All photos courtesy of Garden
Media Group

ACCORDING TO GMG’S REPORT, 70% of the world’s population will live in cities by 2050. With such a dense urban population, people will be longing for nature. Cities must continue to create and preserve urban forests and parks. Developers and businesses should provide tranquil, plant-filled environments.

Researchers from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology identified a new kind of neighborhood that attracts newcomers to cities, the Central Recreational District (CRD). A CRD is defined by the prevalence of parks, historic places, landmarks and tourist destinations.

CRDs result in 16% higher housing prices, 10% growth in population and jobs, and attracts 3% more college graduates.

Similarly, America In Bloom launched a new self-assessment program, Growing Vibrant Communities. It measures a community’s commitment and progress in vitality, flowers, landscapes, urban forestry, environmental efforts, heritage and overall impression. (americainbloom.org)

In the home

HOUSEPLANTS ARE HAVING A MOMENT, and there’s no indication that sales of indoor plants are going to slow down. In fact, houseplants are becoming a way for people to connect outside of the home.

Houseplants reduce stress, enhance creativity and connect people with nature. As younger generations find themselves with less space, time and money, they are turning to indoor plants for the benefits. Known as “plant parents,” they are driving indoor plant sales and the category is seeing a greater percentage of growth than other nursery and greenhouse crops, according to the report.

Education will drive more growth and green industry players who educate consumers will win. Create opportunities for plant parents to attend or watch educational events.

Plant swaps or meet and greets connect consumers through plants and education. With affinity groups including plants in their meetups, this is an opportunity to attract a new audience to brands or stores.

GROWERS WHO PROVIDE PLANTS for green infrastructure will find their place in the cities of the future.

“Green infrastructure and horticulture combine to create desirable cities in which to live,” says Debbie Hamrick, director of specialty crops at the North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation. She’s quoted in the trends report. “We need to know how to propagate, grow and maintain [plants] in an urbanized environment. Not every plant will work. We need an army of ecological landscape practitioners steeped in horticulture and ecological land stewardship. And, they need to be valued, demanded (or mandated) and supported in their work.”

WITH THE CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS, architects, designers, urban planners and politicians will re-imagine how green environments are designed in cities. Regulation will frame changes to highway buffer zones, urban forestry, green roofs, pollinator habitat, community gardens and new parks.

Green businesses are the ambassadors of change by educating people and decision makers about doing their part.

Over 15 years ago, I planted my first Amur maackia (Maackia amurensis) at Rotary Botanical Gardens in Janesville, Wisconsin, simply because it was new to me. Over years of observation and appreciation, I realized this tree was not only tough and durable but quite striking in the landscape for many reasons. This specimen was placed in a brutal location with poor soils and no supplemental irrigation or watering (ever). It not only survived; it thrived. The broad range of hardiness (USDA Hardiness Zones 3-7) coupled with an impressive adaptability to a wide range of soils makes this smaller tree worthy of more weighty consideration and focused inclusion in our landscapes.

Native to the Amur River region, which includes portions of Russia and eastern Asia (Manchuria to Korea), this member of the Fabaceae (legume) family will typically reach a height of 20-30 feet with a similar width on a clean, attractive, rounded form. In the wild, specimens over 40 feet tall have been observed, although the growth rate of this species is consistently described as slow. This tree is a close relative of yellowwood (Cladrastis sp.) and has been called Asiatic yellowwood as well. Other related trees in this family include redbud (Cercis), black locust (Robinia) and honey locust (Gleditsia). The genus Maackia is named after Russian naturalist and explorer, Karlovich (Richard) Maack (1825-1886). The specific epithet comes from the region in which it is found. Maackia amurensis was introduced into cultivation in 1864. There are 12 species of Maackia distributed throughout Eastern Asia with six species endemic to China. The dark colored wood of Amur maackia is quite hard and rot resistant and has long use in fencing material, tool handles and utensils in its native region and beyond.

Like other plants in the Fabaceae family, Amur maackia can fix atmospheric nitrogen through a symbiosis with root bacteria called rhizobia. This species is tolerant of drought and both acidic and alkaline soils. Tolerating periodically wet soils, this tree is not ideally suited for poorly drained soil or prolonged standing water. While preferring full sun, Amur maackia can also tolerate part shade and has no serious insect or disease problems. The species is becoming more popular as a street tree due to its ability to tolerate dry, poor soils and harsh cold. The slow growth rate coupled with medium height at maturity are factors that may be favorable in select urban situations. Excessive exposure to salt should also be avoided, although specimens used along streets seem to accept average salting effects in the winter with little impact or difficulty.

