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INLA NEWSLETTER

January 2025

IN THIS ISSUE: 

  • INLA Trade Show
  • Shade Tree Short Course
  • INLA Annual Meeting
  • Learn on Saturdays
  • Plant Picks of the Month

INLA Trade Show

A FEW BOOTHS ARE STILL AVAILABLE

 

INLA 2025 Trade Show

February 18-20, 2025 | Ames, Iowa

https://agribiz.swoogo.com/2025inla

The INLA 2025 Trade Show will be held at the Scheman Building in Ames in conjunction with the Iowa State University Shade Tree Short Course in February. General registration for exhibitors opens on Dec. 10 starting at 10 AM.  


GENERAL EXHIBITOR REGISTRATION INFO

The following procedure will be used for Exhibitor Registration:

  • Exhibitor registration opens on December 10 at 10:00 AM.
  • Exhibitors will choose their booth during registration. Once registration is complete, the booth is instantly assigned. Staff will NOT be assigning booths. 
  • There are a limited number of booths available. Once the booths are sold out, we will not be able to accommodate additional booth spaces.


Plan your booth location now. View the Trade Show booth map here: 

2025 INLA Trade Show Booth Map


Additional information and updates will be available on the registration website.

REGISTRATION SITE

RESERVE YOUR HOTEL ROOM TODAY IN AMES!

A special rate for exhibitors staying in Ames. Use the link below to book your room and automatically receive the Shade Tree Short Course pricing.


Hotel offering a special group rate:

SpringHill Suites Ames for 149.00 USD per night

Book your group rate here if you’re an exhibitor.


Last Day to Book: 

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

ISU Shade Tree Short Course

The 69th Iowa State University Shade Tree Short Course


Scheman Building, Iowa State University Campus

February 19-20, 2025


https://www.regcytes.extension.iastate.edu/shadetree/

 

2025 INLA Annual Meeting

The 2025 INLA Annual Meeting will be during the 2025 INLA Trade Show.


Come prepared to vote on specific benefits that you are looking to see implemented in the future! We want your input on what you want as an association and what our focus should be.   

Learn on Saturdays

Join the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden for Learn on Saturdays, a weekly educational lecture series presented by experts from across the state of Iowa. Session begins at 10:30 am.


Winter is the best time to dream big about your home garden, and this winter, Learn on Saturdays is back with a new format and a great line up! Growing the Gardener in You is the theme for Learn on Saturdays 2025 at the Botanical Garden. Eight fantastic experts over eight Saturday mornings will help you grow your gardening skills, learn sustainable gardening techniques, add more eco-friendly practices, and keep your garden adapting to changing Iowa conditions. Growing as a gardener during the winter will result in amazing home gardens in the summer. Come learn with us! 


Check out this link for all the details and registration.


Learn on Saturdays 2025 is funded by the Resource Enhancement and Protection Conservations Education Program (REAP CEP) and will improve the toolkit of all Iowa’s gardeners and their efforts to plant a more beautiful world.  




INLA Booth at BUILD IT

The INLA will have a booth at the upcoming BUILD IT in Coralville, Iowa on March 5 & 6, 2025!


Stop by and say hi to us if you’re there!

ICNP Certification

If you’re looking to get ICNP certification, please contact Bob Smith at Kirkwood Community College, and we will try to organize a time to sign your business or individuals up to test and become an Iowa Certified Nursery Professional.


Contact Bob at 319.398.5899 x5127 or Bob.Smith@kirkwood.edu


Perennial Plant Pick of the Month
by Tyler Baird

Schizachrium scoparium

COMMON NAME: Little Bluestem


BOTANICAL NAME: Schizachrium scoparium


USDA ZONE: 3-9


SUNLIGHT: Full Sun


SOIL CONDITIONS: Prefers dry to medium soils and tolerates a wide range of soil conditions. Tolerates high heat and humidity well.


