“Safety First” sounds great until you realize everyone says it and yet no one defines what it actually means. In high-risk work, slogans and checkbox trainings rarely translate to real protection in the field. This session bypasses the feel-good buzz words and digs into what keeps people safe and shows why simply “getting home at the end of the day” is the bare minimum. Of course, everyone goes home at the end of the day - but how do we do that?
High-risk doesn’t always mean jumping out of planes. In this dynamic session, a professional skydiver and safety consultant draws parallels between the intensity of extreme sports and the day-to-day pressures of the Green Industry. Whether you’re trimming trees under tension or managing tight timelines and working on a roadside, success depends on focus and adaptability, paired with well-executed systems and procedures.
Posting on social media can feel like a full-time job, especially when you’re already busy running your business. Here, you’ll learn simple ways to use AI tools to plan, write, and organize your social media content faster and easier. We’ll show real examples made for landscaping, nursery, and garden center businesses, including how to:
• Come up with post ideas that attract new customers
• Write captions that sound natural and professional
• Reuse photos, reviews, and videos to make fresh posts
In this session, we will cover how simple AI tools like ChatGPT can help you build training guides, checklists, and even SOPs in minutes, no tech skills needed! We’ll walk through real examples of how landscaping and nursery businesses are using AI to:
• Turn company notes or safety tips into step-by-step training materials
• Create on-boarding SOPs for new employees
• Keep important information easy to find and share with your team
Field Horsetail, also known as Equisetum, is a tough weed species in field ornamental production. It an herbaceous perennial weed which is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere and it is a spore-bearing plant. At MSU, IR4 herbicide efficacy trial has been performed where several herbicides have been tested for Field Horsetail control. In this presentation, audience will get an overview of the IR4 Equisetum herbicide efficacy trial results.
Weeds belonging to the lower group of plants include liverwort, algae, moss, nostoc etc. These groups represent some of the oldest organisms on earth and play an important part in the ecosystems. However, in greenhouse and nursery ornamental production systems often, these weeds can cause severe loss due to high competition for limited resources and reduction in the aesthetic values of the crops.
Oak Wilt is exploding in Michigan for a variety of reasons. The Glyphosate/Stump Cup procedure, created by the presenter, is rapidly proving to be the least invasive, most economical, most effective, and most environmentally friendly method compared to other Oak Wilt remediation procedures. The Glyphosate/Stump Cup procedure has been demonstrated to be highly efficacious in such diverse situations as Michigan’s Critical Dunes, Woodlands and Forests, and Residential Landscapes. Several attributes about this procedure are encouraging.
Plants sometimes decline and/or die for no apparent reason. Differentiation of the plethora of plant problems we encounter in our landscapes may be quite challenging. Sometimes the causal factors are not pests and diseases. Herbicides are, perhaps, the most poorly understood input in our management of landscapes….especially because our clientele, the public, are often involved in their (mis)application. And when herbicide misapplications occur, they can be “Humdingers”. Accurately diagnosing Herbicide Kerfuffles requires some basic in-field tests, which will be shared in this program.
A thorough review of popular perennials, including new varieties making waves with designers for their beauty, function and performance. With all the interest in the New Perennial Movement and a market shift towards sustainable gardening, a new palette of plants has emerged at the intersection of form and function.
In this engaging lecture for landscape professionals, renowned plantsman and designer Kelly Norris offers a framework for managing living landscapes towards horticultural and ecological goals. As gardens designed to mimic nature grow in popularity, many wonder how to care for these vibrant, biodiverse spaces while also shifting public opinion about their value. How does landscape management change when plants take the lead?