TNLA Green November/December 2018

TNLA

Green Nov/Dec 2018

18

EDUCATING CLIENTS

Business owners like Glenn Bonick are educating their Texas clients on conservation.

24

28

On Drones and Data

Cold-weather Business Ideas

Beware this Bug

Plus H-2B Updates

32

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE A

TNLA Green November/December 2018

B

TNLA Green November/December 2018

18 Cover Story:

Educating Clients

Clients say they want low-maintenance, drought-friendly landscapes, but then opt for lush lawns. Conservationists say green professionals can be the best advocates for change.

18

TNLA

Green

Nov/Dec 2018

CONTENTS 24 The Drone & Data Guy

What started as a hobby for Neil Marek has been a game changer for the nursery he manages.

32 Editor’s Letter:

Welcome to our new look.

05 T NLA Green Update:

Member volunteering, Becoming a certified pro, H-2B update, and more

14 Commentary:

Jay Williams on where our workers come from

16 Mini Feature

Creating a holiday destination

28 Biz Management:

Thriving, not just surviving, during the winter slump

30 Green Vision: Jujube, a plant with potential

32 N otes From SFA Gardens: Why you should be worried about this stink bug

34 Bugs & Fuzz:

Starting clean and staying clean to ward off disease and pests

36 TNLA Talks: For Josh Braken, TNLA runs in the family

November/December 2018 TNLA Green

1

PRESIDENT’S Letter

TNLA

Green

The official publication of the Texas Nursery & Landscape Association November/December | Vol. 21 No. 4

Directors

Chairman of the Board ... Joshua Bracken, TMCNP, Dallas Chairman-Elect ... Jay Williams, League City Immediate Past Chairman ... Bill Carson, Austin President/CEO ... Amy Graham, Austin

Board of Directors

DEAR TNLA MEMBERS, With the holidays right around the corner, I can’t think of a more appropriate time to introduce you to the new-and-improved TNLA Green. As you peruse the pages that follow, you’ll no doubt notice some welcome changes. We’ve given the magazine’s design a facelift and revamped our editorial coverage.

The result is an eye-catching, easy-to-use reference, chock-full of resources and the latest developments affecting the nursery and landscaping industries.

As always, we’re committed to bringing you the right information at the right time. That includes sharing with you updated advocacy news TNLA is tracking, highlighting member events and association benefits, shining the spotlight on the issues that matter to you most, introducing you to fellow members all over the state of Texas, and providing you with practical advice you can implement for business success.

The nursery and landscaping industries are dynamic and constantly evolving. TNLA Green strives to stay ahead of the curve while keeping you informed, engaged, and entertained.

Happy reading and happy holidays!

Amy Grah a m Amy Graham TNLA President and CEO

2

TNLA Green November/December 2018

Region I Kevin Grossberndt, Big Foot Region II ... Jim Curtice, TCLP, Houston Region III ... Herman Ray Vess, TMCNP, Edgewood Region IV ... Craig Duttarer, TCLP, Carrollton Region V ... Jackie Smith, Santo Region VI ... Steven Akers, Slaton Region VII ... Gerry Bower, Weslaco Region VIII ... Brad Seever, Austin Supplier Director ... Tim Little, Dallas Grower Director ... Kevin Norris, Coppell Landscape Director ... Scotty Rigsby, TCLP, Midlothian Retail Director ... Kristi Long, TCNP, Kerrville Director At-Large ... Adrian Muehlstein, TMCNP, Carrollton Director At-Large .... Rachelle Kemp, TCLP, TMCNP, Waco Director At-Large ... Dan Green, TCLP, San Antonio Director At-Large ... Bobby Eichholz, San Antonio

TNLA Staff

President/CEO ... Amy Graham Director of Finance ... Cheryl Staritz Directory, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs… Ryan Skrobarczyk Director, Expo Exhibits and Membership... Amy Prenger, CEM Director, TNLA & EXPO Marketing/Communications... Sarah Riggins, CEM Director, Industry Education and Certifications.

James Theiss, TCLP, TCWSP, Certified Arborist Business Development/Sales Executive... Mike Yelverton, TCNP & TCWSP Office Operations Assistant... Nancy E. Sollohub Region Support…Sara Fern Accounting Assistant... Aimee Luna Administrative Assistant, Strategic Initiatives… Debra Allen Administrative Assistant, Marketing & Communications… Ashley Pettibone Administrative Assistant, EXPO...Trevor Peevey

Magazine Staff

October Custom Publishing Editor ... Crystal Zuzek Creative Director ... Torquil Dewar Art Director ... Shelley Lai Production ... Monica Valenzuela Ad Sales ... Kristie T. Thymes TNLA Green magazine is a member service of the Texas Nursery & Landscape Association, and is published bi-monthly. Advertising information is available from TNLA, 7730 South IH 35, Austin, Texas 78745, online at www.tnlaonline.org, or by calling (800) 880-0343. TNLA office hours are weekdays, 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM CST. Copyright 2018 Texas Nursery Landsape & Association

November/December 2018 TNLA Green

3

TNLA

Green

UPDATE

Bayou Peninsula Estate by McDugald Steele Landscape Architects and Contractors, 2015 TEIL Gold Winner for Residential Installation Over $100,000

Stay Tuned: TEIL Awards Winners Announced Soon DON’T MISS the Texas Excellence in Landscaping (TEIL) Awards

winners, to be highlighted in the Jan/Feb 2019 issue of TNLA Green. If you have a project to submit, enter it at TNLAOnline.org/TeilAwards by November 5, 2018.

Each year a panel of industry professionals selects from among hundreds of landscaping projects and presents TEIL Awards to those firms with outstanding entries. The TEIL program is open to all landscape architects and designers, design and build firms, interior landscape design firms, outdoor lighting companies, and residential and commercial landscape firms, maintenance firms, and installation firms.

Award categories include:

4

TNLA Green November/December 2018

• Commercial installation less than $100,000, $100,000–$500,000, and more than $500,000 • Commercial maintenance • Residential installation less than $50,000, $50,000– $150,000, and more than $150,000 • Residential maintenance • Special project • Unique features • Design FOR MORE, INFORMATION TNLAOnline.org/teil-awards

Pearl Brewery by CleanScapes, LP, 2017 TEIL Gold Winner for Commercial Maintenance and Best of Show

French Country Retreat by Lambert’s, 2015 TEIL Gold Winner for Residential Maintenance

Treehouse Park by LANDology, 2016 TEIL Gold Winner for Unique Features

November/December 2018 TNLA Green

5

TNLA Green

UPDATE

Mark Rainey, Rancho Encino Tree Farm; Jorge Lozano, Brookwood Community; Lauren Kirchner, Spring Creek Growers

Victor Flaherty, Plants for All Seasons; Rebecca Dubiski, Landscape Art; Kyle Cahill, Grow & Co.

Suzy Fredregill, New Earth; Sharon Cochran, McDugald-Steele

TNLA PITCHES IN To mark the annual September 11 National Day of Service and Rememberance, volunteers from TNLA Region II — Greater Houston Area — helped the Houston Food Bank sort, process, and pack food for the hungry.

Volunteers included Cristal Lozano, Rebecca Dubiski, Drew Dubiski, Lauren Kirchner, Karen Orellana, Freddie Delcid, Suzanne Fredregill, Louise Kovalski, Mark Manny, Mark Rainey, Kristin Jones, Eric Hunt, Andy Lumpkins, James Theiss, Carol Wright, Francisco Rodriguez, Sharon Cochran, Melody Taylor, Katherine Orellana, Bill Barr, Victor Flaherty, Miguel Herrera, Jennifer Aleman, Jay Williams, and Kyle Cahill.