The leaves of this plant emerge in early spring with a silver-green appearance due to the fuzzy underside of the odd-pinnately, compound leaves (7-11 elliptical leaflets), which are seen as they unfold. These young, silvery, downy leaves are quite noticeable and ornamental. As the foliage fills out, the leaves then take on a dusky, olive-green summer appearance which contributes to the medium-fine texture of the tree. Fall color is non-existent to minimal. Significant white flowers with a faint blue tinge appear in late June and early July and last for a couple weeks before fading to brown. These erect, spike-like flowers (panicled racemes) are quite showy and slightly fragrant. The fragrance is described as freshly mown grass or alfalfa. The fruiting structure is a flat pod similar to what is observed on a redbud. What I grew to appreciate about this small tree in time was the increasingly beautiful, coppery bronze bark. Exfoliating with age into loose flakes and curls, the primary trunk initially gets interesting “diamond” patterns and the glossiness of both trunk and larger branches is conspicuous throughout the season. The contribution of ornamental bark only increases with age and is most conspicuous in the dormant season.

Propagated by seed (research the soaking and scarification requirements) or softwood cuttings, this tree is not quick to establish but once settled in the landscape, is a reliable grower. Two selections, aside from the straight species, are available out in the trade and both are also promoted as extremely hardy to Zone 3. From J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co. comes the MaacNificent maackia (Maackia amurensis ‘JFS-Schichtel1’) which is touted as the most vigorous selection they’ve seen. This selection is a bit more upright and vase-shaped in habit with a mature height of 30 feet and width of 22 feet. The University of Minnesota introduced the Summertime maackia (Maackia amurensis ‘Summertime’) as a more compact and rounded form reaching 18-20 feet tall at maturity with a width of 12-15 feet. Occasionally available, although still quite uncommon in cultivation, is M. amurensis var. buergeri from Manchuria, which is thought to have an increased hardiness although with features consistent to that of the straight species.

The list of extremely hardy, “tough-as-nails” trees with few problems and wide adaptability is quite short. Amur maackia should be on this short list as the combination of toughness and beauty of this tree, coupled with exciting potential for use in our urban areas, makes this a selection to know and grow.

Mark Dwyer was the Director of Horticulture at Rotary Botanical Gardens in Janesville, Wisconsin, for 21 years. He has degrees in landscape architecture and urban forestry and now operates a private consulting practice, Landscape Prescriptions by MD. www.landscapeprescriptionsmd.com 

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Endless confusion hydrangea? Perpetual perplexity rose? Branded plants dominate the new plant market and are based on plant patent and trademark laws. Understanding how these laws are used provides clarity and direction for growers to navigate the current market conditions created by plant patent and trademark rules.

Plant patents have been around since 1930. The first plant patent issued in the USA was Rosa New Dawn, filed on August 6, 1930 and granted August 18, 1931. Trademark law has been around since 1870 with a 1946 amendment constituting most of the trademark rules we use today. Patent Law allows inventors to protect their invention for 20 years from date of application. This protection is related to the plant itself and is sometimes referred to as the genetics. Trademark Law is used to protect marketing names and symbols. Trademarks can be renewed indefinitely. Combined, these rules allow a very long arc of control for the patent and trademark holder. There is a multitude of mind blistering layers of international laws underpinning patents and trademarks around the globe. (For night-time reading check out www.upov.int) The purpose of this article is explaining the patent and trademark environment to educate growers for optimal planning and decision making.

To begin, let’s define breeders and brands. It is a simplification to divide the complexity of relationships that exist in the industry into breeders and brands, but generally it describes the industry satisfactorily. Breeders range from enthusiasts who live in rubber boots to scientists irradiating seeds to spur novel traits. They develop new patent and trademark plants and sometimes market these directly to growers. Breeders also may hire agents to handle their marketing and royalty collection. Alternatively, brands assemble a roster of patent and trademark protected plants and develop a fee collection mechanism that fuels a sophisticated marketing machine. To develop their plant roster, brands may employ breeders or contract the rights to plants from independent breeders.

So, what does this mean for growers?

Currently, brands drive the retail market in terms of new plants. (Brand marketing targets retailers as well as end consumers.) As always, growers must hunt for new plants to offer their customers. However, carefully gauging your customers’ desire for branded items is more important. Growing branded plants entails complexity: there are rules concerning pots and tags and conditions under which (if any) growers are permitted to self-propagate.

