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Montana Nursery & Landscape Assn. P.O. Box 20353 • Billings, MT 59104 p 406.755.3079 • f 406.633.2032 www.plantingmontana.com
Non-Profit U.S. Postage PAID Permit #1 Billings, MT
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How to Keep your Business OSHA Compliant
Fall Tour in Review
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MONTANA NURSERY & LANDSCAPE ASSOCIATION
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MNLA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
HOW TO KEEP YOUR BUSINESS OSHA COMPLIANT BILLINGS HOSTS SALUTING BRANCHES EVENT
FALL TOUR IN REVIEW
TREES AND SHRUBS: A GUIDE FOR MONTANA LANDSCAPING NOTES FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR IN THE BOARDROOM WELCOME TO NEW MEMBERS
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LATE FEES AND WASPS OF UNUSUAL SIZE SUPPORTING COMMUNITY BEAUTIFICATION
MNLA MAILING ADDRESS
MEMBERS CORNER
REDUCING WINTER-RELATED INJURY IN LANDSCAPE TREES BEST OF MONTANA LANDSCAPE COMPETITION NEWS FROM THE BILLINGS CHAPTER MONTANA GREEN EXPO KEYNOTE SPEAKER ANNOUNCED
MONTANA GREEN EXPO NORTHERN ROCKIES TREE SCHOOL CALENDAR OF EVENTS WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST CERTIFIED PLANT PROFESSIONAL GREENIUS CUSTOM COURSES FOR MNLA MEMBERS
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P.O. Box 20353 • Billings, MT 59104 406.755.3079 • www.plantingmontana.com DISCLAIMER: The statements and opinions expressed herein are those of the 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 advertisements, or their identification as members of the MNLA does not constitute an endorsement of their products or featured services. REPRINT PERMISSION: Reprints of original articles may be granted upon request. Contact info@plantingmontana.com with requests.
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2023 MNLA BOARD PRESIDENT
Matt Watts MFW Landscape Missoula, MT
1st VICE PRESIDENT Peter Hiel Gardenwerks Helena, MT
2nd VICE PRESIDENT James Hoiland Greenup Lawn Landscape & Sprinklers Great Falls, MT
INDEX TO ADVERTISERS 2M Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
3rd VICE PRESIDENT John Spray John Spray Landscapes Billings, MT
AgWest Farm Credit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Belgard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Bron & Sons Nursery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Central Landscape Supply. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Crestwood Growers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Ditch Witch West. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Four Seasons Nursery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
MEMBER-AT-LARGE Joe Sansone Oldcastle Polson, MT
PAST PRESIDENT Matt Watts MFW Landscape Missoula, MT
Glacier Nursery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Hash Tree Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Hunter Industries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Lundeby Evergreens & Mfg.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 OBC Northwest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Rain Bird . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Spring Meadow Nursery/Proven Winners Color Choice. . . . 30 Tractor & Equipment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Valley Landscape Supply. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Vermeer Mountain West. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Western States Equipment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 3
SECRETARY
Pat Appleby Compost Happens Gardening Florence, MT
EDUCATION COMMITTEE CHAIR Kristi Browning, CPP Cashman Nursery Bozeman, MT
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Gina Albaugh MNLA Billings, MT
the Leaflet - FALL 2023
How to Keep Your Landscaping Business OSHA Compliant By: Landscape Management Network
Staying on top of regulatory requirements can be incredibly time consuming and even stressful. It’s tough to keep track of changes as they happen and all too easy to overlook a requirement, leaving your people at risk for injury and your business susceptible to pricey penalties for violations.
The Most Common OSHA Violations
It’s important to protect your business and your people and we want to help, so we’ve compiled some tips to help you stay OSHA compliant and at the ready for your next OSHA visit.
There are six types of OSHA violations, including:
Failing to comply with OSHA regulations could result in hefty fines and even jail time. It could also damage and diminish your crew’s trust (who wants to work for a business owner who doesn’t value their safety?) and cost your business its reputation. • De Minimis - a technical violation of OSHA rules that have no direct impact on health or safety • Other-than-Serious - a violation of OSHA rules that would not usually cause death or serious injury • Serious - a violation that recognizes when an employer knows of or should know of a situation that has a definite chance of causing serious injury or death, but does not remedy it • Willful - intentional violations of OSHA rules or situations that show disregard for employee health and safety • Repeated - if an employer is cited for a particular violation, and a subsequent inspection reveals another identical or very similar violation • Failure to Abate - if the employer does not remedy a situation he was fined for on or before the specified date
A Refresher: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Overview for Landscapers First things first, let’s look at the ins and outs of OSHA standards for landscapers. Knowing the basics of compliance and understanding the significance makes the whole process a little easier to wrangle. As a regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor, OSHA’s aim is to protect people by ensuring they have a safe workplace environment and receive the proper training so they can safely do their jobs. It’s your responsibility, as a landscaping business owner, to follow their requirements and guidelines so you can protect your people and your profits.
Earlier this year, OSHA announced an increase in penalties for violations. The penalties are anything but insignificant; for instance, maximum penalties for serious and other-thanserious violations are now $15,625 per violation and the max for willful or repeated violations is more than $156,000 per violation.
Some OSHA requirements for landscaping businesses are part of general industry OSHA standards, such as the availability and proper use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), handling of materials, including toxic and hazardous substances and first aid; and others related to the construction industry, including mechanized equipment, scaffolding and excavation.
While no landscaping company owner wants to take a financial hit from a violation and most do everything they can to protect their people, violations happen. Being aware of them can help you identify and address safety gaps that might exist in your landscaping business.
