What If We Knew More?By Jennifer Noble

SHIFT BeginningsIn the fall of 2014, AmericanHort launched a research initiative known as the time as “The Future of Garden Retail.” It became immediately apparent, however, that this project went far beyond the scope of retail alone—it touched each and every part of our industry. It was also clear that the results of this research would challenge us to “Shift” our thinking, our approach to business, and our mindsets about consumers.

The purpose of this project was to look at how our industry could be better prepared for the consumers of the future. To conduct the research, we partnered with the Columbus College of Art and Design, which is the oldest design college in

the United States. With them, we embarked on a journey of discovery

and research. The student research team and their advisors—made up of faculty and business professionals—visited garden

centers across the country, talked with industry leaders, and visited other non-industry retailers. During these

visits they gathered 100s of GBs of video and audio

interviews with owners, staff, and customers, took thousands of photos, and collected a wide variety of information on consumers, products, and behaviors. They also conducted a diary study in which they asked individuals to care for plants and document their thoughts and experiences throughout the process.

A key element in the project was the use of Design Thinking as the research approach. Design Thinking is utilized by many other industries for this type of research and is defined as solution-focused exploration. Instead of starting with the problem, it starts with the goal (attracting new and dedicated consumers, re-engaging the old, and taking the shopping experience to a whole new level; solidifying the value of plants and horticulture products and services to consumers and increasing revenues for the whole industry). Design thinking is a process that focuses on what is happening, why it’s happening, and then explores simultaneous, holistic options that would achieve the described goal. The research also focused on qualitative data, which characterizes observations rather than giving them a number.

SHIFT ResultsAll of the data gathered through the research was distilled into what we know as “Insights and Recommendations.” Insights are broad statements that describe the area of potential and recommendations are the actionable items. If you were at Cultivate’15, you probably got your first glimpse of the Insights and Recommendations in the SHIFT area (the nearly 30 insights presented in that experience are now available in an e-book). While it may feel as though this is the end of a research project, it’s truly the beginning—the beginning of a shift, if you will.

Connect: An AmericanHort Member Benefit

2016:1

We’ve heard from businesses that they are surprised at who their customers truly are compared to their initial assumptions.

What’s Inside:What If We Knew More? 1

Hottest Summer on Record 2

Valentine’s Day: Keeping Your Employees Motivated 4

Grow Wise, Bee Smart. Promoting Healthy Habitats 6

Member Spotlight: Saunders Brothers 8

more on page 11…

Hottest Summer on RecordBy Dan Heims

In a word to the water-wise, Terra Nova Nurseries’ president Dan Heims shares his take on current drought conditions and a selection of drought-tolerant plant suggestions.

“If there’s no water, why plant a garden,” ask many consumers. As a landscape and horticulture industry, we have to reply, “You can!” Education at a national level is sometimes needed, and nurseries as well as landscapers are often the stewards of the

“water-wise movement.”

Not only do consumers need to know about watering techniques, such as drip irrigation, they need to plant their gardens with knowledge of sun exposure and wind direction. In many cases, they can be educated to contact knowledgeable landscape professionals about drought-tolerant plant groupings and, when applicable, water-wise landscaping installations.

Some proponents say, “Just plant natives!” But, even natives need water to establish, and can perish if overwatered when mixed with thirstier ornamentals.

Part of being a horticulturalist is knowing where plants originate, and a surprising number of drought-hardy ornamentals come from the American desert Southwest. Coreopsis, Gaillardia, Agastache, Gaura, Oenothera, Penstemon, and Eriogonum hail from New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. All make excellent garden plants, and can be combined with other desert-denizens across the globe like Gazania from South Africa or Perovskia from Russia.

Wild forms of many of these plants look okay, but breeders have selected forms that are more colorful, more compact, and bloom longer and more profusely.

Oregon’s Terra Nova Nurseries took the breeding even further with some fantastic selections that do well in containers, beds, or borders. Here are a few varieties that can brighten up any dry landscape or container.

