The Plantsman 



Elsewhere in the News, cont'd 



Through the PR Fund, SAF is 

 creating more media buzz in March 

 with the continuation of its Flower 

 Fundamentals public relations 

 program. SAF is hosting press brieFings 

 with editors of national publications, 

 in which Flower Fundamentals 

 spokeswoman, Rebecca Cole, a floral 

 designer and the host of Discovery 

 Channel's "Surprise by Design, " leads 

 workshops designed to generate 

 more publicity for the benefits of 

 flowers and plants and the expertise 

 of florists. 



"We have come so far," Larimer 

 says of the SAF PR Fund's five-year 

 anniversary. "Imagine what could be 

 done with more funding. There are 

 many great PR opportunities. All we 

 need is more industry participation. " 



SAF thanks the 2,000 retailers, 



wholesalers, suppliers, growers and 



importers who are supporting the PR 



Fund. 



Credit SAF 2/27/06 News Release 



PA Hosts New Green Expo 



The newest wholesale trade 

 show in the "green industry" the 

 Pennsylvania Green Expo (PAGE) will 

 be held at the Harrisburg Farm Show 

 Complex in July. This show located 

 in centrally located Pennsylvania is 

 being marketed to businesses and 

 individuals engaged in all aspects of 

 the green trade - nurseries, florists, 

 landscapers, arborists, lawn and 

 garden centers, grounds maintenance 

 etc. 



The Harrisburg Farm Show Complex 

 has over 1 million square feet of show 

 space to accommodate the show. 

 The PA Department of Agriculture is 



April/May 2006 



a supporter of the show. The event 

 is set for July 18-20, 2006. For more 

 information contact 800-7789-5068 



Grant Funds for Water Management 

 The Horticultural Research Institute's 

 (HRI) executive committee granted 

 $335,000 to 22 high-priority projects 

 and four scholarships for 2006. 

 These projects best meet the needs 

 of the industry and have quality 

 scientific merit that will result in new 

 knowledge and techniques to deal 

 with major industry issues. 



A priority research issue identified by 

 the committee and industry members 

 has been water management and use. 

 In response, the committee agreed 

 to support a research consortium 

 on water issues. It is the goal of the 

 committee that during the consortium, 

 priority water issues will be 

 determined as well as the evaluation 

 of current water research and its 

 applicability to the industry. A total of 

 $50,000 will be awarded to significant 

 and quality water research projects. 

 Collaboration among researchers 

 will be encouraged to ensure that 

 duplication of research does not 

 occur. 



In addition to HRI's competitive 

 grants program, HRI is actively 

 partnering with other associations 

 to increase industry research. Most 

 notably, HRI has partnered with the 

 USDA Agricultural Research Service 

 to obtain and guide federal research 

 dollars to critical industry research 

 through the Floriculture and Nursery 

 Research Initiative (FNRI). FNRI 

 research funding now totals $6.25 

 million. By leveraging federal and 

 other sources of research funding, 

 HRI is able to fulfill its mission to 



A display garden at Vermont Flower i/ioiv 

 held February 23 - 25. 



become the national clearinghouse 

 for research and development for the 

 nursery and landscape industry. 



The following information highlights 

 some of the projects funded by 

 research grants distributed by HRI. 

 The institution, principal investigator, 

 project and amount of the grant are 

 listed. The Ohio State University, (Dr. 

 Parwinder Grewal) , Development 

 of a New Biological Product for Slug 

 Control, $20,000. Virginia Polytechnic 

 Institute & State University and 

 North Carolina State University 

 (Drs. Jeffrey F. Derr and Joseph C. 

 Neal) Controlling New Weeds in 

 Nurseries and Landscapes $5,000. 

 Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State 

 University (Dr. Robert D. Wright) 

 Development of a New Container 

 Substrate Derived from Ground 

 Pine Wood Chips $1 5,000. Water 

 Management Research Consortium: 

 Identifying Nursery Industry Priority 

 Water Issues (Investigators to be 

 determined) $15,000. ♦ 

 Credit: ANLA News 2/17/2006 



