California assesses impact of wildfires
Total damage from the wildfires that scorched Southern California is expected to exceed $1 billion. Jim Bethke, floriculture and nursery farm adviser for San Diego County, expects the losses for the ornamentals industry to be huge. He e-mailed that much field-grown foliage has been ravaged. He said the county will form an assessment team to determine the extent of the damage. Bethke is surveying growers in the county to get an initial estimate of losses. Eric Larson, exec. dir. of San Diego County Farm Bureau, said he expects field crops, including nursery and outdoor cuts, to suffer the biggest losses. He expected losses to be higher in Valley Center, Rainbow and Fallbrook. He has received reports that some growers lost polyethylene roofs to the heat and/or strong Santa Ana winds.
Time to support AgJOBS
Now is the time to contact your senator to gain support for the immigration reform legislation known as AgJOBS. The bill would stabilize the labor situation in the ag sector and would overhaul the existing H-2A temporary ag worker program to make it more reliable and affordable. AgJOBS would give the most experienced and valued farm workers a chance to earn legal status if they met strict conditions. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is expected to offer AgJOBS as an amendment to another piece of legislation. The upcoming Farm Bill is a likely candidate for the amendment.
Trials, seminars focus on poinsettias
Several companies and universities scheduled poinsettia trials and educational programs this year.
• Nov. 13-14: Poinsettias: The Nuts & Bolts and Dollars & Cents, Paul Ecke Ranch, Encinitas, Calif., will cover scheduling, temperature, light, nutrition, media, water, height management, diagnostics and varieties.
• Nov. 15: Westcan Greenhouses in Langley, British Columbia, has an open house featuring 94 varieties.
• Nov. 28: Pleasant View Gardens in Loudon, N.H., will display 125 varieties.
• Dec. 1-2: University of Ill. in Urbana has an open house displaying cultivars and decorating ideas.
• Dec. 5: Kansas St. Univ. in Manhattan, holds an open house with 58 varieties.
• Dec. 6: N.C. St. Univ. in Raleigh presents 115 cultivars in 2 separate trials.
Canada identifies white rust on mums
In September, Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed the presence of chrysanthemum white rust (Puccinia horiana P. Henn.) in garden mums grown outdoors at a nursery in Chilliwack, British Columbia. The nursery was quarantined and eradication efforts were implemented. About 22,400 plants were destroyed. Follow-up monitoring and surveys were conducted at and around the nursery and residential property with no further detections. Trace-forward activities were completed and all infected plants were destroyed.
Submit entries for NMPRO Plant Pavilion
Companies wishing to display their new ornamental plants (annuals, perennials, trees and shrubs) in the NMPRO Plant Pavilion have until Nov. 3 to register. Plants featured in the Pavilion will be showcased in the January issue of NMPRO and at the 2008 ANLA Management Clinic in Louisville, Ky., Feb. 8-11. Download an application here or contact Jyme Mariani for details.
Worth a visit
Whether grown for pot plant culture or for use in landscape plantings, S&G Flowers' new Aubrieta hybrida Axcent series offers major improvements over other varieties on the market. Only on GreenBeam.com.
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• Goldsmith Seeds
• Fine Americas
Vibrant, strong & sturdy! Stimulate early spring sales with this free-flowering beauty. Large flowers and strong stems handle the rigors of retail. Bred by Goldsmith.
Concise™, the new uniconazole-p ornamental plant growth regulator, offers flexible control options and produces more compact and marketable plants at exceptional value.
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