SHOW DATES: AUGUST 20-22, 2025 SHOW HOURS: Wednesday: 10am – 5pm | Thursday: 10am – 5pm | Friday: 10am – 2pm Contact: 503-682-5089
Speaker: Mike Amaranthus, Ph.D. President MycoAnalytics LLC, Adjunct Associate Professor Oregon State University Soils serve as tremendous storehouses of the Earth's carbon, and even a
Speaker: Nicholas Staddon, Spokesperson and Plantsman, Everde Growers Join Nicholas Staddon as he takes us on a candid journey through the history and foundations of
Speaker: Pat Reilly, Horticulture Outreach Specialist, Saunders Genetics LLC and NewGen Boxwood Landscapers, garden center staff, growers, and homeowners alike encounter issues with boxwood. Attention to
Speaker 1: Ryan Contreras, Ph.D., Professor, Oregon State University Title: Past Successes and Future Directions for Nursery Breeding at Oregon State Description: Since 2009, the
Speaker 1: Jana Lee, Ph.D., USDA Entomologist Title: Using Natural Enemies in Outdoor Nurseries, and Silicon for Pest Management Speaker 2: Man-yeon Choi, Ph.D., USDA
Speaker 1: Jay W. Pscheidt, Ph.D., Extension Plant Pathology Specialist, Oregon State University Title: Smart Spraying Grapes Leads to New Boxwood Blight Management Description:
Speaker: Emily Morris, Business Development & Marketing Coordinator, másLabor This session will cover the ins and outs of both the H-2A and H-2B programs for
Co-Presenters: Tom Marting, Director of Sustainable Solutions, HC Companies Tom Brewer, Director of Sales-West, HC Companies Plastics products are common in the horticultural
Speaker: Maria Zampini, President, Upshoot LLC Understanding the world of intellectual property such as plant patents, trademarks, and plant breeders rights can seem confusing and
Speaker: Nicholas Staddon, Company Spokesman/Plantsman, Everde Growers
In this session, we will look at a number of new plants that have appeared on the marketplace in recent years. There will be something for everyone, trees, shrubs, perennials, and a few surprises! Staddon will also nudge our memories on a few of the great plants from the past. Nicholas will cover a few of the notable trends he believes hold water for us. As always, he is an avid reader and will share a few choice titles with the audience. With terrific pictures, supported by an informative and humorous narrative, this session is not to be missed if you are into plants.
Speaker: Chelsea Ibarra, Deputy General Counsel, másLabor
Stop by at any time during this hour (no appointment necessary) to ask our in-house expert questions about H-2A. This is a great opportunity if you missed the Thursday seminar or had additional questions not answered yesterday.
Speaker: Jason Padden, Sales Account Manager, Mycorrhizal Applications
Explore the science behind beneficial mycorrhizal fungi, with a focus on how growers and landscapers may utilize the power of mycorrhizae in their operations. Participants will learn how the addition of mycorrhizal inoculant products helps plants increase their efficiency of water use, nutrient uptake, and boost other plant health treatments. We will discuss how these benefits reduce plant loss by increasing plant vigor helping to grow hardier while saving time and money. Mycorrhizal inoculants have been used in sustainable growing systems for decades. Those that use them have been able to reduce the stress to both the plants they are growing and themselves.
Speaker: Wei Zhang, Ph.D., Vice President of Research and Development, Zynnovation LLC
Trees in the forests live with their family and friends. Above the ground, young trees are protected by mature trees against extreme weather conditions such as scorching sunlight, damaging wind, and extreme cold. Equally, and maybe more important than the above ground partners, the underground partners; insects, worms, and root and soil microbiome, is critical for the survival and thrive of the baby trees. How can we expect turban trees to survive and thrive with compacted soils, excess stormwater runoff, salt, pollution, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and more.
Speaker: Elizabeth Peña, Value Stream Leader, Peoria Gardens Inc.
A culture is how you solve problems and how you behave toward others. You must strike a balance between knowledge and behaviors, between head and heart. If you want your team to thrive, you must first define your culture, then do the important work of building your culture into everything you do together. You are invited to learn how Peoria Gardens, a second-generation greenhouse in Albany, Oregon, defined their culture, then built that culture into a business that continues to be recognized as one of the best places to work in the horticulture industry.
Speaker: Allison Pennell, Sales Representative and Horticulturalist, McHutchison Horticultural Distributors
This session will report on new introductions from trial gardens across the country. Annuals and perennials from your favorite breeders will be the focus. Ali will share garden performance results from trial sites to help you decide what to add to your own production plans for 2024. This session’s focus is on spring and summer selling crops. Breeders covered will include: Dummen Orange, SelectaOne, Syngenta, Danziger, Ball, Pan American Seed, Westhoff, Terra Nova Nurseries, Sakata, Think Plants and more!
