this year, it was clearly the wrong tree.

9. ‘Rousseau’ crabapple at Secrest Arboretum, planted literally ages ago in the birth year of the author: 1951.

10. A View From Above of Crablandia II at OSU’s Secrest Arboretum in Wooster this Spring. Come see the diversity of crabapple form, flower, fruit, and foliage, which you can reference and remember more easily if you pay attention to cultivar and other names. Photo: Ken Chamberlain, OARDC 11. ‘Weeping Candied Apple’ crabapple espaliered at UpShoot in Lake County Ohio.

12. Cercis candensis ‘Covey’ Lavendar Twist™, with its Latin name according to the Botanical Code of Nomenclature, its cultivar name according to the Horticultural Code of Nomenclature, and its trademark name.

8

42 The Buckeye

9

10

11

12 onla.org

B

Seedlings

Just the Facts, Ma’am

Creativity Isn’t Easy

OSU Entomologists Susan Jones, Barbara Bloetscher, and Devon Rogers have recently revised OSU FactSheet, HYG-2121-12, “Submitting Insect Specimens for Identification.” The FactSheet can be found online at http://bit.ly/11znZ68 This is a great resource to review before submitting samples to the C. Wayne Ellett Plant and Pest Diagnostic Clinic (CWEPPDC). B

Many of us could be more imaginative and innovative if we didn’t run into roadblocks. The problem is that often we put up those obstacles on our own. If you want to spark your creative engine, be careful to avoid any of the barriers to creative thought:

FACT SHEET Agriculture and Natural

Resources

HYG-2121-12

Submitting Insect Specim ens for Identification Susan C. Jones, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Entomolog y Extension Specialist, Household and Structural Pests Barbara Bloetscher Extension Entomology Devon Rogers PPDC Entomology Diagnostic

ian

T

he C. Wayne Ellett Plant and Pest Diagnostic Clinic (PPDC) at The Ohio State University provides a service in which insects, related arthropods are identified spiders, and other and management strategies recommended.

In addition, the PPDC diagnoses turf disorders and plant problems caused by insects, nematodes, disease, or environmental factors.

The PPDC, which is sponsored by utilizes expertise from members OSU Extension, of of Entomology, Plant Pathology, the Departments Horticulture and Crop Science, as well as the School of Environme nt and Natural Resources.

The accuracy of any diagnosis or identification depends upon the written information provided, how well the submitted material represents the problem, and the condition in which the specimen arrives.

This fact sheet outlines procedures for submitting insect and damage specimens for identification. Information detailing how to submit a plant specimen can be obtained from the PPDC website http://ppdc . osu.edu/, your local county Extension office, or by contacting the PPDC by phone (614-292-5006), fax (614-466-9754), or e-mail (ppdc@cfaes.osu.edu).

Collecting the Insect Sample

Send as many insect specimens as possible. The identification of many insect species relies upon characteristics of the antennae, legs, or wings. If the submitted specimens are missing these parts, a precise identification typically cannot be made. Specimens that are squished are very difficult to accurately identify. Our goal is to provide the best identification

Copyright © 2012, The Ohio

• Not making time to think. Most of us are busy people, dealing with problems and challenges all day long. That can leave us with little time to devote to exploring possibilities—or a feeling that anything other than putting out fires isn’t important.

Make a priority of setting aside some regular time to be creative.

State University

Tax Reform Could Eliminate Cash Basis Accounting The Ways and Means Committee in Congress in connection with their work on tax reform is considering removing the ‘cash basis accounting’ option for larger nurseries, according to Craig Regelbrugge with ANLA. In a historic change, growers with gross revenues over $10 Million would be required to use accrual accounting and record their inventories. Nurseries should monitor this draft language as Congress attempts to complete comprehensive tax reform before the end of the year. B

• Fear of failure. You may worry that you’ll waste your time, and open yourself up to embarrassment, if your creative ideas don’t immediately succeed. Remind yourself that even the best ideas take time and work before getting results, and remember that most successful people have experienced plenty of failure before their ideas take hold.