Higher levels of investment are required. Matching production targets with demand becomes increasingly important when input costs increase, and production flexibility decreases under a brand production regime. Good customer communication along with early order incentives and larger minimum quantities are strategies to reduce risk. The sophisticated marketing machine takes fuel. The marketing fees, royalty collection and reporting all consume resources.

Growers may wonder why they should grow for brands. The power of brand marketing is real. Higher selling prices are realized for branded plants compared to similar unbranded plants. The opportunity to do the same amount of work and earn a better return is real. However, growers should embrace brands cautiously and continue to produce unpatented and untrademarked plants. For example, a friend in charge of a five-location garden center company told me his top hydrangea at retail was Annabelle. In ornamental grass, the top sellers were almost all generic. (Can you say Karl Foerster?) In perennials, a large grower described the split as 60% patented and trademarked to 40% generic by both volume and dollar value. So, growers and retailers continue to rely on legacy varieties that have been in the marketplace for many years for a significant amount of their income.

The brands are also approaching an interesting phase — maturity. Some popular plants in brands are approaching the end of patent. Once this occurs, growers will be able to propagate these plants without restriction. The trademark name will still exist and using it without permission will be illegal. It remains to be seen what strategy the brands will use to manage this situation.

The future holds more in this department. We will see more breeders and more protected plants.

The question is, how will you turn this aspect of the industry to your advantage?

About the author: Todd operates Todd J Baker Consulting, a horticultural firm based in Ontario, Canada. He’s also a single malt aficionado and the owner of a young plant nursery.

Your car has a gas gauge to help you avoid running out of gas. Many newer cars can even tell you how many miles you can go before you run out of gas. Do you know how much water is in your reservoir and how long that water will last without a refill? Do you know how much water is returning to your reservoir after you irrigate or when it rains? We have developed some user-friendly tools to help you better understand some of these components of your irrigation system.

This article is the first in a series of four where we will explore 10 free online tools designed to help you understand different aspects of water use and reuse at your nursery operation. These tools and many other resources can be found at www.cleanwater3.org. This site has a wealth of information for container plant growers and is a great place to go for research-based information.

In this article, we will be discussing three tools: a reservoir volume calculator, an irrigation volume calculator, and a reservoir refill calculator. Alone and in combination, these tools can help you better understand the availability of your water resources.

Reservoir volume calculator

Continuing the gas tank analogy, your reservoir is the “tank” that stores water for irrigation when needed. Knowing the reservoir’s capacity or how much water it holds at any given time are important pieces of information. This tool provides you with an approximation of the maximum volume your reservoir can hold. Once you have this information, we will show you some ways that you can use it.

There are three ways that you can enter information about your reservoir’s surface area.

Enter the surface area of your reservoir directly, if known (“Enter Area” button, Figure 1 [A]).

Use the map feature to locate your reservoir(s) on a map and automatically calculate the surface area (Figure 1 [B]).

Enter the average dimensions, either width and length or diameter (Figure 1 [C]).

For all three options, check to ensure that the units (acres, square feet, etc.) correspond to the values you entered. The units can be changed by clicking on the box for a drop-down menu of available options.

After you enter the reservoir surface area, the only other piece of information needed is the average reservoir depth (above your pump intake). Once you click “compute volume” the estimated volume will be displayed. You can change any of the units to ones that make sense to you. Knowing the maximum reservoir volume will help you to better understand how much water you have available and in reserve for your irrigation needs. The next tool that we will discuss should help put this into perspective.

Irrigation volume calculator

Now that we know the maximum water holding capacity of your reservoir, it’s time to determine how long that water will last when it is used for irrigation. The irrigation volume calculator can be used to determine how much water is used during an irrigation event for individual blocks or your whole operation. You can use this tool to evaluate current water usage, when you are considering changing irrigation types/heads, or when expanding your operation.

Step 1. Begin by clicking on the “Add irrigation system” button and click on one of the four types (impact, wobbler, spray, or drip. See Figure 2).

Step 2. Fill in the information for the first production block (see Figure 3) making sure that the units are correct (gallons per minute versus gallons per hour, etc.).

Step 3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 as needed to add additional production blocks. If you have similar irrigation systems, you can copy them and then adjust as needed. For example, if you have one block that has 40 heads and one with 60, but they are otherwise the same, you can copy the one block and change the number of heads for the second one. As you add more blocks, you will be shown the amount of water that each block uses, as well as the total volume of water applied per day.

