BULLETIN 255

PENNSYLVANIA

FLOWER GROWERS

SEPTEMBER, 1972

Nancy Liggitt (center), 1971 Pennsylvania Flower Queen crowns the 1972 queen,Sandy Sidler of Pottsville. Carol Drescher (left) was first runner-up in the contest. The crowning ceremony took place at the recent Pennsylvania FloristsConvention.

S.S. PENNOCK COMPANY COMPLETES

SAFE ENDOWMENT PLEDGE

The S. S. Pennock Company ofPhiladelphia, in completing its SAFEfounder pledge to the Society of American Florists Endowment in July,1972, has become the first industrymember of the endowment to havefulfilled its commitment in this pledgecategory of $10,000 or more.

In making announcement of thepledge fulfillment John Henry Dudley, treasurer of SAFE commented:"The completion of this commitmentis another indication of the deep responsibility the Pennock family andPennock employees have always felttoward the florist industry, and isonly one of the many contributionsthey have made to the industry as awhole over the years."

In the SAFE program of contribution plans the SAFEfounder pledgeof $10,000 or more can be given inone gift, in annual payments of$1,000 a year over a 10-year periodor in larger gifts over a shorter period of time at the discretion of the

donor, Mr. Dudley pointed out.The $10,000 strata is oriented

toward the industry member whowishes to tithe toward the industry'sone-umbrella concept of giving foreducation and research at a pace thatis leisurely, but regulated, Mr. Dudleysaid. Other giving strata similarlystructured include SAFEvanguardswhere the pledge is $1,000; SAFE-guardians, $2,500; and SAFEprotec-tors, $5,000.

"On behalf of the SAFE Board ofTrustees and the industry, I commend the S. S. Pennock Company forits cognizance of the industry's pressing need for continuing educationandresearch into areas affecting the future of the florist industry. Theirwholehearted willingness to lendtheir strength toward helping SAFEachieve its industry goal of a $2 million primary fund to provide financing for educational and research projects is typical of their dedication tothe entire floral industry."

WHOLESALERS SPONSOR TRADE FAIRThe Wholesale Florists and Florist

Suppliers of America, better knownas WF&FSA, will sponsor the firstexclusively wholesale trade fair offlorist supplies in January 1973. Themost extensive array of florist supply products ever assembled will beoffered to wholesalers and jobbers inAtlanta, Georgia to encourage widerdistribution of more and better products to the retail market.

As the trade association representing the middlemen of the floral industry, WF&FSA is devoted to linkingand strengthening the overall industry. The January Trade Fair is theAssociation's first major undertakingfor the supply segment of the industry, but according to WF&FSAPresident George Wolfe, "This tradefair was conceived as a service to theentire industry. It will enable wholesalers and jobbers to greatly expandtheir lines of florist supply products.The jobber will then be able to service his retail customers better than

ever before."As of September 25th, 125 exhi

bitors will be displaying their latestlines of artificial flowers, fruit, treesand foliage; planters and vases ofevery description; Christmas novelties and decorations; wedding andbaby novelties and accessories; driedand preserved natural flowers andfoliage; silk flowers; ribbons, tape,foam, picks, pins, foil and cellophane;baskets, candles and candle accessories; books, cards, care tags andother printed material; greenhousesupplies, birdbaths and more.

Over 500 wholesalers and jobbers,many from foreign countries, are expected to attend the WF&FSA TradeFair as buyers. In the months following this show, retail florists should expect and receive a wider selection ofproducts from their suppliers. Theevent is planned to be an annual oneto keep die supply segment of the industry as up-to-date as possible in thefuture.

JAMES SCHNUR OF

BUTLER HIGH SCHOOL

WINNER OF VO-AG

FLOWER PROJECT

SPONSORED BY

PA. FLOWER GROWERS

Each year, Vocational Agriculturestudents in Pennsylvania's highschools conduct summer flower projects. To encourage this activity byyoung people and to increase theirinterest in the floriculture industry,the Pennsylvania Flower Growersawards a plaque to each of the regional winners in the competition. Anoverall State winner is selected fromamong the regional winners. ThisState winner receives a special plaqueacknowledging his flower project anda trip to the Pennsylvania FloristsConvention.

