A new appreciation for trees and parks

I recently took my family to New York City for the first time. We were typical Midwest tourists in the Big Apple: saw a Broadway show, subway hopped from Times Square to the 9/11 Memorial, explored Rockefeller Center. It’s interesting how our viewpoints are shaped by our experiences. My kids were underwhelmed by Central Park. The “Great Lawn?” More like the “Mid Lawn” to them. For NYC residents, green space is a rarity. For us, it’s an everyday pleasure. It was a good reminder not to take for granted the natural beauty that surrounds us. For NYC horticultural highlights, I enjoyed the Shakespeare Garden. We only had two days, so I didn’t get to the High Line, of which I’ve heard nothing but good reports. Feel free to berate me via email.

On the cover this month is the first of our 2025 Horticultural Industries Leadership Awards recipients, Bill Dewar of Dewar Nurseries. Like many of those who’ve been chosen for HILA before him, Bill believes others around him are more worthy of the award. Bill’s daughters, Patricia and Kim, are driving new ideas into the Florida business, but they say that their father's idea of a family business extends to the entire company.

You’ll be reading more about the 2025 HILA class in the next few issues of Nursery Management. By the time you’re reading this column, we’ll already have honored this fine group of leaders at Cultivate in Columbus, Ohio.

Are red-headed flea beetles a problem for you? They certainly are for many nurseries. Raymond Cloyd and Nathan Herrick share their latest research into how long systemic insecticides can control those pesky pests.

We’ve also got a great story of resilience and recovery. Florida’s Sun-Fire Nurseries faced down three hurricanes since Ian hit in late 2022. Our editorial director Kelli Rodda spoke with nursery owner T. Jay Higgins about the lessons learned from the disasters and cleanup, and how his team persevered through adversity. Use some of his tips to develop your own disaster plan.

We also have an Across the Pond column from Neville Stein examining the steps the British horticulture industry is taking to bring new blood into the business.

Also, you’ll find the results of our very first Native Plant Market Report. This segment has been growing for years, and it was absolutely time we dug in and took a closer look. Find out what your peers had to say about growing and selling natives, including that hot topic of whether to stick to the straight species or if cultivars, or nativars, are acceptable. Thank you to all who participated and thanks to Spring Meadow Nursery for sponsoring this research report. Watch for more native plant coverage in the coming months.

Send me your favorite New York pizza spots. We went to Joe’s and it was delightfully greasy and foldable.