If you adjust the number of cycles per day or minutes per cycle during different seasons, you can easily calculate how to adjust your irrigation volume. You can label the irrigation blocks to make things easier to remember, and delete them if you make a mistake (see Figure 3). You can add as many irrigation blocks as your operation needs.

Once you have all of your irrigation blocks added, you can take your reservoir capacity and divide it by the total volume of water used for irrigation each day. Let’s say that your daily irrigation total is 125,000 gallons, and you have a reservoir capacity (from the reservoir volume calculator) of 1,630,000 gallons. That means that you have 13 days’ worth of irrigated water in your reservoir if it is not refilled. Furthermore, these two tools could be used to determine the impact of expansion on daily irrigation volume and reservoir capacity if you wanted to expand your operation.

Reservoir refill calculator

If you collect your irrigation return flow water and reuse it at your operation, that’s great! But how much of your irrigation water actually makes it back into your reservoir? This question does not have an easy answer since it is based on a number of factors, but the irrigation reservoir refill calculator can help give you an educated estimate. You can use this calculator to help determine how much water is returning to refill your reservoir.

These tools can be used to help you understand your operation’s current water status and also help you plan for the future.”

Water can flow into your reservoir from both irrigation return flows and rain water. So, you must first decide whether you want to know how much (1) rainfall or (2) irrigation water is returned to your reservoir. The volumes of water from irrigation return flow or l generated rainfall are different because irrigation is only applied to production areas and rainfall occurs everywhere (production areas, roads, etc.).

Whether the water is from irrigation or rainfall, the land surface is on which the water falls is called the “contributing area” (Figure 4 [A]). The “irrigation/rainfall depth” is how much water is being applied over the contributing area. One way you can calculate irrigation depth is to divide the volume applied (from the irrigation volume calculator) by the irrigated area. If the same unit for volume and area are used (i.e., cubic feet and square feet), no conversion is necessary. But if different units are used (i.e., gallons and acres), you will need to convert to depth. This can be done for gallons per acre by dividing the result by 27,150 gallons per acre inch. For example, if you calculated that you applied 150,000 gallons of irrigation to 7 acres of land.

This depth of irrigation/rainfall is entered into the “Total Rainfall/Irrigation Depth” box in the calculator (Figure 4 [B]). Ensure you enter the correct time (the duration of the irrigation event) corresponding to this depth box (Figure 4 [C]). Rainfall or irrigation volume intensity (precipitation rate) and infiltration rate both affect how much water returns to your reservoir. If the rainfall or irrigation volume intensity is less than the infiltration rate of the surface, no runoff will be generated. Conversely, as the rainfall or irrigation intensity become greater than the infiltration rate, more stormwater or irrigation return flow will be generated. A perfect example of this is a high intensity rain for a short duration that fills up streets and gutters quickly. For example, adding an inch of water over 30 minutes will produce more runoff than an inch over 60 minutes.

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You also need to enter the average overall slope of the contributing area and the surface type (Figure 4 [D]). Choosing your surface type can be challenging if you have multiple surfaces. You can either choose the one that represents the most dominant surface (for example your production areas) or calculate each area separately. Impervious surfaces (asphalt, concrete, greenhouse, etc.) will return all of the water to the reservoir, while the different soil types, rocks, and fabric will all return a portion of the water to the reservoir. We will caution you that the value you receive for the volume of water returning to your reservoir is an ESTIMATE, since there are a number of factors that can affect the volume of water that is returned to your reservoir. If you get stuck, we’ve developed a short YouTube video for each tool to help you get information tailored to your operation with ease and confidence.

These tools can be used to help you understand your operation’s current water status and also help you plan for the future, whether you are thinking of expanding your operation or ensuring you have adequate water reserves when adverse conditions happen. We hope these tools help you understanding how much water you are storing and applying at your operation. Our next article in this series will provide you with practical tools for measuring your irrigation efficiency.

About the authors: John Majsztrik is a research assistant professor at Clemson University, jmajszt@clem son.edu; Bruno Pitton is a staff research associate in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of California, Davis, bjpitton@ucdavis.edu; Lorence Oki is a cooperative extension specialist at UC Davis, lroki@ucdavis.edu; and Sarah White is a professor and nursery extension specialist at Clemson University, swhite4@clemson.edu.