James Schnur from Butler HighSchool, Butler, Pa. was the 1972 StateWinner. His teacher was JohnGraham. The other regional winnerswere: Pam Bair, York Area Vo-TechSchool, York, Pa. Her teacher was R.R. Gray. Richard Shick, NorthernLebanon High School, Lebanon, Pa.His teacher was Ray Bickel. DouglasLarson, Eisenhower High School,Warren, Pa. His teacher was R. E.Cary.

PENNSYLVANIA

FLOWER GROWERS

BULLETIN 255

SEPTEMBER, 1972

OFFICERS

PRESIDENT MARTIN P. GOHNGohn's Greenhouses

Willow Grove, Pa. 19090

V. PRESIDENT .... PENN YEATMAN, IIIP. J. Yentman SonsKennett Square, Pa.

TREASURER AND EXECUTIVESECRETARY HOWARD G. KRUPP

P.O. Box 247, Chalfont, Pa. 18914

EDITOR JOHN W. MASTALERZ907 Glenn Circle SouthState College, Pa. 16801

PROGRAMFLOWER GROWERS DAY

AT PENN STATE

Wednesday, December 6, 1972J.O. KELLER CONFERENCE CENTER

9:00 a.m.—Registration — Lobby — Coffee

9:30 —Program — Room 402-403Welcome „ „ „ ,

Darrell E. Walker, HeadDepartment of Horticulture

Air pollution as a factor in growing greenhouse cropsNorman LacasseAir Environmental Studies Center

An explanation of the current policy on the use of agricultural chemicalsMilford Heddleson, CoordinatorEnvironmental Quality Affairs

Safe water sources for greenhouse productionHenry WoodingAgricultural Engineering

Better greenhouse management through soil analysis, plant analysis and plant disease diagnosisLester P. NicholsPlant Pathology Extension, andW. Robert FortneyFloriculture Extension

11:30 —LUNCH — Nittany Lion Inn — Coffee Shop

1:00 p.m.—Research Preview — Room 402-403Dahlias — photoperiodic and varietal selections for cut flowersRoses — lighting with incandescent and fluorescent light sourcesCarnations — grown in various media and fertilization programsGeraniums — breeding trials with seed to flower in 70 daysCut Flowers — effect of foam and preservatives on keeping lifeBedding Plants — direct seeding and mechanical transplantingControl of Greenhouse Environments — by mechanical devicesLilies — growth retardants and light as factors in height control and floweringFoliage Plants — growth response in various media with slow-release fertilizersVirus Indexing of Geraniums

2:00-3:30—Tour of Research Greenhouses — rear of Tyson Building

L ' Note: For those arriving Tuesday evening, December 5th, there will be an informal bull-session at the home of Dr.^ John White, 1311 North Curtin Road. (Make a right-hand turn on 322 north at stop light at Longs Dairy Store,

go east 4 blocks and road deadends at John's house.)

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ANTHRACITE COAL REFUSE

AS A SOILLESS MEDIUM

FOR GREENHOUSE FLOWER CROPS

J. W. White, W. R. Chubb, H. B. Charmbury

The Pennsylvania State University

Anthracite mine refuse, or culmdump material as it is sometimescalled, is the waste material resulting from the sizing and cleaning ofrun-of-mine deep and strip-minedanthracite coal. It may also containmine rock, carbonaceous shale, pyrite,and other debris from mining operations. This material is generallystored in piles or banks, some ofwhich are over 100 years old. Manyof the older banks contain a considerable amount of good coal, particularly in the finer size ranges, sincethese sizes did not h.we any particulareconomic value in the early days ofanthracite mining. Today, the refusematerial from a cleaning operationmust be piled in an orderly fashionand in such a way as to minimize thetendency to ignite.

