greenhouse roof, turning the mate- 

 rial blue. This changes the quality of 

 light that gets through to the plant by 

 eliminating specific wavelengths of 

 light. 



"By filtering out far red light, which 

 is just before infrared on the color 

 spectrum, and permitting red light to 

 enter the greenhouse, we were able to 

 grow very short compact plants," 

 saysKelly. "Chrysanthemumsgrown 

 under the copper sulphate were 40- 

 46% shorter and darker green than 

 plants grown under other filters or 

 natural sunlight." 



All other plant varieties tested 

 showed similar trends, with particu- 

 larly favorable results in poinsettias. 

 Reduced heightanddeepercolor were 

 visible in less than a week of hght- 

 treated growth. 



For more information: 

 John Kelly 



Department of Horticulture 

 Clemson University 

 Clemson, SC 29634 



(803)656-2603 



New from Holland — 

 A Dianthus... 



Reprinted from Greenhouse 

 Manager, February 199 



A new lilac dianthus has been devel- 

 opedbyWest-Stekb.v.ofKweintsheul, 

 Nederland. 



'Lilactop'is a hybrid with denticulate 

 petals that contrast sharply with 

 protruding light-colored stamens. 

 This new pot flower has a dense 

 growth habit and matures at 7 inches. 

 It is an 8-to 12-week a-op from the 

 cutting stage to a viable plant. 



The flower gets its name from a 'lilac 

 top" that is evident when at least 

 three flowers have obtained color and 

 about 10 viable buds have formed. 

 "Lilactop' fiowers over a period of six 

 months; individual flowers bloom 

 for 3-4 weeks before shrinking and 

 fading. 



For information: 

 West-Stekb.v. 

 Kwintsheul, Anjerstekken 

 Hooghe Beer 16-2295 MX 

 Nederland 

 telephone 01742-8341 



...a Winter Mum 



Reprinted from Greenhouse 

 Manager, February 1991 



Anemone-flowering chrysanthe- 

 mums are known for their low pro- 

 duction during winter. But a new 

 white chrysanthemum variety is be- 

 ing touted as a heavy bloomer. 



'Expo White' from Hilvo B.V. is an 

 anemone-shaped spray mum thatcan 

 be grownyear-round, but is especially 

 suited to winter production. 

 Flowers have a yellow-green center 

 and a diameter of 2 172 inches. Aver- 

 agestemlengthis35inches. Growing 

 time (without supplemental lighting) 

 is nine weeks. 

 For information: 

 Hilvo B.V., 

 Boekhorsterweg 6a 

 Postbusl81,2210AD 

 Noordwijkerhout, Nederland 



AAN and ALCA to 

 Cooperate in 

 Legislative Efforts 



Reprinted from AAN Today, 

 February /March 1991 



The American Association of Nurs- 

 erymen (AAN) and the Associated 

 Landscape Contractors of America 

 (ALCA) have signed an agreement 

 whereby AAN will provide legislative 



consulting services to ALCA. The 

 agreement recognized "common in- 

 terests and objectives" between the 

 two organizations in the area of leg- 

 islative action. 



The AAN/ALCA cooperative effort 

 will cover a range of legislative ser- 

 vices, with emphasis on monitoring 

 and reporting on bills in Congress 

 and participation in AAN's Legisla- 

 tive Leadership Conference, sched- 

 uled for September. 



AAN and ALCA are currently explor- 

 ing other cooperative efforts in publi- 

 cation sales and other areas. 



And the Beet Goes 

 On.... 



Reprinted from GrowerTalks, 

 February 1991 



1991 has been selected the "Year of 

 Beet and Cosmos" by the National 

 Garden Bureau , Inc. , Downers Grove , 

 Illinois. Food trends in the 1990's, 

 both in restaurants and at home, em- 

 phasize the use of natural i ngrediente 

 in food preparation, so gardeners 

 need encouragement on the ease and 

 benefit of growing vegetables from 

 seed, according to Nona Wolfram- 

 Koivula, NGB executive director. 

 Promotional materials are available. 

 Call (708) 963-0770. *»• 



TIPS 



From the Griffin Guru 



Drinking Water Pollutants 



No one intentionally sets out to contaminate their own well or foul a 

 drinking water supply, yet it happens. An article published in a Boston 

 newspaper reported the EPA has set limits for 27 drinking water 

 pollutants. They also revised standards for eleven other pollutants 

 because of updated information. 



The article specifically mentions "widely used agricultural pesticides" 

 and "fertilizer runofi"," concluding vrith the direct quote "most of the 

 cancer cases are associated with pesticides." 



I don't think I need a better reason to look for ways to tighten up my 

 operation. I probably would start by calculating the exact amount of 

 spray to be used to prevent the need to dispose of the unused mixture. 

 Then I'd make sure as much fertilizer as possible stays in the container 

 and doesn't overflow or leach out onto the bench or ground. 



April/May 1991 11 