On top of those requirements, there are OSHA requirements that specifically address risks inherent to landscaping and horticulture, including exposure to chemicals, machinery, lifting, noise, and weather. The landscaping alliance, Professional Landcare Network (PLANET), works with OSHA to provide landscaping businesses with information and guidance to help avoid risks, including material handling, motor vehicle crashes and slips and trips. MONTANA NURSERY & LANDSCAPE ASSOCIATION
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10 Most Common OSHA Violations in Landscaping and Horticultural Services
comprehensive safety program that readily evolves with your business. Evaluate your facilities and jobs sites regularly, conduct exposure testing and address workplace hazards as they are identified, not once they’ve become a problem. Make it a regular practice to inform employees of potential hazards via training and information sheets, and enforce safety mandates, including the latest COVID-19 mandates. And, it almost goes without saying, keep a well-stocked first aid kit on hand in and in vehicles. • Keep detailed records of all workplace injuries and illnesses - In addition to requiring you to display the OSHA poster and have a written safety plan for employees, OSHA requires employers with more than 10 employees to keep a record of serious work-related injuries and illnesses. This helps identify safety risks so they can be corrected and can lead to a safer workplace with fewer incidents. For more details on record keeping and reporting requirements, see: https://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/. • Maintain your equipment - We don’t have to tell you that broken or neglected equipment is a costly problem for landscape businesses. Our research shows that up to 6% of a landscaping company’s revenue is spent repairing and replacing broken equipment. That equipment is also a safety hazard. It can be addressed by scheduling regular maintenance for your tools and equipment, building replacement costs into your budget, and making sure crews know how to properly use the tools they depend on to do their job. • Conduct regular employee training - OSHA has specific requirements for training and offers resources to help you identify and provide your employees with safety training. Training should target everyone within your company, including the owner, crew leaders and supervisors, and workers. It should provide the knowledge and skills needed to do their work safely, awareness and understanding of workplace hazards and how to identify, report, and control them, and specialized training for working with unique hazards, such as pesticides and tree trimming equipment. • Record Keeping - OSHA online states, “It is a good idea to keep a record of all safety and health training. Documentation can also supply an answer to one of the first questions an incident investigator will ask, ‘Did the employee receive adequate training to do the job?’” Ongoing training can be time consuming to manage, especially in industries like landscaping where there’s high turnover. Relying on an online platform will save you time and hassle, providing a convenient, easy-to-use way to manage your crew’s learning and keep accurate records of
• Vehicle-Mounted Elevating and Rotating Work Platforms (Aerial lifts) • PPE • Eye and Face Protection • Hazard Communication • Head Protection • General Duty • Electrical Work Practices • Machine Guarding • Respiratory Protection • Crawler locomotive and truck cranes
Tips for Staying Safe and OSHA Compliant Compliance isn’t a one-and-done job for landscaping company owners. Workplaces, equipment, and processes change, as do OSHA requirements. Another continually evolving factor in compliance is your workforce. As new hires come onboard, risk is elevated. In fact, research shows that 40 percent of workers who are injured have been on the job less than a year, one of every eight workplace injuries occurs to employees on their first day, and new hires are five times as likely to be injured on the job as experienced workers. Those scary facts shed light on the importance of ensuring that employees—including newbies all the way through to those with decades of experience under their belt— are aware of safety mandates, have access to, know how to use and actually use the required PPE, and are properly trained to safely do their jobs. Here are some tips for running a compliant, safetyminded business: • Stay abreast of OSHA standards - Compliance requirements and the handling of them can change often, and not on any particular schedule. In fact, the pandemic added several new mandates and just this year OSHA made changes to hold employers to greater accountability for safety in the workplace. Since landscaping falls within more than one OSHA industry segment (general industry, construction and some specific to landscaping and horticulture), be extra mindful of knowing what’s required and what’s applicable to your business. Some businesses assign a safety manager to keep tabs on regulations and lead ongoing compliance efforts. • Commit to operating a safe workplace and job sites - Safety should be your #1 priority. Build a 5
the Leaflet - FALL 2023
completed training and test scores. You can assign courses, set due dates and receive notifications when a crew member hasn’t completed a course by the due date. You can also require that job applicants complete certain courses prior to being hired.
OSHA Site Visit Tips for Landscapers You don’t know when OSHA investigators will come knocking at your door or popping by a job site for an on-site OSHA safety inspection, but you can count on them coming. The best way to ensure a successful visit is to ensure your crew is always at the ready. Following the compliance tips above will help increase your safety awareness and aptitude and ensure that you’re operating safely and with your employees’ health and wellbeing top of mind. Here are some additional tips to make the most of the inspection process and learn from its findings: • Make sure your crew knows what to do when an inspector shows up. Remind them to be polite, professional and show a willingness to help. • Assign a crew leader to serve as a point person for the inspection. • Provide the inspector with PPE to ensure his or her safety during the process. • After the inspection, hold a company-wide meeting to discuss the findings and plans for future inspections. It’s smart to schedule mock OSHA inspections so employees are reminded of what inspectors are evaluating and how they can accommodate the inspection process. • Needless to say, immediately address any violations and make prompt corrections to ensure that your people and your business are safe.
Did you know that you can also get help complying with OSHA regulations by contacting your regional OSHA office or by visiting the OSHA Web site?