There are well over 400 of thesebanks in the anthracite region containing over 900 million tons of refuse located in the northeastern partof Pennsylvania. The banks range insize from a few thousand tons of material up to as much as 13 milliontons. Most of these banks are unsightly eyesores which have a pooreffect on the economic growth andindustrial development of the area.In addition, although a great many ofthe banks are located on land whichwas of little value at the time thebank was formed, much of this landis of great value now, as indicated by

John W. White, Associate Professor, Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture; W. R. Chubb, Research Assistant,Department of Mineral Engineering, Collegeof Earth & Mineral Sciences; H. B. Charm-bury, Assistant Dean, Planning & Development, College of Earth & Mineral Sciences,The Pennsylvania State University.

the land values surrounding thebanks. In fact, some of the land adjacent to several of these banks hasbeen assessed as high as $38,000 peracre.

Because of the unsightly appearance of some of these banks, yearsago people in the area used them asgarbage- and trash-disposal areas.Then, as often happens, the trashcaught fire and the bank continued toburn because of the presence of coal.It is well known that some of thesebanks have been burning for wellover 50 years. When burning occurred, the result was not only landdevastation, but also air pollution dueto the noxious sulfurous gases released in the atmosphere.

Prior to 1964, very little, if anything, was done to eliminate theseconditions. In fact, they were moie orless considered a necessary evil, anunpleasant by-product of the industries which helped for many years tobuild the economy of the area. Today,if a fire develops in a bank, the ownermust immediately extinguish it. Before 1964, there was no solution of theproblem of what to do with the 60-odd banks already on fire.

In 1964, the Pennsylvania Department of Mines and Mineral Industriesstarted a massive research and demonstration program to eliminate airpollution from these burning banks.Twelve of the 15 methods examinedwe^e studied in conjunction with theU. S. Public Health Service. The program was successful and did showthere were various methods of extinguishing these fires. The earlymethods were quite expensive, asmuch as $4.00 per ton of burning ma

_ 2

terial, but with continued researchand development, the costs of extinguishing the larger banks were reduced to about $1.00 per ton and thecosts on the smaller banks were reduced to as little as $0.25 per ton.

Incinerated Anthracite Mine RefuseOne of the most successful methods

of extinguishing the large banks usedhydraulic jets to undercut the burningmaterial. The undercutting with thewater jets would then cause the burning material to roll down into a waterpool located belween the jets and theburning bank. In some cases the undercut material had to be pulleddown into the pool with a large dragline. When extinguished in the poolof water and cooled, the burned outmaterial, called incinerated anthracitemine refuse, was removed by the dragline, piled, spread in a flat surfacewith carryalls, and compacted withbulldozers.

In 1967, the people of Pennsylvania voted on and passed a $500million land and water conservationbond issue, to be used over a ten-year period. This issue had previouslybeen voted on and passed by twodifferent sessions of the General Assembly. Twenty-five million dollarsof the $500 million was earmarked forthe elimination of air pollution fromburning refuse banks. The act authorizing the expenditure of funds forthis purpose also gave the Department of Mines and Mineral Industriesthe authority to place a lien on therefuse material as well as on the landon which it is located. This was doneto make it possible for the Commonwealth to recover at least a part, and

possibly all, of the cost of eliminatingthe air pollution problem. Consequently, the Commonwealth is nowin the process of finding a use or usesfor the incinerated anthracite minerefuse. A proper and economicallysound method of utilizing the millionsof tons of this material could mean arecovery of funds spent by the Commonwealth, an income to the ownersof the refuse material, and the removal of a community eyesore, followed by reclamation of the originalland.

Proir to January 1, 1971, a total of64 burning coal refuse banks hadbeen extinguished in Pennsylvania ata total cost of about $7.7 million.Forty of these banks were located inthe anthracite area; consequently,there are now over 30 million tonsof extinguished incinerated anthracite mine refuse.

