Lewis mites can damage poinsettias
Lewis mite has been reported feeding on greenhouse poinsettias, Euphorbia marginata, (snow-on-the-mountain), castor bean, papaya, burclover and ceanothus. Univ. of Conn. ext. hort and greenhouse IPM specialist Leanne Pundt said if detection is made early and only 1-2 plants are infected, it may be possible to toss those plants and closely watch surrounding plants to see if treatment is needed. Predatory mites may also be used if Lewis mites are detected before an outbreak. Damage often appears in August, September or October. Pundt also advised that with an unusually warm, dry fall, it is also possible that twospotted spider mites may move from outside weeds and leftover summer crops to poinsettias.
Billboard advertises salads with live plants
To advertise the freshness of its salads, McDonald's took a novel approach: it created a billboard using live lettuce plants to spell out "Fresh Salads." The billboard was planted this fall in the Chicago area and will remain up as long as the weather allows. The plants on the billboard are a blend of mesclun greens that are actually used to create the salads. McDonald's hired advertising agency Leo Burnett, which worked with Univ. of Ill. horticulturist Greg Pierceall. Pierceall used a vertical growing system to create the sign. The plants were supplied by local grower Good Earth Greenhouses and Garden Center in Lockport.
Web site tracks poinsettia height control
Univ. of Fla.'s Fall 2007 Poinsettia Height Control and Graphical Tracking Site looks at the weekly growth of 8 poinsettia crops in the university's greenhouses and makes height control decisions. The crop site includes crop schedules and growth regulator info. Notes are provided each week on how decisions were made about growth regulator applications. Plant heights are plotted against a graphical tracking curve that provides a general guide to the desired plant heights at different times during production. Results from previous poinsettia growth regulator trials (2002-2005) are also available. Visitors to the site can provide feedback for this year's trials.
Video game lets players experience immigrant angst
ICED! I Can End Deportation is a downloadable game scheduled for release in November by Breakthrough, an int'l. human rights organization. Players have to live the day-to-day life of an immigrant teen, who is constantly being chased by immigration officers, while making moral/consequential decisions and answering myth and fact quizzes about immigration policies. If players choose or answer incorrectly, they increase their chances of being thrown into detention. Once in detention, players endure both physical separation from their family and unjust conditions while awaiting, often for unknown amounts of time, the random outcome of their cases. Maybe they could create a hort. edition specific to our industry.
FNGLA chooses 6 Plants of the Year
Fla. Nursery, Growers & Landscape Assoc. named its 2008 selections: Stromanthe sanguinea 'Triostar,' Sabal minor (dwarf palmetto), Dichorisandra thrysiflora (blue ginger), Mimosa strigillosa, Aloysia virgata (almond bush) and Quercus geminata (sand live oak). Plants are selected on criteria ranging from ease of maintenance, versatility, consumer appeal, pest and disease resistance, geographic use, ease of propagation and plant availability. FNGLA will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Plants of the Year by announcing its Best of the Decade plant selections.
Worth a visit
Attorney Monte Lake discusses implications of the Department of Homeland Security's mismatch letter campaign. Only on GreenBeam.com.
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