Agastache Kudos™ Series (Mint-hyssop)—Landscape clients want plants that flower all summer. They demand an exciting range of colors and they ask for plants that are low maintenance and self-cleaning. They want plants that attract and feed hummingbirds and pollinators. Given good drainage, these plants will only get better and fuller with time. This is a new group of American native hybrids in a color range that spans coral through purple and all the warm shades between. Flower heads are full; they don’t need constant pinching like the old varieties. These are great varieties to

plant in mass in the sunny landscape, and are super in containers or borders. Plants are cold-tolerant to USDA Zone 5. See Figure 1.

Look to these plants to provide:

• More weather resistance

• Colorful calyces mean longer-lasting color (fewer brown skeletons!)

• Better habit for more garden and container uses; no PGRs are needed

• Broader color palette (better for use as fillers and thrillers)

• Increased disease resistance, especially in regards to downy mildew

Coreopsis verticillata cultivars are another group of very hardy (USDA Zone 4) plants that are extraordinarily long-blooming, come in a range of colors, have a clean, manicured habit, and are known for feathery, mildew-resistant foliage. These traits are the basis of Terra Nova Nurseries’ breeding program, being a constant performer for garden and containers.

A few outstanding cultivars are:

• ‘Bengal Tiger’ which sports fiery flowers that glow red and gold, like tiger eyes (Figure 2)

• ‘Imperial Sun’ with huge yellow flowers on a lower habit

• ‘Show Stopper’ a taller form with cerise-red blooms (Figure 3)

• ‘Ladybird’ with orangey-red blooms in profusion on compact plants (Figure 4)

Heucheras are all North American plants that show a high tolerance of drought-resistance. Most species that have been bred into Terra Nova Nurseries’ collection are quite at home in crevices between rocks with relatively little soil. The succulent stems hold a good amount of water for survival. Plants like Heuchera sanguinea are native to Chihuahua, Mexico and can be seen growing at the base of cacti. With this drought-tolerance, comes a plethora of leaf colors, a range of flower colors, and a number of size-ranges. Hardiness is from USDA Zones 4 to 9. Few diseases and pests bother Heuchera making them an ideal landscape plant.

A few favorites include:

• The Little Cuties™ series, which are generally more compact, repeat blooming and come in a very wide range of foliage colors (Figure 5)

• The Marmalade™ group with larger, more ruffled foliage that are great in landscape plantings (Figure 6)

• The City™ group with mid-sized foliage in many colors and repeat blooming habits. ‘Paris’ is an ever-bloomer

Terra Nova’s Sedums have won numerous international awards for their form, branching, foliage color, and bloom. Being succulent, they are quite drought-tolerant and are outstanding in borders with a huge flush of bloom when many perennials are done. Foliage colors can vary from the ice-blue ‘Rosetta’ to the burning red peaks of ‘Touchwood Teak’. Plants are extremely hardy, typically placed in USDA Zone 4. With 23 cultivars to from which to choose, it is hard to pick an overall favorite.

Dan HeimsTerra Nova Nurseriesterranovanurseries.comfacebook.com/TerraNovaNurseriesInc

Author InfoDan Heims is the president of Terra Nova Nurseries, a global plant breeder of more than 1,000 new varieties and introductions, many of which have been recognized with awards both nationally and internationally. The company’s new introductions are distributed worldwide to wholesalers, garden centers, and mail order companies. Learn more at www.terranovanurseries.com and www.facebook.com/TerraNovaNurseriesInc.

Figure 2. Coreopsis ‘Bengal Tiger’. Photo courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries.

Figure 1. Agastache ‘Kudos Gold’. Photo courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries

Figure 4. Coreopsis ‘Ladybird’. Photo courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries.

Figure 3. Coreopsis ‘Show Stopper’. Photo courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries.

Figure 5. Heuchera Little Cuties ‘Blondie’. Photo courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries.