Several possibilities for the utilization of this material have been andare being investigated. Two specificapproaches were taken— one whichwould utilize large tonnages at arelatively low income per ton andanother which would utilize smallamounts at a relatively high incomeper ton. One of the latter methods tobe investigated was the use of thismaterial as a soilless growing medium.

Definition of Soilless Medium

A soilless growing medium is aclosely sized (%" by 28 mesh) granular material which acts as a growingbase for plants by providing anchorage and permitting the proper percolation of nutrient solutions and theaccess of air to the plant roots. Ideally, the medium itself is inert andsterile, allowing complete control ofgrowth by regulation of the appliedsolution.

Extent of Soilless Media IndustryGreenhouse flower crops are usual

ly grown in containers. Cut flowercrops are grown in beds or raisedbenches, while potted plants aregrown in various types of pots, trays,and flats. Inexpensive, readily available soil supplies are critical forgreenhouse pot plant growers because the growing medium is soldwith the product. Greenhouses aregenerally located near metropolitanareas where land and soil costs are

high. Approximately 6,000 acres arecovered by greenhouses in the UnitedStates with an annual need of approximately 2,000 acres (2,000,000tons) of top soil for container-growncrops. Due to high soil costs, varioussoilless media are being investigatedfor greenhouse use.

Why Use Soilless Mediafor Crop Production?

The use of soilless media for cropproduction is not a new idea. Asearly as the mid 1800's experimentswere conducted using sand culture.In the 1930's several researchers wereencouraging commercial greenhousegrowers to use sand and gravel culture, Haydite (shale and clay fusedat high temperatures), coal cinders,silica gravel, traprock, and crushedgranite were included in the term"gravel" at that time. It was soonrecognized that plants will grow inany medium provided their requirements for water, essential elements,air, and support are met. A coarse,inert aggregate was considered nearlyideal, since it provided Lee waterwithout loss of aeration. Coarse inertaggregates also were mo:e easily reproduced and standardized than organic based substrates and werereadily adapted to automation of irrigation and fertilization.

Why wasn't soilless media cultureaccepted for commercial applicationin the late 30's and early 40's? Level,watertight benches were required,and since this was before the adventof plastics it meant the constructionof concrete benches and installationof expensive pumping equipment.Costs to convert from soil growingwere almost prohibitive at a timewhen greenhouse returns were low.One of the major limitations was thedanger of disease spread by pathogens carried in the recirculated irrigation solution. Another major causeof failure was the lack of sufficienttechnological competence on the partof the growers. A small error in fertilizer balance or concentration wasoften buffered by colloids in a soilmixture but could cause severegrowth restrictions in a poorly buffered soilless medium.

Recent research has shown thatmost of the major problems of the30's and 40's have been overcome. Re

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searchers have shown how importantadequate water and fertilizer are toyielding high quality flowers. Supplying adequate water for optimumgrowth requires more frequent irrigation than most soils can tolerate.By using overhead plastic pipes andproportioning pumps, ordinary wooden benches can be converted to soilless media use. Special fertilizer formulas are now being blended foreach crop and season. When thesefertilizers are combined with tissueanalysis services, growers have thetechnological assistance that was previously lacking.

Although there are many sourcesof coarse inert aggregates throughout the United States which could beadapted to soilless culture for greenhouse crops, it is only logical to obtain material which is relatively inexpensive and available in largequantities in a given area. The incinerated anthracite refuse offered thispotential not only for the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre area, but also the NewYork, Baltimore, and Philadelphiaareas. Consequently, it seemed advisable to investigate this material asa possibility.

