Chris Beytes of Ball Floral will be speaking at the 2012 Garden Center Symposium.  For a glimpse of his speaking style -- check out this video from the Ball Seed Customer Day. 

http://www.youtube.com/growertalks#p/u/2/odidI6piLTg

 Sweet Marmalade Coreopsis

Source:  Greenhouse Product News

Blooms of Bressingham has introduced a new, orage-red to apricot-yellow colored coreoopsis 'Sweet Marmalade'.

This coreopsis' orange-red flowers soften as they mature, mellowing to a more pale apricot-yellow through the season. It's also covered in bushy mounds of mid-green, narrow, linear foliage. 'Sweet Marmalade' blooms summer into early autumn, and its tidy habit works beautifully in the garden or in a container. Hardy in Zones 5-9, like most of its genus, it's happiest in full sun and in porous, well-drained soil. Bushy mounded plants grow 10-inches high and 20-inches wide the first year.

Discovered by Blooms partner Yohei Hosogai of Nichien Company, Japan, 'Sweet Marmalade' is a sport of another very popular Blooms variety, 'Creme Brulee'. 'Sweet Marmalade' doesn't require vernalization for flowering. Unvernalized liners planted in April will produce finished flowering plants in 12 to 14 weeks.

For more information, visit www.bloomsofbressinghamplants.com.

 Source:  Garden Center Magazine

All-America Selections, a non-profit organization known for trialing and promoting superior garden-performing flowers and vegetables, recently unveiled a new logo with a fresh, modern design.

At the AAS Summer Summit in Monterey, Calif., held earlier this month, Mike Murgiano of Syngenta Flowers, chair of the AAS task force responsible for the new image of All-America Selections (AAS) said, "Our new logo honors the past 80 years of AAS history by maintaining the familiar red, white and blue, but in updated tones. We also are embracing our future with the strong use of the AAS acronym that represents an easily identifiable connection to our organization and our winning plants and flower."

Adds Diane Blazek, executive director, "The words 'All-America Selections' encircling the acronym symbolizes how the organization embraces not only seed annual flowers and vegetables but how we plan to embrace vegetatively propagated annuals and perennials in the future. We thank the entire board of directors for the time they've given to breathe new life into an organization that plays a vital role in a holistic marketing approach for breeders."

While there was some brand recognition of the badge emblem, the organization feels the new logo with the strong use of the letters A, A and S along with the red winner bar and green leaves, will quickly become more recognizable as a identifier of plants that are proven garden performers.

This new logo is available immediately to breeders, tag companies, distributors/brokers, growers and garden centers to use when promoting the AAS Winners. This winter, the AAS office will replace the signs at 40-plus trial gardens with new signs that incorporate the new logo and a freshened look. In January, AAS will launch a revamped website using the new look and logo. In 2012, the organization will begin replacing signage at the almost 200 AAS Display Gardens throughout North America.

 Virtual Grower Software

Jeanne Himmelein, Michigan State University Extension

Virtual Grower 3.0 is a decision-support tool for greenhouse growers. Users can build a greenhouse with a variety of materials for roofs and sidewalls, design the greenhouse style, schedule temperature set points throughout the year, and predict heating costs for over 500 sites (over 250 new sites for the new version) within the United States. Different heating and scheduling scenarios can be predicted with few inputs.

This computer software was developed by Jonathan Frantz and colleagues at the USDA Agricultural Research Service, with help from the American Association of University Professors' research-based information. MSU Department of Horticulture's Erik Runkle has contributed data that associates with crop timing, temperature, lighting and energy consumption based on heating regimes.

This software is designed for individuals that are new to greenhouse production and seasoned operations. The components focus on scheduling, assessing baseline and savings opportunities, grant opportunities, and evaluating the environmental footprint of the operation.  Virtual growers can also test your intuition on decisions you have made.

Virtual Grower 3.0 is available as a download free of charge onto your PC or Mac computer.

Tom Shay's August 3-retailer conference call focussed on the upcoming Christmas holiday selling season.  Some of the points they covered.

• Here in September, you should already be planning how to decorate your business to reflect the season. If the customer sees Christmas decorations and Christmas gift ideas when they see your business, they then are going to think of your business as a Christmas gift store.
• The same goes for how you display merchandise and post signs about the services you offer. A small suggestion about your products and services being great Christmas gifts, places that thought in the customer's mind.
• If your staff wears name tags, a simple addition to the tag that says this staff person is a 'Christmas elf' or a 'special gift advisor', creates an opening for a conversation between that customer and your salesperson.
• All of us would like our business to have a great conclusion for 2011. The last 120 days of the year can make that a reality for your business, if you see your business as a Christmas headquarters.