GrassSolutions - August 2019

In this issue:

Great Shade Grasses
Problem-free Panicum: Growing Tips for a Long-time Favorite
National Perennial Plant Symposium: Award Connections
Grasses Have Flowers, Too
The Hidden Anatomy of Grasses
Does it Work? A Green Roof 10 Years Out
Keeping Top Talent with Green
Upcoming Events

Great Shade Grasses

As they mature, landscapes with large trees often need more plants that thrive in shady conditions. A recent post from Garden Design suggests 20 great shade plants. The list includes varieties of Hakonechloa macra like ' Aureola' and ' All Gold', which offer gorgeous, cascading foliage and appealing texture.

Of course, we wouldn't stop at just one grass! There are other great choices for shade:

You can see our full listing of grasses for shade here. And don't forget that many sedges ( Carex) thrive in shady conditions, too. You can see a list of shade-loving Carex here.

Garden Design highlighted Golden Variegated Hakone Grass in Top 20 Shade Plants. We add few more grasses to the list!

Problem-free Panicum

Growing Tips for a Long-Time Favorite

Panicum virgatum got the spotlight this summer at Cultivate’19. Our Head Grower, Bill Hall, shared a session with Laura Robles of Walters Gardens to talk about Baptisia and Panicum from a grower’s perspective. Afterward, Greenhouse Management produced an excellent summary of his and Robles’ session entitled, “ What growers need to know about Baptisia and Panicum”.

Keep an eye out for more Panicum tips as we cover Bill's talk in more depth in upcoming posts. For now, you can read the article here.

National Perennial Plant Symposium

Award Connections at PPA:

Wallace Wins Young Professional Award and Hall Receives Scholarship

The National Perennial Plant Symposium this summer in Chicago was fantastic. The whole week was packed with adventures and wonderful colleagues.

Each year at the symposium, the Perennial Plant Association (PPA) announces awards related to the perennial plant industry. Hoffman Nursery had two connections to this year's awards. Our Production Supervisor Kata Kreß Wallace (shown on the left) received PPA's Young Professional Award. Our former intern, Hunter Hall (shown on the right), received a student scholarship to attend the symposium. Both awards are designed to encourage and develop participation in the perennial plant industry.

Young Professional Award

The Young Professional award is given to a talented and diligent newcomer for their efforts in the industry. Kata Kress Wallace grew up in Austria, where her father owns a perennial plant nursery. Before coming to Hoffman Nursery, she completed multiple internships in Europe and a year as a trainee at Plant Delights Nursery in North Carolina. She began here as garden coordinator. A year later she moved to production supervisor, where she oversees the production team.

Kata served on the site committee for the 2018 PPA Symposium in Raleigh, chairing both the Sponsorship and Tour Committees. She’s also an active member of the Emergent Facebook Group for young professionals and co-coordinated the Emergent Meet-up at MANTS 2019. We're thrilled Kata has been recognized for her contributions to the industry and are looking forward to her bright future.

PPA Scholarship Award

Hunter Hall is a rising senior at the University of Mt. Olive in North Carolina, majoring in Agricultural Education. She did an internship with Hoffman Nursery in the summer of 2018 and has kept in touch with us. She's an enthusiastic learner and has broadened her interests in horticulture. Congratulations to Hunter on receiving this scholarship and for being all in with perennials!

A Closer Look

Grasses Have Flowers, Too

The subtle beauty of grass flowers mirrors that of the prairies they inhabit. The Prairie Ecologist, Chris Helzer, shares his gorgeous images in a recent post. It might make you think about flowers in a whole different way!

Read more
prairieecologist.com

The Hidden Anatomy of Grass Flowers

Keeping with our closer look at grass flowers, take a moment to indulge (or awaken) your inner grass nerd. This quick post describes one of the remarkable events that happens when grasses flower.

Read more
www.indefenseofplants.com

Green Infrastructure

The Summer 2019 issue of Living Architecture Monitor focused on biophilia, which describes our connection to and the benefits of natural environments. It's an info-packed publication that's worth browsing. Below we highlight just a couple of the articles we think you'll enjoy.

Does it Work?

A Green Roof 10 Years Out

A 2.5-acre green roof has a lot of plants. How does it perform over time? This case study article revisits a massive project to see.

The Target Center green roof in Minneapolis, MN was installed in 2009 and has been called "a prairie in the sky." The savings on energy and storm water utility fees in the first year were $224,000. The incremental costs of the project ($2.4 million) were recouped in 5.2 years. And the plantings continue to provide a range of benefits.

Read more about this big, green roof.

Keeping Top Talent with Green

Can a green wall in the workplace help retain top talent? This article explores the effects of living green walls and green branding on attracting and keeping employees.

A working environment that values green spaces can make employees healthier and happier. Find out more.

Photo courtesy of Dave MacKenzie

To learn more about the economic, social, and environmental benefits of green roofs, walls, and other forms of living architecture, check out the Living Architecture Monitor.

Upcoming Events

Georgia Perennial Plant Association Meeting

Sept. 16, 2019; Atlanta, GA

Our Marketing Director, Shannon Currey, will speak at the Georgia Perennial Plant Association September meeting at the Atlanta History Center. The evening will begin at 7:00 pm with social time and refreshments, followed by Shannon speaking at 7:30. This event is open to the public, reservations are not required. Click the link above to learn more about this event.

Nursery Management Conference

October 1-3, 2019; Fort Worth, TX

Be inspired. See the Future. That's the vision for Nursery Management's conference this fall. They're bringing together nursery professionals to discuss the issues impacting the horticulture industry today, and the impact they will have in the years ahead.

Their goal is to give you actionable, tangible ideas that that will improve production processes, bolster business management techniques and grow profits. Sounds like a plan!

IPPS Southern Region Annual Meeting

Oct. 12-16, 2019; Baton Rouge, LA

Catch the Hoffman Nursery crew at this premiere conference for plant producers. Southern Louisiana, with its abundance of nurseries and rich horticultural heritage, beckons. The tours and networking are only part of the treat.

Our Production Supervisor, Kata Kreß Wallace, will talk to attendees about the rewards and challenges of working with an international workforce. See the schedule of events and registration brochure at the link above.

Ecological Plant Conference

Dec. 6, 2019; Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn, NY

The Ecological Landscape Alliance will host its 4th annual Ecological Plant Conference at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Spend the day with friends and colleagues who share your passion for plants and the planet. This year's conference includes our Marketing Director, Shannon Currey. She'll be sharing grasses and sedges for every layer in the landscape. Get more information on her talk and the outstanding lineup at the link above.