Figure 6. Heuchera ‘Marmalade’. Photo courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries.

2015:1 | 32 | AmericanHort.org

Valentine’s Day: Keeping Your Employees MotivatedCompiled by the AmericanHort Staff and Floral Community Connectors

Valentine’s Day is coming soon, and in addition to selling products and ensuring you have everything you need on hand to fill orders, engaging and motivating your employees is key to your success this season.

Keeping employees motivated is a challenge every day, but especially during times of high stress, long hours, and non-stop work. Recognition done correctly can go a long way to engaging your staff. Whether you manage a large team or a small team, set yourself up for success in recognition by taking the time to learn what motivates each employee. One-size-fits-all is not always the best way to motivate. Discovering what makes an employee happy is one of the best and most effective ways to motivate them. For some, it may be getting done on time. For others, it may be verbal recognition. For others, it might be financial reward (a gift card to his/her favorite shopping spot or restaurant).

Say thank you. Seriously.The act of expressing meaningful gratitude is underrated. Say it frequently and mean it.

Prepare ahead of time. Take time before the crush of a busy time to plan. Nothing says, “I sort of appreciate you” than a hastily put-together thank you. Meaningful gratitude should look like you spent time thinking about it and planning it.

If you’re looking for inspiration, check out these 10 ideas for recognizing and motivating your employees. Follow AmericanHort on Pinterest and check out our “Employee Recognition Ideas” board for even more ideas.

Employee Recognition Ideas

1. Greet your employees when they come in for the day. Thank them for coming and let them know you appreciate them. Add an extra touch by handing out “Kudos” bars with a note saying how thankful you are for them or a “100 Grand” Bar with a note that says they are worth 100 Grand to you.

2. Cater in food the day of and day before Valentine’s Day. Your employees will appreciate the free food, and time to go out and eat on those days is limited.

3. Have a competition for who can sell the most of your top specials. Give out a gift card, half day off, or another prize to the winner.

4. Write personal thank you notes to each of your employees. Nothing is more special these days than a genuine handwritten note.

5. Take a “fun” break while you’re working. Take five minutes to laugh, share a snack, and re-energize before getting back at the work.

6. Give out awards. These can be fun or silly awards that reflect the personalities of your staff or more serious performance-based awards.

7. Be conscious of their time. Plan ahead to finish your workday at a reasonable time, communicate the plan, and enlist the help of the team to hit the mark.

8. Make a “coffee run” to treat everyone to their favorite caffeinated beverage.

9. Play some fun music in your workroom.

10. Use social media to celebrate your staff and share with your customers how hard they work by posting pictures throughout the day, and invite your followers to post positive comments or shout outs to your staff.

2015:1 | 54 | AmericanHort.org

By Jennifer Gray

The Horticultural Research Institute, in collaboration with AmericanHort, continues to directly fund and leverage research to refine science-based guidance on horticultural practices and protecting bee and pollinator health.

As part of the broad-based Horticulture Industry Bee & Pollinator Stewardship Initiative that includes industry and consumer outreach and the establishment of industry best practices, the Horticultural Research Institute has directly funded four important research projects. These projects are a continuation of HRI’s longstanding commitment to fostering new information relevant to horticultural practices, techniques, and principles. Recently, HRI published a research update on these projects. The full publication can be downloaded here: http://bit.ly/BeeResearchFall15. Here’s a closer look at the progress of one project.

Project SynopsisAssessing Bee Attractiveness of Woody Landscape Plants and Mitigating Potential Bee Hazard from Neonicotinoid Insecticides. — Awarded $26,000

In this project, Dr. Daniel Potter of the University of Kentucky in Lexington, KY, aims to inform best management practices by which producers and landscape managers can protect plants from pests while mitigating the risk to bees. Additionally, his research has the potential to further support planting recommendations for landscapes that

sustain bees throughout the growing season, identify plants

that warrant particular caution when using

systemic insecticides, and highlight

plants whose floral characteristics reduce the potential for bees to be impacted by systemic insecticides.