TNLA ATTENDS HISPANIC BUSINESS CONVENTION OF TEXAS

For the first time ever, TNLA staff members attended the Hispanic Business Convention of Texas, hosted by the Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce. The event, open to anyone interested in growing their business and drawing on the economic strength of the Hispanic market, took place September 6–8 in San Marcos.

The convention encompassed three full days of educational and professional development workshops, small business advocacy, peer-to-peer networking events, and business-to-business matchmaking. The packed itinerary included a keynote address by First Lady of Texas Cecilia Abbott, the Latina Empowerment Luncheon, free admission to the convention tradeshow and expo, a Las Vegas casino night, a live performance by Selena impersonator Amanda Solis, and the Chairman Awards Gala.

Among the professional development opportunities at the convention, two programs focused on the Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Program and the benefits of certification. For example, small businesses that obtain HUB certification are listed in the online Texas HUB Directory, which is used by state agencies in conjunction with the Comptroller’s Centralized Master Bidders List to solicit bids from certified HUBs for state purchasing and public works contracts. Prime contractors also use the HUB Directory for subcontracting opportunities. Vendors looking for certified HUBs to include in their subcontracting plans for projects of $100,000 or more consult the Texas HUB Directory.

left: Guest speaker Priscilla Luna-Wood, vice president of Today’s Business Solutions

FOR MORE, INFORMATION about HUB criteria and certification, visit Comptroller.Texas.gov/purchasing/vendor/hub PLANNING A CHARITABLE OR TEAM-BUILDING EVENT? SEND EVENT DETAILS AND PHOTOS TO COMMUNICATIONS@TNLAONLINE.ORG.

6

TNLA Green November/December 2018

November/December 2018 TNLA Green

7

TNLA Green

UPDATE Save the Date December 18, 2018: Grower Summit in Waco January 10, 2019: Retail/Landscape Summit in College Station

Become a Certified Professional Today TNLA’S CERTIFICATION PROGRAM DELIVERS

comprehensive, peer-reviewed study materials and exams designed to meet your busy schedule.

Elevate your professional profile and increase your bottom line by becoming a Texas Certified Nursery Professional, Texas Master Certified Nursery Professional, Texas Certified Landscape Professional, Texas Certified Water Smart Professional, or Texas Certified Landscape Associate.

Certification exams are developed with industry and academic input. Even though you may have field experience, your knowledge may not match the vocabulary or techniques tested on the exam. To help narrow the gap, you can order the study manual for the certification you want to obtain. Access exams and study materials at TNLAOnline.org/certification-exams.

Once you’ve completed an exam, you’ll receive your score immediately. Once you’ve passed all sections for your certification, you’ll receive a certification packet in the mail.

TNLA MEMBERS RECEIVE a half-off the price of all certification exams. E-mail Certification@TNLAInline.org to order your exam at a discounted price.

8

TNLA Green November/December 2018

November/December 2018 TNLA Green

9

TNLA’s Endorsed Service Providers are ready and waiting to help you with your business needs.

ENDORSED SERVICES Enjoy the perks of being a member of TNLA and receive exclusive discounts through TNLA’s Endorsed Services program, providing excellent value and quality to help your company succeed!

Endorsed Service providers include:

Hotchkiss Insurance (All Insurance) - 866-959-2525 | hiallc.com

Texas Green Industry Group (Workers Comp) - 866-837-4507 | tgiwcgroup.com

FIS Global - 469-660-6244 (Credit Card Processing/Financial Services) | fisglobal.com Tommy Simmons, Attorney (Wage & Employment Law) - 512-463-2967

For more information on TNLA’s Endorsed Service Providers and to see a full list of TNLA’s Member Benefit Partners visit: tnlaonline.org/endorsed-services--discounts.html

10

TNLA Green November/December 2018

TNLA Green

UPDATE H-2B: There’s still time to call!

THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS

has delayed the passage of a funding bill that includes a provision on H-2B cap relief until after the November elections. The H-2B program is vital to our industry which depends on high-intensity seasonal labor.

Now is the time to contact your legislators. The workers in the H-2B visa program are screened, pay taxes, earn a DOL-certified wage,

and return home to their country of origin upon expiration of their visa. Most importantly, each H-2B worker helps to create and sustain about five Americanheld jobs in our state.

Our industry, and the state’s economy, is restricted by rampant labor shortages. The H-2B program provides an opportunity for our businesses to realize their full potential, support their

American workers, and make the Texas miracle a reality.

TNLA HAS MADE IT EASY for you to contact your U.S. senators and representatives. Just visit the TNLA Action Center at VoterVoice.net/TNLA/home, and stay tuned to the TNLA Action Center for the latest H-2B developments.

November/December 2018 TNLA Green

11

TNLA Green

UPDATE Member Alert: U.S. DOL to Investigate Landscape Industry

12

TNLA Green November/December 2018

THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR’S WAGE AND Hour Division (WHD) is conducting a nationwide initiative to strengthen compliance of the labor provisions of the H-2B temporary visa program in the landscaping industry. The initiative includes providing compliance-assistance tools and information to employers and stakeholders, as well as conducting investigations of employers using the program.

“The H-2B visa program includes specific requirements that employers must follow to participate,” WHD acting administrator Bryan Jarrett said. “This initiative demonstrates our commitment to educate employers about those rules and enforce them to safeguard American jobs, protect guest workers, and level the playing field for law-abiding employers.”

Last year, WHD investigations found more than $105 million in unpaid wages for more than 97,000 workers in industries with a high prevalence of H-2B workers, including the landscaping industry. A key component of the investigations is ensuring that employers recruit U.S. workers before applying for permission to employ temporary nonimmigrant workers.

The landscaping industry employs more H-2B workers than any other industry, but landscape will not be the only sector targeted by the DOL. The WHD announced on September 5 a similar initiative for the hotel and resort industry. A portion of the investigations are being said to be educational in purpose by providing employers with tools to utilize in order to ensure better compliance.

TNLA remains actively engaged alongside our national partners in monitoring the ongoing nature of this new initiative and we will update our members as more information becomes available.

FOR MORE INFORMATION about the labor provisions of the H-2B program and other laws WHD enforces, visit www.dol.gov/whd.

Making Lives Better Through Print Use Promo Code: CHOP10 to Save 10% Off Online Orders

Hassle Free Printing

WWW.SHWEIKI.COM Books | Magazines | Catalogs | Newsletters | Flyers | Postcards and More

November/December 2018 TNLA Green

13

COMMENTARY

Where our workers come from FOR MANY DECADES, America’s fruits and vegetables have been harvested by foreign-born, mostly Hispanic workers. Long days of physically demanding work kept many native-born workers away. Even in the early 1980s when the economy tanked, and unemployment jumped to double digits, agricultural work didn’t lure Americans to the fields.

In 2010, at the height of the Great Recession with unemployment hovering around 10 percent, the United Farm Workers invited American workers to take their jobs. But Americans didn’t exactly flock to the fields, and the migrant farm worker is still almost exclusively Hispanic and mostly undocumented.

Over the last 30 years, the United States has implemented an unofficial but massive immigration system. It started with the overwhelming need of industries that cannot thrive or even survive, without immigrant labor. It included the undeniable force of foreign-born workers who wish to better their lives by doing hard work that most others won’t.

This overwhelming need and undeniable force have come together to create the present state of 11 million undocumented workers in America.

