WESTERN University (Sponsored By KAT Nurseries) wouldn’t be possible without the impressive lineup of university professors from around region who graciously share their time, experiences and knowledge. Jason J. Griffin, Ph.D., assistant professor in Kansas State University Ornamentals Research and director of the John C. Pair Horticultural Center, near Wichita, Kan., is the head of the WESTERN University department.
SUNDAY
8 am - 9 am
GreatPlants® by the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum
Presented by Bob Henrickson
This presentation will highlight the GreatPlants for the Great Plains program. The goal of the GreatPlants program is to bring superior ornamental landscape plants into commercial production to meet the challenging growing conditions of the Great Plains. It is a joint effort of the Nebraska Nursery & Landscape Association and the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum that selects and promotes exceptional, overlooked plants – reliably hardy, easy to care for, and ornamentally worthwhile – for Plants of the Year. Bob will also discuss the many exciting new plants released through the GreatPlants program. To date, GreatPlants has released 31 new Plains-proven plants for beautiful landscapes.
Bob Henrickson is the assistant director of horticulture programs with the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, a program of the Nebraska Forest Service. His responsibilities include coordinating the GreatPlants® for the Great Plains program and to acquire, propagate and produce native and exotic plants for distribution and evaluation to NSA members and affiliated arboretum sites. He attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and graduated with a degree in natural resources while working with UNL Botanical Garden and Arboretum. He moved on to become curator of State Fair Park Arboretum in Lincoln. A Nebraska Certified Nurseryman and a certified arborist with the International Society of Arboriculture, Bob also co-hosts a gardening talk show on a Lincoln radio station. He is passionate about promoting regionally native plants and hardy exotic plants that not only provide seasonal beauty, but are also easy on the environment and reflect a sense of place here on the Plains.
9 am - 10 am
Alternative Substrates for the Nursery Grower
Presented by Dr. Chris Starbuck
The large volume of growing medium required to produce container grown nursery crops makes it necessary to use fairly low cost materials to formulate the substrate. Traditionally, growers have used byproducts from other industries such as pine bark, composted hardwood bark and rice hulls as major components. While these materials have proven very effective, limited supply, high price and freight costs have caused some growers to look for alternatives. In this session, Dr. Starbuck will explain the characteristics of a good container growing substrate and some of the materials, such as ground pine wood, that are being used or experimented with as alternatives to the conventional components.
Chris (Woody) Starbuck, a horticulturist in the Division of Plant Sciences at the University of Missouri, teaches “woodies” and conducts Extension programs geared toward the nursery and landscape industries in Missouri. He has conducted research on use of composted sawdust (Stardust) and wood chips as soil amendments or container substrate components. He is currently intrigued by preliminary results indicating that pine needles can be used as a major substrate ingredient.
10 am - 11 am
Native and Non-Native Plant Materials: Finding a Balance
Presented by Dr. Mike Schnelle
2 pm - 3 pm
Wildflowers & Grasses of Kansas
Presented by Mike Haddock
Mike Haddock, author of the book Wildflowers and Grasses of Kansas: A Field Guide and creator of the Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses web site, will discuss common and unusual native flowering plants observed in Kansas and will provide comments on their ethnobotanical uses.
Mike Haddock serves as Chair of the Sciences Department for Kansas State University Libraries. Following graduation from K-State, Mike spent seven years managing his family’s 2200-acre farming operation in north-central Kansas. After returning to graduate school to study library science, Mike worked as Agriculture Librarian at Texas A&M University. He joined the faculty of Kansas State University in 1989 and in 2005, was recipient of the inaugural Brice G. Hobrock Distinguished Faculty Award presented by the Friends of the KSU Libraries.
Mike has built and maintained several web sites including “Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses”, "Kansas Rangelands", and the “Noble Foundation Plant Image Gallery” which was recipient of the 1999 “Best Popular Information/Extension Award” from the Texas Chapter of the Wildlife Society. In 2005, Mike authored the book Wildflowers and Grasses of Kansas: A Field Guide, which was published by the University Press of Kansas. The book was named a 2006 Kansas Notable Book by the Kansas Center for the Book.
3 pm - 4 pm
Collections of the U.S. National Arboretum
Presented by Dr. Richard Olsen
The US National Arboretum collections house nearly 17,000 accessions of 4,000 species, with emphasis on azaleas, boxwood, conifers, hollies, magnolias, Japanese maples, and wild-collected germplasm from Azerbaijan, China, Georgia, Japan, Korea, and Russia. Since 1927, the primary focus has been to support breeding work in the USDA. This talk will highlight the hidden and not-so-hidden treasures of the arboretum’s collections that may be useful for the Great Plains.
4 pm - 5 pm
Managing Your Most Important Resource...People!
