Welcome to 'Sprout,' American Nurseryman's e-newsletter published on the first and third Thursdays of each month. For even more, be sure to read our February issue.

OSU offers new masters program
It’s no surprise that the folks at The Ohio State University are forward-thinking. And now they’re offering a new graduate program: the Professional Master in Plant Health Management (MPHM) graduate degree. MPHM is an interdisciplinary program administered by the Departments of Plant Pathology and Entomology in OSU’s College of Food, Ag and Environmental Sciences. Anne Dorrance, professor in the Department of Plant Pathology and MPHM co-chair, said industry workforce demand was the driving force for this new program. “Today, many critical issues in agriculture and the environmental sciences require people with scientific training in plant health management. This program will enable working professionals to gain education in this area,” Dorrance said. “Extension educators, crop advisers and turf/landscape managers are well-suited for this program. …The job outlook is very strong.” Read more>

Host plants added to P. ramorum regulations
The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has increased its list of host species for Phytophthora ramorum (ramorum blight, ramorum dieback, sudden oak death), bringing the total number of regulated hosts in the U.S. to 137. The new taxa include Ilex cornuta; Illicium parviflorum; Larix kaempferi; Magnolia denudata; Mahonia nervosa; Molinadendron sinaloense; Trachelospermum jasminoides; and Veronica spicata syn. Pseudolysimachion spicatum. In addition, Cinnamomum camphora was moved to the proven host plant taxa from associated host plant taxa. According to APHIS, nurseries in the regulated states operating under a compliance agreement may continue to ship hosts and associated plants including the newly listed plants. Nurseries in the regulated states containing these newly listed associated plants must be properly inspected, sampled, tested and placed under a compliance agreement by March 1, 2012, in order to move regulated plants interstate. (Photo courtesy of Joseph O'Brien, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org) Read more>

Horizon tapped for WaterSense program
The EPA has selected Horizon Distributors to join the agency’s WaterSense Partner Program, a comprehensive, multi-tiered program established to increase awareness about water savings and promote the value of more efficient products and practices. “The WaterSense brand will soon be a familiar sight at our locations,” said Dan Puthuff, Construction Channel Manager, Horizon Distributors. “By making it easier for green-industry professionals to identify, choose and install high-efficiency WaterSense irrigation products, we will enable our customers to significantly reduce their water consumption while still maintaining healthy landscapes.” Read more>

Pedaling for a cause
Looking for a little light exercise this summer? Then register for STIHL’s Tour des Trees, a lovely bike ride that takes participants on a 585-mile loop through Oregon—and raises money for tree research. Even if you’re exhausted, you won’t find more beautiful country, and the reasonable $100 registration fee covers room, board, a custom apparel kit and full mechanical and rider support for the duration of the ride. This is the 20th anniversary of the event, and last year’s Tour raised a record-breaking half-million dollars. To date, the Tour has raised more than $5 million to support tree research and education and funded a variety of projects including improved strategies for pest and disease control, new techniques for increasing the post-planting survival rate of street trees, and development of safer equipment and practices for tree care professionals. Read more>

GreatPlants^® of the Year
The GreatPlants program, a cooperative effort of the Nebraska Nursery & Landscape Association and the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, has named its 2012 selections. The list includes tree of the year Acer truncatum (shantung maple); conifer of the year Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca (Rocky Mountain Douglas fir); shrub of the year Viburnum dentatum var. deamii (Deam’s arrowwood viburnum); perennial of the year Chelone lyonii (pink turtlehead) and grass of the year Panicum virgatum ‘Northwind’ (Northwind switchgrass). GreatPlants selects and promotes exceptional plants that are reliably hardy, easy to care for and ornamentally worthwhile. And who can argue with that? Read more>

Florida Garden Select Plants announced
Further south, the Florida Nursery, Growers & Landscape Association has released its 2012 Florida Garden Select Plants—a group of outstanding plants hand-picked by a jury of distinguished horticulturists representing different facets of the state’s diverse nursery and landscape industry. They know their stuff. The plants include Helianthus debilis (beach sunflower); x Butiagrus nabonnandii (mule palm); Taxodium ascendens (pond cypress); Mandevilla x ‘Sun Parasol’ series (Sun Parasol mandevilla); Rosa ‘Drift’ series (Drift roses); Rosemarinus officinalis (rosemary); and Bambusa textilis var. gracilis (slender weaver’s bamboo). Read more>