14

TNLA Green November/December 2018

By Jay Williams

ing our organizational chart to figure This 30-year, unofficial immigration out which of the 20 American support phenomenon altered the landscape instaff we were going to lay off. Fortudustry to its core. The green industry is nately, we received our visas in the secoverwhelmingly comprised of Hispanic ond letting. workers, many of whom are undocuNot as lucky, a Dallas contractor laid mented. off 20 American workers last spring beThe American economy must have cause they didn’t get their H2B visas. workers, and with our birth rate at 1.8 Another Metro contractor failed to get children per woman, economists tell us their visas in 2015. They had to give up that without significant immigration, $2 million worth of maintenance congrowth will be inhibited, the economy tracts—and the American workers that will gradually lose steam, and individmanaged them—because they couldn’t ual companies will struggle. Indeed, get the workers. trade magazines and industry conferImmigration is a sensitive subject and ences regularly speak about the dire people have strong feelings about it. need of workers and the negative efFinding common ground can be chalfects on individual companies and the lenging. But, I’m going to try. economy overall.

Some facts: I am the general manager of Landscape Art, a Houston-area, landscape 1) Hispanic workers have come to construction company. As with most of dominate field work in the Green our industry, our field staff is mostly HisIndustry. panic and mostly foreign-born.

2) American workers have not filled For the past 20 years, we have utilized these jobs in sufficient numbers the H-2B program, which allows us to to meet the need, even in times of secure work visas for Mexican and El high unemployment.

Salvadorian workers. Under the require3) The current guest worker programs ments of the program, we advertise for and legal immigration mechanisms our 40 jobs in the Houston Chronicle are inadequate to meet the needs and the Texas Workforce Commission. of our industry and our country.

The wage rate is set by the Department of Labor and is currently $13.44.

I think most will agree with #1, but Each year we receive responses. Each may flinch at #2 and won’t ever get to year we conduct interviews. Each year #3. So, I would like to take a crack at we offer employment to every applicant explaining #2. that applies. Most years, we have one or two that show up for the first day of work…for 40 Forcing cultural changes by eliminating positions. Even in 2008 welfare or unemployment may be the and 2009, during the choice of some, but it won’t fill the positions Great Recession, we had fewer than five each year. that are open now.

In rough numbers, we Some folks are going to shake their have 80 field workers and 20 support heads and bemoan the fact that Ameristaff. Without the H2B workers, the field can workers won’t fill these jobs. They’ll staff would be cut in half. This year, we talk about welfare rolls and unemploydidn’t receive our H2B visas in the first ment lines. They will point to bad child letting, so in March 2018, I was study-

COMMENTARY rearing or general laziness or other social, political or religious maladies as the culprit.

That may be true, but meanwhile, the companies that have a job to do are asking, “How does your defining the problem, bring me workers? I’ve got 60 positions to fill.” A field manager or business owner may agree with the analysis, but it doesn’t change the reality that American workers won’t accept the work in sufficient numbers.

Forcing cultural changes by eliminating welfare or unemployment may be the choice of some, but it won’t fill the positions that are open now. My economics professor told us that 4-5 percent unemployment rates are considered “full employment” and we’ve been at or below 5

percent for three years now. If we can’t get American workers to fill these jobs at a 10 percent unemployment rate, what are the chances that we’ll get them with full employment?

Earlier I referred to a set of facts.

Here’s one more. The United States will have immigration.

We cannot continue to allow unfettered access to unknown people, but the way to prevent that is by creating and enhancing immigration programs that encourage legal and ethical behavior by the workers and the companies that hire them.

We can focus on improving, expanding, and enhancing the guest worker programs that protect the interests of American workers by always offering the jobs

to Americans first. We can extend to the participants both the rights and responsibilities of being an American worker. We can offer American citizens the assurance that we know the people coming to our country and that they are contributing both their labor and their taxes.

Immigration is hard, and it will always be hard. It will require thoughtful implementation. It will need constant, meaningful adjustments. It will demand diligent enforcement.

But it will be worth it. We’re up to it.

We can do it.

JAY WILLIAMS is the general manager of Landscape Art, a Houston area landscape construction company.

November/December 2018 TNLA Green

15

Creating a holiday destination FOR MOST OF THE YEAR, The Gardens at the Ridge in Kerrville

offer native and adapted plants, as well as eco-conscious and budget-friendly landscape design and consulting services. Guests also visit the on-site bakery, cafe, and gift shop. But for a few weeks at the end of the year, The Gardens becomes a holiday wonderland, with families making a Christmas tradition of taking photos, writing letters to Santa, and picking up festive holiday items. Here they share their secrets for making The Gardens a holiday destination.

• It’s a team effort. Allow your team to get into the spirit of the holiday.

• Make sure to offer plenty of Christmas-themed treats.

• The public expects it to be bigger and better than last year. Try to add another element to put it over the top.

• Incorporate lots of festive photo opportunities throughout the site.

• Try to find unique decorations the public won’t find anywhere else.

• Incorporate fun activities like a letter-writing station so kids can compose and “mail” their letters to Santa.

16

• Add elements that kids and adults will enjoy.

• Start the season early to give ample opportunity for people to attend. Kick it off with an event that “reveals” the site. Make sure to include pictures with Santa.

• Add some fun characters for photo opportunities.

• Promote the site weeks in advance in the local newspaper, through social media, and at the garden center.

• Make sure the site looks fun and photo-ready day or night. Lights add the sparkle that makes for the holiday.

If your family and friends love it, so will everybody else!

TNLA Green November/December 2018

November/December 2018 TNLA Green

17

18

TNLA Green November/December 2018

EDUCATING CLIENTS

Lawns don’t waste water - people do. That’s why the experts encourage green pros to understand their role in educating homeowners about water-friendly landscapes. photography by PHIL KLINE

November/December 2018 TNLA Green

19

20

TNLA Green November/December 2018

After 36 years operating Bonick Landscaping, a landscape architecture and design firm in the tony Dallas area, Glenn Bonick has seen the evolution of homeowners’ knowledge of water conservation.

“We hear from clients, especially those without much experience working with a landscape company, who say they want a ‘low maintenance’ yard,” said Bonick. “But then they say they want this plant or that plant, and they are all high water-use plants. Plus they typically have pest problems, so it turns out they are a higher maintenance plant.”

“It’s really about educating them what ‘low maintenance’ really means,” said Bonick.

“They want a buzzword but not what that landscaping actually is. I find that’s usually the case.”

In the high-end neighborhoods Bonick serves, money is typically not an issue.

Homeowners there choose lush groundcover and large pools with extensive water features and complicated irrigation systems. But Bonick says landscape design trends are inspiring more of his clients to seek a more sleek look. As lakes go dry more often and more people become aware of the effects of drought, clients are more open to learning about water-conserving strategies and designs. “But our hands are still tied to an extent because people still want that lush landscape,” he said.

In the end, the client wants what they want.

The key, then, will be in educating the client that they don’t have to give up green landscaping in exchange for using less water.

November/December 2018 TNLA Green

21

GET CERTIFIED TODAY TNLA offers five certifications for professionals working in the Green Industry.

Texas Certified Water Smart Professional (TCWSP)

In Texas there is no way to ignore we are a strong player in helping the state manage continuing water shortages. We have seen the consumer look to the industry for answers. As professionals, we need to answer questions, implement solutions, and teach the public alternative methods to enjoy and sustain a beautiful landscape. The Texas Certified Water Smart Professional (TCWSP) is a certification for those who want to become more proficient in responsibly conserving water in landscape design and installation. By becoming certified as a TCWSP you are declaring you are professional with knowledge and expertise in using water-efficient practices and techniques in your business. TCWSP’s hold high integrity for conserving Texas’ water resources, without defiling or sacrificing landscaping, irrigation, and/or horticultural practices. As a certified professional you can elevate your worth as an expert on landscape water efficiency. This certification requires an exam and thereafter four hours of water-related CEU credits every two years, completed before the certification renewal date to maintain. Don’t just listen to the experts; be the expert and become a TCWSP. Find the TSCWP Study Manual and take the Exam by visiting tnlaonline. org/certification.