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Billings Hosts Saluting Branches Event We were honored to take part in the largest one-day event in the tree industry! The 9th Annual Saluting Branches was held around the nation on September 20th, as a day of service to honor Veterans through tree care. This year was the first time there has been a Saluting Branches site in every single state across the United States. What a testament to the importance of this cause! It was the inaugural year for the Billings site, where we saw many area businesses and community members volunteer their time, products, and expertise to make a difference at Mountview Cemetery. We were humbled to be part of this event, and are already planning to participate again next year! Special thanks to MNLA member, CM Tree Service, for being a driving force behind bringing this event to Billings, and to all the Billings-area tree care experts who contributed:
Billings Construction Supply Billings Parks and Recreation Canyon Creek Nursery CM Tree Service CW Designs Global Machinery Good Earth Works Kraft Stump Grinding Make Like a Tree: Professional Tree Care Meadow Green Sales On the Grind Services River Ridge Landscape Co. Vermeer Mountain West Yellowstone Arboretum Yellowstone Valley Tree Surgeons
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the Leaflet - FALL 2023
Artificial Turf – Worth a Second Look? By: James Hoiland, MNLA 2nd Vice President
Shade Isn’t An Issue
2023 has brought some interesting new requests of products for our area. One that really comes to mind that I wanted to share is artificial turf. The interest in having such a background in the turf world is interesting, to say the least, in our area of the country. One would think that this product is only good for the southern climates or those areas with water shortages. The cost is extreme compared to traditional sod for sure, and with the short growing season that we have, does it make sense? I went and researched this for myself so I have answers for some of the customers that have been requesting if for some projects. This is what I have found:
Where natural grass can fade and die in shaded areas, artificial turf requires no direct sunlight. Synthetic turf works well in shade because it will maintain its color and size with or without sunlight and water. This is definitely a something that most of us do battle with blue grass! Safe for Children and Pets One of the benefits of artificial turf is that many brands contain an anti-bacterial that helps to prevent the spreads of germs and bacteria. Children and pets can play on artificial turf without fear of being exposed to harmful pesticides, fertilizers or other toxic chemicals used in maintaining a natural grass lawn.
The benefits of artificial turf begin to stand out when you compare it to natural grass. In areas like Southern California, Arizona, and Texas where drought conditions are common, homeowners are discovering that artificial turf allows them to maintain a beautiful lawn without fear of violating water restrictions or the landscaping guidelines of their local Homeowners Association. No Maintenance? The fact that it requires no maintenance is often overstated. Regardless of how many times it is said, minimal maintenance is one of the key benefits of artificial turf. Time that would normally be spent for lawn care can now be used for family activities or relaxation. No Grass Stains Children can play as hard as they want on artificial turf and not get unsightly grass or mud stains on their clothing or their shoes. Sliding across natural grass normally results in long green or brown streaks that are extremely hard to get out. This doesn’t happen with artificial turf. The one thing I do want to add to this, though: it is a much hotter surface for the kids to play on. It may not produce stains on their clothes, but it can cause a rug burn action to the clothes and skin. No Bare Spots or Ruts In natural grass, high volumes of foot traffic can lead to pathways, ruts, or bare spots in lawns and gardens. Artificial turf is extremely resilient and resists the constant pressure of being walked on. The blades of the turf will bounce back and remain upright as long as the filler is in place. MONTANA NURSERY & LANDSCAPE ASSOCIATION
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Doesn’t Need Fertilizers
Cost Effective
Because it doesn’t grow or spread, artificial turf is beautiful and vibrant without being fertilized on a regular basis. Turf will remain lush, green and toxin free. Is this totally true for the longevity of the product?
One of the most prominent benefits of artificial turf is its long-lasting value and cost effectiveness. While it seems expense at first, it is actually an investment that can improve the value of your home for several years. Dividing the cost of the turf and its installation over the years it will remain in place, and taking into consideration the minimal amount of money and time spent on maintenance, the turf will pay for itself in a few short years.
Great for Recreational Areas Artificial turf is ideal for recreational areas like bocce ball courts, tennis courts, putting greens and patio surfaces. It withstands high volumes of foot traffic and is highly resistant to wear and tear. It is also easy to cut and shape, allowing it to be used in oddlyshaped areas or in a variety of patterns.
All of these benefits do sound good for the right situation for some projects, although I am still not convinced that it is the right thing for the total environment aspect. It does hold the heat, and the surface will normally be much warmer than even a concrete surface; it does not use up any of the environment carbons, nor produce any beneficial oxygen for the environment; and definitely does not add the cooling effects that natural turf does. Things to consider for sure when asked to install for a customer.
Drought Resistant The only water an artificial turf lawn requires is to be rinsed occasionally to prevent odors and a build-up of dust. Otherwise, synthetic turf needs no water and is ideal for areas in which drought conditions can be severe. The lack of rain and other forms of precipitation can lead to water restrictions and strict penalties for homeowners who violate them.
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the Leaflet - FALL 2023
Fall Tour in Review
Gina Albaugh, MNLA Executive Director
It was nice to see everyone in Great Falls for the Fall Tour! James Hoiland and the whole Greenup Lawn, Landscape & Sprinklers crew made sure Fall Tour guests had a great time from start to finish. We kicked it off with a Welcome Dinner at James’ place, where there were several vendors on-site with equipment to demo. There were excavators, skid steers, front loaders, and surveying equipment to test out. There was a string of people waiting to climb in and try out some of the newest technology in the field! After a little fun driving equipment, we settled down on the patio for a delicious homecooked meal, and checked out a silent auction put on by the Montana Native Plant Society’s Kelsey Chapter.
