ELSEWHERE IN THE NEWS 



capable of further cultivation and 

 development. On its face, the pro- 

 posal injected a high and new 

 degree of uncertainty and ambigu- 

 ity that, at best, could have re- 

 sulted in protracted conflicts be- 

 tween growers and overly aggres- 

 sive tax examiners. At worst, it 

 could have established a string of 

 unfavorable tax rulings for the en- 

 tire greenhouse and nursery in- 

 dustry. Over the long term, it is 

 increasingly clear that, if you sell 

 directly to the end-user or con- 

 sumer, the IRS will be taking an 

 increasingly limited view of who is 

 a farmer. 



The American Nursery and 

 Landscape Association (ANLA) 

 welcomes and appreciates not 

 only the clarification that the IRS 

 has issued, but also the speed 

 with which it was announced. 



(Also noteworthy is ANLA's 

 grassroots power. ANLA received 

 copies of 723 letters sent to the 

 IRS in just a ten-day turnaround 

 period. ANLA also estimates that 

 in this same time period, congres- 

 sional offices received nearly 

 2100 letters protesting the IRS 

 rule.) 



For more, contact Ben Bolusky 

 at 202-789-2900. 



A Useful Publication 



[Greenhouse Grower, December, 19971 



As consumers look for new crops, 

 it behooves the grower to produce 

 them well. Sometimes information 

 on how to do this is hard to find 

 For that reason, the Ohio Florists' 

 Association (OFA| has published 

 Tips on Growing Specialty Potted Crops. 

 The book — compiled through the 

 efforts of 30 of the industry's 

 leading experts — focuses on grow- 

 ing tips for African violet, alstro- 

 meria, florist azalea, caladium, 

 lisianthus, primula, and more. The 

 publication is available to OFA 

 members for $30. and for non- 

 members, $35. For more informa- 

 tion, contact OFA Services, Inc., 

 2130 Stella Court, Suite 200, Co- 

 lumbus, Ohio 43215. The phone 

 number is 614-487-1 I 17. 



UConn 'Wedding Bells' 



(Connecticut Nurserymens 

 Association News to Use, 

 lanuary, 19981 



Dr. Mark Brand, Associate Profes- 

 sor, Department of Plant Science, 

 University of Connecticut, an- 

 nounces Halesia Carolina 'UConn 

 Wedding Bells. ' Discovered as an 



»i 



The Griffin Guru 



It's a monumental job. 



Keeping your benches full, fed, and pinched — plus moved or 

 spaced out, while being sure that the crop Is ready when your 

 customer wants It, Is a monumental |ob. A wise grower once said 

 that before you begin ordering supplies for the new year, stop and 

 review the previous year's records. 



If you always keep updated and accurate records of everything 

 you did (good or bad) every year, you'll be that much smarter and 

 your crops will be that much better. 



outstanding specimen in Colum- 

 bus, Ohio, the plant was ob- 

 served, propagated, and named 

 by Dr. Brand. UConn Wedding 

 Bells is a small flowering tree ex- 

 cellent for smaller properties 

 where blooms are important. Pro- 

 fuse white bell-shaped flowers oc- 

 cur annually in IVlay and at an 

 early age, making them readily 

 marketable at smaller sizes 



Foliage is somewhat shiny; four- 

 winged fruits, conspicuous in the fall, 

 persist into early winter: bark is steel- 

 grey, streaked vertically with cream. 

 An understory tree (it can tolerate 

 some sun), it prefers moist, well- 

 drained, slightly acidic soils 



The University of Connecticut is 

 requesting a five cents per plant 

 royalty, with funds returning to 

 the Ornamental Plant Develop- 

 ment and Evaluation Program in 

 the Department of Plant Science. 

 Softwood cuttings and tissue cul- 

 tures are available 



For information, contact Dr. 

 Mark Brand at 860-486-2930 



Palmer "Bill" Bigelow 



Palmer "Bill" Bigelow, Jr., of Bigelow 

 Nurseries, Northboro, MA, passed 

 away on November 22, 1997. 



A lifelong Northboro resident, 

 Bill served in the US Navy and 

 Coast guard and was a pilot in 

 World War II. In 1950, he took 

 over Bigelow Nurseries after work- 

 ing there since childhood. He 

 served as AAN president in 1975- 

 76 and presided over the associa- 

 tion's annual convention in Bos- 

 ton. Bill also served on the White 

 House Grounds Committee since 

 the Johnson administration and 

 was elected to the Nurserymen's 

 Hall of Fame in 1989. 



It's suggested that memorial 

 contributions be made to the 

 Timothy Bigelow Scholarship Fund 

 by contacting Ashby P. Ruden, HRI 

 administrator at ANLA (telephone: 

 202-789-2900). 



FEBRUARY ■ MARCH • 1998 



11 



