What are the market forces that will move the green industry in years to come? How will the green industry react to those forces? And what should the green industry be doing to make sure it is positioned and can take advantage of any shift in market needs?

As a Cooperative Extension horticulturist, I was placed by the University at public water agencies 15 years ago. My role was to help green industry professionals and water users, such as homeowners, homeowner associations and cities, understand what an efficient landscape was and how to achieve it. Why? Water, as it turns out, comprises about 50% of total urban water sales. Yet, it has been found that as much as 50% of the water we are applying may not be needed by the landscape. In other words, water is being wasted in urban landscapes and it is hurting the landscape industry, nation-wide.

Water is the #1 issue facing the green industry today and out into the future. Why? Communities are paying customers to remove landscapes (Las Vegas). Public agencies are restricting water for landscape use (Colorado, Georgia, Utah, New Mexico, Texas). Some communities tell landscape water customers to expect shortages/shut-offs during peak-use summer months (San Diego County). Some communities are looking to ban new development (Lake Arrowhead, Las Vegas, Santa Fe, parts of central California). Whether it's drought, peak use beyond the ability of the water infrastructure, or population growth that outpaces the ability to deliver water to end users. Any way you slice the water supply pie, wasting water is bad for green industry business. Because, when there is not enough water to go around, the landscape irrigation will be the first use to be restricted.

In Colorado for example, the population growth is estimated to be 30% over the next 20 years. At the same time landscapes use approximately 40% more water than the plants really need. Denver Water calculated that homes use 40" of water on their gardens per year. Yet cool season turfgrass only needs 20" of water per year to be green and healthy. That led Denver Water District to enact public policies that severely restricted planting and landscape irrigation during the recent drought. Those restrictions cost the landscape industry 11,000 jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. But what if the landscapes did not waste water? There is the likelihood that Denver Water would not have had to create painful landscape ordinances if landscape water were used efficiently. What can you do to protect your business and the landscape industry from more regulation and restriction?

Making Water Efficiency a Profitable Core Business

How much water are your sites using? How much water should they use? How can every landscape site be made water efficient? How can you sell water efficiency to your customers?

Based on the experiences in California, where the green industry came under severe economic hardship due to drought and water restrictions in the early 1990's, here is a formula for success with respect to making landscapes efficient and creating new business opportunity:

• Measure each site (square footage) to help determine a site water budget
• Find the local ET (from university or public agency websites)
• Understand the water needs of the plants on your sites (crop coefficients)
• Use the following formula to determine a site water budget

  (ET) (Kc) (LA) = Site Water Budget

  ET = Weather in terms of inches of water
  Kc = Crop coefficient (or a plant factor)
  LA = Landscape area

  Southern California Example for cool season turfgrass over 1 acre of landscape:

  (48") (.8) (1) = 38" of water need for the year

• Compare the sites actual water use to the site water budget

Is more water being used than is needed by the plants? How much more? This is the water, and the money for your customer, you can help save. Develop a business attitude that looks to use water as efficiently as possible. Market that skill and service to your customers.

• Landscape irrigation system upgrades (retrofitting aging, leaking, poorly designed irrigation systems)
• Landscape maintenance practices (evaluate how you manage sites, how you keep irrigation systems in-tune and how cultural practices play a part in water management and site appearance
• Consider how retrofitting plant materials can reduce water demands
• Learn about and become trained on the installation and use of "smart" irrigation controllers

The combination of irrigation system retrofits, plant materials upgrades and "smart" controllers results in (1) more attractive landscapes, (2) water efficient landscapes, (3) new green industry business and (4) more satisfied customers. In one southern California community, landscape water use has been reduced by 57%. Yet green industry business has increased in response to water efficiency needs.

Do not wait until the coming water shortages hits the green industry and your company. Find the ways you can reduce water use on sites. Look for opportunities to retrofit landscapes and irrigation to save customers money. Use the new technologies now available that can save water in landscapes. Become part of the water solution as opposed to being part of the high water use problem. Remember, the water you save can be turned into marketing your services to new and existing customers. Develop your business strategy around a pro-active, water efficiency strategy.

This is the 1st in a series of articles on water and landscapes. To learn more about retrofitting landscapes and the new "smart" irrigation controllers, attend the Irrigation Design session at LANDSExpo on March 23, 2005 in Las Vegas.

Tom Ash is a horticulturist with HydroPoint Data Systems, owners of WeatherTRAK Smart Irrigation Controller Technology. A former Univ. of California Extension agent and water agency conservation coordinator, Tom He is the author of Landscape Maintenance for Water Savings, published by the California Landscape Contractors Association and the US Bureau of Reclamation.