Liquid Fence product wins Green Thumb Award
Yard Net^® Granular Lawn & Yard Insect Repellent, offered by The Liquid Fence Company, is among the handful of products to win the esteemed DGA Green Thumb Award for 2012. The awards are sponsored by the Direct Gardening Association, the world’s largest nonprofit association of companies that sell garden products directly to consumers; they recognize outstanding new garden products available by mail or online. Yard Net’s time-release formula encapsulates and preserves the effectiveness of the natural essential oil ingredients. As the granules biodegrade, they slowly release the oils, creating long-lasting, eco-safe repellency for up to a full week.  Read more>

High Caliper’s on the move
High Caliper Growing has picked up stakes and moved to a new world headquarters. The new address is 7000 N. Robinson, Oklahoma City, Okla. 73116. The company can be reached at its new phone number, (405) 842-7700, or by fax at (405) 842-7706. High Caliper opened for business in 1984 as Root Control Inc. Read more>

People News

Rose breeder Tom Carruth retires
Tom Carruth, director of research and marketing for Weeks Roses for more than 25 years, has announced his retirement. Carruth is among the most widely respected rose breeders, having developed such industry standards and award-winning selections as Scentimental, Betty Boop and Julia Child. Read more>

Ferris named MasterTag president
MasterTag has appointed Nicholas P. Ferris to the position of company president. Ferris previously was an executive with the leading supplier to the graphic arts industry. Read more>

Nordstrom honored by ANLA
Suzette Nordstrom, a longtime sales associate for Monrovia, was named Wholesale Plant Sales Person of the Year by the ANLA at the organization’s 2012 Clinic. The award is given to one salesperson each year who epitomizes the sales person’s role, through a commitment to the success of both their employer and their customers. It recognizes a sales professional who symbolizes the highest standards in the wholesale nursery stock selling community. Nordstrom started with Monrovia in 1989 as an inside sales rep and then went on the road in 1994 as a representative in the Dakotas, Minnesota and Manitoba, Canada.  She is a regular blogger on the GardenMinnesota.com website. Read more>

Guy receives hort society honor
Linda Guy, co-owner of Plants Nouveau, has been awarded the 1830 Award by the Charleston Horticultural Society in recognition of her commitment to botanical pursuits that has further enriched the greater Charleston horticultural community. The 1830 Award is presented to honor exemplary horticultural service and creative vision in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. Read more>

BooShoot adds to growing team
BooShoot announces the addition of two key personnel to its growing management team. Plamen Denchev, PhD, is the company’s new senior tissue culture scientist, and Dan Meier is vice president of production. Read more>

Hot Products

Oglesby’s online store
Oglesby Plants International has launched a new online catalog of its complete young plant line. The online catalog features product availability plus details including tray size, price and tag and royalty information. Young plants are available for any customers in the contiguous United States. Customers can shop by category or genera, plus easily find the newest introductions, then use streamlined user-friendly shopping cart technology to add choices to the order and check out. Customers receive immediate e-mail confirmation of their orders, followed by an electronic shipping notification including tracking numbers. Read more>

Prairie Classic™ viburnum
The GreatPlants introduction program of Nebraska presents its 2012 choice, Prairie Classic™ viburnum, selected by Gary and Susan Ladman of Classic Viburnums in Franklin, Neb. Prairie Classic™ offers four seasons of beauty: attractive, flat-topped white flowers in spring; handsome, leathery summer foliage; reliable orange to red fall color; and abundant fruit clusters that go from rosy red to bluish black, often with varied colors in the same cluster, and persist into early spring. It grows as a shrub but can be easily pruned into a small specimen tree with stiff branches and minimal suckering at the base. It grows 12 to 15 feet high and 10 to 12 feet wide. Read more>

