Most people who work in a corporate environment are familiar with some type of personal style indicator — Meyers Briggs Type Indicator, Strengths Finder, DISC profile, and many others. However, there’s a less well-known one that’s particularly relevant and useful in innovation and it is specific to your creative thinking style.

At the heart of creativity and innovation is problem-solving. Since all humans problem-solve, by definition, all humans are creative. However, we each go about problem-solving in our own preferred style, and society has come to label only one style as being “creative” — the style called “Innovator” on this assessment.

Think of Leonardo da Vinci as an extreme example of that Innovator style. He was an idea machine, constantly jumping around in numerous disciplines. Many of his ideas were truly ground-breaking. He conceptualized a helicopter, a tank, a calculator, and concentrated solar power. He even outlined a rudimentary theory of plate tectonics.

Thomas Edison is a great example of a creative thinker with an Adaptive style. He held more than 1,000 U.S. patents. However, many of the products he patented, perfected, and commercialized were not originally conceptualized by him. He did not actually invent the light bulb, he developed a light bulb that was practical. He was able to improve, fix, optimize, and operationalize ideas better than perhaps anyone else in history.

It is important to note that your thinking style is an indicator of preference, not of ability. Any of us can think and behave in another style — and we all do it effectively when we recognize it’s needed. But we go back to our preferred style as soon as we can. It’s where we’re most comfortable and probably where we’re most consistently successful.

This chart illustrates some key traits of extreme Adaptors and extreme Innovators.

The important question becomes, who should be running your innovation projects?

Extreme innovators are great at coming up with ideas, and their energy and passion for ideas may get other people excited about them, at least at the beginning. But then their greatest strength — their zest and constant quest for new ideas — becomes a weakness that starts to create problems. In short, they’ll drive everyone on the team crazy and jeopardize the success of the project. So, an extreme Innovator may not be the person you want to run the show. They’re probably a lead actor, but they shouldn’t be the producer.

The next logical conclusion might be the extreme Adaptors should manage the process. They’re organized, disciplined, and efficient. But similarly, their strengths can also become weaknesses at the extremes. High Adaptors’ discomfort with ambiguity will likely result in attempting to define the scope of projects too early or kill them altogether if the ambiguity can’t be resolved quickly. And their focus on the stated problem may prevent them from seeing solutions or opportunities outside their day-to-day world.

Where does that leave you? With everyone else. Here’s the great news: everyone else is most of us because 67% of the population is in the middle of these two extremes.

If you want someone who may be naturally inclined to manage an innovation process, pick someone more in the middle, who can be a Bridger. The benefits of a Bridger in this role are numerous because they naturally exhibit moderate traits of both adaption and innovation. They “get” the vision of the big idea that the extreme Innovator came up with. They’ll get excited and energized about ideas. They can live with ambiguity for a while. But they also see the need for organization and documentation. They’ll understand the challenges that will have to be solved to implement that big idea. They can stay focused and see projects through to the end. They’ll bridge the communication gap between the high Innovators and the high Adaptors on the team.

They haven’t had people telling them their whole lives they’re creative thinkers, so they may not think of themselves as a good fit for innovation. The role of those responsible for innovation in your company should be to convince the “everyone elses” in the middle that they’re needed in the innovation process — and help them see how their unique contributions can be incredibly valuable in this arena.

Nematodes are small, colorless, cylindrical round worms that occur naturally in soils throughout the world. Different species work best against different target pests. Steinernema feltiae is primarily used against fungus gnat larvae, but also used to combat thrips pupae in the soil.

The nematodes enter the insect host through body openings. They multiply within the host and release a symbiotic bacterium whose toxin kills the fungus gnats. The larvae are killed in one to two days by blood poisoning. More than one generation of nematodes may develop in dead host insect in the media. The infective juveniles then exit the dead body and search for new hosts to infect.

