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ELSEWHERE IN THE 



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NEWS 



Conference on Perennials 



The University of Connecticut is 

 sponsoring a Perennial Plant Confer- 

 ence to be held Thursday, March 7, 

 at the Bishop Center on the Univer- 

 sity of Connecticut campus in Storrs. 

 The morning of this all-day confer- 

 ence will focus on the landscape use 

 of perennials; the afternoon, nutrient 

 and pest management (with pesti- 

 cide applicator training recertification 

 credits available). A concurrent after- 

 noon session will focus on produc- 

 tion strategies for both the green- 

 house and nursery industry. The 

 day's speakers include: IMargery Daugh- 

 trey. Department of Plant Pathology, 

 Cornell University ("Disease Control 

 in Perennials"); Steven Sill, Depart- 

 ment of Horticulture, Ohio State Uni- 

 versity ("Overwintering Perennials" 

 and "Perennial Combinations that 



Work"); Mary Ann Mc-Gourty, Hillside 

 Gardens, Norfolk, CT ("Newer and 

 Underused Perennials"); and Robert 

 Hermann, White Flower Farm, Litch- 

 field, CT ("Perennial Use in Europe 

 and Recent Imports to the US"). 



A registration fee (check payable 

 to University of Connecticut) of $50.00 

 is due by March first. For informa- 

 tion, contact Dr. Richard McAvoy, 

 1367 Storrs Road, U-67, Department 

 of Plant Science, Storrs, CT 06269- 

 4067; the phone number is 860-486- 

 0627; the fax, 860-486-0682. 



A Loss that May Prove 

 Fruitful 



The Junior League of Portland, 

 Maine, Inc., and the Maine Land- 

 scape and Nursery Association 

 (MeLNA) announced in November 

 that the Maine State Horticultural 



nn 



PPGA 



Show, scheduled for March, 1996, 

 would be postponed until 1997, after 

 which it will be a biannual event. 

 The reason stated was that "with the 

 upturn in the Maine economy, the 

 availability of 50-80,000 square foot 

 spaces has diminished and it is in- 

 creasingly difficult to locate an ap- 

 propriate site." 



The horticultural show has been 

 one of the big events welcoming 

 spring in the Greater Portland Area 

 for the last seven years, promoting 

 horticulture and the Green Industry 

 while raising funds for such area 

 projects and causes as the Beacon 

 Teen Center and the Junior League 

 Community Council on Youth Over 

 18,000 people attend annually. 



■The junior League and MeLNA in- 

 tend to spend 1996 exploring and re- 

 vamping. They also "wish to join oth- 

 ers whose events are limited by the 

 available space in Southern Maine in 

 exploring the feasibility of some kind 

 of permanent facility." 



Stock Locator Ready 



(from News to Use, December, 1995) 



The 3.5 Second Challenge 



Three and a half seconds — that's how long direct mail experts say the av- 

 erage consumer looks at a piece of unsolicited mail before throwing it 

 away. How can you extend that attention and get your direct mail piece 

 opened? Here are some ideas: 



• Add appealing stickers or labels. 



• Use package inserts that rattle or make noise 

 (like a packet of seeds.) 



• Add coins that "pay" the person to open the envelope 



• For a simple message try a post card format that doesn't 

 have to be opened to be read. 



• Use a plain envelope with no business name on the return 

 address, so the recipient must open the envelope to find its 

 source. 



The first edition of the Connecticut 

 Nurserymen's Association Sourer Guide 

 for Connecticut-Crown Plant Material 

 arrived from the printer and was sent 

 to CNA members right after the holi- 

 days, with hopes that it will become 

 a useful resource for all plant needs. 

 Those who contributed include: 

 "our wholesale growers who propa- 

 gate the plants and offered their 

 catalogs, our allied suppliers who 

 took space ads to help underwrite 

 costs; Deborah D who composed ad 

 copy and covers, and Dr. Mark Brand, 

 UConn Extension, who pulled the as- 

 sorted lists into one comprehensive 

 reference." 



Put an intriguing question on the envelope that is answered inside. "Do you 

 qualify for our free landscaping service?" "What's the number one drought-re- 

 sistant plant in the Hometown area?" "Why should you plant pansies in the 

 fall?" 



(From PPGA News, November. 1995) 



THE PLANTSMAN 