• Lack of utility. A good idea may not have an immediate, practical application. That shouldn’t stop you from exploring its potential. As you exercise your creativity, don’t be bound by the need to make money from it right away. Let the idea develop first, and then step back to see how you can put it to work. B

NurseryStockSelect.com The source for premium nursery stock throughtout Ohio.

Wholesale Buyers are Searching Online!

onla.org

Attention

Don’t miss out! Join these Ohio growers June 2013 43 already on www.NurseryStockSelect.com

ONLA Membership: Plans For Success Exclusive Member Benefits Business Apparel - Land’s End

Trust Lands’ End Business Outfitters for all of your business clothing, uniform clothing, corporate gift and promotional product needs.

10% off full price retail and logo application fees.

Cell Phone Service - Sprint

ONLA members can receive a 12% discount on corporate Sprint wireless accounts, and an 8% discount on personal Sprint wireless accounts.

Credit Collection - Cash Flow Management (CFM)

With CFM, a trained collection specialist is assigned to bring in your past-due accounts before they fade away as bad debts.

Credit/Debit Card Processing - Merchant Services

ONLA members can take advantage of credit and debit card merchant service processing program through Merchant Services.

Merchant Services brings electronic processing programs specifically designed to fit the needs of your business.

Energy Program - Growers Energy Solutions (GES)

Grower Energy Solutions (GES) helps manage an energy program designed to help save on your natural gas and electric bill by utilizing the strength of group buying. Average savings between 8 and 15%.

Federation of Employers & Workers of America

FEWA is an internationally recognized non-profit association which provides members with educational and informational services related to cultural and non-immigrant and immigrant labor management issues.

Fuel/Fleet Program - SuperFleet®

Office Supplies - Friends Business Source

Friends Business Source is a leader in providing office supplies and equipment with ONLA member discounts on over 35,000 products.

Receive 30-55% off list price!

Online Safety Training- LS Training

LS Training offers 23 high-quality online videos; complete with online exams and field checklists to make your employees more efficient.

Save 5% off the total invoiced price.

Payroll/Human Resource Services - Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP)

(ADP) offers a range of payroll, payroll tax, and human resources services to assist ONLA members with staffing, managing, paying, and retaining employees.

Property/Casualty Insurance - Best Hoovler McTeague Save on your property and casualty insurance with BHM. BHM’s group program is designed for ONLA members to save at least 15% with the best coverage rates for your liability, fleet and equipment.

Safety Services - American Safety & Health Management Consultants, Inc./American Premier First Aid

Save up to $.05 per gallon on all fuel purchases at SuperFleet® (Speedway, Marathon and Rich Oil) locations with no minimum purchase required.

American Safety & Health Management Consultants, Inc. (ASH) fills the growing need for professional safety and health management services for companies of all sizes. Meet requirements and reduce costs using first aid products from American Premier First Aid, Inc.

Green Industry Networking

Shipping Solutions - PartnerShip

Attend educational and social events hosted by the ONLA and engage with fellow green industry professionals.

Health/Life/Income Insurance - TAH Benefits

The ONLA Group Benefit Programs has partnered with various health plans to offer a variety of plans with many optional benefits such as vision, dental, life, and disability.

Legislative Advocacy

Full-time lobbyist, Capitol Consulting Group, is employed by the ONLA to ensure green industry legislative involvement.

Long Distance/Local Telephone

First Communications provides full telecommunications services: long distance, data services, conference calling and toll free service.

Take control of your shipping costs and add profits to your bottom line. PartnerShip delivers effective discounted shipping services to small- and medium-sized businesses nationwide, save up to 20%.

Soil & Plant Tissue Testing/Ag Hort. Consulting Services - CLC LABS

Through CLC LABS, ONLA members receive various laboratory services at a 10% discount off list prices including testing of soil nutrients, soilless media, soil texture, fertilizer solution, plant tissue, irrigation water suitability and dry fertilizer analysis.

