For the first time, the 15th annual Michigan Greenhouse Growers Expo will be held in Grand Rapids concurrently with the Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market Expo on December 8-10, 2009. In addition to an expanded greenhouse program, growers will have admission to the larger trade show and all other education sessions in the Great Lakes Expo.

[Read the rest of this article...]

Beth Bishop...Check out the overnight temperatures tool at www.enviroweather.msu.edu. This tool displays overnight temperatures recorded by area weather stations during the previous night. It also shows forecasted low temperature for the upcoming night. Late afternoon/early evening dewpoints are also provided.

[Read the rest of this article...]

By Erik Runkle... The annual Michigan Greenhouse Growers Expo, which has traditionally been held in early November in Lansing, is moving to Grand Rapids in 2009. This year, Expo will be held in coordination with the Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market Expo on December 8-10 in the DeVos Place Convention Center and the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel.

[Read the rest of this article...]

By Erik Runkle...The sixth annual Michigan Garden Plant Tour is right around the corner: August 3 to 14. Greenhouse growers, landscapers, plant retailers, breeders, nurserymen, and plant enthusiasts are invited to attend this two-week coordinated open house of young plant producers and Michigan State University (MSU). Each young plant producer showcases their plant specialties and product lines in their outdoor gardens.

[Read the rest of this article...]

By Thomas Dudek...I have noted a number of pH problems in the last month from area greenhouses, and I need to remind you to check your media pH before you use it. Growers have reported both high pH over 7.3 and low pH below 5.8 problems and many times it was because the media came in without a lime charge or with too much lime.

[Read the rest of this article...]

By Thomas Dudek...Many thanks to Dr. Mary Hausbeck and Stevie Lynn Glaspie, MSU Plant Pathology Department who have revised the MSU Extension wall chart for greenhouse fungicides (Bulletin E-2750 /April 2009).

[Read the rest of this article...]

By Thomas Dudek -- Over the last week, I have visited a number of greenhouses and noticed a number of issues going on or the potential for these situations to occur. The following educational items are provided from Tina Smith University of Massachusetts and should be helpful to growers in Michigan.

[Read the rest of this article...]

By Jan Byrne -- Mandevilla, a flowering vine, is occasionally grown in Michigan for use in containers and hanging baskets. This plant can be troubled by several insect pests and a few fungal leaf spots.

[Read the rest of this article...]

By Erik Runkle -- We’re very fortunate to be able to fill the MSU Floriculture Extension Educator position in southeast Michigan. Greenhouse growers and related industries are invited to listen to short (30-minute) presentations from each of the three job candidates.

[Read the rest of this article...]

Welcome to our new web interface. Readers can now print single articles, rate articles’ usefulness to help other readers, email articles to friends, signup for an RSS feed and much more. Readers can also view past articles by clicking on the link "2005-2009 archives" in the left-hand menu bar under the Search box.

[Read the rest of this article...]

By Erik Runkle -- Acting Horticulture Department Chair Randy Beaudry has appointed Art Cameron, Professor of Horticulture, as interim Director of the Michigan State University Horticulture Gardens. These include the Annual Trial Gardens, the DeLapa Perennial Display gardens, the Rose Gardens, the 4-H Children's Garden and the C.E. Lewis Arboretum.

[Read the rest of this article...]

By Fred Warner -- Simply put, growers of greenhouse plants should take whatever steps necessary to avoid foliar nematodes. This is imperative because if plants become infested, there are virtually no effective control options.

[Read the rest of this article...]