The next morning met us with sunshine and breakfast at Rocky Mountain Hardscapes. We had a chance to mix and mingle out on their beautiful patio and get a glimpse of what they do. They offer the largest selection of hardscape products in central Montana, and specialize in installing everything MONTANA NURSERY & LANDSCAPE ASSOCIATION
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for outdoor living; from walkways and driveways to retaining walls, outdoor kitchens, and pergolas. Thanks to 2M Company for providing tasty breakfast burritos for our group! Next up, we toured a few residential landscapes by Greenup and Tilleraas Nursery, located overlooking the Missouri River. The sites were both technical installs, with steep grading and retaining walls a major factor in the designs. A layer of bedrock that was close to the surface added another dimension of difficulty to planting anything on the site! But, at least for the homeowners, it was all worth the river views. We visited the Missouri River Courthouse as our next stop, which was a full-circle moment for those of you who have been on the tour many years in a row. The landscape was originally installed by Forde
Nursery, and was included on the Fall Tour the last time the tour was in Great Falls. The first time around, tour attendees heard about the landscape install. This year, we visited the site as a maintenance project, where Dr. Lawn Landscape Management showed us how they keep the grounds looking so nice – and even gave us a peek inside their maintenance trailer to show us how it’s set up! After a few more residential landscape sites, we took a break for lunch at Tilleraas Nursery
(thank you to Midland Implement for sponsoring our lunch break!), and toured their grounds. They were gearing up for their pumpkin patch – an undertaking that has helped extend their season and become a part of family traditions for the Great Falls community; each year, Tilleraas sets up a pumpkin patch and maze, offers hayrides and scarecrow stuffing, and decorates with elaborate haybales and landscape drainpipe spiders! After lunch break, we headed out to a residential landscape that was a collaboration between
Rocky Mountain Hardscapes, Greenup, and Ron Hall Sprinklers. This site has a very steep slope in the backyard which made most of the yard un-usable for the homeowner. To tackle the problem, an elaborate retaining wall, fire pit, and patio were installed to level out the site. An entertainment area and pergola, with built-in fireplace, were also installed to extend “patio season” for the homeowners.
Our next stop was truly impressive, as Steve Jonas of Jonas Sprinklers gave us a tour of Centene Stadium, home of the Voyagers minor
league baseball team. First, we enjoyed some peanuts and beverages (thank you to Steve for providing these!) while hearing about the history of the stadium, and looking at pictures of the site that showed the step-by-step field re-vamp. The entire baseball field was re-constructed, including precise grading to meet league standards and installation of elaborate drainage systems. We learned about the type of sand that is used on the baseball diamond, heard from 11
Forde Nursery on the challenges of installing sod on the field, and learned about the finesse required by the Jonas Sprinklers team to maintain the field and keep it bouncing back from the 38 home games each season, and outdoor concerts and parties that are held on the field. It’s a daunting task, but one that Jonas performs every week to keep the field in peak condition. The final tour stop was the new Aquatic and Recreation Center, a project that has been in the works for the past 3 years. In September of 2020, in conjunction with Malstrom Air Force Base, the City of Great Falls was awarded a 10-million-dollar Department of Defense Community Infrastructure Program grant to fund the new recreation center. The sprawling facility is currently under construction, with an estimated completion of Spring 2024. When complete, the facility will feature an indoor pool, tennis courts, splash pad, outdoor pavilion, and will serve as a hub for numerous community activities. As this was our last stop, we finished it off with a fun drawing for door prizes. Thank you for everyone who attended, and to the wonderful tour hosts and sponsors that made this year’s Fall Tour so much fun! If you’ve never attended the tour before, I encourage you to do so – there are so many tips and tricks we can learn from each other; it’s truly one of my favorite events we put on. Mark your calendars – we’re headed to Missoula next year!
the Leaflet - FALL 2023
Trees and Shrubs: A Guide for Montana Landscaping By: Gina Albaugh, MNLA Executive Director
We are excited to debut our new plant catalog: Trees and Shrubs, A Guide for Montana Landscaping. You might recall hearing us talk about this project; it was funded by a grant from the Montana Department of Agriculture, and has been in the works for the last 3 years. We’re excited to share that the project is done! Thank you to all the MNLA Members who have contributed to this project along the way, including Glacier Nursery, Blake Nursery, Canyon Creek Nursery, and especially to Emily Talago and Kristi Browning of Cashman Nursery, who spent countless hours bringing this project to life. This project began as a need to fill the demand for a plant catalog that showcased trees and shrubs that are grown in Montana, with their Montana-specific growth traits. Our goal is to provide you with a resource you can direct your customers to; a lookbook of the trees and shrubs that are successful in Montana, to help guide customers toward choosing plants that will be successful. The project has two components: an online, searchable, plant database: www.plantsomethingmontana.org/catalog, and a print catalog. We are excited to announce that all MNLA members have the option to receive a limited number of copies of the print catalog at no cost. Thank you to the members who have volunteered to act as a distribution point for the catalogs. We will also be sending each of you spiral-bound versions of the catalog for a more durable version you can take with you to jobsites or keep on your work desk. We will be sending you instructions on where to pick up copies of the print catalog in your area. Thank you again to all who contributed to this project!
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Note from the Executive Director
Gina Albaugh, MNLA Executive Director
Hello MNLA Members! It has been a busy few months since our last Leaflet. We had several fun events throughout the Summer and Fall. Special thanks to everyone who joined us for our Golf Tournament in Billings (this was our 10th year!), and to all the Great Fallsarea members who rolled out the welcome mat and put on an awesome Fall Tour. James Hoiland and the crew at Greenup did a great job showcasing the good things that are happening in Great Falls. Be sure to take a look at the Fall Tour recap in this Leaflet to see some of the cool things we saw. As I write this, the weather has taken a steep turn towards winter, which seems fitting since we are hard at work planning the next Montana Green Expo. This year, we are excited to announce we will also be bringing the Northern Rockies Tree School back! The event will be hosted alongside the Expo. The best news? Your Expo registration also gives you access to all the seminars at the Tree School – you can hop between tracks to take any of the courses you want! Mark your calendars for January 3-5, 2024 in Billings, MT. Another reminder to put on your calendar: the Container Planting Contest and Best of Montana Landscape Competition deadline is November 15th. Look for the flyer in this Leaflet for details
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on eligibility and submission requirements. We can’t wait to celebrate the work you do! We also have a position opening up on our Board of Directors. The 3rd Vice President position will be opening in January, with a new Board member elected during our Annual Meeting at the Expo. Do you have someone that wants to make a difference in the Association? Nominate them! The contact info for all our current Board members is in the front of this Leaflet; they can be a great resource for questions about Board service. Nominations are due by December 1st. I hope to see many of you at the Montana Green Expo! As always, contact me with any thoughts, questions, or ideas: 406-755-3079, or gina@plantingmontana.com. Gina Albaugh MNLA Executive Director
In The Board Room June 2023 Spring recess – no meeting.
stops planned to include as many Great Falls-area members as possible. The Billings Chapter reported that the 10th Annual Golf Tournament was another successful event. Plans to hold a Saluting Branches event in Billings in September are shaping up.