Nematode applications do not require masks or other safety equipment. And re-entry time, residues, groundwater contamination, chemical trespass, and pollinators are not issues. Most biologicals require days or weeks to kill, yet nematodes, working with their symbiotic bacteria, can kill insects within 24-48 hours.

I have always loved the genus Calycanthus, and there are beautiful specimens in two of my favorite Pacific Northwest gardens. I look forward every year to seeing the Calycanthus begin blooming at Sebright Gardens in Salem, Oregon, and each June Michelle and I visit the Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden in Shoreline, Washington, just in time to catch the blooms of two Calycanthus hybrids.

I’m attracted to the red (or sometimes white) magnolia-like flowers which have a light fruity fragrance, often described as melon-like. The multi-stemmed shrubs often reach a height of more than 10 feet.

We have several native species of Calycanthus in North America. C. occidentalis is native to the western Unites States, ranging from central California’s Seirra Nevada range north through the southern Cascades of Oregon and west through the Coast Range in Oregon and southern Washington. C. floridus, or Carolina allspice is native to the southeastern United States from Virginia south through the Carolinas and the Florida panhandle and as far west as Alabama. Both these species and their cultivars have horticultural value. C. chinensis (syn. Sinocalycanthus chinensis) is an Asian cousin, also of significant horticultural importance. C. chinensis has lightly colored flowers that have white to blush-pink outer tepals surrounding inner tepals that are yellow. Unlike its American cousins, the flowers lack fragrance.

One aspect of horticulture that I love is that talented persons have the ingenuity to create hybrids of closely related species. Calycanthus ‘Aphrodite’ is such a plant. It’s a cross of C. occidentalis with C. chinensis made by Tom Ranney at North Carolina State University’s Mountain Horticultural Crops Research Station in 2005. A plant patent for Calycanthus ‘Aphrodite’ was awarded to Proven Winners ColorChoice in 2013.

This really is a lovely cultivar. Its flowers are larger that the species, and are a deep reddish purple to chocolate brown, with distinct yellow tips on the inner tepals. The flowers are lightly fragrant. The plant grows to over 10 feet tall and has glossy green deciduous leaves. I’m impressed by its long bloom time. We have a lovely specimen in our landscape at Little Prince of Oregon Nursery near Portland, Oregon, which began blooming in April. Our poor plant survived a horrendous ice storm in February with no damage, and an unprecedented heat wave in late June where temperatures climbed to 117°F for two days. In late August, it was still flowering and looked fabulous. Calycanthus ‘Aphrodite’ is a great plant and deserves a prominent place in our gardens.

High Caliper Growing founder
Ralph Reiger

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Our Story

High Caliper Growing, Inc. was founded as Root Control, Inc in 1984. However, the story began six years earlier. Then co-founder, Ralph Reiger, took an early retirement from the investing firm, Merrill Lynch & Co, and started The Tree Farm in Guthrie, Oklahoma. In the beginning, Ralph was using the traditional method of ball & burlap. Oklahoma wasn’t exactly the center of the nursery industry, therefore Ralph immediately began to have problems finding skilled employees to dig trees. In 1980, Ralph didn’t realize it, but he started A Growing Revolution by developing the first fabric container used in the horticulture industry. He fashioned the first fabric container at his home in Guthrie, Oklahoma, and planted River Birch, Elm and Conifers in the bags in hopes they would grow well and be easy to harvest. Two years later, when it came time dig, Ralph realized the fabric had root pruned the plants’ root structure, giving him a vastly improved plant. The Root Control Bag was revolutionized, and the concept of A Growing Revolution was born.

The Root Control Bag immediately drew the attention to a number of progressive nurseryman and in 1984, Ralph formed Root Control Inc. Since that time, we have helped thousands of customers grow millions of trees in all fifty states and a number of countries worldwide.

