Behind the Scenes with Nursery Management magazine

Popcorn Drift roses from Conard-Pyle at the Greenheart Farms stop.

It sounds like something you do after graduation – drifting across the California countryside from San Francisco to San Diego. But since I graduated 20-something years ago, that wasn’t the case. I accompanied other GIE Media folks to the California Spring Trials. It was my first time to the gargantuan plant spectacle. And it’s not just pansies and petunias, although there are plenty of those to see. I also oohed and ahhed over of perennials, succulents and woody ornamentals.

I think our final count was visits with 37 companies at 18 locations. If you didn’t get to go to trials this year, don’t fret. Log on to our website and navigate to the multimedia section. There you’ll see dozens of videos from all of our stops.

Watch for pictures and plant descriptions in upcoming print issues, too.
 

Why we’re frowning

Scam alert: Fraudulent USDA letters are targeting growers.
 

Growers across the country are being targeted by a scam. A letter, which appears to be from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is making the rounds. The fraudulent message asks for business owners to share sensitive financial information. The fraudulent letters bear USDA’s logo and seal and are signed by an individual identified as “Frank Rutenberg” using a title of “Senior Procurement Officer.” Recipients should not respond and should not supply the requested information. USDA is investigating this matter through the Office of the Inspector General.

If you suspect you have received such a letter or have been called by someone representing themselves as being from USDA seeking personal information, please contact USDA at:

procurement.policy@dm.usda.gov or (202) 720-9448.