ELSEWHERE 



THE NEWS 



NENA Listening Session 



On September 14, the New England 

 Nursery Association hosted a meet- 

 ing of the New England state asso- 

 ciation leadership, the primary focus 

 of which was a three-hour listening 

 session designed by Extension to 

 help the New England Cooperative 

 Extension System find ways to better 

 serve to the regional green industry. 

 A professional facilitator led the 

 group of industry leaders through "a 

 series of specific questions designed 

 to elicit candid responses." 



And, according to |eff Huntington 

 (Pleasant View Gardens), who was 

 NHPGA's representative at the ses- 

 sion, comments were "frank and to 

 the point." Suggestions included bet- 

 ter communication between states to 

 avoid duplication of effort, improved 

 communication between Extension 

 and their respective associations, 

 more timely communication of the 



results of local research, and greater 

 emphasis on the use of computers. A 

 review of Extension's soil testing sys- 

 tem regionwide was suggested; it was 

 felt that Extension's educational pri- 

 orities should include "marketing, 

 business management, computer ca- 

 pabilities, and consumer understand- 

 ing of the green industry." 



The session was transcribed and 

 sent to the six state Extension sys- 

 tems. The state association leader- 

 ship group strongly recommends that 

 there be follow-up on the ideas sug- 

 gested. 



The NHPGA thanks Jeff for repre- 

 senting us at this meeting. For de- 

 tails, you can contact him at 603-435- 

 8361. 



New Plant Trials at UVM 



(from Tfte Dirt, Fall, 1995) 



During the last two years, aided by a 

 $1500 grant by VAPH, the number of 



trees and shrubs under test at the 

 UVM Research Center has greatly in- 

 creased. Many new plants have be- 

 come available from China and Rus- 

 sia and from breeding programs in 

 this country. Some were supplied by 

 the Center for Development of Hardy 

 Landscape Plants at the University of 

 Minnesota. At UVM, special emphasis 

 is placed on testing for hardiness, 

 pest resistance, and landscape po- 

 tential. 



Four hybrids (from Russia and Yu- 

 goslavia, but purchased from One 

 Green World Nursery, Molalla, OR) of 

 mountain ash with edible fruit are on 

 trial. These include 'Ivan's Belle' ™ — 

 European mountain ash crossed with 

 hawthorn, described as a hardy small 

 tree with dark green foliage and 

 wine-red fruit the size of a cherry; 

 'Ivan's Beauty'™ — a hybrid of Euro- 

 pean mountain ash and chokeberry 

 (Arowifl), with sweet almost-black fruit 

 one-half inch in diameter; 'Shipova' 



re- 



's 



S'-:.r^^~ rr 



^'^-% 



Pleasant View Gardens 



LTrowers of Quality Liners 

 ^& Finished Material 



7316 PLEASANT STREET LOUDON NEW HAMPSHIRE 03301 



603-435-8361 OR 1-800-343-4784 



FAX 603-435-6849 



THE PLANTSMAN 



