GrassSolutions for July 2016

GrassSolutions July 2016 Hoffman Nursery

In this issue:

Cultivate'16 a Big Success
Connecting with Native Plants
An Ever Colorful Visit
The Perennial Place to Be


John Hoffman celebrates with Steve Castorani and the North Creek Nurseries crew at Cultivate'16.

Cultivate'16 a Big Success

The Cultivate show in Columbus, Ohio brings in industry people from all over the country. This year, the crowds were big, and Hoffman Nursery brought a larger team than ever.

We talked about green infrastructure and its opportunities for our industry. We talked about great new grasses. And we celebrated a milestone with our friends from North Creek Nurseries.

Get a quick tour of Cultivate'16 with us in this blog post!

Connecting with Native Plants

We've expanded our palette of native grasses and sedges to meet the growing demand. To help keep up on what's happening in our region, Hoffman Nursery marketing director Shannon Currey attended the 33rd annual Cullowhee Native Plant Conference in the mountains of western North Carolina.

The Cullowhee conference attracts a mix of nursery people, landscape professionals, botanists, ecologists, home gardeners, and others. There are field trips, presentations, and workshops--too many to enumerate here. However, we wanted to give you a taste of the conference from the grass perspective.

Field Trip - Buck Creek Serpentine Barrens

Taking a walk across slopes filled with grasses and pitch pines is an amazing experience. Taking that walk with Gary Kauffman, botanist with the National Forests in North Carolina, is even better. He knows the plants, the site, and the history of this fascinating ecosystem. Read more about the trip in our Cullowhee blog post.

Ecological Design in the First Urban Century
Landscape architect Emily McCoy of Andropogon Associates spoke about the approach her firm has taken since its inception more than thirty years ago. They practice ecological design, which use natural processes, environmental science, and sense of place to guide development of a site. McCoy shared several projects that are innovative, not only in their design, but also in how they're being evaluated. Read about their work in our Cullowhee blog post.

Plant of Promise: Carex cherokeensis
On the last day of the conference, attendees can present Plants of Promise. The selections can be new species or cultivars, or they can be plants that are underused and deserve attention. This year's selections included Carex cherokeensis, one of our favorite sedges. What's special about this sedge? Find out in our Cullowhee blog post.

An Ever Colorful Visit


	The Hoffmans--(Jill, David, and John--welcomed Pat FitzGerald (middle right) to the nursery.

We had a visit this month from Pat FitzGerald of FitzGerald Nurseries in Ireland. After attending Cultivate'16 in Ohio, he spent a day with us at the nursery. He toured the facilities, chatted with our crew, and told us about new plants he's trialing. He's breeding edibles, sedges, and other plants in a variety of colors.

Pat developed the EverColor© series of sedges. Our nursery currently offers six varieties in the series, and there are more in development. We love their gorgeous habit, bright colors, and evergreen foliage.


	Carex oshimensis EverColor© Everest ('Carfit01') PP20955 has done beautifully in a tough spot at the edge of a walkway.

We've been impressed with their performance in the landscape. In central North Carolina, we planted EverColor© Everest at the edge of a walkway in clayey soil in a poorly drained spot. It gets morning shade and harsh, afternoon sun. Everest has established itself and looks beautiful. We'd call that a tough, adapatable sedge.

Read more about the EverColor© series in this post.

The Perennial Place to Be

It starts next week in Minneapolis! At the 34th Perennial Plant Symposium, perennial plant growers, breeders, and enthusiasts will get together for a grand time. The agenda includes tours, lectures, and lots of networking. This Symposium is the only annual professional education conference dedicated to growing, retailing, and designing with herbaceous perennials.

The symposium includes a public seminar on Monday, August 1. At 3pm, our marketing director Shannon Currey will present a talk entitled, "Grasses & Sedges: Powerful Plants for Today's Landscapes." She will touch on the unique design attributes of grasses and sedges, address ways to use them, touch on care and maintenance, and highlight example projects that illustrate their capabilities.

John and Jill Hoffman will be at the symposium, too. We hope to see you there!