Digger magazine

Written to make you a nursery industry expert.

Researchers: Plants can make complex decisions

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Is the phrase “smarter than a potted plant” an insult? Not necessarily. Researchers at the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ) and the University of Göttingen, both in Germany, have concluded that plants can evaluate risks, consider changing circumstances and make complex decisions. They reached this conclusion after studying barberry shrubs that were aborting their […]

PCC looking for landscape workshop presenters

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Are you a landscape industry professional interested in teaching others about your line of work? If so, Portland Community College might be interested in talking to you. The Landscape Technology Program (LAT) at the Rock Creek campus, on the west side of Portland, is looking for industry professionals interested in conducting workshops. Such an arrangement […]

House approves bill creating Pollinator Health Task Force

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As reported recently in the Capital Press (Salem, Ore.), a proposal to reclassify neonicotinoids as “restricted use pesticides” has been removed from a bill currently before the Oregon Legislature. The classification would have meant that only licensed applicators could use the class of chemicals. Instead, the bill calls for creation of a Pollinator Health Task […]

OSU names new head of horticulture department

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Bill Braunworth is the new head of the Department of Horticulture at OSU. (Photo courtesy of OSU.) Bill Braunworth has been named head of the Department of Horticulture at Oregon State University (OSU), according to an OSU press release. Braunworth earned a doctorate in horticulture from OSU in 1986, and since 1992 has led OSU’s […]

Portland updates street tree planting lists, requests feedback

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Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) Urban Forestry has updated its approved street tree planting lists. The lists are for property owners, contractors and developers to use when planting trees in the City right-of-way, typically the planting strip between the sidewalk and the curb. Black tupelo (Nyssa Sylvatica) The lists are categorized by tree height, from […]

February Digger busts myths about crape myrtles

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Crape myrtles have been slow to catch on in the Pacific Northwest for a variety of reasons. They’re thought to be unsuitable for our wet climate, and not cold hardy enough to survive here. But that’s not true, according to garden writer Kim Pokorny. Her cover story in the fresh-off-the-press February issue of Digger gives […]

City of Salem pays for tree-related damage

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Street trees have numerous, well-documented benefits, but some misbehaving maples have ended up costing the city government in Salem, Ore. some money. According to a report in the Statesman-Journal newspaper, the Salem City Council there has authorized officials to pay up to $95,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by resident Brian Cooksey. Cooksey alleged that […]

Plant Select issues 10 Rocky Mountain recommendations

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In the Pacific Northwest, we have the Great Plant Picks program to help gardeners (and the retailers and growers serving them) identify outstanding plants that perform well and are ideally suited for the region. This program is operated by the Elisabeth Carey Miller Botanical Garden, located in the Seattle area, and every year, fresh new […]

Oregon gets a B- in invasive species management

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Oregon, as a whole, could be doing better in its fight against invasive species. That’s the verdict from the Oregon Invasive Species Council (OISC), which gave the state a B-minus on its annual Invasive Species Report Card (PDF). That’s down a full letter grade from 2012, when the state received an A-minus. The main difference? […]

USDA revises Phytophthora regulations

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Update, Jan. 15: The Capital Press agricultural newspaper (Salem, Ore.) has published a news story about the change in rules and what it means, including more in-depth comments from OAN Executive Director Jeff Stone. ——————————— The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced that it has revised regulations (PDF) that are intended to […]