Receiving & Shipping Plants: What You Should Know
It is the time of year when nurseries are putting together plant orders for the coming spring season or receiving orders to ship plants. If
your business either ships plants to other states or countries or receives plants from businesses outside Nebraska, you should be aware
of requirements for shipping interstate.
Nursery stock shipped from one state to another requires a nursery license indicating the plants were inspected and found free of
injurious plant pests. This license is basically attesting to the general good health of the nursery stock. However, additional certification
is increasingly being required to ensure that insects and diseases of specific concern are not being spread on plants. This additional
certification can be met by adding additional pest declarations to a license or attaching separate documents, either of which will attest
to freedom from specific regulated or quarantined pests.
Spotted Lanternfly: Update on U.S. Distribution
The spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) is an exotic, invasive insect that was discovered in the United States in 2014. Its native range
includes China and India, and it likely was introduced to the US via trade. Spotted lanternfly was first discovered in Pennsylvania, and
infestations have since been found in Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Virginia and West Virginia, and most recently in Ohio.
It has not been found in Nebraska.
Green Ideas for a Long Winter
Nature restores. Taking a walk outdoors after too much time on our many screens—phones, computers,
televisions—can go a long ways toward clearing our minds and changing our moods. Last spring when
we first experienced the isolation and other constraints of covid, we were heading into spring and were
able to get out more. We had things to do in our yards and could be outdoors safely and comfortably
alone or distanced with friends.
NNLA Announces New Name for Certification Program
At the 2020 NNLA Annual Meeting it
was announced the Nebraska Certified
Nurseryman (NCN) program would have an
updated name and logo starting January 1, 2021. In an effort to better reflect the work and expertise of individuals, the certification
program will be updated to the Nebraska Certified Nursery and Landscape Professional (NCNLP).
PLANT NATIVE
Though typically found in the wild in dry rocky soils, chinkapin oak performs best when planted in fertile,
cultivated soils; once established, it is very drought-tolerant. It can handle alkaline soils and will grow rapidly, for
an oak, under cultivation. It’s in the white oak family and occurs naturally in southeastern Nebraska, growing on
the loess bluffs of the Missouri River and rocky outcroppings in nearby counties. The handsome, sharp-toothed
leaves look similar to those of chestnut and are dark green with a whitish cast below. The light yellow fall color
is accented by bright ashy-gray bark and the gnarly branching pattern on picturesque old specimens. It’s an
outstanding shade tree for wildlife, producing an abundance of small, nutritious acorns that may form on trees
just a few years old. Chinkapin oak is a recommended Tree of the Year for the GreatPlants for the Great Plains
program.
NNLA Annual Meeting Recap
The Nebraska Nursery and Landscape Association held their annual membership meeting on December 17, 2020 via Zoom. Fifty
members participated.
Brian Munk, President, called the meeting to order at 3:10 p.m. and introduced the 2020 Board of Directors. He also recognized and
thanked the past presidents for their service.
President Munk provided a year in review for the association including activities, sponsorships, advertising, Field Day, and workshops.
NNLA Presents Awards at Annual Meeting
Jason Kuehl received the Nebraska Certified Nurseryman Distinguished Professional Award. His nomination included the following – Jason Kuehl plays a vital role in the horticulture industry, not only in the Omaha Metro area, but across the Midwest states. Jason begam his passion for the industry at a young age but made it official upon completion of his degree in Agronomy with an emphasis in Crop Production at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln in 1992. One of his first hobs outside of college included serving as an Agriculture Inspection Specialist for the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. Jason then moved on to become a successful Field and Operations Manager at Mulhall’s Nursery. With over seventeen years in operations management and administration, Jason has a proven track record of leading successful tams in nursery production. According to Dan Mulhall, since joining the Mulhall’s team in 1996, Jason had been pivotal to the success of the tree operation. “His work as our tree grower and buyer guided us through demanding times.” Ann Wickenhauser, current landscape designer with Mulhall’s and colleague of Jason’s for several years said, “I have always call Jason ‘The Tree God’. His (tree) knowledge is second to none. He has grown, bought, and sold trees and has experience that few will ever possess. His true gifts, however, are his people skills – he makes you feel like family the instant you meet him. He answers even the most mundane questions with sincerity.
President’s Message
Sitting in the office has definitely been a warmer option than being outside lately. With near record cold and a decent spell of it, we look forward to getting back to spring soon. Time to think about plants, greenhouses, gardening and taking care of customers. It won’t come soon enough.
Hopefully everyone had a very good season in 2020. We had our doubts in March as we came to grips with the pandemic and what it could do to our businesses. Cancel or push back deliveries? Will we even have customers?
Plant Native: Coralberry
Coralberry is a dense, multi-stemmed shrub that can be planted as a groundcover, border shrub or
under-story plant. Although it performs well in full sun, it is important to place this plant in a location
where it won’t bake during the summer. It does best in part shade or shade. This sprawling shrub is
useful for erosion control and will attract valuable wildlife to the garden, especially pollinating insects.
