CENTS mixes business and education

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- CENTS Marketplace and University finishes its three-day run today. The trade show and educational sessions run concurrently at the same location, the Greater Columbus Convention Center, providing a mix of business and professional development for growers, landscapers, and anyone else on the green industry supply chain.

CENTS University features speakers covering 125 diverse topics designed to inform and engage green industry pros about every aspect of their business.

Several sessions were geared toward nursery professionals, covering everything from production methods to general business advice. Chris Uhland, CEO of Harmony Hill Nursery, LLC, covered both in his session "How I Built a Strong Career and Profitable Nursery."

UhlandUhland runs the 75-acre Pennsylvania nursery, which has provided specimen shade, ornamental and flowering trees for the last six years. During his presentation, he discussed the long hours and seasonal demands of what he deemed "the nursery lifestyle." Whether it's flying across the country to see your vendors at a trade show or staying until daylight runs out to make sure a shipment of trees is loaded, passion for the work is a key component of success.

"If you're not passionate about what you do, why would someone be passionate about your product?" Uhland said.

Many green industry professionals are members of various professional organizations. Uhland is no different. But not everyone is using those associations to their full potential. Uhland discussed the connections he'd made from the Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association, his state's Department of Environmental Protection Ag Advisory Committee, and the Nursery Growers Business Coalition. His involvement with PLNA's government relations committee helped his business on several occasions. When several Pennsylvania counties were taxing every greenhouse as an indvidual structure, Uhland's commitee fought to overturn it. His work on that issue led to several new customers.

"Make your membership count," he said.

Another interesting discussion was "North vs. South: What difference does it make?" This two-part debate involved Bill Hendricks, Klyn Nurseries (and our 2014 Grower of the Year), and Steve Foltz, Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. The two plantsmen shared their opinions on numerous shrubs and trees, and explained how and why some fare differently in northern Ohio than the southern part of the state. On Friday, Hendricks and Foltz finished their discussion, which began in Wednesday's session.

Hendricks praised Acer miyabei 'State Street', which he described as a "sleeper" for 2015, and both he and Foltz agreed on several shrubs and trees that performed well in both geographic regions, like Acer 'Girard's Paperback Maple,' Aesculus flava vs. A. hippocastanum, Prunus x 'Snow Fountains,' and Quercus macrocarpa.

Hendricks and Foltz also covered the importance of soil. The difference in Hendricks' Lake County soil and Foltz' Cincinnati soil is a major reason some plants perform well in one area but not the other.

"If we take care of our soil, our soil will take care of us," Hendricks said.

Early indicators point to a big show for CENTS 2015. Conference pre-registration was up more than 100 percent compared to last year's numbers. Growers expect some shortages for 2015, especially of the in-demand 'Green Giant' arborvitae.

CENTS Marketplace 2015 is currently taking place at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. The show opened on Jan. 7 and runs through Jan. 9. Along with the tradeshow, CENTS University is also taking place, providing education to Ohio green industry members.

For more: www.centsmarketplace.com