July 2023 President Matt Watts called the Zoom meeting to order with Michael Butts, new Nursery Production and Program Manager from the DNRC Conservation Seedling Nursery in Missoula joining the meeting. Michael introduced himself and reviewed the Nursery’s history and mission and noted updates at their website: https:// dnrc.mt.gov/forestry/Conservation-Nursery, and proposed changes for minimum ordering quantities. Applications for the Community Beautification Fund were reviewed, with motion to award the Yellowstone Arboretum, Rocky Mountain Gardens, and Roundup Welcome Plaza. A progress report was given on the Specialty Crop Block Grant print catalog and website, www.plantsomethingmontana. org. Grant closes on September 29th, with all work to be completed by then. Discussion followed on holding the Northern Rockies Tree School (NRTS) as part of the Montana Green Expo conference, with plans to notify past NRTS attendees that the conference will be held in January. The Billings Chapter reported that over 100 people had attended the Family Fun baseball night, and they are making plans to spearhead a 2024 golf tournament in Bozeman.
September 2023 President Matt Watts called the in person meeting to order. Financial reports were reviewed, noting we need to fundraise to replenish the scholarship account; all board members agreed to contribute items for the silent auction at Expo. Membership numbers were discussed, with renewals following average numbers, and plans made to do a membership drive ahead of Expo and the Tree School conference. The Fall Tour itinerary was discussed, with special thanks to Tilleraas Nursery for hosting the CPP Exam. There were 3 exam participants at the Fall Tour. Last-minute details for the Specialty Crop Block Grant catalog are being put in place, with distribution to members to occur this Fall. Mike Garvey gave an overview of speakers and schedule he would like to follow for the Northern Rockies Tree School at Expo. Due to the change in Expo dates this year, Belgard will not be hosting the ICPI training at the conference.
WELCOME
August 2023 President Matt Watts called the zoom meeting to order. Frank Etzler reported that Japanese beetle has now been found in the west side of Billings and was reported to Department of Ag. This is outside of the known population in Billings Heights around Lake Elmo. The Billings area internal quarantine zone is very out of date and will likely be updated. MDA has multiple monitoring traps around the area at nurseries and turf grower locations. Seems like trapped populations a bit lower this year than last year. The biggest factor in the life cycle is how moist it is when they lay eggs in July and August. They burrow down in the soil for the winter. Public education about Japanese beetle has been out there but not a lot of response from the public or City of Billings. James led discussion on the Fall Tour, with plans to have an equipment demo at the Welcome Dinner, with tour
TO OUR NEWEST MNLA MEMBERS! WADE DOOLEY, ARBOR MEDIC BOZEMAN, MT GARRETT KUEBER, CASHMAN NURSERY BOZEMAN, MT ISAAC REIMER, BILLINGS NURSERY & LANDSCAPING BILLINGS, MT TIM SCHNEIDER, K-RAIN MANUFACTURING RIVIERA BEACH, FL JERROD SCOTT, RAIN BIRD CHEYENNE, WY 15
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Late Fees and Wasps of Unusual Size By: Frank Etzler, Natural Resource Section Supervisor
month starts, that is when the late fee kicks in. It is also best to keep the contact information in eStop up to date so that you’ll never miss a reminder.
Late fees can be a headache for any individual or business owner. These can also quickly add up over time. In Fiscal Year 2023 (July 2022 to June 2023), the Montana Department of Agriculture Nursery Program collected the largest amount in late fees at around $4,500, over $1,000 more than the previous year. At a $25 late fee penalty per location, that’s a lot of late fees!
Ideally, we’ll see the late fees in Fiscal Year 2024 go down. Invest that potential $25 late fee in yourself or your business instead of sending it our way! Insect spot-light: the yellow-legged hornet A new, invasive hornet has made the news: Vespa velutina, the yellow-legged hornet (Fig.1). This hornet is native to tropical and sub-tropical Asia and was recently discovered in Georgia. The main concern with this hornet is that it is a predator of honeybees and native pollinators. It can be distinguished from similarly-sized native wasps and
This is a friendly reminder that it’s best to renew on time to avoid these late fee penalties. The eStop program will automatically send out renewal notices when it is time to reapply for your nursery license. You will have until the last business day of the month that your renewal is due to renew. Once the new
Fig. 1: Vespa velutina, the yellowlegged hornet. Photo: Allan SmithPardo, Invasive Hornets, USDA APHIS PPQ, Bugwood.org.
Fig. 2. Left to right: Eastern Cicada-killer Wasp, Northern Giant Hornet, Pidgeon Horntail. Photo: Hanna Royals, Museum Collections: Hymenoptera, USDA APHIS PPQ, Bugwood.org.
hornets by the lack of a striped abdomen and the bright yellow legs. Luckily, it is unlikely that this hornet will become established in Montana, but it is still good to keep an eye out for it. Another infamous wasp is the Northern Giant Hornet, often called the “Murder Hornet” (Fig.2, center). This hornet is native to eastern Asia, and the main concern about its presence in the USA was that it is a honeybee predator. Nests were tracked down and destroyed in 2021, and no further sightings have been reported, suggesting that the Northern Giant Hornet was successfully eradicated from the US.