Palms give a uniquely dramatic, exotic, and tropical effect to the home yard and landscape. They are the signature plants of Southern California and its lifestyle. Since their bold lines and striking nature ensure that they are always the center of attention, the proper selection, planting, and care of palms is important.

It is important to select the right palm for the right place in the home yard or landscape. When selecting a palm be sure its form, ultimate size, and adaptability to a particular environment are compatible with the intended site and use.

Palms have two basic leaf shapes and two growth forms (habits) that help to determine their use and placement in the home yard and landscape. They have either fan leaves or feather leaves and either one stem or clumps of several stems. Fan leaves are hand-shaped and have the leaf segments radiating from a center point. Feather leaves have leaf segments distributed along both sides of an elongated central leafstalk. Palms with a single stem become treelike while those with clumping stems are shrublike. Palms with clumping stems can be made into tree palms by thinning out the clump, leaving only several, well-spaced stems and removing lower, older leaves. Similarly, single-stemmed palms can be made to look like clumping palms by planting several closely together in the same hole. See the chart for a summary of the types of palms and their environmental adaptability.

Since palms are the primadonnas of the plant world, they can easily clash with each other and compete for attention if used inappropriately, distracting significantly from the desired effect. Avoid planting palms in groups of numerous, indiscriminately massed individuals of the same or different kinds. Instead, use palms informally to draw attention to a particular part of the garden or impart a tropical accent. Employ single-stemmed palms as well for vertical accent while sacrificing little precious ground space to bring into scale large houses or other tall structures or to divide large volumes of air.

Palms in informal settings are most effective if planted individually or, if space permits, in small groups of three or five close but separate specimens of the same kind. Remember that one clumping palm can readily take the place of three to five single-stemmed ones. Use clumping palms as a background, or as a screen or barrier to block unsightly views. Employ the same kind and size of palm repetitively in a regular, orderly fashion to achieve a more formal effect, such as lining a driveway, walk, or property boundary. Palms are naturals around water, and their relatively few, large leaves and flowerstalks mean a few timely cuts will remove any litter waiting to foul a swimming pool, stream, or pond.

With our ever-diminishing home yards, one must seriously consider the ultimate size and, to some extent, growth rate when selecting palms. Give palms enough space so that when their leaves reach full size they are not clashing with adjacent structures, trees, and other palms. Since palms lack a woody tap root, they make excellent and versatile, long-term potted specimens, which can be moved around the garden or yard to best advantage.

Environmental factors to consider when selecting a palm include light, temperature, humidity, and wind. Nearly all large tree palms require full sun for most of the day while the smaller ones, such as bamboo palms and lady palms, do best in full shade or only part sun. Palms that do best in part sun in hotter inland regions often tolerate more sun in cooler coastal areas.

Some palms are sensitive to cold and some are even sensitive to heat. They will suffer damage or even death if temperatures go too high or low. Temperature-sensitive palms do best when grown in coastal areas with more moderate temperatures. Conversely, other palms tolerate extreme heat and cold, and in Southern California will grow from the desert to the sea. Generally, larger, older, healthier palms usually are less sensitive to temperature extremes and recover from damage more quickly than smaller ones of the same kind. No palms are sufficiently hardy to grow in the mountains.

Humidity, or the amount of moisture in the air, influences a palm's sensitivity to light and temperature. That some palms are poorly adapted to inland areas is due as much to the less humid, more arid conditions as it is to temperature extremes. Conversely, the California fan palm easily tolerates temperatures in coastal areas but often grows poorly there and has disease problems because of the humid, moist air.

Although most palms are wind tolerant, a few can have their bold, dramatic foliage torn or shredded by wind, detracting considerably from their beauty and ornamental effect. Plant wind-sensitive palms on the wind-protected side of larger trees or shrubs, homes, or other structures. Nearly all palms suffer leaf damage when exposed to constant, often salt-laden sea breezes.

PLANTING

Container-grown palms can be planted year round in Southern California. Dig a hole the same depth as the root ball of the palm. Dust the hole with dolomite lime to provide magnesium, a nutrient which palms use in large amounts. Carefully remove the palm from the container and place in the hole. Use the same soil from the hole without any added amendments to backfill around the root ball. Tamp firmly to remove large air pockets but avoid compacting the soil. Mound excess soil to form a water basin three inches high and at least as wide as the hole. Place a two-inch layer of mulch in the basin and water thoroughly. Keep the root ball and surrounding soil moist but not wet. Keep grass and weeds away from the stem and root ball.