In 2004, the company changed its name to High Caliper Growing, Inc. to better reflect our mission in the nursery industry. Ralph’s son, Kurt Reiger, is now President of High Caliper Growing. High Caliper Growing is a family-owned business employing over 100 employees. Our office and manufacturing plant is located in Oklahoma City. Our fabric containers are proudly made in the USA and are now sold worldwide as a retail item known as the Smart Pot®. High Caliper Growing proudly supports the horticulture industry with long term memberships in state and national nursery organizations. Every step along the way, innovation was spurred by attending to the needs of our great customers. Learn more about our innovative fabric containers and our fabric tree collar straps.

Root Control Bag

The Root Control Bag started A Growing Revolution™ in 1984. The first porous fabric container was intended to make harvesting field-grown trees quick and easy, but the side effects were astounding. A true production tool was born for nurserymen world-wide. Nearly 80% of the root structure was intact after harvesting due to root prun¬ing inside the Root Control Bag and it was half the size and weight of a traditional balled & burlapped tree. Advantages of the Root Control Bag include no expensive tree spades for harvest, anyone can dig, ship more trees per truck, grow more trees per acre, significantly expand harvest season and nearly 100% transplant survival welcomed from root pruning that began at the beginning. Whether you’re growing from 1 inch to 6 inches, we have a Root Control Bag for you. Our Root Control Bags are 100% made in the USA and custom sizing is available.

Smart Pot Pro

High Caliper Growing still has customers from the 1980s using the Root Control Bags which lead us to develop an above ground version, known as the Smart Pot Pro. One reason a farmer plows his field is to give it aeration. The Smart Pot Pro containers breath from top to bottom, enhancing and creating a healthy root structure. Rigid plastic containers do the opposite. Plastic containers cannot breathe and limit aeration only to the top, whereas a Smart Pot Pro container, air continuously flows through all around. This allows for natural air root pruning. Root pruning increases the amount of fibrous roots in the containers. Recent university studies have found more than twice the root structure in plants grown in a Smart Pot Pro when compared to the same plant grown in the same sized plastic container. Because of the porous fabric of a Smart Pot Pro, it also releases heat when compared to plastic containers. The University of New Hampshire showed that on an 80-degree day, temperatures inside a plastic container were as high as 125 degrees! Inside a Smart Pot Pro, the temperature was only about 80 degrees. The Smart Pot Pro is available in numerous sizes, from 1 gallon up to 400 gallons. Custom sizes are also available for our Smart Pot Pros.

Pot Pruner

Did you know the High Caliper Growing Pot Pruner turns any plastic pot into a root pruning container? The Pot Pruner is a porous fabric sleeve that is custom made to line the inside of a standard plastic container creating the container into a root pruning pot. It helps plant growth because it stops root circling and promotes lateral root branching, as well as insulates. How does the Pot Pruner work? When the roots of a plant touch the fabric sleeve, they entangle and do not circle. The root tip loses its apical dominance, and the root structure begins to side branch, developing a healthy, fibrous root mass. Because the roots do not circle, you gain extra time and flexibility. When a plant stays longer than anticipated, the Pot Pruner continues to root prune, creating a healthy root ball that explodes with new growth when the plant is shifted. It’s ideal for Pot-In-Pot. Tell us the brand and model number of your nursery container you are using, and we will cut a Pot Pruner specifically for you.

Tree Collar

Since 1984, High Caliper Growing has led a growing revolution for nurserymen. Our one-of-a-kind Tree Collars are the premium device to prevent blow-over and protect your investments. Developed on a Florida farm where wind and hurricane damage are a constant threat, Tree Collars attach to a cable creating a permanent holding station with easy on and off access to your plants. Sizes are available for a sapling up to a 6-inch tree. Give them a try and see how Tree Collars can save you money firsthand. Benefits include keeping trees up-tight and upright, reduced labor cost with quick and secure attachment, more sellable trees without damage, reduced fertilizer costs from blow-over, and the Tree Collars last at least 5 years so they will quickly pay for themselves. If you are looking to enhance your own growing revolution, Tree Collars are a sure-fire product for success.

For more: www.treebag.com