ELSEWHERE 



THE NEW 



Events... 



Past... 



New England Grows, the result of a 

 merger of four regional trade shows 

 (those of the New England Nursery 

 Association, the Associated Land- 

 scape Contractors of Massachusetts, 

 the Massachusetts Arborists Associa- 

 tion, and the Massachusetts Nursery 

 & Landscape Association) and co- 

 sponsored by 20 other regional asso- 

 ciations, saw record turnout at 

 Boston's Hynes Convention Center in 

 January. The 8200 attendees (a 24% 

 increase over last year) could visit 

 730 display booths or sit in on any 

 of 20 educational sessions. There 

 was also a NE Grows job center 

 where employers and job seekers 

 could advertise their needs. A new 

 feature was the donation of NE 

 Grows research grants to the Univer- 

 sity Cooperative Extension Systems 

 of the six New England States. 



Next year's show is scheduled for 

 February 1-3. For information, call 

 508-653-3009. 



...and Future 



On Thursday, August 24, rain or 

 shine, what is billed as "the biggest 

 distributor show for greenhouse and 

 nursery supplies in the Northeast" 

 will be held at Griffin Greenhouse & 

 Nursery Supplies at 1619 Main Street 

 in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. 



This 8th biennial open house fea- 

 tures a trade show (over 75 exhibi- 

 tors) and a speaker program 

 ("highly-recognized speakers, diversi- 

 fied topics"). Lunch and refresh- 

 ments will be provided by Griffin. 

 There is plenty of free parking. 



"If you have any questions, call us 

 at 508-851-4346." 



New President 



Sara )ane von Trapp was elected 

 president of the New England Nurs- 

 ery Association (NENA) at the 

 NENA annual meeting on January 27, 

 1995 in Boston. 



lane and her husband Chris are 

 co-owners of von Trapp Nursery, a 



April & May 1995 



16-year-old wholesale nursery and 

 residential landscape construction 

 company located in Hinesburg, Ver- 

 mont, lane is also the author of 

 Landscape Doctor, a consumer-oriented 

 problem/ solution book published 

 by Chapters Publishing, Shelburne, 

 VT. lane, Chris, and their three chil- 

 dren live in Charlotte 



PPGA Takes USDA to 

 Court 



The Professional Plant Growers Asso- 

 ciation (PPGA) filed suit February 13 

 against a proposed rule change to 

 further relax plant quarantine laws to 

 allow importation of certain commer- 

 cial plant genera in approved grow- 

 ing media. 



In its complaint, PPGA describes 

 the Animal and Plant Health Inspec- 

 tion Service's (APHIS) proposed rule 

 change as "arbitrary and capricious, " 

 as well as "an abuse of discretion " 

 These changes were to take effect 

 February 13 following a final notice 

 published in the Federal Register on 

 lanuary thirteenth. 



The rule change would allow the 

 importation of plant genera Ananas, 

 Alstroemeria, Anthurium, and Nidu- 

 larium in "approved" media which 

 would include peat moss, clay pel- 

 lets, rockwool, and certain starch ma- 

 t e ri a 1 . 



PPGA's primary concern is that 

 APHIS is making decisions of quaran- 

 tine significance without benefit of 

 sound scientific research. "APHIS has 



Z. 



HORTICULTURAL TESTING LABS ARE GENERALLY USED A LOT BY A 

 few and rarely by everybody else. The opportunity to see precisely 

 what is going on within the soil or on leaves or even in your water is 

 an underutilized tool. Imagine going to a doctor with an ailment, 

 but not allowing blood work or x-rays. Often growers will guess at 

 what is causing a plant's decline, fiddling with fertilizers, fungicides, 

 and anything else that could have affected the plant. Unfortunately, 

 these methods often compound the problem, creating new ones and 

 masking the culprit. 



My point behind all this is, "Try to take the guesswork out of your 

 business. " There is nothing more definitive than having in front of 

 you printouts of tissue and media samples of both a problem and a 

 control plant. Labs like the Scotts Company's can give you results in 

 48 hours. 



A commercial horticultural lab best suits our soilless mixes. The 

 testing there is quite different than that of an agronomic lab. Agro- 

 nomic labs that test field soil grind the soil to extract any potential 

 nutrients that could be released to the plant. With soilless mixes, we 

 don't expect the mix to give up many nutrients: we've control 

 everything— the pH and all the fertilizers the plant receive. So when 

 we test, we check only what is available today—in essence, leach 

 running out of the bottom of the pot. 



A tissue sample can show how the plant is reacting to the soil. 

 Disease cultures are more complex, requiring more time to isolate 

 and (if necessary) grow in the lab. Then, by the process of elimina- 

 tion, we can make recommendations and suggest how to avoid the 

 problem in the future. 



|im Zabhcki, Jerrilory Manager. The Scolls Company. Northeasl. can be reached 

 at 603-224-5583. 



