Flowering plants, including potted plants, perennials, and bedding plants can be affected by viruses. The viruses may be transmitted from plant-to-plant, bulb-to bulb, or in seeds. The transmission of viruses may be by insects, from the parent plant/bulb to the next generation of cuttings, or seeds. The presence of viruses in flowering plants is expressed by necrotic spots, stunted growth, and leaf mottling. This webinar will help educate growers and reduce concern for latent plant viruses that are in plants but cause no ill effects.

Perennials have become a popular plant among gardeners since they do not have to be replanted each year. Additionally, they offer a wide range of flower types and flowering times during the growing season. The diversity of plant materials is great for consumers but can be maddening to growers since photoperiod, cold requirements, growing medium, and nutrition differs with each type of perennial. The guidance provided by Dr. Erwin in this webinar will simplify perennial plant production.

Producing the best poinsettias requires special attention throughout the crop. The production practices used in the final four to five weeks of the crop will have a significant impact on the success in shipping your plants and the ability for the plants to withstand the display and consumer conditions. In this webinar, you will learn the details and best practices to finishing your crop successfully.

Effective insect control requires the use of the proper insecticides for each pest and the rotation of pesticides to avoid the development of resistance to the insecticides. Proper pesticide rotation requires an understanding of the ‘mode of action’ of each pesticide. Insecticides function in different ways to kill insects so rotation programs must select insecticides that work differently than the ones being used prior to rotation. Dr. Chong will explain how to select and develop effective insect control programs.

Commercial poinsettia buyers place tight restrictions on poinsettia height and width. Additionally, they expect uniformity for all varieties and container sizes. Precision control of poinsettia height can be accomplished with plant growth regulators or altering the day and night temperatures during crop development or a combination of both methods. Dr. Heins will provide guidance in use of day/night temperature to control height and graphical tracking to guide the temperature changes necessary throughout the crop.

Pesticides are most commonly transported in water. Excess irrigation water returns to the surrounding environment mainly via irrigation return flow (IRF- surface runoff and subsurface infiltration). As growers face more challenges about the quality of wastewater and potential risk of pesticides in the water, it is important to understand the factors affecting pesticide levels in surface and subsurface irrigation water. In this webinar, you will learn about irrigation management practices that effectively limit pesticide movement, particularly highly mobile compounds.

Bemisia whitefly on poinsettia is one of the most challenging pests growers of ornamental crops can face. Can it really be managed without relentless pesticide applications? Learn how Canadian growers have successfully tackled this pest using a combination of biological control, careful monitoring, and a few well-timed pesticide applications. The economics of using biological control for Bemisia management versus conventional control with pesticides is discussed.

This webinar explains the steps to start clean and stay clean in poinsettia production. The goal is to build and maintain a biological control program against Bemisia tabaci whiteflies as long as possible in order to prevent issues due to pesticide resistance. The main tools presented are dips of unrooted cuttings and early establishment of biocontrol agents. Regardless of whether you are just dipping your toes into biocontrol or if you have been doing it for years, this webinar is of interest to everyone.

Biostimulants are products that promise a lot, but do they deliver? Biostimulants include microbial and nonmicrobial ingredients that improve plant health and resilience, leading to better quality crops with increased stress tolerance. Beneficial microbes include bacteria and fungi that can improve the efficiency of nutrient uptake and may allow growers to reduce fertilizer applications and still grow high-quality floriculture crops. These microbial-based biostimulants can also be used to maintain the postharvest quality of cut flowers and flowering plants during shipping and retailing. In this webinar, Dr. Jones discusses how biostimulants work, how to select biostimulants, and how to set up a trial in your greenhouse to determine if you will get the desired effects in your production environment.

Growers know from experience that some plants are more attractive to western flower thrips than others. Why not use that to your advantage! Scientists at the UVM Entomology Research Laboratory have found that marigolds are ideal plants as a foundation for a simple, cost-effective, comprehensive IPM program. They can be used as an indicator plant to detect thrips early, often even before they are found on yellow sticky cards. They can also act as a trap crop to lure the pest from the crop. Lastly, they can serve as a guardian plant that does it all: attract thrips from the crop while supporting biological control agents such as predatory mites and insect-killing fungi on the plant and in the soil to maintain low pest populations. Learn more about this amazing, yet easy-to-grow plant so you can take advantage of its many benefits.