22

TNLA Green November/December 2018

GET WATER SMART TNLA is a partner in the Texas Water Smart program, a statewide initiative founded by green industry professionals, water suppliers, and elected officials that promotes easy and efficient ways to conserve water. Texas’ severe drought of 2010 provided a stark example of how quickly water reserves can be diminished, leading to water use restrictions that affect homeowners and businesses.

Because we understand we have a variable climate that impacts water access, the Texas Water Smart program continues to support and educate Texans about conserving water, especially in outdoor areas and landscapes.

Leading Texas Water Smart’s efforts is a group of elected officials and industry and business executives, including Amy Graham, TNLA president; Hon. Glenn Hegar, Texas comptroller, Hon. Sid Miller, commissioner of the Texas Department of Agriculture; Brian Mayes, president of Mayes Media Group; Aaron Fuentes, district market manager of Scotts Miracle-Gro; Ryan Strobarczyk, TNLA director of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs; Valerie Miller, PhD, manager of Water Contracts and Conservation for the Lower Colorado River Authority; and George Kelemen, president and CEO of the Texas Retailers Association.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT www.texaswatersmart.com.

November/December 2018 TNLA Green

23

24

TNLA Green November/December 2018

THE DRONES & DATA GUY

How Neil Marek’s hobby may evolve into the future of nursery management.

by OMAR L. GALLAGA photography by PHIL KLINE

November/December 2018 TNLA Green

25

THE DRONES & DATA GUY

Neil Marek, 34, dreamed of flying since he was a kid. It was a dream that never went away during the years he grew up working around Magnolia Gardens Nursery, a family-run business in Waller with about 170 employees.

After returning from college to work full time and eventually going on to run the nursery’s tissue culture lab division, Marek found a hobby that gave him the thrill of flight he’d been looking for.

awareness for our company and sell our products. I set up a big TV with videos of flying throughout the nursery. It’s very interesting because though my videos plays in a loop, it’s 7-8 minutes long, it’s half drone video, half photos. When the photos are played and people are walking down the aisle, they really pay no attention to it. But if people watch while the video is on, it stops them and they watch it. That gives us an opportunity to get a conversation started.

What are some other uses for drones in nursery work that others might be able to adopt?

As a farm manager, it’s quite interesting to be able to see your TNLA: When did you first become curious about drones and whole farm from that high of a scale. Especially if you work what was your early experience with them like? at a farm that’s more than a couple of acres; it’s hard to see Neil Marek: I was into it for the love of flying, really, and the the whole layout without making 20 trips up the road. Using feeling of being able to go up above and dive down between it to see your whole field from above, you can then sit down the trees and be almost birdlike. I saw some videos on YouTube with your production team and use it for space planning and of people flying drones from a first-person perspective with to shift products from here to there. We just goggles. You get the feeling you’re sitting found that it’s an efficient way to look at in the passenger seat. It was an amazing WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT the farm and see everything quickly while thing to me and I was hooked right away.

ROBOTICS, PEOPLE SAY you’re sitting around the table instead of That was back in 2012, when I built my first OTHERS ARE GOING TO LOSE driving around. drone. All along I thought about what we THEIR JOBS. IT’S ABOUT There’s a lot of testing going on with difcan do with them in the nursery.

ALLOWING THE PEOPLE WE ferent sensors like infrared and multispecIt really was more about having a good CAN EMPLOY TO DO JOBS tral that can detect the color of the leaves time with it and understanding the tool it THAT BRING HIGHER VALUE. of plants. You can take a series of photos of was and finding some uses for it. Now I’m your crops and then run it through software that will point out wanting to spread the awareness of what people can do with it. where there are issues, such as water stress or a pest infestation. It can be used as a scouting tool for that. It was first develWhy did you build your own drone? oped for row crop agriculture, but can be used in the nursery Back in 2012 there really weren’t a lot of options. I bought a as well. kit; it came with everything you needed. I chose that kit honYou can use (thermal imaging) FLIR cameras. The heating estly because there were a bunch of videos of people on Youcosts of greenhouses is a lot throughout the year and even Tube putting them together. I didn’t know anybody to ask on more in the north. It’s quite hard to see where you’re losing how to put it together myself and there weren’t a lot of off-theheat out of your greenhouses. You can quickly fly a FLIR camshelf options at the time. I probably paid $1,000 at that time era over your greenhouse operation and see right away where for everything I needed. you’re losing heat on a cold day, and that can direct your maintenance staff to go repair or patch that and really reduce your When did it occur to you to use drones at work? heating cost over a year.

In the very beginning the first thing I thought we could do was Also in the maintenance realm, greenhouse ranges are quite some marketing material. You can get some really nice shots of tall. My gutters are 20 feet tall with huge sheets of plastic that the farm, flying over it, filming it from a different perspective. cover the roofs. They tear periodically. We have to have someIn our trade shows, we travel throughout the country to raise

26

TNLA Green November/December 2018

What other tech tools have you experimented with or used at the nursery?

I’m really big on data analytics and metric tracking. I don’t think enough people do that.

Understanding the productivity of your individual employees, understanding and tracking the amount of labor it takes to do the key tasks around the nursery, and using that knowledge to improve those tasks and better budget financially and do labor planning.

We spent a fair amount of time on data analytics here on the farm. I think it makes us smarter and makes us leaner and helps us make decisions more quickly and understand how to solve problems more with facts rather than with hunches. We’re looking to invest in robotics and automation where we find a reliable tools that can replace a repetitive task. When you talk about robotics, people say others are going to lose their jobs. It’s about allowing the people we can employ to do jobs that bring higher value. Some of these jobs are incredibly repetitive, labor intensive and uncomfortable work.

You can allow yourself to employ a more highly paid, highly trained workforce that can concentrate on more valuable tasks. The labor pool is unpredictable. It’s doing work that needs to be done when faced with the unavailability of people do to do the work.

body inspect those quarterly for tears. In the past, it was necessary for somebody to put a ladder on the gutter and walk down the ladder. We have 157 gutters. That’s a whole lot of trips up and down the latter and it becomes a safety issue. A drone is a really good tool to inspect the greenhouse roof with.

It has an HD camera, you can zoom in on places. You can fly the whole greenhouse range in an hour or less and have your maintenance manager sit down and analyze the video. You save so much risk by using the drone for that type of structural inspections.

Is drone flying still a fun hobby for you?

It’s huge! Now I’m really into drone racing. I’m sponsored by a drone company and I’m also into freestyle flying. Racing is competitive, and I’m also into drone freestyle, diving between the trees, flying around mountains. I really have enjoyed that a lot. I’ve been posting videos on Facebook and YouTube.

To watch some of Marek’s drone-racing videos, go to YouTube. com and search Neil Marek.

OMAR GALLAGA is a technology culture writer in Austin.

November/December 2018 TNLA Green

27

Q A

Practical business advice and ideas you can use now

Surviving the Winter Slump Texas winters can be an economic dry spell for wholesalers and retailers serving the nursery and landscaping industries.

Weathering the downturn in business isn’t always easy. To help you make it through the winter and prepare for the business rush that comes with the emergence of spring, Mary Beth Simmons, partner in charge of business services for Simmons Oak Farms in Harlingen, and Russell Johnson, retail manager at Alldredge Gardens in Midland, offer some advice based on what has worked in their businesses.