Urban columnar apples
What’s better than a fresh, crunchy apple? One from your own apple tree. Garden Debut^® has introduced Urban™ Columnar apples that yield great tasting fruit in a very small space. Slender, vertical trees grow in large pots on sunny decks, balconies or patios and are loaded with full-sized apples. Maturing to 8 to 10 feet tall—but only two feet in diameter—these prolific producers are suitable for the smallest gardens. Tasty Red™, Blushing Delight™, Golden Treat™ and Tangy Green™ are the first of the grow-your-own series. Read more>

Solar glazing
Solar Components Corp. offers Sun-Lite HP glass fiber reinforced polymer for greenhouse applications, available in rolls or as prefabricated panels. Sun-Lite screens out harsh UV rays, which cause stem elongations, collapse and discoloration. The transmitted UV helps control viral and bacterial populations. Sun-Lite transmits over 90% of the available energy in the visible range (0.38 to 0.76 microns); most of the short-wave infrared (0.76 to 2.2 microns); and blocks most of the long-wave infrared energy (2.2 to 50 microns). The short-wave infrared energy provides heat, which helps create optimum temperature for seed and plant growth by heating the air and soil surrounding the plants. Read more>

Cab system for Deere models
Curtis Industries has added a new cab system for John Deere 1023 and 1026 model compact tractors, offering both soft-sided and hard-sided editions. Both versions come standard with pin-hinged doors for easy removal in minutes and key-locking outside handles. These cabs measure a height of 61 inches from floorboard. The windshield is made of molded, tempered safety glass with internal latches to allow ventilation for maximum air circulation. Also standard with the new WorkPro Cab System for the John Deere 1023 and 1026 models is a 12-volt heavy-duty electric wiper. Read more>

2012 retail water garden catalog
Water garden giant Aquascape Inc. has released its 2012 retail catalog, offering a full-service line of affordable, reputable pond and fountain products for the consumer. So you’re not consumer, you say? You’d better know what they want, and this publication is designed for retailers to distribute to their customers. New and improved products for this year include a pond filter urn; water garden filter for up-to-50-gallon-capacity containers; LED fountain accent light; and glass-fiber reinforced concrete decorative fountains—among other good stuff. Read more>

KERB^® SC T&O specialty herbicide
Dow AgroSciences announces KERB^® SC T&O specialty herbicide, an easier-to-apply formulation that uses pints per acre, rather than pounds, making it easier to match rates to the treatment area. The new liquid formulation also is easier on equipment and reduces worker exposure. KERB SC T&O is a proven, versatile tool for golf course superintendents and lawn care, landscape and nursery professionals. It provides both preemergence and early postemergence control of many winter annual and perennial grasses, including annual bluegrass (Poa annua) from warm-season grasses and the removal of perennial ryegrass from warm-season grasses during spring transition. KERB SC T&O, which replaces KERB 50WP specialty herbicide, is now available in most states. Read more>

StaySharp reel mowers
Fiskars has expanded its reel-mower line for 2012 with the StaySharp™ family, consisting of three reel mowers: the 18-inch StaySharp™ Max (formerly the Momentum™); the 17-inch StaySharp™ Plus and the 17-inch StaySharp™. The mowers feature namesake StaySharp™ cutting systems to keep blades sharp and InertiaDrive™ reels for more cutting power. Together these technologies make the mowers easier to push and allow them to cut all common types of residential grasses. Read more>

Earthworm castings
Earthworm castings from Organic Control Inc. eliminate the need for artificial or chemical plant foods because plants draw essential nutrients from the castings. Unlike chemical-based fertilizers, worm castings don’t burn plant roots. They stay in the soil longer and retain more moisture than man-made fertilizers, feed plants for months and reduce the amount of necessary watering. By adding one quart of worm castings for every five quarts of soil, this plant food will markedly improve plants’ health in 30 to 60 days, making them look more luxurious. Worm castings are completely odorless, and they are beneficial to both indoor and outdoor plants—perfect for small vegetable gardens as well as houseplants. Yum. Read more>

Finally: Just a dusting