Presented by Dr. Jeff Iles
MONDAY
8 am - 9 am
Ornamental Grass Evaluations at K-State
Presented by Dr. Jason Griffin
Not only do ornamental grasses add texture, color, and movement to the landscape, they do so in an environmentally friendly way. Here on the prairie, ornamental grasses are the definition of low maintenance landscape plants. Since 2007 the K-State John Pair Horticultural Center has been evaluating over 50 varieties of ornamental grasses in the Wichita area. Many have grown into beautiful plants worthy of a spot in any landscape. Others, have proven to be less desirable. This presentation will discuss some of the winners along with some of the 'runner ups'.
Dr. Griffin is an Associate Professor with Kansas State University. Since 2002, he has been the director of the John C. Pair Horticultural Center near Wichita, KS. His research and extension efforts focus on selection, production, and landscape adaptability of woody ornamental plants. Emphasis continues in the selection of plants that are both ornamental yet adapted to a low maintenance landscape in the southern Great Plains.
9 am - 10 am
Plant Nutrition for the Nursery Grower (“with a special emphasis on ways to minimize environmental impact”)
Presented by Dr. Jim Robbins
What can we do as container growers, to fertilize our plants, but minimize the impact on the environment? First, we need to provide the optimum levels of nutrients that match a plants needs and second, we need to inimize leaching loss of nutrients. To be most efficient with our nutrients, we need to:
- Understand what and when plants need nutrients.
- Match fertilizer ‘tools’ with your situation (plant type, climate, & management practices)
- Maximize the nutrients that you put into the containers (Nutrient Use Efficiency: NUE) through irrigation practices and substrate choices. Remember to keep leaching to a minimum (preferably less than 15% leaching fraction).
Most common fertilizer options for container growers involve either fertigation or granular slow-release fertilizers. Remember that these are not mutually exclusive. Think of these as pieces of the overall production puzzle. What may be best for you is a combination of fertigation and granular slow-release. Fertigation may use fast acting, water soluble nutrients, or, slow release sources which are liquids (e.g. Nitamin). Fertilizing through the irrigation water is appropriate for microirrigation systems in which irrigation water is delivered into the container. Even then, care should be taken to minimize leaching from the container and creating nutrient runoff. Fertigation is becoming a very common practice in field nursery production.
For plastic (or polymer) coated nutrients, there is no doubt that the primary environmental factor that influences the release rate of nutrients from the fertilizer prill is temperature. In general, increasing temperature results in increased release rate. However, remember that within this class of slow-release nutrients, the pattern of release is not the same. For this reason, you need to test these technologies under your production conditions to see which product is the best fit to your production puzzle.
Dr. Jim Robbins is an Extension Horticulture Specialist - Ornamentals/Professor, Coop. Ext. Serv. With the University of Arkansas. He is responsible for the research and extension programming for the greenhouse, nursery, garden center, and landscape businesses. He also oversees the education and testing for the Arkansas Certified Landscape and Nursery Professional program. His research focus areas include plant material, container media, and fertilizers.
10 am - 11 am
Understanding Systemic Insecticides and How They Kill Insect Pests
Presented by Dr. Raymond Cloyd
2 pm - 3 pm
Managing Diseases in the Landscape
Presented by Dr. Damon Smith
The presentation will cover some of the common biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) induced diseases of in the landscape. Focus will be placed on diseases found in the transition zone of the southern Midwest. Ornamental, tree, and turfgrass diseases will be addressed. Preventing diseases of plants will be a primary topic for discussion. However, hints on the wise-use of fungicides will be included.
Dr. Damon Smith is currently an assistant professor and state extension specialist of plant pathology in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at Oklahoma State University. He has extension and research responsibilities for ornamental and horticultural crops, including turfgrass. His extension efforts focus on generating, evaluating, and disseminating solutions to many of the disease problems associated with those commodities, while his research efforts focus on the biology, epidemiology, and management of diseases of turfgrass, grapes, and other horticultural crops.
3 pm - 4 pm
Weed Control in Container Nurseries
Presented by Dr. Cheryl Boyer
“Weed Control in Container Nurseries" will cover a variety of weed management techniques for containerized nursery crops including cultural and chemical controls. Current chemical formulations available on the market will be discussed as well as recent research findings. If you struggle with finding effective weed management protocols for your business, you won’t want to miss this presentation.
Dr. Cheryl Boyer is an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in ornamental nursery crop production at Kansas State University. She has two degrees from Oklahoma State University (B.L.A. and M.S. in nursery crop production) and a Ph.D. from Auburn University, also in nursery crop production. Dr. Boyer specializes in evaluating sustainable, alternative potting materials for container-grown crops and has experience in container-grown plant weed management.