Disease management is not just chemical usage

Greenhouses are transitioning into fall crops with poinsettia and mum cuttings being rooted. It’s a good time to review sanitation, especially in propagation where Botrytis, Rhizoctonia and Pythium can cause significant losses...

Stranger on Hydrangea: Chilli Thrips

I first heard news of chilli thrips (Scirtothrips dorsalis) tearing through southeastern US landscape roses and foliage plants soon after it was found in Florida in 2005...

Renew Your pH/EC Meter Calibration Solutions

Spring has arrived and summer is almost here, which means it’s time to dust off your pH/EC meters to begin monitoring crop nutrition...

Kontos Phytotoxicity on Geranium

A recent sample of phytotoxicity is a reminder that Kontos (spirotetramat) should not be used on geraniums and to always read your pesticide labels...

Slippery Weeds of Greenhouse: Algae, Moss, Liverwort and Nostoc

The greenhouse condition of high moisture, controlled temperature, and light favors the growth of the lower group of plants which includes the algae, mosses, liverwort, and Nostoc...

Don’t Forget the Picture!

High quality photos are one of the best tools in the ornamental plant marketing tool kit. People are visually drawn to plants and fixate on them longer than any additional information that is provided when determining their purchase likelihood...

Chilling Injury Symptoms

Given that both tomatoes and peppers are warm-season crops, they are prone to symptoms of chilling injury in the greenhouses at temperatures below 41 °F and  50 °F, respectively...

Gardens Are for Insects

It’s been exciting to see pollinator gardens and pathways catching on with growing consideration of the ecological contributions of communities of gardens and managed areas...

Light Trespass an Emerging Issue in Some Greenhouse Production Areas

Light trespass caused by the installation and use of LEDs and other lighting systems in greenhouse production facilities is the latest issue to arise in some communities across the USA and Canada...

All LEDs are Not Created Equal: Check LED Efficacy

By: Heidi Lindberg and Erik RunkleThere has been a flood of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to hit the horticultural market in recent years...

Sterile is not always better for root disease management

As a plant pathologist, we preach that sanitation and keeping everything as clean as can be is the most important step in preventing diseases...

Emerging Threat to Greenhouse Profitability and it is Not a Pest or Disease

Most of our blog articles deal with pest management and/or growing practices, but after attending a roundtable discussion with various industry members the greatest threat to your greenhouse operation may not be from the latest pest or disease, but from supply chain issues that may alter the way that you conduct your business for the next several years...

Updating Online Content

We are in a virtual world. The pandemic sped up the exchange of information via online platforms and more consumers are seeking information through Google and smartphones than ever before...

Coleus Growth Response to Phosphorus Fertility

Coleus (Plectranthus scutellarioides) is a popular herbaceous annual that people grow for its wide variety of colors...

Weed ‘Em or Weep

To re-start our twospotted spider mite colony in early February we went on an expedition around the property to locate overwintering mites...

Feeling Jumpy?

The hundreds of attendees at the recent excellent UMass Jumping Worm Conference said much about concern with newer invasive earthworms...

Supporting Patio Containers of Coleus

Coleus is a great foliage crop with vibrant leaf colors and varying leaf morphologies. Large patio containers of coleus can provide a dramatic impact for consumers; however, they can be challenging to produce because large coleus plants often split...

Plant Growth Regulators for Coleus

Coleus are excellent foliage plants and often produced in cell packs, containers, and mix combination planters...

It’s time to test the quality of your water sources (again)!

The clue for success in every business is to be informed and prepared. Every year, every season—we should test the quality of water sources...

Daily Light Integral Impacts Vegetable Transplant Quality

Vegetable transplant quality can be improved by providing an optimal daily light integral (DLI) of 10 to 15 mol·m–2·d–1...

Poinsettia: Lower Leaf Blotches

We are midway into the poinsettia season. This is the time of year that lower leaf blotches can appear on poinsettias...

Nutrient replenishment in hydroponics

Controlling the electrical conductivity (EC) ofrecirculating nutrient solution is a simple and practical way to managenutrient supply in hydroponics, and growers often aim to maintain a target EClevel for a healthy crop...

Broad Mite on Anemone

While we see broad mite most often in annual flower and vegetable crops grown in greenhouses, realize that this pest has a wide host range and has also been seen affecting herbaceous perennials as well as some woody plants...

Tipburn of hydroponic lettuce

Inner leaf tipburn is a common disorder inhydroponic lettuce during the summertime. Symptoms include brown (necrotic)spots on the tips and edges of young leaves developing in the center of a headof lettuce...

Coloring Up Ornamental Pepper Fruit With Ethephon

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High pH-induced Iron Deficiency of Fall Garden Mums

Fall garden mums should be grown with a substrate pH range of 5.8 to 6.2. Substrate pH influences nutrient availability and uptake, therefore use recommended 1:2 Extraction, SME, or PourThru methods to determine and monitor substrate pH and soluble salt [referred to as electrical conductivity (EC)] values...