Workers’ Compensation - CareWorks Consultants, Inc. The ONLA Workers’ Compensation Group Rating Program has saved its members over $21.4 million in the last 12 years.

For more information on ONLA member savings visit onla.org or call 614.899.1195

B

Feature

Advantages for the Next Generation:

TECHNOLOGY The access to information afforded to the next generation has drastically changed the way we do business today. From smart phones to tablets, to the ability to accept credit card payments at any location, the business world is forever changed. Not only has access to information changed, but so has the speed at which we can access it.

Leave your smart phone at home for one day and try to get through the workday without it. Seems easy enough, but it’s safe to say the majority of us would be lost without it and quickly begin wondering how we’ll get through the day. It wasn’t too long ago when a phone was simply a phone. It wasn’t long before that that a phone was attached the wall back at the office. I remember when I led my first landscaping crews. I wore a pager and our trucks had radios in them to call back to the office. If you did something wrong, anyone with one of the radios got to hear your boss tear into you for making a mistake. It definitely made the end of the day gathering at the shop more interesting as your peers had their fun at your expense. I don’t miss those days.

The subject of most of our management team meetings is discussing how to do more with less. This has become a very common theme in many types of businesses throughout the economically challenged world in which we live. The best tool we have to aid in that is technology. We can do everything faster. Armed with what I call my “Mobile Office”, I can take with me the same things that used to only be accessible at the main office. For example, I recall an instance last season where a client was upset that his plant material had died. The salesperson knew I was in the area and could quickly evaluate the issue. He emailed me a pdf of the landscape plan which I viewed on my I-phone. I identified the replacements and sent pictures to our buyer. The plants were fortunately readily available and installed within hours of the initial request. This turned a potentially upset client into one who spoke highly of the speed and reaction of our company and would pass along kind words to any friend or neighbor in need of landscaping. Relationship saved.

Though only one of many examples where fast access to information has improved our ability to conduct business, it is one that I remember well. I can also view satellite images of properties with team-members and define boundaries in many instances without the cumbersome and slow property walk-through. Another advantage the onla.org

next generation has access to is 3-D design technology.

Potential customers are constantly wowed and impressed by seeing what their property can look like if they choose to proceed with their project. With use of a tablet, you can stand in front of their home and walk them through a virtual model of what could be. This is an extremely powerful sales tool.

Increasing revenue through sales, improving margins, maintaining and enhancing relationships and minimizing costs are just some of the business principles made easier to achieve through access to technology and information collecting and sharing. The next generation has a definite advantage with their knowledge and familiarity of these technologies. B John Loos, Master OCNT ONLA Next Gen Committee johnloos@greenscapes.net

• Perennials • Herbs • Ornamental Grasses • Hardy Ferns

• Edibles • Stepables® • Peonies • Annuals • Vines

Premium Quality Container Plants

Millcreek Gardens LLC

15088 Smart Cole Road • Ostrander OH 43061 P (800) 948-1234 • F (877) 964-6446 www.mgohio.com • sales@mgohio.com

June 2013 45

SAFETY FIRST

Don’t Let Safety Training Go On Summer Vacation

The busy season is upon landscape contractors as they finish installation of new backyard living spaces or go about the business of mowing, trimming, pruning and edging existing landscapes to keep them looking in top shape.

is to inspect and clear the area for any debris. Additionally, be sure that the edger’s debris deflector is in place to prevent debris from being thrown and potentially harming someone.

While the hours are long for crews and crew leaders, this isn’t the time to let your safety training efforts get put on the shelf.

Yes, time is tight during the busy spring and summer seasons but one untimely accident can ruin summer fun faster than a New York minute.

Spring and summer means heavy mower usage and wear and tear on blades. When the mower is off check for bent or cracked blades; these could come apart during operation and cause damage or injury.