Growth of Roses and Carnations

In the past three years, several experiments were conducted with rosesand carnations grown in soillessmedia, combinations of soilless medium and peat moss, and soil mixture.In the ea.ly studies with carnations,media used included numbers 4 and5 anthracite, anthracite fines (highash), various size fractions of refuse,fused refuse (commercial Lelite), andfly ash (commercial Freelite) with andwithout additions of various modifiers such as limestone, soil conditioning, or nutrient values. As onemight expect, the carnations couldbe grown in any of the media if thefertilizer solution was adjusted tocompensate for inherent differencesin the ionic equilibrium of the substrate, and if the irrigation cycle wasadjusted for the basic differences inair-water balance of a given substrate. Certain media tended to beeither quite acid (anthracite) or quitealkaline (fly ash) and required frequent and careful regulation of thepH to maintain healthy growth. Somesamples of anthracite contained ap-

(Continued on page 4)

ANTHRACITE REFUSE-

(Continued from page 3)

preciable quantities of sulfates andrequired extensive leaching beforeplants could grow. Once the sulfateswere removed, plants grew as well asin a commercial soil mixture.

Incinerated anthracite refuse waschosen as the most readily available,least expensive coarse aggregate forlater experiments. These experimentswere designed to study the effects ofregulated rhizosphere stress on theyield and quality of carnations. Stresswas created in two ways: 1) increasedosmotic stress by increasing the fertilizer concentration and 2) increasedmatrix stress by decreasing the irrigation frequency. These two stressestend to be additive, i.e., as matrixstress increases, it is accompanied byan increase in osmotic stress. Theprimarygoal was to find a stress levelwhich would produce the best balance of total growth and the qualityof growth. The total growth dimension is defined by total yield, and thequality of growth dimension is defined by the integration of measurements of flower stem strength, stemlength, and flower size. The bestcompromise was achieved with irrigations four times per day in summerand daily in winter, using a solutioncontaining 300 ppm nitrogen derivedprimarily from calcium nitrate.

Most of the same media which hadbeen used for carnations were used inearly studies with roses. Incineratedanthracite refuse with peat moss wascompared with a commercial soilmixture in later studies. Daily irrigation cycles with solutions containing150 ppm nitrogen derived primarilyfrom urea produced the greatestyields and best quality roses. Resultson two different studies are presentedin Tables I and II.

The standard soil mixture consistedof Bedford silt loam, peat moss, andnumber 2 horticulture perlite in aratio of 50:25:25 V/V/V. The incinerated refuse-peat moss ratio was50:50 V/V.

The yield per plant is the averagenumber of roses from a plant over ayear's time. The weight includes thestem and the flower. The quality index is the yield multiplied by the

Table 1. Growth of Roses-May 1969 to February 1970

Incinerated AnthraciteRefuse with Peat Moss Standard Soil Mixture

Yield per plantWeight (grams)Stem lengthWeight per lengthQuality indexYield X length

35.021.756.2

0.3913.6

1967

30.320.355.3

0.3811.5

1676

Table 2. Growth of Roses--September 1970 to February 1971

Incinerated AnthraciteRefuse with Peat Moss Standard Soil Mixture

Yield per plantWeight (grams)Stem lengthWeight per lengthQuality indexYield X length

33.1

22.255.3

0.3913.2

1761

25.420.051.9

0.38

9.91318

weight per flower stem length. Theyield times the length is a measureused by growers to detemine theeconomic value. It must be pointedout that similar soilless media, usingthe same fertilizer, and the same irrigation cycle could produce similarresults. The value of the incineratedrefuse is in its relatively low price inthe anthracite area and its availability.

The preparation of the incineratedrefuse consisted of crushing the material with an impactor type crusherand then double screening thecrushed product. The top screen had%6" square opening to remove thecoarse particles and the bottom screenhad a parallel rod type surface with%2" openings. It is estimated thatwith the proper equipment and a sufficient tonnage, the material could beprepared for less than $0.50 per ton.

Shipping to market areas could behandled by trucks in bulk loads of 5to 20 or more tons. Delivery to theNew York, Baltimore, or Philadelphiaareas could be made in one day.Truck shipping rates would be approximately $0.25 for the first mile tocover loading and unloading costsand $0.05 to $0.08 for each additionalmile. Current soilless media pricesdepend upon the particular materialand in general range from $4.00 to$7.00 per ton plus delivery cost.Consequently, the incinerated anthracite refuse appears economically attractive and worthy of commercialconsideration for the NortheasternPennsylvania area as well as the New

~£~

York, Philadelphia, and Baltimoreareas.

