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New Hybrids 

 Coming 



Reprinted from Nursery Business 

 Grower, October 1990. 



Two of the world's leading green- 

 house manufacturers, Rough Bro- 

 thers of Cincinnati, Ohio, and J.M. 

 van de Hoeven b.v. of Graven- 

 zande, the Netherlands, have 

 signed an agreement whereby 

 Rough Brothers will become the 

 exclusive distributors for van de 

 Hoeven greenhouses. The prece- 

 dent setting agreement covers the 

 entire continental United States, 

 except for California and Nevada, 

 which are not served by Rough 

 Brothers. 



For several years. Rough Brothers 

 has offered its own highly success- 

 ful International Series of Venlo- 

 style greenhouses and Rough's ex- 

 panded Venlo product line will 

 continue to be marketed under the 

 International brand name. How- 

 ever, it is anticipated that future 

 products will be hybrids of van de 

 Hoeven and Rough Brothers mate- 

 rials. "We'll source materials that 

 will provide the customer with the 

 most desirable and economical 

 product," said Bruce Rowe, Rough's 

 Treasurer and Co-owner. 



Mike Foley, Reginal Sales Manager 

 for Rough Brothers, feels this 

 merger "will give us capabilities to 

 add ontoexisitingDutch structures 

 which we did not have before." For 

 further information, call Mike at 

 (617)942-1246. 



The Nicest Greeting 

 of All 



Reprinted from Greenhouse 

 Manager, October 1990. 



In a move to boost sales beyond its 

 core greeting cards, Hallmark 

 Cards Inc. has begun test-mar- 

 keting fresh flowers in some of its 

 stores. 



The test of packaged floral ar- 

 rangements marks the first time 



10 THE PlANTSMAN 



the nation's largest card marketer 

 has tapped into the retail floral 

 business. 



The 80-year-old company is testing 

 flower sales in about 100 Hallmark 

 shops in the Baltimore, MD, and 

 Indianapolis, IN, areas. An ad 

 campaign including 30-second 

 television spots began in those 

 markets in September. 



At each shop, a collection of floral 

 gifts, including cut arrangements, 

 bouquets, and potted flowering 

 plants is displayed. Each arrange- 

 ment includes a combination of 

 flowers, specially designed con- 

 tainer, and coordinated gift card. 



Hallmark plans to test the fresh 

 flower concept for about a year. 



For further information, contact 

 Hallmark Cards Inc., 2501 McGee 

 Street, Kansas City, MO 64108. 



"Fertilizer Sensor" 

 Developed at 

 Ohio State 



Reprinted from Grower Talks, 

 October 1990. 



A "fertilizer sensor" designed at 

 Ohio State University could help 

 growers reduce water contamina- 

 tion from greenhouses. The elec- 

 tronic device monitors fertilizer 

 levels at the root level. A meter 

 tells the rates the plants take up 

 fertilizer, and gives immediate up- 

 dates on fertilizer levels. With the 

 sensor, growers can avoid applying 

 too much fertilizer while feeding 

 plants for maximum yeild and 

 quality. Growers can increase or 

 decrease fertilizer based on the 

 analytical readings. 



The sensor was developed as part 

 of the OSU's Controlled Environ- 

 ment Research Program. Bill 

 Bauerle, associate professor of 

 horticulture at Ohio State Univer- 

 sity Research Development Center, 

 says scientists there are studying 

 "stable, efficient" ways to grow 

 crops without pollution. 



Three Blue 

 Ribbons... 



Reprinted from Grower Talks, 

 October 1990. 



Eighty-six new varieties of fresh 

 flowers and flowering plants were 

 awarded ribbons at the Society of 

 American Florists' Annual New 

 Varieties Competition during 

 SAF's 106th Annual Convention in 

 Washington, D.C. 



Blue ribbons were awarded to 

 Acapulco Oriental lily, exhibited by 

 Sunburst Farms, Miami, Florida, 

 and developed by Vletter & 

 Denhaan, the Netherlands; Pre- 

 mier hybrid tea rose, displayed by 

 Parjaro Valley Greenhouses, Wat- 

 sonville, California, and developed 

 by W. Kordes-Sohne, the Nether- 

 lands; and Rex micromini daisy 

 pompon, displayed by Van Zanten, 

 the Netherlands, and developed by 

 CBA, the Netherlands. 



...and a 

 FloraStarAward 



Reprinted from Grower Talks, Oc- 

 tober 1990. 



Thalia streptocarpus from Mik- 

 kelsen's has been named a winner 

 by FloraStar, the all-industry pot- 

 ted plant trialing competition es- 

 tablished to promote new varieties 

 and foster industry marketing ef- 

 forts. 



Thalia was bred by Lyndon 

 Drewlow for Mi kke! sen's and is 

 being added to the Olympus series 

 propagated and distributed by the 

 company. Thalia is heavy bloom- 

 ing, with many large white ruffled 

 flowers with carmine-streaked 

 throats emerging from a compact 

 rosette of yellow-green foliage. 



Thalia will be available January 1, 

 1991, and distiibuted through ap- 

 proximately 30 brokers. For fur- 

 ther information, call Mikkelsen's 

 at (216) 998-2070. 