UpdateA project led by Dr. Daniel Potter of the University of Kentucky (Lexington, KY) is documenting the bee assemblages (types of bees, bee species richness and diversity) associated with 55 species of native and non-native woody ornamental trees and shrubs, as well as ranking the plants’ relative attractiveness to bees. The goal is to support science-based recommendations for bee-friendly landscapes,

opportunities for growers, garden centers, and landscapers to profit from demand for bee-friendly plant materials, and impetus to diversify landscapes with horticulturally-desirable, but heretofore under-utilized plant species.

Potter’s team, which includes graduate student Bernadette Mach, has already sampled more than 200 sites and 10,000 bees. The large data set is revealing some interesting patterns. Different woody ornamental often attract unique bee assemblages, some quite specialized and other very diverse. For example, nearly all of the bees attracted to mock orange (Philadelphus) are of a single species, whereas chaste tree (Vitex) attracts a dozen or more bee species. Some plants (e.g., fuzzy deutzia) attract a lot of carpenter bees whereas others (e.g., yellowwood, buttonbush) attract mainly bumble bees and honey bees. Many non-native plants are just as attractive as the most bee-friendly native ones. Flower form matters, too, even within the same plant genus. Prairie rose, for example, is highly attractive whereas most hybrid tea or knockout roses attract few or no bees. Similarly, lacecap or panicle-type hydrangeas with accessible fertile flowers attract far more bees than do mop-head or snowball types covered in sterile flower-like sepals.

Some spring-blooming “bee magnets” include eastern redbud, flowering crabapple, false indigo, serviceberry, cornelian cherry, hawthorn, Foster’s holly, flowering cherry, dwarf fothergilla, American yellowwood, and others. Highly bee attractive summer-blooming plants include bottlebrush buckeye, climbing prairie rose, summersweet, St John’s wort, winterberry holly, golden raintree, Amur maackia, Virginia spirea, and linden, and others, and some late-blooming bee favorites include winged sumac, glossy abelia, seven son flower tree, chaste tree, devil’s walkingstick, bee bee tree, buttonbush and others. Note that the above list contains a mix of native and non-native plants, and that most of the species are relatively pest free.

Potter’s team is also investigating best management practices by which producers and landscape managers can safeguard bees when it is necessary to use soil-applied systemic insecticides to protect plants from pests. Their study involves three model plant species (Winter king hawthorn, Fosters holly, summersweet clethra), two systemic insecticides (imidacloprid, dinotefuran), and three treatment timings (November, pre-bloom, or post-bloom). The investigators are tracking residues in nectar, pollen, and foliage for two growing seasons to determine the best combinations of product and treatment timing for particular situations. For example, some

pests (e.g., azalea lace bug) can be controlled post-bloom, and others (e.g., boxwood psyllid and leaf miner) with autumn application combined with spring pruning to allow residues to dissipate to levels that are non-toxic to bees. Residue analysis of more than 300 samples collected in spring/summer 2015 will be completed this winter.

Additional HRI Funded Pollinator research includes:

• Residues of and Rapid Assessment of Toxicity for Neonicotinoid Insecticides in Pollen and Nectar in Model Plant Systems—Awarded $54,000

• Understanding the Opportunities Present for Bees from Commercial Plant Material.—Awarded $25,000

• Best Management Practices for Growing Bee-Friendly Plants in the Greenhouse.—Awarded $20,000

For more information and updates on these projects visit http://bit.ly/BeeResearchFall15.

The involvement of HRI and the horticultural industry in pollinator research is essential toward

fulfilling the industry’s role in supporting healthy pollinator populations. Horticulture provides the very thing pollinators need to thrive: abundant sources of forage. HRI is hopeful that these and other ongoing projects result in helpful best practices guidance for growers, retailers, and landscape professionals.