What makes your business cycle unique?

Simmons: As wholesale growers of trees, palms, and desert plants, our business challenges differ from those of retailers.

Our biggest customers are landscapers and wholesale yards in the metropolitan areas of Texas. Their residential projects tend to slow down in the fall and winter.

To help us get through the winter, we’ve had luck selling Texas mountain laurels, which we harvest from November to February, and other dormant products.

Johnson: Garden center retail is very seasonal. We notice a dip in the winter, with January being our slowest month of the year. Business picks up the first of March, and for three months we’re going fast and hard on the retail side.

Alldredge Gardens has several departments, which help keep us afloat and our staff fully employed during the slow season.

What are the biggest challenges for your business during the winter, and how do you overcome them?

Simmons: Our big gap is keeping our

28

TNLA Green November/December 2018

Our business runs into financial challenges during the winter, too. If we know we’re not going to have cash flow for a month or two when it’s slow, we’ve developed a good relationship with our bankers. We’ve also added products we can sell during the winter. We used to experience a big dip in tree sales in July and August. To counter that, years ago we started planting palm trees, which sell well during slow business months.

Johnson: Finding labor is always a challenge, so once we’ve hired qualified staff we do our best to keep them.

We have diversified our business, so we don’t have to cut back on staff.

In the winter, we have a Christmas shop that sells décor and live Christmas trees. Our maintenance department stays busy by stringing holiday lights on customers’ trees and rooftops. They’re normally mowing lawns in the spring,

staff busy, so they have a steady source of income. We also try to prevent them from getting burned out when we work more hours and push harder in the spring. We’re a fieldgrown operation that It’s smart to become an established part goes on year-round, but of the community before attempting to the harvest of the matediversify. Do it gradually, and don’t try to rial can be our bottleneck at times. Some products do too much at once. are cured or held on the but they start stringing lights in late yard for more than three weeks, and September and finish around Thanksothers are sent out fresh harvested. giving. After the holidays, they go back In the past, we haven’t always been out and take the lights down. proactive about planning for bad weathWe also sell year-round indoor-friender days in the winter. Our goal now is ly tropical plants and some flowers for to be thoughtful and prepared for those events. Our gift shop and café keep us slow times. We do that by making a list hopping, with cash coming in all year, too. of projects, such as building boxes, putWe try not to depend on flowers alone. ting materials in boxes, building shade We also have a greenhouse venue areas, or improving and expanding the space that gets used throughout the holding yard. Throughout the year we year for weddings, holiday parties, add to the list of projects and give ourmeetings, and other events. People like selves target deadlines. If we get a rainy walking into a warm greenhouse full of day, we work in the shed or in the nurstropical plants in the winter. ery doing projects that are on the list.

We’ve found that diversifying our Having this prep work to keep us busy business in this way keeps revenue comallows us to fully employ most of our 11 ing in. We started out as just a nursery staff members year-round.

Q A and garden center in 1987. The other segments of our business evolved over time, and we added the café around 2004.

some patio furniture. We start receiving a lot of that spring inventory on January 2.

To prepare for the March rush, we spend the winter tackling projects, such

as employee training, cleaning, painting, refreshing the facilities, and making structural repairs to greenhouses.

by CRYSTAL ZUZEK

What advice do you have for other nurseries and garden centers that want to diversify their businesses?

Johnson: It’s smart to become an established part of the community before attempting to diversify. Do it gradually, and don’t try to do too much at once. We built our first greenhouses and started growing our own plants in the early 1990s. From there we got into the landscaping maintenance business and expanded slowly.

How do you prepare for the increased customer demand in the spring?

Simmons: We do harvest as much as we can for those items we hold on the yard. We try to have everything full and ready to go as much as we can.

Some years it seems like we can’t keep up with orders. We encourage regular customers to place orders early.

We also try to forecast the products that are going to be popular from year to year. We’ve learned that after a harsh winter, customers are going to want cold-hardy palms instead of the more tender varieties. We’ve also learned that we have to be mindful of the soil we plant in.

Some things we can’t plan for or predict. It was slow last year right after Hurricane Harvey. We do a lot of business in the Houston and Coastal Bend areas, so that affected us.

Johnson: In the spring, flowering plants are our biggest seller, accounting for 25 percent to 35 percent of total sales. We sell a lot of small bedding plants, fertilizer, lawn care and landscape products, and

November/December 2018 TNLA Green

29

GREEN Vision

By Mengmeng Gu, Ph D and Qiansheng Li, Ph D

Plants with Potential II: Jujube

1

JUJUBE, ZIZIPHUS JUJUBA, is a spe-

cies of Ziziphus in family Rhamnaceae. The other common names are red date, and Chinese date. It originated in China and has been cultivated for more than 4,000 years, as records show in the Book of Songs, the famous collection of Chinese poetry from the 10th century BC. Today there are over 800 cultivars and is one of the world’s major fruit crops. It is widely cultivated in India, Russia, the Middle East, southern Europe, and the southern United States, but mostly in China. In 2017, the total production in China was 8.52 million tons, which accounts for 97 percent of global production (8.77 million tons).

Jujube was carried to the United States in 1837 from Europe, but the improved Chinese cultivars were firstly introduced by the USDA plant explorer Frank Meyer in 1908. Jujube can be grown in USDA plant Zone 6 to 9. In the United States, jujube is primarily grown in home gardens, but a few small hectare commercial plantings primarily serve niche markets in California.

Mushroom

Teapot

2

WHY GROW THE JUJUBE

One of the outstanding qualities of the jujube tree is its tolerance of drought, but it is important to water immediately and frequently after planting until the trees established. Fruit splitting/cracking could be a problem from excessive amount of rainfall during fruit ripening stage. Peach moth (Carposina nipponensis) may cause damage to fruits, but its occurrence is rare. No other pests or diseases are of major concern in the U.S.

3

GROWING THE JUJUBE

Jujube is a small tree with strong, hard wood which grows up to 10m (30 feet) tall, depending on location. For fruit production, the tree height is usually controlled under 2.5m (8.2 feet). Planting space usually is 2-4m (6 to 12 feet).

Training and pruning are important to

30

TNLA Green November/December 2018

develop and maintain good tree shape for high yield and top quality fruits. Both training and pruning are regular practices for fruit production. Annual training and pruning develop a strong tree framework that will support fruit production. Proper tree training also opens up the canopy to maximize light penetration, which is essential for strong flower bud development and optimal fruit set, flavor, and quality.

An open center system to keep 3-4 main branches at 80-100 cm (30~40 inches), each main branch keeps 2-4 secondary shoots.

Jujube could be easily grown in medium moist, well-drained soils under full sun conditions. Jujube plants tolerate alkaline soils. Mature plants also have some tolerance for drought, but perform best with regular and consistent moisture. An annual precipitation of 400-600 mm (15-24 inches) during the growing season is sufficient for good fruit set and fruit quality.

4

Fig.1: Some cultivars (e.g. ‘Li’, ‘Chico’, ‘Redland’ and ‘Sherwood’) have big fruits.

Fig. 2: Fruits of different jujube cultivars.

Fig. 3: Jujube plants flower and fruit on the current year growth.

Fig. 4: Jujube plants as a thorny hedge at Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site.

GREEN Vision Jujube can be propagated by seed, sucker, or grafting. Before 1960, suckers, shoots that arise from an adventitious bud on the underground roots were used as propagation materials. More recently, grafting on sour jujube (Z. jujuba var. spinosa) rootstocks is become widely adopted. Whip tongue grafting, bark grafting, and cleft grafting are the most popular and successful grafting methods. Top grafting is used to change cultivar quickly or rejuvenate (restore the tree when it is too old to fruiting well) the old fruit tree to harvest high quality fruits soon after grafting. Tissue culture propagation of jujubes has also been tried; it could be used for the rapid seedling propagation of true to type plants of new cultivar or new rootstock without enough mother plants for seeds or scionwood. Cutting propagation is very difficult.