However, there are some large native wasps that are often confused for the Northern Giant Hornet. In the Yellowstone River Valley in mid-summer, the Eastern Cicada-killer wasp (Fig.2 left) can be found flying around. This native wasp is a solitary wasp, meaning it doesn’t live in a hive like yellow-jackets or honeybees. Instead, it creates a burrow in bare patches of ground. It hunts cicadas, which gives the wasp its common name. A similar species is found west of the continental divide, but the black areas are reddish-brown.
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Another wasp that is often confused with the Northern Giant Hornet is Tremex columba, the Pidgeon Horntail (Fig.2, right). The Pidgeon Horntail lays eggs in deciduous trees, such as Ash or Cottonwood. It does so by using its ovipositor to saw into the wood, which gives these insects the name ‘sawflies’. This wasp is most active in our area from late August through September and found all along the eastern front of the Rocky Mountains. If you see a wasp of unusual size and are unsure about it, please feel free to send a photograph of the suspect to me at: frank. etzler@mt.gov. the Leaflet - FALL 2023
Supporting Community Beautification By: Gina Albaugh, MNLA Executive Director
We are excited to announce that the MNLA was able to support more of your Community Beautification projects! This year, we were able to award Community Beautification grants to three wonderful community projects. The Missoula Co. Extension’s Rocky Mountain Gardens project is currently underway (you may recall reading about it in the Summer Leaflet earlier this year), with a slated completion date of Spring 2024. This project is designed as a public demonstration space that serves as a hub for inspiration, education, and innovation. The 2.5-acre gardens showcase the range of plants that can be grown in our region as well as the best practices for growing in a changing world. The garden is located in Missoula, MT. Roundup Community Partners has undertaken a Welcome Plaza Project for their community. The vision for town’s first Welcome Plaza and Visitor Information Kiosk has been to introduce visitors to the community and engage them in the local economy, all while telling Roundup’s authentic story. The community has rallied around the project, with donations from local artists, contractors, and various grant programs, including landscaping installed by MNLA Member Chuck Wissenbach, of CW Designs. The project is estimated to be finished in the Fall of 2023, and is located in Roundup, MT. The Yellowstone Arboretum at Zoo Montana was once again selected as a recipient for their North American Conifer Garden enhancement project. This project was started in 2021 with funding from the MNLA Community Beautification Fund, and was designed to expose the public to a wide choice of conifer specimens that will thrive in our Montana climate, with signage and future growth plans aimed at expanding retail choices for the public from nurseries in the state. The garden is housed at ZooMontana in Billings, MT, which sees 170,000+ visitors each year. We are thrilled to support these communityenhancement projects, and thank all of you who supported our fundraising efforts for this program at the silent auction during the Montana Green Expo!
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How To Be A Leader Employees Don’t Leave Cultivate Skills And Learn Traits To Make Communication Easier
Suzanne Ogle
Southern Gas Association (SGA) CEO Suzanne Ogle provides perspective on policy, legislation and current events, as well as ideation that looks at the natural gas industry holistically (instead of just from the perspective of a producer, transporter or distributor) in order to spotlight the interconnectedness of the industry. In general, Ogle seeks to expand the energy conversation and helps educate people on a realistic way to have an energy future that includes the use of natural gas as a way to lower emissions and address the energy needs of underserved populations. Article originally published on: www. themeetingmagazines. com
There are hundreds of articles written daily on traits of fantastic leaders and toxic leaders; hundreds of buzzwords abound in the media on these topics. Of course, there is also the age-old debate of whether great leaders are born or made. When it boils down to being a leader that people want to stick with and not leave, that leader has to create a compelling vision of where they are going and taking their team and communicate it in the same compelling manner. The leader needs to exhibit alignment between this vision and their values, cultivate a culture of trust and know who they are leading. Finally, this leader needs to know the people they want to follow them. Traits that are required to create and communicate this type of vision require leaders to focus on what is important to their company, their values and their team. The vision has to align with the company’s mission, the leaders values and what matters to their team. A leader has to be crystal clear on depicting this vision and communicating it in several ways to land with all members of the team. There must be a laser-like focus on where they are going and how it achieves success – for the company, the leader and their team. The leader has to ensure this vision has marked progress
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points, a beginning and an end, and can be understood by the many. A leader demonstrates their competence by aligning the vision with the mission of the company. They continually build their credibility across the organization by knowing where they are going is directly related to where the company needs to go to be successful. The alignment of the vision to the leader’s values is critical to fostering trust, authenticity and loyalty. People do not follow someone they do not trust. Trust is built when a leader demonstrates and actually lives their values visibly in their everyday interactions. A leader must be intentional in their actions and interactions with people. The focus needed for the vision requires attentiveness so that the alignment with the leader’s values is observable. How a leader handles themselves when the pressure is on requires thoughtful, deliberate action and response. A measured approach that is consistent and trust-worthy will make great strides in cultivating the culture of trust in which employees desire to belong. Finally, we all want to be seen and understood. In order for a leader to create trust with their team, they must know their team. Creating an amazing vision is empty air if it does not matter to the people that
are working to make the vision a reality. A leader must take the time to get to know their team, their desires, goals, objectives, and dreams in order to compel them to stay and work hard together for this shared vision. Demonstrating compassion builds on a leader’s credibility and enables the leader to hold team members accountable. Most teams want enough structure to know what to do and to know when they are off-course. A leader that knows their team has the capacity to keep people on track in a motivating manner; one that takes into account how joining the leader’s mission to achieve this vision also makes a difference to that team member.
Leaders can cultivate skills and learn traits to make them more equipped to communicate and articulate a great vision. One can practice communicating in a compelling manner and improve their delivery. Great leaders may not be born great, it takes being intentional, attentive to others and having the confidence to be authentic. Regardless, great leaders have to work hard and know how to be successful themselves – they must live their values – everyday, and they have to truly care about their team. They can then cultivate a place where people desire to work to fulfill the vision cast.