HABIT: 2-4’ x 1.5-2’

FEATURES: Little Bluestem is available in many cultivars that vary in color and upright habit. The straight species has nice blue/green blades with some purple highlights commonly present. It has light, featherlike, seed heads that often catch the sun and highlight the tops of the plant in the fall.


WHY WE LOVE IT: Little Bluestem is a great native plant that fits into the medium height category. It can be used to fill spaces in a grass matrix planting or as the main highlight in a planting. There are many newer cultivars to choose from if you are looking for specific color tones or variations in rigidity or upright habit. As a warm season grass, Little Bluestem will let other plants around it shine during the early spring and then put on fast growth for good foliage appeal during the remaining 3+ seasons. Like most grasses, it is easy to grow and requires little ongoing maintenance aside from cutting back in the spring.


Annual Plant Pick of the Month
by Dylan Schrock

Coffee Cups Elephant’s Ear

COMMON NAME: Coffee Cups Elephant’s Ear


BOTANICAL NAME: Colocasia esculenta


SUNLIGHT: Part Sun to Sun


HEIGHT: 3’-5’


SPREAD: 2.5’-4’


SOIL CONDITIONS: Well drained soil


FEATURES: Cupped foliage of dark green with mocha veins and stems


WHY WE LOVE IT: Elephant ears in general are a great addition to landscapes and planters alike. It is an easy way to give a tropical feel to the area. The unique features of this plant make it a must. It has a more upright habit than traditional elephant ears. The leaves are not only cupped which makes them unique, but they also point towards the sky as opposed to most other types of elephant ears that point downward. In planters they are extremely useful because they add great height without consuming the whole planter. The upright habit allows room for plants to thrive around them. 

Woody Herbaceous Plant Pick of the Month
by David Selmer

Low-Branched Goldspire Ginkgo 

High-branched Goldspire Ginkgo 

COMMON NAME: Goldspire Ginkgo


BOTANICAL NAME: Ginkgo biloba, ‘Blagon’


USDA ZONE: 4-9


SUNLIGHT: Full Sun, Sun to part shade


SOIL CONDITIONS: Moist well-drained but tolerant of many types


HABIT: 35’ -45’ tall and 12’ wide at maturity, but a slower grower


FEATURES:

  • Tight fastigiate shape
  • Extremely hardy and tolerant of most soils
  • True Yellow/Gold fall color that drops all leaves at once
  • Clean tree without any droops or droppings
  • Hard wood that has a very long lifespan of hundreds of years


WHY WE LOVE IT:

The ginkgo is a living fossil, being the oldest surviving tree species. Ginkgos are hard wood that live for hundreds of years. They are extremely hardy and tolerant of most soils. Pleasant disease-free fan-like leaves are desirable in any setting, but when coupled with the sparse amount of branch litter and the absence of fruits or seed droppings, it is absolutely perfect for parkways, streetscapes, and parking lots, as well as the backyard. Also, adding to this low-maintenance perk is that all the leaves will drop in the fall on the same day. This snowfall or shower of yellow gold leaves is a sight in itself, but even better that raking for the tree is only required once! 



Ginkgos have remained on the planet, relatively unchanged for some 200 million years. So when the French found a way to tweak it so that you can get all the benefits of this timeless beauty, but in a compact and upright form, it should jump to the top of every designer’s pallet. In our time of smaller backyards requiring tighter spaces for trees, the Goldspire Ginkgo, that spans 12’ at full maturity (and takes a considerable amount of time to get there), and comes in low-branch or high-branch  options, hits the mark.  

INLA Membership Enrollment

If you haven’t returned your 2024-25 Membership Enrollment, please follow the link below and take a moment to register online!


INLA Membership Online Membership Form


Thank you for your membership!

Robbie Shannahan

Twixwood Nursery

Berrien Spring, MI



John Doepke

Bachman's Wholesale Nursery and Hardscapes

Minneapolis, MN