CARE

Palms are virtually maintenance free except for watering and periodic fertilizing and removal of unsightly dead leaves and flowerstalks. Unless there is sufficient rain, water palms whenever the top inch or two of soil becomes dry. Apply enough water each time to wet the soil to at least 12 inches deep. Use a shovel or probe to check if necessary. Some of the hardy palms once established can tolerate periods of several weeks or even a month with no added water, especially in the cooler winter months. Periodically apply a palm special fertilizer (one with high nitrogen, potassium, and magnesium), carefully following the label directions. Remove leaves once they have begun to turn yellow or brown, and flowerstalks once they have completely emerged by cutting them off neatly and as close to the stem as possibly, taking care no to damage or scar the stem

"Compliance has traditionally been the driving force behind safety," says Snodgrass," and it has worked well. If however we want to take our Profession to the next level we need to make the shift from compliance to commitment. A commitment inspired by all the right reasons that results in safety being a dominant choice in the way we do business and do life."

"As chair of the ALCA safety/insurance committee, I asked all landscape companies to make the pledge now to be safe FOR ALL THE RIGHT REASONS. As a way of leading by example I conducted a survey in my own company to delve deeper into our safety program and discover additional RIGHT REASONS that we hadn't thought about that would get us even more committed to safety. It started at a presentation that we had made to a major Class A Office company for a large commercial maintenance bid. We did a team presentation to their board and to a person we all thought we had overemphasized our company safety record and company safety program. When we checked in with the client however they emphatically stated that our commitment to safety was a key aspect that set us aside from the competition.

As we followed this train of thought we recognized two important things:

1. Being such a safety conscious company correlates to being a well run, organized and efficient company. When bidding on a project where the owner is safety conscious, a 0.79 mod rate makes everybody take notice. These are the things that we strive everyday to communicate to our clients and prospects and "living safety" helps us to do that.
2. Being a model safe company has profound and positive ripple effects far beyond just our company. Incorporating safe practices as part of our everyday habits influences everybody on the job site. Terry Loerke, the President of one of our major commercial contractors, LCG PENCE put this in writing about us, publicly. " We have a rigid safety plan here at LCG PENCE and Dennis' Seven Dees Landscaping is always an added asset to the project. We not only count on Dennis' Seven Dees to deliver a high quality project on time but also to assist us in raising safety awareness on site with their impressive reputation and experience that they bring to our construction team"

As important as these RIGHT REASONS are for Dennis Seven Dees Landscaping they might not be as meaningful to you. I encourage you to find your own RIGHT REASONS to take safety to the next level, and to share them with other member companies. A commitment to business excellence always includes safety at the highest level. A powerful safety program starts at the top and is championed with resources, recognition and rewards. The era of paying lip service to safety is thankfully long gone. Our industry is being advanced by a new breed of sophisticated Business Leader. These professionals know that having an active and powerful safety program is an essential part of a winning business model. They know that this is key to gaining the respect and recognition of their customers, the commitment of their employees and the increased profits that come from improved operating efficiencies and lowered insurance costs. Safety is a national issue. Every landscape contracting company is effected by each individual companies and the industries safety record. Your safety record has an impact on a landscaper doing business across the country! There is absolutely no downside to improving your safety program. Many resources are freely available. ALCA has developed it's S.T.A.R.S. safe company program (Safety Training Achieves Remarkable Success!) It is a pro-active and dynamic team effort to take safety to the next level. It is FREE and you don't need to be an ALCA member to join. Just go to the ALCA website and join over 200 other landscape contracting companies who are committed to winning with safety!

In an effort to conserve water, more and more landscapes are being irrigated with recycled water derived from some sort of effluent. These waters carry significant amounts of salts. If this water is sprayed on the foliage, direct damage can result on many plants. This damage can be in the form of leaf scorch and leaf drop. If this water is applied to the soil directly, less damage will result and higher levels of most salts can be tolerated.

General salt damage can result due to the osmotic effect of salts in the soil solution and irrigation water or, once inside the plant, damage due to specific ions contained in the saline water like boron, chlorides and sodium can occur. The general recommendation for the removal of salts from landscape soils is to leach the soil with clean irrigation water until salt levels are acceptable. A general rule of thumb is that six inches of clean water is needed per foot of soil to reduce the salt concentration by fifty percent.