THE JUJUBE FRUIT

Many cultivars are self-fertile, some cultivars perform better with cross-pollination, and a few cultivars are self-sterile (need cross pollination; e.g. ‘Lang’, ‘Don Polenski’, ‘Ed Hegard’, ‘Thornless’, and ‘Junzao’). Jujube fruits are greenish yellow or sometimes reddish round or oval drupes varying greatly in size from 1-2 cm (0.4 to 0.8 inches) diameter.

However, some oval varieties are known to reach 5x3 cm (2x1.2 inches; Fig. 1). Some cultivars have special fruit shapes known for their ornamental value, such as ‘Mopan’ (also called ‘Mushroom’ in the U.S.; Fig. 2) and ‘Teapot’ (having one to five protuberances on the fruit shoulder; Fig. 2). Jujube fruits are quite sweet, and can be eaten either fresh, candied, canned, juice or dried like dates. Jujube fruit is high in sugar, vitamins, edible cellulose, minerals, cyclic adenosine monophosphate, and cyclic guanosine monophosphate.

One great advantage of jujube over many traditional fruits is that it flowers and fruits on the current year’s growth. The yield is not affected by the previous year’s conditions. The sour jujube (Z. spinosa) seedling is flowering in its first year (Fig. 3). We will use it as a rootstock later.

New Mexico State University has been studying many jujube cultivars, including newly-imported ones from China, at the New Mexico State University orchards in Alcalde, Los Lunas, Tucumcari; and Leyendeckner Centers. Growing Conditions in Alcalde, Los Lunas, and Tucumcari are similar to the Texas panhandle area and Leyendeckner is similar to El Paso, Texas. Based on their extensive research, the following cultivars are recommended.

Fresh eating: ‘Chico’, ‘Dabailing’, ‘Daguazao’, ‘Gaga’, ‘Honey Jar’, ‘Jing-39’, ‘Li’, ‘Li-2’, ‘Maya’, ‘Redland’, ‘Russian

2’, ‘Shanxi Li’, ‘Topeka’, ‘Zaocuiwang’, ‘Sandia’ and ‘Alcalde #1’.

Drying: ‘Banzao’, ‘Don Polenski’, ‘Globe’, ‘Huizao’, ‘Hupingzao’ (also known as ‘Jinchang #1’), ‘Jixin’, ‘Junzao’, ‘Lang’, ‘Xiang’, ‘Xingguang’, ‘Youzao’, and ‘Yuanling’.

Multipurpose use: ‘Abbeville’, ‘Chaoyang’, ‘Jin’, ‘JKW’, ‘Jinsi-2’, ‘Jinsi-3’, ‘Jinsi-4’, ‘KFC’, ‘Liuyuexian’, ‘Miyun’, ‘Pitless’, ‘Sept Late’, ‘Sherwood’, ‘Shuimen’, ‘Sihong’, ‘Sugarcane’, and ‘Zhongning’ Ornamental use: ‘Dragon’, ‘Mushroom’, ‘So’, and ‘Teapot’.

Jujube has great potential to be used in landscapes in Texas, with dual purposes. It’s drought tolerance and insect/disease free characteristics make it a suitable plant for Earth-Kind® landscaping. For home gardening, comparably low levels of care will still yield plentiful of fruits to enjoy. Most jujube plants have thorny branches, and may be perfect to provide barrier and privacy (Fig. 4).

Currently, we are working with New Mexico State University to trial jujube cultivars suitable for Texas. My personal favorite cultivar is ‘Sugarcane’. The fruits are not big, but very crunchy and sweet. We recently bought some jujube fruits from an Asian market in Houston. They are big, but not so fresh. Being spoiled by our own ‘Sugarcane’ fruits, my father-in-law refused to be my ‘seed extractor’.

Send comments to mgu@tamu.edu.

DR. MENGMENG GU is Associate Professor/Extension Specialist, Department of Horticultural Sciences, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, mgu@tamu.edu.

DR. QIANSHENG LI received his PhD from Nanjing Agriculture University in China. He was an Associate Professor in Shanghai Institute of Technology before joining Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. He is an expert in oaks, gesneriads and micropropagation.

November/December 2018 TNLA Green

31

NOTES FROM SFA Gardens

By David Creech, Ph.D.

The Brown

Marmorated

Stink Bug

More Than Just Another Bad Smell?

EARLIER THIS YEAR, THIS COLUMN

ran a piece titled “My native is good; your native is bad” (TNLA Green March/April 2018). It was essentially a take on the plant, animal, insect and disease invaders that are new on the scene, often creating great problems and despair. I talked about how the advent of crape myrtle bark scale (CMBS) in Texas in 2004 and its spread from Dallas/Fort Worth to parts east has laid the foundation for an epic battle. Crapes will never be the same. I also told you about how the Spotted Wing Drosophila is now in Texas, a real future headache for fruit and vegetable growers.

Well, now we have a new insect to worry about, and some think it’s destined to be a game changer.

The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys, is thought to have been first identified in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1996. Since then, it’s been on a steady march. It’s creating

32

TNLA Green November/December 2018

Brown Marmorated Stink Bug on kiwifruit in Alabama (Image by James Spiers, Auburn University)

havoc on farms and in homes We conclude that BMSB is a serious in the northeast, and most exthreat to farm, garden, and home. perts conclude it will be a major agricultural pest in North may help keep numbers down. There’s a America. The pest loves to overwinter in parasitoid used in northern China that is homes, barns, and recreational vehicles. reported as helpful, but the conclusion A home invasion is not unlike a horror is there are few natural predators able movie, perhaps best described by Kathto achieve significant control. When the ryn Schulz in a recent piece in the New economics can justify it, netting orchards Yorker, “When Twenty-Six Thousand is gaining favor for protection from this Stinkbugs Invade Your Home”. and other pests.

A key trait of BMSB is that it is “highly USDA entomologists are searching for polyphagous,” meaning it will eat an ways to control the stink bug by alteramazing range of crops. In China, it’s ing the genetics, studying pheromones a major pest on soybeans and attacks and evaluating the efficacy of attraca wide range of fruit trees, vegetable tants and traps. We conclude that BMSB crops, and ornamentals, and is considis a serious threat to farm, garden, and ered difficult to control. Nearby trap home. crops of cowpeas, sunflower, and thistle

NOTES FROM SFA Gardens

Kiwifruit damaged by BMSB (Image by James Spiers, Auburn University)

BMSB was first found in 2011 in Texas in Corpus Christi on a recreational vehicle that had traveled from Pennsylvania in October. Entomologists believe the pest will thrive in our warmer climate and continue to arrive in our state via travelers and other means of transport.

Currently, valid occurrences of the pest include Dallas, Collin, Fort Bend, Harris, and Montgomery counties. The Texas Department of Agriculture and Texas A&M Agrilife are eager to know where the insect is and how well it’s establishing a home in Texas. A very useful fact sheet on the pest and directions on how to report or mail a sample in for identification purposes can be found on the Texas A&M Agrilife website.

The southern green stink bug, Nezara

viridula, another invasive species, is often mistaken for the Brown marmorated stink bug. However, BMSB is relatively easy to identify. To determine if you are looking at the real thing or another species, observe if there’s a distinct white band at the joint between the last segment on the antenna.