In the summer tiny white flowers with pink accents bloom in clusters over a long period on the outer
tips of the plant. Though they’re small, they attract a myriad of bees, flies and especially the common
thread-waisted wasps, like the black and yellow mud dauber. Caterpillars of the clearwing moths feed
on its foliage and the dense growth habit provides great winter cover for birds and other small animals.
2020 NNLA Board of Director Election Results
Brett Schroer
General Manager at Urban Roots Nursery was elected Vice President.
Brett studied Horticulture/Landscape Design at the University of Nebraska Lincoln and has worked in the nursery
industry for over 25 years. Throughout his career he has worked in different regions of the United States and in
many areas of horticulture including retail, production, design, and installation. Brett is very passionate about our
local industry and the challenges we face as we move into the future.
He believes the NNLA is entering a period of evolution as we embrace the challenges and opportunities of an
ecommerce/post COVID world. Brett would like to offer his help in stewarding the association through these
challenging times so that it remains relevant for the future.
Holiday Greenery & Decorations: a Possible Pathway for Plant Pests
During the holidays, fresh cut greenery and artificial greens and florals are widely used to
decorate homes and businesses across the state. While very beautiful, both live and artificial
plant material can be a pathway by which plant pests can be spread.
In recent years, a number of incidents involving holiday decorations harboring plant pests
have occurred nationwide
NNLA Member Spotlight
NNLA would like to highlight our members via the NNLA Facebook page and this newsletter.
Submit articles or social media posts of interest to the NNLA office for repost/reprint. This
may include, but not limited to, awards, news articles, social media recognition, or special
promotions/events your company would like to share.
SUBMIT AN ARTICLE ABOUT YOUR COMPANY
Tell us a little of your company’s background and history. How did the company start
and where is it today? What differentiates your company from others? What is your
company known for? How does being a member of the Nebraska Nursery and Landscape
Association benefit your company?
2021 Nursery Stock Distributor License Renewals
It is time to renew nursery licenses for 2021. Renewal postcards will be mailed out to all current Nursery Stock Distributor licensees at the end of
November 2020, which will provide information for renewing online; no additional renewal information will be mailed out. If you do not receive your
renewal postcard by December 10, or if you have questions/problems with the online renewal process, please contact NDA at agr.plant@nebraksa.
gov.
There will be a fee change for 2021 licenses, with the fees reduced to $83 for any location
up to one acre, and $3.61 for each additional acre.
Greener Towns Efforts Statewide in 2020
The Nebraska Statewide Arboretum awarded 19 landscape grants in 2020 through the Greener Towns program. The projects resulted in the planting
of 6,000+ native flowers and grasses by more than 300 volunteers in community landscapes across the state.
The plants were selected, delivered and laid out to match the light, moisture and soil characteristics specific to each site. Each of the plantings contains
a variety of spring-to-fall blooms and dense coverage to minimize weeds. Plant grant recipients include:
Election of NNLA Board of Directors
The NNLA Board of Directors has accepted nominations for two open Director positions and the position of Vice President for the term of January 2021
to 2023. Brett Schroer has been nominated for the position of Vice President and Dawn Dawes and Sheila Schrader have been nominated for Director
positions. Electronic ballots will be emailed to the membership beginning December 1, with the election closing on December 15. The two Director
and Vice President positions will then be ratified at the Annual Meeting to be held virtually on December 17 in conjunction with the NNLA Winter
Conference. Jason Kuehl will succeed to President at the closing of the Annual Meeting and Brian Munk will move to Past President.
Nebraska Nursery and Landscape Association 2020 Virtual Winter Conference and Annual Meeting
December 16 - 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. & December 18 - 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
The Nebraska Nursery and Landscape Association conference committee is excited to bring in a great lineup of speakers with a wide variety of topics.
Attendees can earn up to 3.5 NCN continuing education credits.
The full event brochure is available at the end of this newsletter. You can also go online to view the information and register. Visit http://members.nnla.
org/nnla-events. You can choose to be invoiced or pay online.
Sponsorship opportunities are available! As a Silver Sponsor, your logo will be placed on event materials and you will be able to provide a PowerPoint
slide that will be shown several times during the event. As a Gold Sponsor, your logo will placed on event materials and you will be able to provide a
PowerPoint slide or a 15 second video that will be shown several times during the event. Register for your sponsorship online and the NNLA office will
be in contact for your logo, slide or video.
NNLA continues to provide a $1,000 scholarship to a full-time horticulture student attending a Nebraska college. Help us continue to invest in students
pursuing degrees in horticulture. Consider donating to the Scholarship Fund when you register for the conference.
NNLA Scholarships
The Nebraska Nursery and Landscape Association is pleased to announce they will be providing a scholarship again this year to full-time horticulture
students in Nebraska colleges. The NNLA believes in investing in students pursuing degrees in horticulture.
We encourage you to promote this scholarship to area students and urge them to complete the application packet available on the NNLA website.
Applications are due by December 10.
The applicants will be notified by the Nebraska Nursery and Landscape Association the first week in January.
NNLA also has a student membership available. There is no cost to Nebraska horticulture students to participate in NNLA. Student membership forms
are available on the NNLA website if you have students who would be interested.