Mower Maintenance

Blower Operation

Managers can include safety reminders in their daily or weekly “tailgate” crew meetings before everyone heads out to the various job sites around town. Topics crew managers may want to include in their summer “tailgate” sessions are:

Blowers rarely need to be run at full throttle in residential areas unless you are blowing large piles of leaves. Pay close attention to parked cars and landscape features and don’t blow grass clippings or hard objects that can cause damage toward them.

Edger Safety

LS Training Systems ONLA Service Provider

An important tip before cutting

ONLA Classified Advertising: onla.org

The online classified service can be found on onla.org along with the complete postings. New ads will be added as soon as they are submitted to the ONLA. For more information, please contact the ONLA office at (614) 899-1195. The ONLA reserves the right to refuse ads. As we go to press, here are the ads posted on onla.org’s online Classified Section:

Help Wanted • Independent Sales Representative/ Distributors Paygro- Division of Garick, Charleston, Ohio • Landscape Commercial Project Manager/ Estimator

46 The Buckeye

Vizmeg Landscape, Stow, Ohio • Landscape Designer Wilson Landscape Associates, Columbus, Ohio • Market Research Analyst (PT or FT)

Garick, LLC, Cleveland, Ohio • Nursery Annual Grower Natorp’s Inc., Mason, Ohio • Nursery Container Grower Manager Natorp’s Inc., Mason, Ohio

Advertisers’ Index Acorn Farms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IBC acornfarms.com Boulders Direct. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 330.324.5336 Buckeye Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 buckeyeresources.com Decker’s Nursery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 deckersnursery.com Ernst Seeds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 ernstseed.com Grayhawk Greenhouse Supply. . . . . . . . . . . . 10 grayhawkgreenhousesupply.com JRM Chemical Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 soilmoist.com Klyn Nurseries, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 klynnurseries.com Medina Sod Farms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 medinasodfarms.com Miami Nursery Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 miaminurserycompany.com Millcreek Gardens, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 mgohio.com Netafim. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 netafimusa.com NurseryStockSelect.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 nurserystockselect.com Oberfield’s LLC .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 oberfields.com Ohio Mulch Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 ohiomulch.com ONLA Education. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Annuals Trial Open House. . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Diagnostic Walkabouts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 NGLCO/ONLA Summer Bus Tour. . . . . . . 25 Stormwater Management Training. . . . . 36 Webinar Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 ONLA Member Benefits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 onla.org ONLA Publications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OBC onla.org Pickens Tree Farm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 pickenstreefarm.com Pine Hall Brick. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 claypaver.com Scarff’s Nursery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 scarffs.com Spring Meadow Nursery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 colorchoiceplants.com Unilock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IFC unilock.com

Ad Rates & Info Contact Jennifer Gray 614.899.1195 jennifergray@onla.org

FIELDS OF JOY Field & Container Grown Trees: Shade, Ornamental, Evergreen and Specimens Field & Container Grown Shrubs: Deciduous and Evergreen

Perennials & Grasses Roses, Vines & Groundcovers Annuals & Seasonal Plants Complete Hardgoods Line Weekly Specials & Discounts

Acorn Farms offers you unmatched quality. Diverse selection.

Knowledgeable sales assistance. Volume discounts.

Convenient pick up location. Timely delivery.

Comprehensive Website

We keep you happy, your customers will be happy with you.

Flatbed or Shelved Delivery

See how easy it is to get more joy from your job. Visit us at Acorn Farms.

7679 Worthington Rd Galena, Ohio 43021 614.891.9348 800.340.9348 ďż˝

ďż˝

w w w. a c o r n f a r m s . c o m

Get Customers dreaming about their outdoor living spaces! full color catalogs and indexed “how-to-garden” encyclopedia: • RESELL IN YOUR STORE • SUPPLEMENT YOUR CATALOG • LEAVE BEHIND WITH A PROPOSAL • STAFF TRAINING features: space on the cover to promote your brand, available in small quantities, beautiful images to inspire customers and assist staff

Visit onla.org or call 614.899.1195 to order

Choose the ONLA publication that sells the beauty of outdoor living!