Other StudiesAzaleas, African violets, begonias,

chrysanthemums, geraniums, philo-dendrons, and poinsettias also havebeen grown successfully in incinerated anthracite refuse and peat mossmixtures. The best proportions of refuse to peat varied with the crop andseason, but in general a 50:50 V/Vmixture produced good crops for allspecies tested. Varying amounts andtypes of fertilizer additives were necessary depending on the species andtype of growth desired. It will benecessary to develop different fertilizer formulae and select irrigationregimes best suited to each crop andseason. Incinerated anthracite refuseis less expensive than most of thesoil amendments used by commercialgrowers today.

ConclusionIncinerated anthracite refuse, when

properly prepared by crushing andsizing and mixed with peat moss andessential fertilizers, has been testedand found to be satisfactory as a soilless medium for use by greenhouseoperators and potted plant growers.The material has been used successfully for the growth of carnations,roses, azaleas, African violets andmany other plants. Because of therelatively low cost of preparation andthe large supply of the incineratedrefuse, the material has great commercial potential for use within a

C

PENNSYLVANIA FLORISTS CONVENTION

WAS TREMENDOUS"Let's do it this way next year,

too," seemed to be the consensus ofthe 275 persons attending the 1972Pennsylvania Florists Convention heldin late August in Harrisburg, Pa.

The program had a new sparkle toit this year and all those in attendance caught a glimmer of it to takehome with them.

LIFE MANAGEMENT

Setting the mood for the convention was the dynamic, enthusiasticsalesman of life management, CharlesE. Jones. Known throughout thecountry as "Mr. Tremendous," Jonesexcited, entertained and educated theflorists with his flamboyant lectureand seminar. In his two presentationsat the convention, he laid down hisseven laws of leadership:

—Work: Be excited about yourwork and work hard. Real work, hesaid, is learning to get excited aboutgetting the work done.

—Use or lose: You must use whatever you have or lose it. There's alaw that says that God gives all of uscertain attributes, characteristics, andtalents, and then He says, "If you usewhat you have, I'll give you more of

150 mile radius of the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre area.

AcknowledgmentsThis work is part of a research pro

ject on the utilization and beautifica-tion of anthracite refuse. The finan

cial support was provided by the Department of Environmental Resourcesin the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania through Research Project CR-74 and the U. S. Bureau of Mines

Grant GO180216 (SWD-15); fundsthrough state (Hatch Act) and federal grants, Project 1967 of the Agricultural Experiment Station; thePennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Act 159, Harness Racing Funds,Project 1586 of the Agricultural Experiment Station. The authors expresstheir thanks to the officials in theseagencies of the state and federal governments.

it; but if you don't use it, you'll loseit."

—Give to get: Learn to givewhether or not you get anything inreturn. You can lose your reputation,you can lose your home, you can evenlose your family, but you can't loseyour capacity to give once you've acquired it and used it.

—Production to perfection: Makesomething happen now. If you're notlearning to make something happentoday, you'll never know more thanyour own whimsical shallow dreams.Production will teach you a littleabout perfection, but perfection willnever be more than your own littledreams.

—Go from exposure to experience:Involve yourself, it will give you theexperience to face new exciting situations. Life will never be a rut-life.

—Flexible planning: You only existwith a plan, but you will grow witha flexible plan. Plan on your plan going wrong so that you're ready withan alternate plan.

—Motivated to motivating: Be involved and committed to your life.Set goals and make vows to fulfillthem. The secret of maturity is nothow to motivate other people, buthow to learn to be motivated yourself.

NEW DESIGN SCHOOL

Eulalah Overmeyer, Telcflora commentator, accepted a challenging assignment at the convention by breaking away from the traditional designschool to conduct a person-to-person

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type design session. Essentially threesmall groups were set up to permitthe commentator to describe designwork to the audience. The audience

rotated to their choice of designersand subjects and captured thosepointers they felt most beneficial fortheir use.