Speaker: Wei Zhang, Ph.D., Vice President of Research and Development, Zynnovation LLC
This presentation answers common questions, such as: Why do we have to water trees so often? Why can't we supply them with one year's water supply at a time? Why don’t roots grow deep? Why is compacted soil bad for urban trees? Why is volcano mulching bad for trees while leaf piling against tree trunks in natural forests is good? Why is deicing salt bad for plants? What makes the space under sidewalks so attractive to tree roots? One thing in common with all these problems - Soil Oxygen! Join us for live demonstrations throughout the seminar.
Moderator: Whitney Rideout, Program Manager, Industry and Agriculture, Energy Trust of Oregon
Panelists:
Speaker: Rick Peters, President, The Peters Company
Every leader faces the challenge of translating vision into results. Most have goals to achieve over the next 3–5 years; the difficulty is converting long-term goals into daily activities that can be measured. Oregon nurseries are using policy deployment ("Hoshin Kanri") to develop annual improvement targets that align and link with their long-term strategies. The process engages team members at every level. Each person understands how they can impact the organization's goals. Bring your leadership team for an introduction to this powerful tool. Learn how Robinson Nursery uses policy deployment to transform the business and achieve their mission of “growing people and plants to change the world.”
Speaker: Ben Hoover, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Sustainable Nursery Production, California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
We will talk briefly about the complexity of biochar, how it performs in propagation substrates, and what role it might play in the future. You'll see root development pictures of cuttings in biochar substrates. We will talk about the guidelines for propagation substrate selection and how biochar fits into the story. The big question: “Is biochar really sustainable?”
Speaker: Jay W. Pscheidt, Ph.D., Extension Plant Pathology Specialist, Oregon State University
Fungicide used to manage diseases, such as boxwood blight, depends on good pesticide coverage. Research using common airblast sprayers with and without smart sensors indicates high gallonage is needed for good coverage. Coverage of nursery-grown boxwood plants using sprayers routinely used at nurseries also indicates the need for better attention to spray coverage. Join this session to learn all these intricacies.
Speaker: Raymond Cloyd, Ph.D., Professor and Extension Specialist, Kansas State University Raymond will discuss the different types of mite pests, and the biology, ecology, and
Speaker: Carlos Vergara, Lean Manager, JLPN
In February 2022, JLPN hosted a rapid improvement event (Kaizen™) focused on its process of pulling customer orders. Prior to the event, the process varied for different crew members: communication was inconsistent and crew members had to search the farm for the needed products. Learn how the team applied Lean principles to reduce motion and defects and increase productivity while improving communication and teamwork in their order pulling process.
Speaker: Raymond Cloyd, Ph.D., Professor and Extension Specialist, Kansas State University
Raymond will discuss the biology, ecology, and damage associated with redheaded flea beetle adults. He will then address the management strategies that must be implemented to mitigate damage to nursery-grown crops by redheaded flea beetle adults, and provide results from his research program.
Speaker: George Grant, GGSPro Technical Specialist, Griffin Greenhouse Supplies
Over the past decade, using “beneficials” or biological control agents (BCAs) to help growers deal with pest issues has grown dramatically. BCAs can play a critical role in preventing and managing pesticide resistance when used effectively. However, growers require a comprehensive knowledge of their life cycles, target pests, and compatibility with organic and conventional pesticides. This course will cover these topics for some of the industry’s most commonly used beneficial insects, mites, and nematodes along with how growers can begin integrating BCAs into their current crop protection programs.
Speaker: Dr. Luisa Santamaria, Associate Professor - Extension Plant Pathologist, Oregon State University
Boxwood plants are commonly seen decorating parks, public gardens, and even lawns. However, there are multiple plant pathogens of nationwide concern that can cause disease in boxwood. People who work around these plants must have a basic understanding of the pathogens, their biology, and the key signs and symptoms. This session will cover all that and more! Boxwood blight and Volutella blight will be highlighted. Additionally, participants will be trained in how to properly scout for disease, so that they may keep their plants healthy and green!
Speaker: George Grant, GGSPro Technical Specialist, Griffin Greenhouse Supplies
This session will take a deep dive into the prevention and control of common root and crown diseases, including water molds, Fusarium, Botrytis, Rhizoctonia, Thielaviopsis, and more. Learn how you can also maximize your chemical control toolkits by implementing microbial-based fungicide options. This session will provide detailed fungicide rotation strategies, cultural best practices, and practical prevention tips that will benefit growers at every level.
Speaker: Brian Hill, Faculty Research Assistant, OSU NWREC Nackley Lab
Crop adapted spraying (CAS) is a systematic approach to air-blast sprayer calibration. It was designed in fruit and nut orchards as a way to spray more efficiently when the target is a canopy that changes over the growing season. CAS is a good fit for nursery production because of the many crops of different sizes and shapes that are grown closely together. This seminar covers the core concepts of CAS while taking a deep look at the implementation strategy for nursery production systems.
