Sally Benson October 4, 2016<\/p>\n

\nOn invasives<\/h3>\n

We\u2019ve come a long way; we\u2019ve a long way to go.<\/p>\n

The challenge of controlling invasive plants is an ongoing one, and if anyone thinks there\u2019s one simple answer, I\u2019ve got a classic Edsel to sell you.<\/p>\n

Over the past couple of decades, this industry has done a superb job fighting the introduction of invasive species and working to control and eliminate those invaders that have already taken root. We\u2019ve been on the front line to provide science-based education. The gardening public is better informed, and legislators are better informed.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019m sure we can well-remember the nightmares of slapped-together regs prohibiting the sale of plants for which well-intentioned but ill-informed public interest groups lobbied, and won. Many of these laws and prohibitions were enacted without input from the industry and were based on a poorly defined understanding of \u201cinvasive.\u201d And when I use the term \u201cwell-intentioned,\u201d I\u2019m certain that I\u2019m ruffling some feathers; often these groups were seen as rabid, wild-eyed environmental activists who had it in for the nursery industry, blaming growers for the looming destruction of this precious planet. And some of them were.<\/p>\n

Many, however, were simply concerned citizens who didn\u2019t read beyond the headlines and assumed that the industry was lazy at best, irresponsible at worst. Sometimes they\u2019d listen to reason. Sometimes it got ugly. Science usually won the argument over emotion, but it was always \u2013 virtually without exception \u2013 a tough argument.<\/p>\n

We all know the struggle\u2019s not over. Granted, improvements in Federal legislation as well as regulations on the local level have made better sense of the process by which we determine which plants can join us and which must be rejected. Things are better, to be sure. But we cannot become complacent. So I\u2019ve decided to resurrect an article we published 20 years ago; an article that urged the industry to take charge. It was written by Dr. Sarah Reichard and Dr. Faith Campbell, and it caused quite a stir when it appeared in our July 1, 1996, issue.<\/p>\n

Much of the information is dated, it\u2019s true. But it\u2019s revisited here verbatim for a couple of reasons. One, let\u2019s take a look back at where we were. And two, let\u2019s take stock of how far we\u2019ve come, and perhaps start the dialogue anew.<\/p>\n

You may have heard that we lost Sarah Reichard<\/strong> at the end of August. It\u2019s a good time to read her words again.<\/p>\n

\nOn new plants<\/h3>\n

What an oddly opportune time to mention that we\u2019re gearing up for our annual New Plant Introductions<\/strong> issue. Yes, we\u2019re approaching that most wonderful time of the year, at least in these offices, when we sort through the information on new woodies and herbaceous perennials submitted by growers and breeders across the country. So I\u2019ll take this space to remind you that we\u2019re looking for your best, most promising and least-likely-to-pose-a-threat plants for inclusion in this year-end issue.<\/p>\n

The ground rules haven\u2019t changed much, but they bear repeating. Please be sure that the plants you submit for inclusion are new to the market, and that you and\/or your company have the rights to them. What does that mean? If someone else has introduced the plant and it\u2019s simply new to your inventory, it doesn\u2019t count. But if you bred the plant, or discovered it and are responsible for its intro to market, then we want to share the info! The downloadable form<\/strong> is easy to complete, and don\u2019t forget that spectacular, high-res photo.<\/p>\n

The deadline is October 21, 2016, so don\u2019t delay.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sally Benson October 4, 2016 On invasives We\u2019ve come a long way; we\u2019ve a long way to go. The challenge of controlling invasive plants is an ongoing one, and if anyone thinks there\u2019s one simple answer, I\u2019ve got a classic Edsel to sell you. Over the past couple of decades, this industry has done a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nursery"],"yoast_head":"\n