Jennifer GrayHorticultural Research InstituteJenniferG@AmericanHort.org(614) 884-1155 HRIResearch.org

Different woody plant species attract very different assemblages of bees.

Horticulture provides the very thing pollinators need to thrive: abundant sources of forage.

2015:1 | 76 | AmericanHort.org

CRABAPPLE

MOCK ORANGE

DEUTZIA

VITEX

On the nursery side, which is where the business is strongest, we constantly strive to produce the highest quality plant, to grow the varieties that are good and new, and to offer plants that perform in the landscape. We travel frequently to evaluate new material and see what actually works. Concerning boxwood, we have our own trial of about 150 varieties, a few of which are very cool and show great promise.

What sets Saunders apart?

Family is a part of our mission statement, and it really defines who we are from the people who carry the name itself to the employees that have been with us for 30 years and are bringing their own family members into this business. We have husband and wife teams, father and son, mother and daughter, and sibling teams. We have one gentleman who has been with us for over 50 years.

Our success is attributed to our employees and the loyalty of our customers. We want our customers to be our friends, and we treat them as such. If we stumble—which we will and do—it’s not the end of the world when you have strong relationships. We’re able to fix the situation and move on stronger for it. We’re sincere and genuine with what we do, and our customers see that. We are who we are, and we stand behind everything we do. We hold high morals. We stake trust in our reputation. And if we say something, we mean it. It’s rewarding and amazing to see customer relationships have grown and evolved over the years as our businesses have grown and evolved. While we’re always making new relationships, we have a strong core of businesses in the mid-Atlantic that we’ve been selling plants to for more than 30 years.

What are Saunders’ goals and visions for the future?

For the next generation of “Saunders,” who are not necessarily Saunders, the goals are to stay in the lead, to maintain energy, and to stay on the forefront of providing plant varieties that add value, perform well, and are backed by quality.

We want our company to continue to be aggressive. We want to stay on the front of the new “good” stuff. I don’t think enough people are doing that. We’re challenging the company to be and stay aggressive. We could easily start slowing down, but we’re growing, and we don’t want to slow down. We have to keep that happening and maintain the standards that have gotten us to this point into the future.

What are some of Saunders’ biggest challenges, and what are your strategies to achieve success?

Finding labor has been a huge challenge. We use the H2-A program, and the availability of labor in the future scares us. We cannot function without that labor force—it’s imperative to have them. This is their second home. We’ve had many work here for

nearly 20 years; they already know the jobs. When they leave for the winter and return in the spring, it’s like they were off for the weekend and are back again. Our county is at 4 percent unemployment, so we don’t have options otherwise. We’re out in the middle of nowhere, so it’s hard to get good managers in here as well.

We’re always asking the scary questions—will the labor programs continue to work? Can we continue handling government regulation? What is EPA going to do? Where do we ride in the space of available chemicals and rising water challenges? How much more can they keep ratcheting up wage rates?

Water is another challenge. We’re doing all we can to make irrigation more efficient. We’re collaborating with the University of Florida on a new program that monitors water usage and needs. We’ve had close to a 50 percent reduction in water use as well as significant reduction in disease and fertilizer use with this program.

What have some of your greatest successes been in the last few years?

We’ve been so fortunate to hire great people that are not ‘Saunders’. They have been so key to the success we have had.

Boxwood blight could easily be seen as a major problem; however we have turned it into an

Member Spotlight:

Saunders BrothersPiney River, VirginiaRobert Saunders, Sales Manger

Family business was never a truer reality than at Saunders where four of seven brothers carry on the farming tradition begun by their grandfather and his brothers. Saunders Brothers, Inc. celebrated 100 years in 2015, but they’ll tell you the legacy goes back even further than that. (It turns out that their family legacy also involves graduate after graduate from Virginia Tech!) While each brother has his own story of how they ended up in the family business, all stand on the principles of family, passion, integrity, and faith, which has proven to be the backbone of their success. We caught up with Robert Saunders, sales manager, just before Christmas.