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Montana Nursery & Landscape Association Growing Your Future. One Seed at a Time.
Phone: 406- 755- 3079 Fax: 406- 633- 2032 Email: info@ plantingmontana.com
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Members Corner There are big changes happening for two MNLA members; Cody Connor of Columbia Nursery in Columbia Falls, MT and Walla Walla Nursery, based in Walla Walla, WA.
including seven longtime management staff and one customer. The transaction was finalized in September 2023. The new owners include Operations Manager Alex Ramos, Customer Service Manager Jo Anne Simons, Logistics Manager Dale Lauby, Production Manager Jeremy Maddess, Manager of Growing Operations Noel Ortiz, Potting Foreman Ernesto Salamanca, IS Manager Brad Wright, and retail partner Cody Connor. Transferring ownership to a group of deserving team members has been a long-time goal of Lorne. The Blackmans will retain 10% ownership for the foreseeable future. Lorne will continue as a managing partner, retaining the role of General Manager for the next few years before gradually transitioning toward full retirement.
After nearly three years of discussion and planning, Lorne and Auralea Blackman, owners of Walla Walla Nursery Company, and the WWNC management team reached agreement on transferring 90% ownership to a working team of eight individuals
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Reducing Winter-Related Injury in Landscape Trees By: Abiya Saeed, Montana State University Extension Horticulture Specialist
Montana can have harsh winter conditions that can sometimes challenge even our hardiest trees and shrubs, especially if steps aren’t taken to set them up for the best success. Last winter was especially tough on many of our landscape trees and shrubs, and we saw significant amounts of winter injury across the state.
• Make sure trees are watered sufficiently throughout the growing season, and check soil moisture regularly. Watering should continue until the ground freezes. It is especially important to keep watering newly transplanted trees and shrubs because they experience the most water-stress due to their underdeveloped root systems. Sunscald Sunscald (also referred to as southwest injury) occurs when the sun heats up the bark of trees, which can begin stimulating cell activity in the winter. As temperatures drop after the sun disappears, these active cells can be killed, which results in cracking and splitting damage in the bark. This is especially likely in younger and newly transplanted trees, heavily pruned trees, as well as dark and thinbarked trees (such as cherries, plums, crabapples, ash, linden, maples, and honey locust). This is also more common in the south and southwest direction, where sun intensity is highest.
Follow these tips to set your trees up for a more successful winter this year by allowing them to harden off and protecting them from common winter-related injuries.
• Protect susceptible trees by wrapping their bark in white tree wraps, plastic guards, or white latex paint to reflect the intense sunlight. o Remove tree wraps and plastic guards in the spring as active growth resumes, to prevent constriction and girdling. Evergreen Winter Injury
Dieback in Deciduous Trees Dieback can occur on sensitive shoots and buds during temperature extremes, and can especially be an issue in marginally hardy trees and shrubs. Floral buds are more susceptible to dieback than leaf or stem buds, which can result in a reduction or lack of flowering and fruiting in the following growing season. It can be difficult to completely prevent winter dieback, but a few steps can be taken to reduce the likelihood.
Winter injury (also referred to as winter burn and desiccation) can be an issue for evergreen trees and shrubs, especially during long and dry winters. Unlike deciduous trees and shrubs, evergreens continue to lose moisture through transpiration in the winter. When the ground is frozen, and especially during periods of low humidity, low precipitation, and high winds, these evergreens can lose more moisture than they can replenish, which results in drying out and browning of needles and leaves. Damage is most often seen on the south, southwest, and windward sides of the plant, but can sometimes affect the entire plant. Although all evergreens are susceptible, this can be especially
• Select regionally hardy trees, shrubs, and rootstock for your growing climate and make sure that they are well-taken care of and healthy going into winter. • Marginally hardy plants should be placed in more sheltered locations and, if possible, planted in groups. • Avoid fertilizing and pruning late summer and fall to reduce the amount of new tender growth going into the winter. MONTANA NURSERY & LANDSCAPE ASSOCIATION
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problematic on broadleaf evergreens due to their larger leaf surface area and subsequent potential moisture loss.
Watering trees at the base/around the trunk is not very effective, as that water is not getting to where it is needed most in the roots. Apply water around the drip-line (the area underneath the circumference of the tree branches) which is also referred to as the critical root zone. o Water slowly to encourage deeper water penetration into this root zone. • Barriers such as burlap can be used to protect especially sensitive trees and shrubs, especially if significant winter burn has been a problem in the past. • Anti-desiccation and anti-transpiration sprays can have limited success, and are not an effective replacement for properly watering your trees. For more information:
• Plant marginally hardy and highly susceptible evergreens in locations protected from high winds and intense winter sun. • Avoid late summer and fall pruning and fertilizing (which encourages new growth), because new growth is more susceptible to winter injury. • Make sure trees are watered sufficiently throughout the growing season, so they are not water-stressed going into the fall. • After letting your trees harden off by slightly reducing watering in September, make sure they receive plenty of water in the fall (October) until hard freeze. • On sunny winter days during periods of very limited or no snow cover, these evergreen trees may need occasional supplemental watering o Water trees mid-day when temperatures are above 40ºF to replenish moisture lost through transpiration. o Most tree roots are located in the top 6 to 24 inches of the soil and can extend 2-3 times past the ‘footprint’ of the tree.
