Welcome to 'Sprout,' American Nurseryman's e-newsletter published on the first and third Thursdays of each month. For even more, be sure to read our July issue.

One Voice, One Industry
Both historic and evolutionary: Two separate votes last weekend took a giant step toward securing the future of green industry advocacy and ushering in a new era. On Saturday, July 14, the governing boards of OFA – The Association of Horticulture Professionals and the American Nursery & Landscape Association voted unanimously to become one. “This is not a merger,” said Bob Dolibois, ANLA’s EVP. “It’s a marriage of strong partners. OFA and ANLA will become one new association.” A joint task force has targeted July 2013 for establishment of the organization. Dolibois, who has served ANLA since 1991, will retire at the end of this year, and OFA CEO Michael Geary will become chief staff executive of both associations beginning Jan. 1, 2013. The groups will continue to be governed separately until the new organization is in place, but Geary will direct day-to-day operations. There’s a lot more to the story, so click our link and follow along. Read more>

Speaking of which …
If you’ve never been to the ANLA’s Management Clinic, you’ve missed a lot. And, sadly, you no longer have the opportunity to catch up, as the Clinic was officially “retired” this year. Stress not, however: A new event, co-sponsored by ANLA and OFA, will premier early in 2013. Called “Next Level,” the educational program will be held at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville. (For those of you wondering, the facility has recovered completely from the devastating floods of 2010.) With the combined forces of these organizations, this event is not to be missed. Read more>

Home builders are optimistic
Let’s hope this is the start of a reliable, sustainable trend: The National Association of Home Builders announced this week that builder confidence rose six points in July. Okay, what does that mean? Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes—the kind that need green industry help desperately—looks to be healthy. And this is the largest one-month gain recorded by the index in nearly a decade, bringing the Housing Market Index to its highest point since March 2007. Before the crash. Read more>

McConkey consolidates distribution ops
McConkey Company, producer and distributor of horticultural goods, plans to shift its distribution operations to Sumner, Wash., from the present location in Wilsonville, Oreg. Effective August 1, regular customer delivery services will be offered in Sumner; will call also will be available. Read more>

Cheyenne Spirit echinacea selected for AAS
Echinacea Cheyenne Spirit from Kieft Seed has been selected as one of two flowering plants to qualify as All-America Selections for 2013. Also selected was Canna ‘South Pacific Scarlet’, bred by Takii & Co. Ltd. Cheyenne Spirit displays brilliant blooms of red, orange, purple, scarlet, cream, yellow and white, with extreme branching for more flowers on every plant. It’s hardy in zones 4a to 10b, with excellent overwintering. This drought-tolerant beauty will bloom the first year. Read more>

People News

Montgomery joins American Beauties
Horticulturist and marketing veteran Peggy Anne Montgomery has joined American Beauties as brand manager, where she will communicate the company’s native plants brand messages to their grower partners and retail customers, in order to enhance customer service and drive sales. Read more>

Ruppert promotes Keffer
David Keffer has been promoted to branch manager of a new Ruppert Landscapes branch opening in Lorton, Va. Keffer previously worked as Area Manager in the company’s Gainesville, Va., branch and the Lorton satellite operation. Read more>

Passings

Roger McKee
Roger H. McKee, Northern California sales manager for American Horticultural Supply Inc., died May 17. He was 58. Read more>

Hot Products

Water savings calculator
A free app from Hunter Industries designed to help system owners reduce water consumption features five individual water-use calculators that show the clear financial and sustainable advantages of using MP Rotators, Solar Sync sensors, check valves and pressure-regulated spray bodies. It’s easy to use: Open the app; enter general info about the landscape and water cost in question; hit the “calculate” button. The calculator then gives a reliable estimate of how much water—and money—can be saved. The Hunter Water Savings Calculator is optimized for the iPad and compatible with personal computers and web browsers. Read more>

Plate compactor attachments
Stomping your feet won’t help. What will, however, are the new PCF34 and PCF64 plate compactor attachments from Bobcat, designed for enhanced compatibility with Bobcat M-Series excavators. Mounted at the end of an excavator arm, the plate compactor attachment provides more powerful compaction force than a hand-operated compactor. The PCF34’s length is 26 inches from the excavator arm and its plate width is 18.75 inches. The PCF64’s length is 34 inches from the excavator arm and its plate width is 23.5 inches. Great for driving piles for retaining walls, as well as for compacting trenches, footings and slab areas. Read more>

Tree Saver soil conditioner
Lebanon Seaboard has launched a line of professionally proven, naturally based products for the consumer market, ready for retailers to provide their customers with quick and easy solutions to a number of gardening needs. Among these is Roots Tree Saver biologically active soil conditioner—during this drought, trees need all the help they can get. Tree Saver contains beneficial fungi that work to create a secondary root system providing a dramatic increase in the plant’s ability to extract water and mineral elements, plus Terra-Sorb® crystals that absorb and release water to the root zone, as well as beneficial bacteria to feed the soil that feeds the roots. The new Roots Tree Saver will retail for $4.99 per 3 oz. pouch, which dresses one 1-inch caliper tree, or three 1-gallon containerized plants. Read more>

‘Susy Dirr’ camellia
Plants Nouveau has introduced Camellia hiemalis ‘Susy Dirr’, a fall-blooming camellia that displays elegant and formal double carmine-pink flowers, in honor of the daughter of Michael and Bonnie Dirr; Susy lost her battle with cystic fibrosis in 2008. Growing 8 to 12 feet tall by 5 to 7 feet wide in zones 7 to 9, this new, hardy camellia is a robust grower in containers both in the nursery and the garden. It requires full sun to part shade and average, moist to well-drained soil. Propagation is by softwood cuttings. Bobby Green, the breeder of Camellia ‘Susy Dirr’, has agreed to gift $.45 from each plant to the Sweet Melissa Fund, which assists families affected by cystic fibrosis. Read more>

‘Soft Cloud’ stonecrop
New from Intrinsic Perennial Gardens, Sedum ‘Soft Cloud’ features pointed, gray-green foliage and light pink blooms that deepen with age and cool weather. The short, clumping plants reach to 15 inches tall and 24 inches wide, preferring a well-drained soil in full sun. Hardy in zones 3 to 9, ‘Soft Cloud’ can be planted in spring, summer or fall and combines well with Veronica incana ‘Pure Silver’ and short ornamental grasses. Read more>

Hydrangea Everlasting Revolution
You say you want a revolution? Here’s one for you: Hydrangea Everlasting™ Revolution from Plants Nouveau. Producing flowers on both old and new wood, this beauty displays color combinations of deep pink, maroon and true blue—changing hues as the blooms age. It’s hardy in zones 5 to 9 in full sun to part shade, moist but well-drained, average garden soil and is suitable for just about all your customers’ needs: foundation gardens, containers, cutting gardens, mixed borders … Read more>

Finally: Beneficials rule!