Officials are redoubling their efforts to stamp out the Asian longhorned beetle in New York City and Long Island, according to a report in the New York Times. The invasive insect destroys maple, willow, birch and other trees by laying eggs under the bark. Overwintering larvae destroy infested trees, and their vascular systems, from the […]
Farwest Retailers’ Choice Awards winners announced
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The Retailers’ Choice Awards are a new addition to the Farwest Trade Show this year. The idea is simple: first, a group of retailers explores the show floor and finds the plants and products — whether old or new — that excite them. Then, they get together to compare notes. “It’s a real synergy effect,” […]
ODA suspends tree care company’s license over bee deaths
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The Oregon Department of Agriculture issued the following press release today, regarding the recent bee death incident in Eugene: The Oregon Department of Agriculture has suspended the license of a commercial pesticide operator based in Eugene following an incident that has left an estimated 1,000 bees dead at a north Eugene apartment complex this week. […]
Hall: Recession offers lessons for the future
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As Dr. Charlie Hall began his Farwest seminar presentation this morning, one of the first things he told the green industry professionals in the room was that they were all survivors. He could tell that simply because they were present in the room and not in another line of business now. “How many of you […]
Welcome to the Farwest Show!
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Welcome to the 2013 Farwest Trade Show! And thanks for following along at www.diggermagazine.com. As you can see, we have converted the blog to the “Farwest Edition” of Daily Digger, and we’ll be updating it frequently with highlights from the show. If you are into Twitter, you can follow along at @FarwestShow. If you’re tweeting […]
Not quite contrite
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Against our better judgment, we are going to post about this Madonna vs. hydrangeas thing (“I absolutely loathe hydrangeas,” says Madge) one more time. It just gets more amusing every day. The latest development? The “True Blue” pop icon has taken to YouTube to respond to the controversy. Although some people consider them to be […]
Blogger: Madonna may have a point
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The other day we posted about Madonna’s comment — now infamous to many in the hort industry — that she “loathes hydrangeas.” Most anyone can agree it wasn’t a nice thing for her to say about a gift from a fan. However, she may have had a point — at least, according to horticulturalist Tim Wood. On […]
What Madonna don’t wanna
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Kristin VanHoose passed along a story about a thoughtful fan in Venice who gifted aging dance-pop queen Madonna with a small bouquet of hydrangeas. Madonna was in Italy promoting one of her new movies, which, not to editorialize, generally need all the promotion they can get. Unfortunately, the Material Girl was less than thoughtful in […]
Speaking of deadly invaders …
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Robin Rosetta of Oregon State University Extension / North Willamette Research and Extension Center / the @PNWNurseryIPM Twitter feed passed along word of a devastating pest that has established a presence in the San Diego, Calif. area — the goldspotted oak borer. Some 80,000 oak trees already have been killed by this pest. The Los […]
The return of a deadly invader
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Tansy ragwort used to be everywhere in Oregon. Well, now it’s back, according to Oregon State University. The non-native weed was introduced to Oregon in the 1920s, and without natural enemies to keep it under control, it spread everywhere. This was a major problem for farmers and ranchers, as tansy ragwort is deadly poisonous to […]