Immigrant-rights activists plan May 1 rallies
A coalition of nat'l. immigrant-rights organizations is coordinating the Great American Boycott II for May 1. The March 25 Coalition, which initiated a similar May Day event in 2006, aims to defend immigrant workers and show their power by "bringing business as usual" to a standstill nationwide. More than 1 million people demonstrated in the streets in dozens of cities last year. More recent protests have drawn fewer participants.

DoE expects gas prices to remain high
U.S. Dept. of Energy reports recent and continuing int'l. tensions are expected to amplify the effects of already tight int'l. petroleum markets as the summer season (April through September) begins. U.S. retail motor gasoline prices surged over the last 2 months, rising by more than 60 cents per gallon. During summer, the average monthly gasoline pump price is projected to peak at an average of $2.87 per gallon in May, compared with $2.98 per gallon last July. Retail regular-grade motor gasoline prices are projected to average $2.81 per gallon this summer compared with $2.84 per gallon last summer.

SunPatiens handle Dallas summer
Impatiens x hybrida SunPatiens series can tolerate high temperatures and full sun, said Jimmy Turner, dir. of research at Dallas Arboretum. The motto of the arboretum trial program is: If we can't kill it, no one can. Last summer, Turner trialed the 4 original colors in the SunPatiens series. While other plants succumbed to hot, dry weather, Turner said the SunPatiens not only survived the brutal conditions, but actually thrived, continuing to grow and flower throughout summer. He said he had a hard time keeping other impatiens alive even when grown in the shade.

Seeley to focus on profit squeeze
The theme for this year's Seeley Conference is Profit Squeeze: Is There a Solution? It's scheduled for June 23-26 at Cornell Univ. in Ithaca, N.Y., The conference will look at whether the floriculture's profit squeeze will be overcome through innovative approaches, including Lean.

Be on the lookout for Botrytis
Recent cool, cloudy weather in many parts of the country should remind growers to step up monitoring for Botrytis. Now that bedding plants are filling out, tender flowers, leaves and stems are prone to disease infection, said Univ. of Mass. floriculture ext. specialist Tina Smith. She advises to look carefully under canopies and around the crowns of plants for fuzzy, grayish-brown spores (conidia) that are easily spread on air currents and by splashing water. Common Botrytis symptoms include spotting and blight on petals, leaves and stems that develop into soft, fuzzy tissue. Less-obvious symptoms are tan stem cankers that can cause entire branches to wilt, while the rest of the plant appears healthy.

Worth a visit
The 12-month Solutions Source series provides solutions to the challenges growers face today. This month: inadequate or outdated production facilities. Only on GreenBeam.com.

Many Yoder Green Leaf Perennials™ are available vernalized, or pre-cooled, in late winter and early spring for enhanced performance.

Cora™ Vinca bred by Goldsmith * Patented resistance to Aerial Phytophthora * Uniform habit and flowering time * Showy flowers – 2 inches and larger!