BMSB also sports four creamy spots on the shield just behind the head and on the scutellum just below the wings. Those characteristics indicate you likely to be holding the dreaded BMSB. The eggs are elliptical with small spines, light yellow to yellow-red and are laid in distinct lines. Eggs are typically attached to the leaf underside in masses of 20-30.

BMSB arrived on our SFASU radar just recently with reports from Dr. Jay Spiers,

Auburn University, that the BMSB was a real challenge to kiwifruit in Alabama.

Even though kiwifruit has been at the Chilton Research and Extension Center for about 30 years, this was the first observation of BMSB, and some vines suffered 100 percent early fruit drop (no spray program in place).

At the Southeast Kiwi Farming Cooperative, traps were installed, and Asana (esfenvalerate) was sprayed following label restrictions. Control was not satisfactory. In fact, in a small postharvest study of those fruit picked at Southeast Kiwi Farming Cooperative and put in cold storage, it was noted that 25 to 40 percent were actually BMSB damaged, depending on variety. It’s difficult to see the tiny puncture wounds, but the flesh beneath is compromised, soon malformed and ripens poorly.

On the plus side, there are peaches in this region of Alabama, and BMSB was controlled by the greater arsenal of effective pesticides registered for that crop.

For instance, Mustang (cypermethrin, 17.1%) was noted as effective. Blueberries in the region were not affected by BMSB, however, it’s the first year of this outbreak and time will tell the extent of crops under threat. An effort is now being made for additional pesticide registrations for kiwifruit.

For everyone else in the path of this mean insect, it’s time for vigilance. If you have a question mark stink bug, please document with images or capture the bug and turn it in for identification. Knowing where’s it’s at in Texas is a first step to dealing with it. We can hope this pest might find something that keeps it in check in Texas.

Let’s keep planting.

DR. DAVID CREECH, Ph.D., is Regents Professor Emeritus at Stephen F. Austin State University and the Director of SFA Gardens.

November/December 2018 TNLA Green

33

BUGS FUZZ

Focus on disease and insects

Start Clean, Stay Clean HERE’S A COMMON COMPLAINT

that I get from some folks who are new to the planting business: “What happened? I had such a great year last year, but then this year I lost a bunch of plants.” What they don’t yet realize is that the biggest challenges to successful growing are pests and pathogens. Often populations of these organisms can build up over time and only become a visible and obvious problem when they have numbers.

“Start clean” means having to consider practices and things that would enable a crop to be planted with minimal pest and pathogen pressure, or ideally, no pressure. Often one thinks this means to clean the greenhouse or nursery well, whether it be sanitizing the greenhouse with some disinfectant or bleaching the pots that are to be reused. But there are many other things and practices that ought to be considered to reduce insect and disease pressure. This whole concept is called sanitation, and is one of the most important factors to successful greenhouse or nursery operations.

UNDERSTANDING “START CLEAN”

A good sanitation program will prevent unwanted pests and diseases from entering the growing operation. So how do we go about to start clean?

34

TNLA Green November/December 2018

First, consider the problems that might occur on your crop, and its common and emerging pest and disease problems.

Knowing the enemies that you might be dealing with allow you to learn of practices that would stop or slow them down. Second, learn how these pests or pathogens could get to your growing operation. This is known as the “pathway”.

For example, some bacterial pathogen can be introduced into a growing area by humans who inadvertently carry it from an infested area.

Reducing pest and pathogen pressure at the beginning of growing a crop is a valuable strategy to allow for earlystage plants to avoid or escape potential infestation or infections. As a plant gets older, plant cells become more resilient and are often less susceptible START CLEAN • Prepare before planting • Clean growing area (benches, floor and/or walls) • Clean tools and equipment (irrigation lines, pots, pruners, etc) • Know your potential enemies (what has been a problem and what might be a problem) • Know how it can get there – pathways (set up “roadblocks”) STAY CLEAN • Maintain cleanliness (keep tools and equipment clean) • Take preventative measures (biological and/or regular spray program for target pest and/or pathogens) • Recognize problem symptoms (get trained) • Know where to get help (diagnostic clinics for problem identification, extension specialists for information)

By Kevin Ong, Ph.D.

to some pathogens and pests attack. A study published earlier this year comparing preventative treatment and curative treatment for control of botrytis blight in geranium found that preventative treatments greatly reduces incidence, severity and subsequent sporulation of the botrytis fungus (Beckerman Plant Disease Management Report. doi:10.1094/PDMR12:OT016).

Starting clean saves money and time.

MAKING SURE TO STAY CLEAN

Unfortunately, many pests and pathogens are ubiquitous and may show up at any time during the growing season. So how can you stay clean?

Some of the practices adopted to start clean can help to you to stay clean. For example, making sure that tools used are cleaned and sanitized often can prevent catastrophic outbreak. Continued application of biological plant protection products can prevent and suppress pests and pathogens. A key to staying clean is to be able to recognize and identifying problems correctly and early. Greenhouse and nursery personnel should be trained to recognize pests and disease symptoms. Make sure to submit suspicious samples to a plant diagnostic clinic for diagnostic analysis (For more detail about diagnostic clinics, visit Texas Plant Disease Diagnostic https://plantclinic.tamu.edu).

So what happens if you do have a pest or pathogen that successfully infiltrated your growing operation? Hopefully, you would already have an action plan in place for that pest or pathogen. Next time, we will discuss creating an action plan with hope of never having to use it.

KEVIN ONG, Ph.D., is Professor & Director of The Texas Plant Disease Diagnostic laboratory, Texas Agrilife Extension Service, Texas A&M University.

NEW MEMBERS

TNLA

TNLA would like to welcome its new members. if you would like to become a member or if you have any questions or concerns about your current membership, please contact us at 800.880.0343. Visit www.TNLAonline.org to learn about the benefits of becoming a member of TNLA. REGION 1 Landscape – Associate Danny McSwain Zachry Industrial, Inc. 527 Logwood San Antonio, TX 78221 Landscape JMI Contractors Brent Mayberry 15585 Capital Port San Antonio, TX 78249 www.jmicontractors.com REGION 2 Educator James Langley Lee College 168 Col Etheredge Blvd, Ste. C Huntsville, TX 77340 Elisabeth Smith Lee College 168 Col Etheredge Blvd, Ste. C Huntsville, TX 77340 Barbara Ann Willy PO Box 27554 Houston, TX 77227 Hope Zuniga Brazoswood High School 514 That Way, Apt. 112 Lake Jackson, TX 77536 Landscape – Individual Marcus Fiedler OJB Landscape 711 Louisiana, Suite 111 Houston, TX 77002 www.ojb.com

Landscape - Individual Jon Krapu Rock Creek Golf Course 718 Hwy 82E #123 Sherman, TX 75090

Grower Grief Enterprises Sidney Grief PO Box 967 Manchaca, TX 78652

Landscape Green Landscape Services Gary Raith PO Box 253 Forney, TX 75126

Landscape – Individual David Taylor Red & White Greenery, Inc. PO Box 126 Georgetown, TX 78627

Top Notch Landscapes Alex Pelt 4236 County Road 2629 Caddo Mills, TX 75135 www.topnotchdfw.com

Adriane Horne Austin Country Club 4408 Long Champ Dr. Austin, TX 78746

Supplier Ellepot/Blackmore Ron Wyatt 1419 Sunshine Dr. Allen, TX 75002 www.blackmoreco.com REGION 5 Educator Ashley Hartman North Central Texas College 1525 West California St. Gainesville, TX 76240 Collin Alexander Fort Worth ISD 8904 Crosswind Dr. Fort Worth, TX 76179 Government John Cagle Denton County 1988 South Road Whitesboro, TX 76273

