Commercial Horticulture

Plant of the Year

• Plant of the Year - Each year the Delaware Nursery and Landscape Association selects a woody and herbaceous plant that thrives in Delaware and should receive more attention in the trade.  Plants are suggested by a team of loca professionals and the DNLA board votes on the winners.  A one-page colorful flyer is developed to promote the winners each year.

Native Plant Nurseries serving Delaware and the region

• The DNLA, Delaware Department of Agriculture, and the University of Delaware Cooperative Extension have worked together to develop a list of nurseries who provide native plant material to Delawareans.
  • Click Native Plants – Wholesale Only Nurseries for a list of Nurseries serving Wholesale customers only.
  • Click Native Plants – Retail / Wholesale for a list of Nurseries serving retail/wholesale customers.

Publications

• Nursery and Garden Center Management Manual – This is a manual for use in teaching nursery and garden center management to college students. For each of 17 chapters, the manual includes a fill-in-the-blank outline of class notes, and a collection of reprinted articles from trade journals.
• Establishing and Operating a Garden Center: Requirements and Costs NRAES-161

The Greenhouse and Nursery industry thrives on the Eastern Shore.  Delaware has several large greenhouse operations and nurseries.  There are also major nurseries in our neighboring state of Maryland.  The Green Industry Consortium is a national group of horticulturists and Ag Economists who have been addressing the needs of the Green Industry for over 25 years.  The Green Industry Consortium has developed many publications for this industry.  The Greenhouse publication is for start-up or existing greenhouses and was part authored in Delaware.  The Specialty crops initiative has provided funding for a number of specialty crops projects in the United States.  A project conducted in Delaware to help nurseries explore growing more native species is listed below.

• Green Industry Consortium
• Greenhouse publication
• Specialty Crops Project – Annual Report
• Specialty Crop Block Grant – Natives in the Nursery Trials Data 2010-2011

Delaware Livable Lawns

The Livable Lawns Program certifies lawn care companies that follow environmentally-friendly practices in fertilizer application while educating property owners.

• A brochure is available to print and leave with customers to explain proper lawn management
• Videos on the Delaware Livable Lawns website provide resources to show homeowners how to take and interpret a soil sample; and how to properly apply fertilizer to their lawns.
• A brochure entitled Livable Lawns: Managing a Healthy Lawn is now available.

Water Quality Research

• Winterthur/Applecross -This multidisciplinary project research site is located at Winterthur Museum and Gardens, where the team will compare the quality of a stream impacted by traditional mowed landscapes versus another stream that only receives runoff from meadows, forests and landscape beds. One of the primary goals of the project is to curb water pollution at its source — preventing pollution in the first place rather than waiting to treat contaminated water after it enters waterways.

Green Industry Training at your Site

Delaware Cooperative Extension will work with you to conduct a workshop at your site, for your employees.  A menu of available topics is included below. 

For a one-hour talk from the prepared menu, the cost will be $300 for a minimum of 10 people.  If you have more than 10 people, it will be an additional $5/person.  For talks that exceed one hour and/or include nutrient management or pesticide credits, there will be an additional cost determined by the County Agent.

Scheduling is based on the availability of the instructor with expertise in the topic you choose. You will need to provide a meeting space to accommodate attendees. Please schedule early to have the best chance of getting the extension professional with the appropriate expertise on your chosen topic in a timely manner. 

Available topics:

• turf management/maintenance

• integrated pest management

• insect identification and management

• weed identification and management

• disease identification and management

• plant diagnostics with microscopy

• abiotic and cultural plant problems

• soil basics - chemical and physical properties

• sustainable landscapes

• backyard wildlife habitat

• basic vegetable production

• soil testing for turfgrass systems

• pesticide safety and handling                                     

• fertilizer management 

• general mathematics for pesticides/fertilizers

• spreader/sprayer calibration                                       

• understanding pesticide labels

• post-construction stormwater management               

• water quality in stormwater ponds

• invasive plant management    

Our team is willing to work with you to offer any other nursery or landscape industry topic for which we have expertise, and that interests you and your employees.  Please discuss with your County Agent.

Please contact your County Agent for additional details and to schedule:

Carrie Murphy, Horticulture Agent, New Castle County:  (302) 831-2506 or cjmurphy@udel.edu

Blake Moore, Renewable Resources Agent, Kent County:  (302) 730-4000 or rbmoore@udel.edu

Tracy Wootten, Horticulture Agent, Sussex County:  (302) 856-7303 or wootten@udel.edu