In the case of leaching, the persistence of boron in soils is determined largely by the soil type and the form of born present. Boron leaches readily from sandy soil but is much less susceptible to leaching from soils high in silts and clays. In the case of boron salts and removal by leaching, three times the water is needed when compared to other salts.

Soil levels acceptable for most broadleaf plants is 1 to 2 ppm. In irrigation water, levels greater than 1 ppm can lead to eventual problems. In some undeveloped soils in the Las Vegas area levels can exceed 30 ppm.

It should be noted that good drainage is absolutely essential for removal of any salts. After leaching, a soil test should be performed to validate that safe salt levels have been attained.

The function of boron in plants is poorly understood due to the very small amounts needed and the narrow range that has been determined to be adequate for most plants. This combined with the idea that adequate levels vary so much between plants, species and cultivars that the number of landscape plants that would need to be studied to determine adequate ranges make it staggering.

Boron Deficiency

Boron is unique among the micronutrients in the narrow range needed to be adequate for most plants. It is also unique since a small amount above this adequate range can be toxic to many landscape plants. A fraction of one part per million may be required by plants while a few parts per million may be toxic. There is, however, much variation in this regard among species and cultivars.

A boron deficiency causes serious injury and death of juvenile, growing stems and it seems to be necessary for the plant to adequately use and transport sugar to different plant parts. When deficient, growing points of both roots and shoots stop elongating. If the deficiency continues, stems become discolored and dieback occurs. Plants deficient in boron contain more sugars, have lower rates of water absorption and transpiration than normal plants. In arid climates this would translate into leaf scorch, leaf drop and death. Flowering is also inhibited and, if the deficiency is severe, flowering is prevented altogether.

Boron deficiency is common in orchard trees and appears to be one of the most common micronutrient deficiencies in forest plantations all over the world. Boron deficiency is said to cause dieback and finally death of the cambium in citrus and pine and death of phloem and physiological breakdown of fruits in other species. Boron deficiency in apple trees causes brittle, deformed leaves, damage to the water conducting tissue, lesions in the bark and injury to fruit.

Members of the grass family usually have a lower boron requirement than other plant species yet they are also regarded as some of the most boron-tolerant plants as well. In general, monocots like grasses and palms require only about one-fourth as much boron for normal growth as broadleaf trees.

Boron Toxicity

The boron tolerance of a wide variety of plants has been tested over the years including major crop plants and native species. However, information on boron tolerance of ornamentals is severely lacking and especially needed where urban development is taking place on arid soils.

Requirements in plant tissue vary from 5 to 15 ppm (parts per million) depending on the species. The concentration for best growth may closely approach toxic levels in some species. Conifers probably tolerate lower concentrations of boron than angiosperms.

The first signs of boron toxicity in ornamentals is a slowing of growth and leaf scorch or necrosis. Either or both of these symptoms may be seen when boron is in excess. The injury that develops due to high levels of boron in the soil is closely related to the type of leaf venation. Plants with parallel venation showed tip burn and no marginal injury. Shrubs with leaf veins that are more palmate or pinnate showed both tip burn and marginal burn.

Early injury is usually observed on the leaves as marginal necrosis, tip burn cupping of leaves, necrotic spots between veins, reduced leaf size, premature leaf drop or development of anthocyanins (purple coloration) in bands where it accumulates. This can be seen readily in plants like xylosma. This is caused by excess boron carried to the leaves in the transpirational stream where it moves from the veins into the interveinal tissue and accumulates at the leaf tip and margins. In tissue testing it might be wise to separate out the burned area from the rest of the area and submit separately.

Since boron accumulates predominantly in the leaf tissue, without later translocation, fall or winter pruning can remove much of the accumulated boron. Consequently the new spring growth will contain lower boron levels.

Climatic conditions play an important role in boron tolerance, since the movement of boron to the leaves is governed by transpiration. Under hot and dry conditions with high plant water use, boron accumulates considerably faster than under a cool, wet climate. Injury may occur under the hot dry conditions while they may not develop under the cool wet condition even though boron levels in the soil and water may be identical.

Selecting plants for sites high in boron is difficult. First of all only a few landscape plants have been tested for tolerance to high levels of boron. There seems to be no relationship between salinity tolerance and tolerance to high levels of boron. Boron tolerance in woody plants and boron accumulation in leaves not correlated and no correlation was found between boron tolerance and salinity tolerance. Other than grasses and palms, plants such as natal plum, Indian hawthorne, Chinese hibiscus, oleander, bottlebrush, Japanese boxwood and ceniza all demonstrated some degree of tolerance to high levels of boron.

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