Protecting Trees and Shrubs in Winter: https://extension.umn.edu/planting-and-growingguides/protecting-trees-and-shrubs-winter Fall and Winter Watering: https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/yardgarden/fall-and-winter-watering-7-211/
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News from the Billings Chapter
Jason Albaugh MNLA Billings Chapter Chair
The Billings Chapter of the MNLA just finished up our “extracurricular activities”. We normally have our meetings on the 3rd Tuesday of every month but during the summer months we have some fun networking events. These include our Family Fun Night at Dehler Park, Golf Tournament, and Field Day. It has been a busy summer of great events with great people! This year we had to switch things up a bit with our Family Fun Night with the Billings Mustangs baseball team. We usually have this event in July but with how the Mustangs
schedule laid out we ended up doing our event on June 20th. It was a little nerve wracking due to some rain showers earlier in the day, but the weather decided to cooperate shortly before the first pitch was thrown and turned out to be a beautiful night at Dehler Park. We had a good turn out even with questionable weather. I think there were still about 130 people who attended and had a wonderful time. I know my kids look forward to this event every year. We would love to MONTANA NURSERY & LANDSCAPE ASSOCIATION
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thank our sponsors for this event: Bobcat of Big Sky, Tvetene Turf, Tri State Truck & Equipment, and the Red Door Lounge. We really do appreciate these businesses’ support and we couldn’t do what we do without them. Mike Doty with Wilbur Ellis joined us for our July meeting, giving an informative talk on calculating ratios for effective applications. It was exciting to get Mike back to do another talk. I remember the last time he talked was our first Field Day quite a few years ago. After our July meeting there was no time for resting; we had to get our golf tournament ready to go. For those of you who are new to the MNLA, the Billings Chapter started as a golf tournament fundraiser for the MNLA. That evolved into being a fundraiser to help support the Billings Chapter. We raise money to support all our meetings and events for the year. With this, and the help of our sponsors, we can fund our own meetings and events. Our golf tournament was a great success this year! We took over Briarwood Country Club on a beautiful Thursday afternoon in August, for a great day of golf and a surprise visit from the US Navy’s Blue Angels flight demonstration airplanes. It’s hard to believe it, but this year was our 10th Annual Golf Tournament! We continue
to have great support from not only our sponsors, but also from our local members. We would especially like to thank our Major Sponsors for the event: Tvetene Turf, Midland Implement, 2M Co., Hunter Industries, Rain Bird, RDO Equipment, and Vermeer. We had 21 teams come out and it seemed like everybody was having a blast! I would like to send out a special thank you to some of our board members who traveled to attend this event. We had Peter Hiel come down from Helena, Pat Appleby come down from the Bitterroot Valley, Joe Sansone from the Kalispell area, as well as our local board member John Spray and of course our Executive Director Gina Albaugh. Peter was able to play on my team and I really enjoyed having him. We had a lot
of fun! Montana Tire took home the trophy for the 3rd time. Congrats Montana Tire! After the golf tournament finishes up, we start gearing up for Field Day. Field Day was held on September 21st out at River Ridge Landscape Co. We had 11 vendors come out and set up and show off their equipment and services. We had a great time, and it is always good to chat with the vendors and even try out some of the new equipment. The technology advances are impressive. We will have a couple more meetings to finish the year. We are excited that Expo will be in Billings this winter and look forward to seeing all of you who plan on attending!
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Montana Green Expo Keynote Announced We are excited to be hosting the Northern Rockies Tree School at the Montana Green Expo this year, and have worked together to bring in international speaker, Henry Kuppen of Terra Nostra, as our Keynote Speaker! Henry Kuppen is a passionate Arboricultural Consultant from the Netherlands with over 40 years of professional experience in managing trees in the urban environment. He works as Tree Ambassador at Terra Nostra, Knowledge Center for Trees and Soils. An accomplished public speaker, he shares his knowledge by giving talks and workshops to other professionals around the world. He also writes blogs that reflect his experience (www.henrykuppen.nl/en). His specializations cover: reasonable management of pest & diseases in trees, effects of climate change on trees, tree specie diversity, historical use and management of pleached trees, and lessons learned from Tree Champions of the world. He says, “Almost daily I feel inspired by the appearance of trees and the flexibility of nature. My work is characterized by looking through the eyes of an enthusiast, making
links with scientific knowledge and combining it with the capriciousness of practical experiences. This gives both professionals and tree enthusiasts an impression of how to look at trees in order to respect them more and understand them better.” Kuppen will headline the event with a Keynote on The Culture, Maintenance, and Historical Use of Ancient Pleached Trees in Western Europe. We are very excited to have Henry join us at the conference to share this fascinating process with all of you!
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Calendar of Events MONTANA GREEN EXPO January 3-5, 2024—Billings, MT NORTHERN ROCKIES TREE SCHOOL January 3-5, 2024—Billings, MT GOLF SCRAMBLE August 15, 2024—Billings, MT FALL TOUR September 12-13, 2024—Missoula, MT FIELD DEMO DAY September 19, 2024—Billings, MT
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Introducing the Newest Certified Plant Professional Join us in congratulating Garrett Kueber for successfully passing the Certified Plant Professional exam!
The Certified Plant Professional program is designed to improve the professional qualifications of those working in the horticultural industry. The exam consists of two separate segments; a plant identification portion and a written portion, and tests participants’ knowledge of both horticultural principles and practices and identification of plants that are found in our region. Candidates must be knowledgeable in a wide variety of subjects, including plant identification, soils, fertilization, turfgrass management, proper planting techniques, landscape design and more. Successfully passing the exam requires a broad knowledge of factors that affect plant health, as well as identification of an extensive variety of plant material by scientific name. Interested in becoming certified? The next exam will be offered on January 3, 2024 before the annual Montana Green Expo conference. Visit our website: www.plantingmontana.com/certification to learn more.
Kueber completed the exam during the Fall Tour testing cycle in September, and is employed at Cashman Nursery in Bozeman, MT. When learning of his achievement, Kueber told us, “I started working at Tizer Botanic Gardens and Arboretum in 2020 and found that I had a love of plants. After exploring my other academic options at MSU, I landed at Horticulture and it continued the passion I developed working at Tizer Gardens. From there I started working at Cashman Nursery and have decided to make a career out of doing something that I love.”
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