Once introduced to the plant’s root system, mycorrhizae create a microscopic network that acts as a living extension of the plant’s roots, actively delivering nutrients, water, and resources to the plant. We spoke with Blair Busenbark, sales and commercial marketing manager with Mycorrhizal Applications, about how this fungi can help nurseries solve one of their most persistent problems.

How does mycorrhizal fungi help plants use water more efficiently?

Mycorrhizae works to increase a plant’s root mass by up to 50 times its original size. It does this by physically connecting to the plant’s root to form a symbiotic relationship. This helps increase the amount of water that is taken up by the plant.

What happens is the fungal hyphae can extend out into the soil. And this can be 20 to 25 inches past the drip line in the landscape. The hyphal network in containers will lead to less water going through the bottom of the pot and more of the water used by the plant. These fungal hyphae can absorb the water throughout their entire length as opposed to a root tip or a root hair that can only absorb at the tip. It’s basically just like a better sponge. This excess of water is stored in the fungal hyphae and then later transported to the plant. So when there’s excess, they can store it like a squirrel does and then it’s there when they need it.

All of this is done without making the soil any wetter. Most growers are working to grow dryer because they’re trying to control diseases or plant habit. They can do this without holding more moisture. The moisture that’s applied is going to be absorbed and then later used by the plant.

How does that impact a grower?

One of the things that nursery growers are looking to do is reduce plant stress. They typically struggle in the summer months to water their plants. They could be limited on pump size or manpower or their ability to move irrigation around. This gives plants the buffer to hold that water without the plant going into stress and wilting. And when plants have less wilt, they have fewer root diseases and insect infestation, which are both triggered by plant stress. Less root stress is going to lead to more fruiting and flowers, which is often a main component of trees and shrubs.

This can all lead to reduced costs because you could lose less water. As we all know, water is a finite and expensive resource. There’s less labor to apply the water and less chance for disease and insect issues, which ultimately will lead to lower chemical costs.

How does that impact the final product?

For retail, the plants hold up better in transport. So they come off the truck looking better, which means that they’re going to be more appealing, which means they’re going to sell better at retail. Typically, if we look at a retail environment, plants that are treated with mycorrhizae can hold up 36 to 48 hours longer before wilt sets in. That’s a weekend, and there are only so many weekends in spring.

For more: www.mycorrhizae.com

According to research from the University of Washington, trees increase retail sales and attract shoppers from further away.

Shoppers in business districts with robust tree canopy will spend 9-12 percent more for products, travel further and spend more time there, according to Kathleen L. Wolf, research social scientist at the University of Washington.

Shoppers indicate they will travel greater distance to visit a district having high quality trees and spend more time there once they arrive, she reports.

As the communities you serve build new developments, make sure you’re sharing these stats with city leaders, landscape architects and commercial contractors. Growers must be part of the discussion even before the papers are signed and the equipment breaks ground because retail merchants may overlook the indirect and long-term benefits of a quality urban forest and instead focus on costs such as pruning and debris clean up, according to Green Cities: Good Health, a partnership with the University of Washington and the U.S. Forest Service. “Such attitudes can set the tone for program and budget decisions in local government,” reports Green Cities.

Researchers used contingent valuation method (CVM) to learn how much people would be willing to pay for specific environmental services. Green Cities reports that a series of studies has used CVM to explore how shoppers respond to the urban forest across different business settings. Scenarios are presented to study participants in images and drawings, generally comparing a place with a high-quality urban forest canopy to a similar place that is kept up well but contains no trees. Participants are asked what they would be willing to pay for a set of goods and services in each, and their responses are statistically compared. Generally, shoppers are willing to spend more when shopping in pleasing natural settings.

For instance, goods and services in forested business districts in small cities saw price increases of 9 percent, according to Wolf. Goods and services in forested business districts in large cities experienced a price increase of 11-12 percent.

Why are people willing to pay more in these settings?

“A consumer’s expectations regarding shopping experiences begin at the curb, long before entering a store. Features such as storefronts and sidewalk character can create favorable or negative impressions that subconsciously affect shopper behaviors. It appears that a quality urban forest in a district can affect such impressions,” U of Washington reports.

Wolf also found that study participants projected their probable patronage behavior while viewing street and sidewalk scenarios. More positive responses were found for places having trees, compared to no-tree settings, across cities of different sizes. Potential shoppers claim they are willing to travel more often, for longer amounts of time, and over greater distances to shop in a retail district containing trees, and once arriving will spend more time there.

Don’t assume your community leaders and area contractors know this type of data. Get involved and keep spreading the word about the value of trees.

For more: http://depts.washington.edu/hhwb/

For 90 years, Lambert Peat Moss Inc. has been offering a wide range of peat-based products from various grades of Canadian Sphagnum Peat moss to one of our assorted, ready-to-use professional mixes. Lambert Peat Moss has been dedicated to meet the special needs of professional horticulturists, nursery growers, greenhouse growers, vegetable producers or amateurs.

Because we want to meet and exceed the expectations of our customers, we make sure we choose only high-quality ingredients after a rigorous selection on the bench test by our quality control department. By selecting the best available components, it’s a good start to produce “no worries” products for our customers!

A part of our regular product line, Lambert Peat Moss also offers commercial growers its exclusive ECOPEAT, a highly fibrous natural wood fiber collected from our peat bogs. Depending on the characteristics you’re looking for, choose from our ECOPEAT as a stand-alone product or from our complete line of ready-to-use ECOPEAT Mixes (EPM). If you need exceptional balance of air space and water-holding capacity, with superior longevity and minimal shrinkage, EPM will be the best product to look for.

With our special way of screening and then blending our professional peat grade with those selected components, we can achieve a unique consistency for the professional growers. Lambert wants to make sure that your mix is exactly the same, batch after batch, year after year. That consistency allows you to keep the same formula on site so you can produce successful crop. The best way to solve a problem is to make sure it will not appear!

That’s why quality is our top priority. Our quality control department performs continuous sampling and analysis during the production of your mix. Each sample is analyzed for pH at three different incubation stages and the same for the electrical conductivity. Particle size distribution, moisture content and yield complete the criteria we constantly evaluate. We make sure that each cubic foot of your mix is in total conformity with all our specifications. If one of these points is not completely encountered, it will not be released for delivery by the laboratory staff. Only top-of-quality product will leave our yard!

However, as each nursery and greenhouse experiences a different environment, some “problem” or specific conditions can occur. Again, you can rely on Lambert’s team to help you resolve your issues. By customizing your mix for a specific rate of CRF formulation, incorporating a biofungicide or producing a specific pH order, to name a few, it makes your production easier. We own a complete on-site lab so we can perform soil analysis for you at different stages of your crop to see the evolution of the situation and target what’s going on.

Wherever you are located, one of our sales representatives isn’t far away. With most of them being experienced growers or nurseries owners themselves in the past, they will be able to listen about what you’ve been experiencing and help you gather information to find the perfect solution and resolve any issue.

Moreover, Lambert Peat Moss Inc. has developed a large efficient and versatile distribution network ready to make the impossible to deliver the product at your door in an incomparable time frame. The constant commitment to improve and optimize its customer service allows Lambert Peat Moss Inc. to adapt quickly to the requirements of its customers. The skill workforce and dedication of its staff ensure that it remains competitive, at the cutting edge of the technology and at the forefront of markets by offering incomparable quality products.

Visit us at www.lambertpeatmoss.com