Landscape Woodcreek Landscape Company, Inc. Mandy Egan 27938 Bradford Ridge Dr. Katy, TX 77494 www.woodcreek landscape.com

Landscape – Branch GreatWater Irrigation Jennifer Greathouse 5111 West Arkansas Lane Arlington, TX 76016 www.greatwater irrigation.com

Austin Landscaping Claire Bland 10910 Rampart St. Houston, TX 77096 www.austinland scaping.net

Retail Idlewild Botanical Jennifer Greathouse 5111 West Arkansas Lane Arlington, TX 76016 www.idlewild botanical.com

Retail – Individual Toni Leitgab Thompson + Hanson 3600 W Alabama Houston, TX 77027 Karen Hoover Kingwood Garden Center 5206 Heathervale Ct. Kingwood, TX 77345 REGION 3 Educator Malcolm Turner Stephen F. Austin State University 8941 State Highway 21 West San Augustine, TX 75972 Student Gail Guthrie Stephen F. Austin State University 217 County Road 4342 Tenaha, TX 75974 REGION 4 Educator Kasey Naylor Sam Rayburn ISD PO Box 67 Telephone, TX 75488

Retail – Individual Rose Henke 1404 Harrington Dr. Plano, TX 75075 Student Kenneth Morford Tarrant County College 7750 Jacksboro Hwy, Unit 32 Fort Worth, TX 76135 Supplier Simplot – Texas Beau Reyenga 8081 Watson Rd. Lantana, TX 76226 www.simplot.com REGION 6 Student Gina Dickson Tarleton State University 3183 Curry Lane Abilene, TX 79605 REGION 8 Government Casey Limerick University of Texas at Austin 1301 E Dean Keeton St, Bldg FC-8 Austin, TX 78722

Adam McAtee Octopro 800 County Road 304 Bertram, TX 78605 Student Julie Gauldin Austin Community College 13428 Tossa Lane Austin, TX 78729 REGION 8 Landscape Cobblestone Gardening Services Jim Reimann PO Box 1853 Manchaca, TX 78652 www.cobblestone gardening.com Yellow Dot Landscape Construction Jameson Tomlin 3220 Duval Rd #1707 Austin, TX 78759 www.weareyellow dot.com Supplier - Branch Living Earth Scott Bort 2508 Marlin Highway Waco, TX 76705 www.livingearth.net OUT OF STATE Grower Ponto and Sons, LLC Robert Ponto PO Box 536 2545 Ramona Dr. Vista, CA 92084 www.pontonursery.com Civano Nursery, Inc. Nick Shipley PO Box 1100 Sahuarita, AZ 85629 www.civanonursery.com ProGrowers, LLC Tyler DeNane 3604 N. Young Rd. Plant City, FL 33565 www.progrowersllc.com Supplier Busybusy mobile time tracking Requel Lewis 446 S Mall Dr., Ste 200 St George, UT 84790 www.busybusy.com Green Touch Industries/ TrailerRacks.com Daniel Keegan 100 Federal Hwy. 1 West Palm Beach, FL 33403 www.trailerracks.com

NEW TNLA CERTIFIED PROFESSIONALS TCNP Texas Certified Nursery Professional Barbara Wilkat Genevieve Barieau Calloway’s Nursery

TCWSP Texas Certified Water Smart Professional Ashley Grubb Enchanted Nurseries & Landscapes

Green In the article titled Where Our Workers Come From, what is the present state of undocumented workers in the US?

a. 10 Million b. 11 Million c. 12 Million d. 13 Million

In the article titled Where Our Workers Come From, the fourth fact that the writer brings into conversation is “… the United States will have immigration.”

a. True b. False

According to the article Educating Clients, what does Mr. Bonick say about what industry needs to be teaching homeowners?

a. That they waste more water taking a shower than watering the landscape. b. What “low maintenance” really means. c. A buzzword to define the landscape. d. That money is the issue with “low maintenance” landscapes.

According to the article Drones and Data Guy, what generally happens when you start talking about robots to industry?

a. People want to know more about the technology. b. People are afraid they are going to lose their job. c. People feel it will solve the labor problem. d. People brick up the idea due to costs.

According to the article Drones and Data Guy, which of the following is an effective way to use drones for farm managers:

a. Tears in greenhouse covers b. Space planning c. Heating losses d. Drones can be used for all the above

QUIZ According to the article Drones and Data Guy, what is one unseen future benefit that green industry businesses can benefit from by investing in drones and other technology?

a. Drones and technology allow you to play at work. b. The younger and new workforce are attracted to businesses utilizing drones and technology. c. Drones will replace workers. d. Technology will lead to more sales.

According to the article Plants with Potential II: Jujube, what is one great advantage to of jujube over many traditional fruits?

a. It can be grown year-round b. The yield is affecting by the previous year’s conditions c. Jujube are not considered a ‘sweet fruit’ d. None of the above

According to the article More Than Just Another Bad Smell, BMSB typically overwinters indoors which has caused a “home invasion not unlike a horror film.”

a. True b. False

According to the article More Than Just Another Bad Smell, how are USDA entomologists searching for ways to control BMSB?

a. Efficiency of traps and attractants b. Altering the genetics c. Studying pheromones d. All the above

In Bugs & Fuzz: Start Clean and Stay Clean “making sure that tools used are cleaned and sanitized often can prevent catastrophic outbreak.”

a. True b. False

November/December 2018 TNLA Green

35

TNLA

Talks

For Josh Bracken, running the business—and service to TNLA—runs in the family. The current TNLA Board Chair is part of the family that runs Nicholson-Hardie Nursery & Garden Center, the 119-year-old Dallas business offering plants, garden items, and home decor.

¶ How long have you been in the nursery and retail garden business?

My family acquired the business in 1974. I’ve grown up working in the stores. After college and a successful stint in another career, I came back to the business full-time in the spring of 1994. ¶

What do you love about it? I’m a zealot for retail because you have the unique opportunity to make

someone’s day better, with great service, a little compassion, and the amazing products we sell. Life

can be hectic and busy for our customers, we offer the nature and beauty to help people slow down and enjoy life. I often hear from our customers how they just needed to come by and enjoy our

beautiful flowers, plants, and products to de-stress. We sell products that enhance people’s lives. ¶ How does your passion for and commitment to the industry carry over into your service on the TNLA board? We are all very blessed to work in the green industry. My family has benefited greatly

from this wonderful industry. My father and brother have both served as Chair of the TNLA board and over the years we have cultivated friendships that have helped to make us successful. I feel a

great sense of duty to serve and attempt to pay back an association that does and has done so much for our industry, family business, and my family as well. ¶ As chair of the board, what’s your vision for TNLA’s future? My vision for the future of TNLA is that we continue to grow and find ways to

provide service to all the business categories we represent. The certification program is an incredibly

valuable tool for our staff. I would like to see it utilized to its fullest potential, and I feel like we have come a long way in doing so. I would like to see more programming to help garden retailers rise

to the next level and attract more retailers to be TNLA members. Lastly, I want TNLA to continue to fight and represent the green industry, small business, and family business in legislative and regulatory affairs and engage our membership to be very involved in the political process. ¶ What are your primary goals/what do you hope

to accomplish during your time as board chair? The goals I would like to

accomplish during my time as chair are mostly derived from my vision in

the above statement. Also, I want to attend as many regional meetings as possible to further my knowledge of the different issues and challenges that our members are facing. I want to be easily accessible to our membership and board.

36

TNLA Green November/December 2018

November/December 2018 TNLA Green

C

D

TNLA Green November/December 2018