Tell us a little bit about Saunders’ history and background.

The land we’re on today is the same land my grandfather began farming over 100 years ago. At that time, it was row crop farming and cattle, which evolved through the depression and into the 1940s to become a peach farm. In the 1940s, there was a huge demand for peaches, and peaches are what brought the business through the 1960s and 1970s.

In the meantime, my dad, Paul Saunders, had started a 4-H project in the 1940s propagating boxwood. This initiated a nursery business that really rode on the sidelines until the mid-1980s. In the

1990s, the nursery business became a large part of our business, while fruit took the backseat. This is how it has continued to this day, with boxwood being nearly 150 acres of our field production.

While we sell our plant material wholesale, our retail market is what our community sees as the face of the company, even though it is a small part of what we do. Our market is a destination, drawing people from nearly 100 miles. We used to pick our peaches almost solely for the commercial market, but having the farm market has allowed us to leave the fruit on the tree a little longer and, therefore, improving the quality of what we offer our customers.

more on page 10…

2015:1 | 98 | AmericanHort.org

SHIFT Into ActionThe first step in SHIFT is to better understand your customers. One of the insights tells us that

“Customers have distinct buying motivations.” We often fall into a general view of our customers—that most customers are middle-aged to older women who love to garden. In understanding your customers, you need to look at who is currently shopping in your store, utilizing your services, or buying your products, and also who isn’t engaging with your business that you would like to attract.

So how do you do this? First, observe. Look at your

customers, watch who is coming into your store, or who is utilizing your services. If you are selling business to business, talk to your customers about who their customers are. It’s important to take the time to observe rather than go with an assumption. We’ve heard from businesses that they are surprised at who their customers truly are compared to their initial assumptions.

Once you have an idea of who your customer is, capture their story. Who are they and what are their interests?

If we were to capture this customer’s story, it might look something like the “New Homeowner Nate” shown below.

The results of this exercise translate into a Consumer Profile. With this consumer profile, you can look at the products and services you offer as well as your marketing to see if they match your current customers. You can also identify new opportunities for marketing and products to reach the customer base you are hoping to grow into. When it comes to consumer profiles, there is no one size fits all solution. Your region, type of business and product offerings all play a role in the customer you are reaching. This is an exercise you can do with your staff. One way to help them put themselves into the mindset of the customer is to have them create a profile for themselves first then walk through the profiles of your customers.

Over the coming months, we will be sharing additional examples of consumer profiling, tips and tricks to dig deeper, and more thorough articles, webinars, online content, and in-person events. Visit AmericanHort.org/Shift for more information.

Jennifer NobleAmericanHortJenN@AmericanHort.org614-884-1140

opportunity to focus on genetics and varieties and to find new and existing plants that will set us apart. We have supported and, at times, spearheaded research in boxwood blight, and this has allowed us to be a communication channel with our customers and others looking for information.

This irrigation work with the University of Florida in Gainesville has been huge for us—it’s pretty cutting edge. For several years, we have recorded a variety of data including temperature, wind, precipitation, plant information, and plant weight in early morning as well as at sunset. This weight data tells us evaporation and transpiration that have occurred throughout the day, and helps us predict how much water we will need to replace for the next day based on forecasted weather.

New varieties, along with being in the right place at the right time with the right people, have defined success for us over the past 100 years. The people on our team, as well as our customers, have so many resources and ideas that all come together to create success. As a team, we make great connections that lead to new opportunities.

From a business perspective, we’ve also grown successfully through the generations. The current Saunders brothers run the company as a group, but we run our departments individually. We have a “brother meeting” once a month and talk about everything that’s going on. We’re all sailing our

ships, and we’re all making sure business is getting done while at the same time being aware of what’s going on within the entire company. The brothers getting along is rare in family business. Undoubtedly, there are bad days, but we make it through them and move forward for the good of the company. We can bounce ideas off of one another, chew it up, and think about it before moving forward. All of the quick triggers and slow triggers average out, and we make a good team with the same values and goals for the future.