Creating the designs for theschool were Dick van Duzer, ValleyFlorists, Frenchtown, N.J., whosestriking arrangements filled histheme of "Color Sets the Mood";Don Sanderson, C. J. SandersonFlorist, Woodbury, N.J., exhibited unusual skill in executing fantastic designs under his topic of "Fruit andFlowers, Apples to Zinnias"; andScott Goodman, Goodman's Flowers,Palmyra, Pa., left the audience spellbound as he proved that "Green is aProfit Color" through the use of ter-raiums.

RAP SESSIONS

Retailers had the opportunity, too,to meet in small groups to discussbusiness topics on deliveries, pricing,trade relations, merchandising, hospital orders and employee relations.

Heading up the "rap" sessions wasDr. Peter B. Pfahl, of the Pennsylvania State University, assisted byBill Taylor, Perm Hill' Flowers, Wilmington, Del., Carl Sallade, C. A.Schaefer Flowers, York, Ken Royer,Royer's Flower Shop, Lebanon, BudPuhlman, Puhlman's Flower Shoppe,Carnegie, Thomas Keane, SchoolLane House of Flowers, Philadelphia,Henry W. Johnson, Henry W. John-

son Flowers, Philadelphia, WilliamCurtis, Phoebe Floral Shop, Allen-town, and Tony Eekert, Ziegler &Sons, Harrisbuig.

GROWER TOPICSDuring the first two afternoons of

the convention, growers were involvedin meetings highlighted with discussions on marketing and production.Alvi Voigt, Penn State economist,moderated a panel titled "New Markets—Opportunities or Omen?", andwas assisted by Luke Sorzano, Holiday Gardens, Rutledge, Glen Royer,Royer-s Flowers, Lebanon, and JackBiyliss, Colgate, Wise.

Production management centeredon topics such as "Modern Techniques of Growing Bedding Plants"by Dr. William Carlson, of MichiganState University; "Spring Pot Plants,"by Ed Manda, of Kansas City; "Disease Prevention," by a group ofPenn State staff members composed ofProfessors Les Nichols, Paul Nelsonand Sam Smith.

Concluding the grower sessions wasa panel on "Matching Production toAvailable Markets" moderated by Dr.Carlson and discussion provided byDon Layser, Layser's Flowers, Myers-town, Frank Willheim, Cremer Florists, Hanover, and Ed Manda.

LAWS AND REGULATIONSA combined session of growers, re

tailers and allied tradesmen learnedto appreciate the value of listening

to governmental and trade associationexperts at the concluding morningsession of the convention. Up-to-dateinformation was provided in rapid-fire fashion by officials of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor andIndustry, the Department of Environmental Resources, the Department ofAgriculture, the Pennsylvania Nurserymen's Association and the Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce.

Items presented by the panel in-eluded current legislation on taxationof agricultural land, environmentallaws, and regulations on labor, compensation and unemployment.

PSYCHOLOGY OF FLOWERS

Douglas Dillon, Dillon's Floral Pro

For TheDiscerningGrower

ducts, of Bloomsburg, and chairmanof SAF's American Florists Marketing Council, introduced Mr. JerryTravis, who reported on a marketingsurvey conducted for SAF by theNew York firm of Paul A. Fine As

sociates.

Travis reported that a recent floralmarketing survey suggests that floweruse can be classified into four moti

vational levels which psychologists inhis firm have classified as: 1. The"Being" of Flowers, 2. Emotional Response, 3. Personal Relationships, and4. Ritual and Status.

Travis said his firm found theflower marketing study to be mostinteresting because they are convinced that flower sales can betripled in the next ten years. Tomeet this goal, he said, changes mustoccur in the marketing and salesstructure of the business. Specifically,

ALL THE BEST AND LATEST

SEEDS FOR POT PLANT GROWERS

Write for 1972 Catalog

RAYMOND A. FLECK, INC.1139 Street Road Southampton, Pa. 18966

Phone: ELmwood 7-9200 — Area Code 215

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