ELSEWHERE I I\ THE NEWS 



DIY is the hot new sister channel 

 to Home and Garden Television 

 (HGTV) and the Food Network, 

 both of which attract over 70 mil- 

 hon viewers. DIY along with HGTV 

 and the Food Network are owned 

 and operated by Scripps Network, 

 one of the nation's most successful 

 developers of original brands and 

 content for cable television and the 

 Internet. 



Ball Horticultural Co. Press Release 

 12/06/02 



Cornell offers distance-learn- 

 ing course on grafting 



Without leaving home next spring, 

 gardeners can learn to graft multiple 

 fruit varieties onto a single fruit 

 tree, create unusual growth forms 

 and apply these skills to propagate 

 plants that do not root easily. 

 Cornell University's Department of 

 Horticulture is registering students 

 for a distance-learning course, "The 

 How, When and Why of Grafting 

 for Gardeners." The noncredit 

 course includes Web-based lectures 

 and quizzes, video demonstrations, 

 hands-on grafting and interactive 

 discussions. 



Kenneth Mudge, the Cornell as- 

 sociate professor of horticulture who 

 teaches the course, says the 10-week 

 class requires about four to eight 

 hours of work per week and will be 

 offered March 17 through May 23, 

 2003. Students can read weekly lec- 

 tures, view still images and video 

 clips of grafting procedures, partici- 

 pate in online discussions and take 

 multiple-choice quizzes. Students 

 then will demonstrate their knowl- 

 edge using hibiscus plants. The last 

 day to register is March 10. 



The compact disc developed for 

 the course is integrated with the 



Web site to show step-by-step pro- 

 cedures for three grafting tech- 

 niques: chip budding, T-budding 

 and top-wedge grafting. Mudge and 

 William Head, professor emeritus. 

 State University of New York at 

 Morrisville, developed the video in- 

 struction for the CD. The course is 

 limited to 50 students, and Mudge 

 suggests registering early. There are 

 two registration options. One costs 

 $225 and includes a password to ac- 

 cess the Web site, a CD with videos 

 of grafting techniques, and a 

 certificate of completion issued by 

 Cornell's College of Agriculture and 

 Life Sciences; students are required 

 to supply the plants and grafting 

 supplies for hands-on grafting exer- 

 cises. The second option costs $300, 

 which includes the instructional re- 

 sources plus four hibiscus plants, a 

 grafting knife, grafting supplies and 

 shipping costs; students are respon- 

 sible for pots and soil for repotting 

 the hibiscus plants, which are 

 shipped with planting instructions. 



Course prerequisites include 

 completion of a high school or col- 

 lege biology course, previous garden- 

 ing experience and convenient access 

 to a PC or Macintosh computer, 

 the Internet and e-mail. Mudge also 

 suggests a commitment and motiva- 

 tion to undertake serious learning. 

 Other requirements include a CD- 

 ROM drive, a Java-capable browser 

 and QuickTime, version 4.0 or 

 higher. To register, to view a sample 

 lecture, "Reasons for Grafting and 

 Budding," or to see a listing of all 

 lectures and laboratory exercises, 

 visit the course Web site at http:// 

 instruct 1. cit.cornell.edu/courses/ 

 hort494/mg/. 



FFA Gives SAF High Marks 



The Society of American Florists 

 (SAF) is well schooled in teaching 



students about floral industry ca- 

 reers. The National FFA Organiza- 

 tion noticed. FFA honored SAF for 

 its outstanding support as a 35-year 

 contributor during the FFA Na- 

 tional Agricultural Career show, 

 held last fall in Louisville, Ky. 



During the convention for the 

 past 35 years, SAF representatives 

 have told students and educators 

 about the many career opportunities 

 available in the floral industry. 



SAF also made headlines in FFA's 

 magazine. New Horizons with a fea- 

 ture article that appeared in August. 

 The article featured SAF and 

 www.safnow.org as resources for flo- 

 ral industry career information. 

 SAP's career brochure, "Make 

 People Smile: Grow Your Future in 

 the Floral Industry" was highlighted 

 in this issue. The brochure was de- 

 veloped with the assistance of the 

 American Floral Endowment. 



June is Perennial Gardening 

 Month 



The Perennial Plant Association 

 would like to remind growers of the 

 promotional materials that are avail- 

 able for spring 2003. Members and 

 Non-Members can request a banner, 

 posters, or flyers. Each promotional 

 item highlights the message "June is 

 Perennial Gardening Month." The 

 banner measures 2' x 6' and is an 

 all-weather banner printed with UV 

 resistant ink. The flyers have identi- 

 cal artwork and planting informa- 

 tion. There is a minimum order of 

 100. Members pay $0.12 each and 

 non-members pay $0.15 each. The 

 posters in paper or plastic, measure 

 2' X 3'. They feature June garden 

 plants and the vibrant blooms will 

 turn heads and stimulate sales. 

 PPA Association 



WINTER 2003 



15 



