'Grower to Garden Center: An Industry Seminar' set for Jan. 20

"Grower to Garden Center: An Industry Seminar," will be presented all day on Jan. 20 by the Greenhouse and Retail chapters of the Oregon Association of Nurseries. The proceedings will take place from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (with a social hour afterwards) at Bauman Farms, 29898 Howell Prairie Road, Gervais, Ore. Topics will include grower and retailer marketing, beneficial insects, social media marketing, Phytophthora ramorum, and more. You can even get two pesticide credits by attending the sessions on beneficials and P. ramorum. Things will wrap up with a panel discussion of industry leaders. Speakers will include Kelly Feller of Armchair Marketing, Ed Hume of Ed Hume Seeds and TV/radio fame, John Maurer of Evergreen Growers Supply, plant pathologist Dr. Jennifer Parke of Oregon State University, Judy Sharpton of Growing Places Marketing, and Brian Spencer of Applied Bionomics. Lunch will be provided. The cost will be $40 per person in advance or three from the same company for $100. Cost at the door will be higher, at $50 per person and no meal guaranteed. The student rate is $30 per person with valid student ID. The deadline for pre-registration is Friday, Jan. 15. Register online at www.oan.org, or download the flier (PDF) and mail in the form. For details, call Jason Padden, 503-729-0655.

Owner of Don Schmidt Nursery passses away

We are saddened to report that longtime Oregon grower Jim Schmidt, owner of Don Schmidt Nursery, passed away last Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2009, of a heart attack, just weeks short of his 64th birthday.

Jim was among the world's foremost growers and collectors of Japanese maples. His nursery in Boring, Ore., was featured (PDF) in the January 2009 State of Perfection issue of Digger magazine. He purchased the nursery from his parents, Don and Helen Schmidt, in 1974. Over time, he amassed a collection of more than 350 Japanese maple cultivars – probably a lot more. He stopped counting after he reached that number. “I started out with just a few, and then I started collecting them, and then they started collecting me,” Jim said last year.

More recently, Jim was featured as a source for an article on Japanese maples (PDF) that appeared in the July 2009 issue of Digger. In addition to the maples, Jim grew several varieties of flowering cherry and dogwood, including the Heart Throb dogwood, which he patented.

Jim served as president of OAN’s Mt. Hood Chapter. His family connections to the nursery business ran deep. He was the nephew of the late J. Frank Schmidt, founder of J. Frank Schmidt & Son Nursery in Boring, Ore.

Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 7 at Bateman Carroll Funeral Home, 520 W. Powell Blvd., Gresham, Ore. (directions). A reception will follow at Wink’s Restaurant, 3240 S. Troutdale Road, Troutdale, Ore. (directions). For a more detailed obituary, see the Bateman Carroll Web site. Another obituary appears on the Gresham Outlook Web site (scroll down).

In a State of Perfection Video from last year, you can see Jim talking about one of his favorite Japanese maples: Acer palmatum 'Sango-kaku'.

Urban forestry conference is accepting speaker proposals

The committee that is planning the 2010 Oregon Urban and Community Forestry Conference is inviting potential speakers to submit a presentation proposal for possible inclusion in the conference program. The conference will be presented June 2-3, 2010 by the Oregon Department of Forestry and Oregon Community Trees, in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service. On Wednesday, June 2, conferees will meet at J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co. in Boring, Ore., for a field day. On Thursday, June 3, they’ll reconvene at The Oregon Garden in Silverton, Ore., for an indoor educational session. This year’s conference theme will be, “From Seed to City: The Journey of an Urban Tree.” The focus will be on nursery production, species selection and planting of landscape trees in cities. Between 75-125 urban forestry professionals and advocates are expected to attend. For details, contact Paul Ries at paul.ries@state.or.us.

California closing its only reforestation nursery

California's state budget crisis has claimed another victim: the state's only publicly-owned reforestation nursery. It will be closed due to budget shortfalls. (Via Capital Press (Salem, Ore.).)

State of Perfection Clip 1: Woodburn Nursery & Azaleas

Next week, Digger will publish its annual "State of Perfection" issue, which profiles six Oregon nurseries that are representative of the state's climate, passion, diversity, insight, service and quality. Here is a sneak preview of the issue: a video clip featuring Rick Fessler of Woodburn Nursery & Azaleas. Enjoy!

Recent cold snap claims borderline hardy plants

Kym Pokorny, gardening blogger for The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.) talks about what in her garden survived the recent cold snap, and what didn't.

Alaskan officials concerned about Christmas tree frogs

There have been several news reports the last few days about Pacific chorus frogs hitchhiking from Washington state to Alaska, including this AP dispatch. Officials in the Land of the Midnight Sun are worried that the frogs, not native to Alaska, could spread disease to native frogs. Reports indicate the offending trees (just two so far) are from Washington state. Some are blaming the fact that Alaska doesn't require that imported Christmas trees be shaken, either before shipment or after arrival. Alaskans who find the frogs are being encouraged to euthanize them, either with a dab of Orajel to the forehead, or by sticking them in a jar and placing them outside.

Nurseries hit hard by recession

Dana Tims of The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.) takes a look at how the recession has affected the Oregon nursery industry.

Bob Terry honored as Agriculturalist of the Year

Bob Terry, owner of Fisher Farms and past president (2007-08) of the Oregon Association of Nurseries, has been chosen Agriculturalist of the Year for 2009 by the Agri-Business Council of Oregon. The council put together a very nice tribute video, which you can view here.