How does being an AmericanHort member benefit Saunders?

Being a member keeps us abreast of what’s happening out there—water, labor, EPA, pesticides, everything. Craig Regelbrugge does such a good

job of keeping us informed of the issues that impact our business, whether that’s labor or the EPA. The advocacy of AmericanHort is also a huge benefit—they do things on a national level to help the entire industry like the Grow Wise, Bee Smart pollinator initiative. Being a member allows

us to stay on top of everything and to help settle fears and major customer concerns. That’s been huge to us. We also attend Cultivate every year and NextLevel most years. Those opportunities to learn and network are very valuable.

What If We Knew More?…continued from page 1Member Spotlight…continued from page 9

New Homeowner NateAbout: With a degree (or two) in his backpocket and his video games starting to collect dust,

Nate finally has a solid career underway. And he just bought his first house. All of his neighbors

clearly spend TLC time with their lawns and have created powerful curb-side appeal. He’s not one

to stay out of the race, plus he knows from his research that good landscaping increases the value

of his home. He’s looking for straightforward, uncomplicated options tailored exactly to him. He’s

also wants a big impact with low maintenance. He’s worried that it will be obvious how much he

doesn’t know, even though he’s done his research.

Purchasing Motivation: Investing in home Curb appeal Keeping up with Joneses It’s just what you do

How to Get Nate in the Door: Plant packages that make it easy A good deal (or good guarantee) Advice that doesn’t sound

like advice.

How Nate Will Find You: Google search Recommendation from his

homeowner’s association Looking for a landscaper Word-of-mouth Mail or email

How to Keep Nate: Good/easy/efficient retail

experience Excellent guarantee policy Competitive prices Knowledgeable staff

2015:1 | 1110 | AmericanHort.org

2130

Ste

lla C

ourt

C

olum

bus,

OH

432

15 U

SAA

mer

ican

Hor

t.or

g

Elec

tron

ic S

ervi

ce R

eque

sted

Am

eric

anH

ort

Mis

sion

The

miss

ion

of A

mer

ican

Hort

is

to u

nite

, pro

mot

e, a

nd a

dvan

ce

the

hort

icul

ture

indu

stry

thro

ugh

advo

cacy

, col

labo

ratio

n,

conn

ectiv

ity, e

duca

tion,

mar

ket

deve

lopm

ent,

and

rese

arch

.

2130

Ste

lla C

ourt

Colu

mbu

s, O

hio

4321

5-10

33

USA

(614

) 487

-111

7 M

ain

hello

@Am

eric

anHo

rt.o

rg

Am

eric

anH

ort

Conn

ect

2016

:1

Edit

oria

l Sta

ffM

iche

lle G

asto

nLa

ura

Kunk

le, E

dito

rJe

n N

oble

G

ina

Zirk

le

© 2

016

Am

eric

anH

ort.

All

right

s re

serv

ed. T

his

mat

eria

l may

con

tain

co

nfide

ntia

l inf

orm

atio

n an

d it

is fo

r th

e so

le u

se o

f Am

eric

anHo

rt m

embe

rs.

The

info

rmat

ion

cont

aine

d he

rein

is fo

r ge

nera

l gui

danc

e an

d no

t for

the

purp

ose

of p

rovi

ding

lega

l adv

ice.

It c

anno

t be

dist

ribut

ed, r

eprin

ted,

retr

ansm

itted

, or

oth

erw

ise

mad

e pu

blic

with

out p

rior

writ

ten

perm

issi

on b

y A

mer

ican

Hort

. Pl

ease

con

tact

the

edito

r at (

614)

487

-111

7 fo

r per

mis

sion

with

ack

now

ledg

men

t. A

mer

ican

Hor

t.or

g

Pres

orte

dSt

anda

rd M

ail

U.S.

PO

STAG

E PA

IDCo

lum

bus,

OH

Perm

it N

o. 1

560