Bushue re-elected president of Oregon Farm Bureau

Barry Bushue has been re-elected to a sixth two-year term as president of the Oregon Farm Bureau. In addition he will continue to serve as vice president of the American Farm Bureau Federation. Bushue is the owner of Bushue Farming Co. Inc. in Boring, Ore., a retail and wholesale grower of berries, pumpkins and nursery stock, including conifers, shrubs, vegetable starts, flowering baskets and ornamental grasses. Bushue recently wrote about Measures 66 and 67 from a farming perspective in a guest opinion in the (Portland, Ore.) Oregonian.

EPA plans more stringent evaluation of chemicals

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced on Tuesday that it will strengthen its assessment of pesticide risks, particularly to farmworkers and children. Per the press release:

Under the policy, EPA risk assessments for children, farmworkers and others, would consider aggregate pesticide exposures from all sources in addition to the cumulative effects from multiple pesticides that have similar toxicity.

The information generated by this process is sure to be of interest to nursery growers who apply chemicals, employ others to do so, or are exposed by virtue of pesticide use on their farms.

Have you incurred damage from the cold?

It's been pretty unbelievably cold in Oregon the last two nights. Last night in Aurora, it was down to 10 degrees. Has your nursery operation sustained any damage? Leave a comment and let us know, or send a tweet. Our Twitter account is @diggermag.

Federal program compensates farmers for conservation easements

In Oregon, applications are now being accepted for the federal Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program (FRPP), which protects productive agricultural lands against being converted to other uses. The program is offered by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. In Oregon, applications must be turned in no later than Feb. 1, 2010 to be considered for funding. Applications may be accepted from state governments, tribes, or other easement holders such as land trusts.

The Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program (FRPP) provides matching funds to help purchase development rights to keep productive farm and ranchland in agricultural uses. Working through existing easement holders, USDA partners with State, tribal, or local governments and non-governmental organizations to acquire conservation easements or other interests in land from landowners. USDA provides up to 50 percent of the fair market easement value of the conservation easement. To qualify, farmland must: be part of a pending offer from a State, tribe, or local farmland protection program; be privately owned; have a conservation plan for highly erodible land; be large enough to sustain agricultural production; be accessible to markets for what the land produces; have adequate infrastructure and agricultural support services; and have surrounding parcels of land that can support long-term agricultural production.

For application materials and more information, visit the Oregon NRCS Web site or contact Bari Williams, Oregon NRCS easement specialist, at 503-414-3226.

Nursery temps drop to as low as 11 degrees

As we warned you on Monday, an Arctic cold front has invaded the Pacific Northwest, bringing record cold temperatures in the teens to Oregon. For one particularly chilly example, Pleasant Hill Nursery near Eugene reported a temperature of 11 degrees this morning. Forecasters say this cold snap will continue until Friday, when warm, moist air will arrive from the Pacific Ocean. The collision between the moist ocean air and the dry Arctic low could result in snow or freezing rain Friday and/or Saturday in various locales, but temperatures will quickly warm to above freezing and any precipitation is likely to melt. Nonetheless, nurseries are urged to keep monitoring the weather at their individual location, and protect their plants and structures accordingly.

Willamette Nurseries suffers damage in fire

Willamette Nurseries in Canby, Ore. was hit by a fire over the weekend that caused at least $500,000 in damage. The Canby (Ore.) Herald and The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.) have the details. The nursery provides rootstock as well as bare-root shade and fruit tree liners, shipping them to all parts of the United States. Firefighters from multiple agencies responded. They managed to save the nursery's cold storage facility and contents, valued at more than $1 million. Fire officials are pointing to the possibility that rags soaked in wood-staining oil spontaneously combusted and started the blaze. However, no definitive determination has been made.

Tuesday, Wednesday expected to be even colder

That's the forecast according to Rufus LaLone. Since his previous updates, the weather pattern has changed, snow is now possible Friday or Saturday rather than Wednesday. Then it will warm up a bit. So, if you haven't already, protect any plants that are tender, and bundle up yourself.

Edibles and green walls combine to form new trend

You've heard how hot edibles have been in the nursery industry over the last year. Thanks to the sour economy and a desire for sustainability, more and more gardeners are motivated to grow their own food. You've also probably heard of green walls, which offer ecological as well as aesthetic benefits. Well, now here's a trend that combines both of these hot trends – edible walls. Using edible walls, one can now grow fruits and vegetables in confined urban spaces. The New York Times reported on them recently. Here's the story. (Via www.gardenplot.blogspot.com.)

Christmas trees better for the environment

Oregon-grown real Christmas trees are a better environmental choice, according to the Hillsboro (Ore.) Argus. This is something all of us in the industry already knew, but it's worth passing along to your friends and neighbors this holiday season.

Winter weather may be headed for the Willamette Valley

It's early, but weather forecasters are beginning to raise the possibility that in a worst case scenario, the next few weeks could see something resembling the winter assault that pummeled the Northwest last December.

According to forecaster Rufus LaLone of The Weather Café, the time period to keep an eye on would be the middle of next week, roughly Dec. 9-10. Depending on how weather patterns continue to develop, moisture could mix with Arctic cold air, resulting in snow all throughout Oregon and Washington.

Phil Volcker of ERF Company Inc. (Extended Range Forecasting) feels that there is the chance of snow or freezing rain in the middle of next week, although he feels it would be more transitional in nature. However, he warns that even without snow next week, the season's first blast of very cold air is coming in this weekend and early next week, and nursery folks need to prepare accordingly.

It may not be time to panic just yet, but it's always a good idea to keep an eye on the forecasts and be prepared to adjust if the weather changes.

Florida nursery accused of knowingly shipping infected plants

Packer reports that according to Florida officials, a nursery in that state knowingly attempted to sell trees infested with citrus canker out of a quarantined area. The infected trees were detected during an inspection, detained, and sent back to the originating nursery.