June 2019 - 9

Headlines/Calendar
* Pest Control
* Watering Systems
* Grow Lighting
* Air Flow & Climate Controls
* Grow Tents
* Testers & Meters
* Hydroponics
* Educational Resources & Starter Kits
In the CBD Personal Care category, Cannabis Corner
will showcase the latest from vendors in these items and
more that consumers are demanding now:
* Bath & Body
* Beauty
* CBD Edibles
* CBD Oils
* CBD Topicals
* CBD Tinctures
" We've surveyed IGC retailers all across the country,
and what we've heard from those already into HomeGrow
and CBD Personal Care is that these two new
categories are differentiating factors for their stores, "
says Jeff Morey, IGC Show founder and CEO. " As the only
trade show dedicated exclusively to independent garden
centers, we recognize Home-Grow and CBD Personal
Care are key opportunities for IGCs to get new customers
in the door and position themselves even further ahead
of the boxes. "
Independents surveyed are already seeing robust
sales from Home-Grow and CBD Personal Care
products at their stores, and the demand is moving
forward in momentum.
" Now that they're allowed to grow their own,
our cannabis customers are abundant, " says Jeff
Kutil, owner of Scenic Roots Garden Center in East
Sandwich, Massachusetts.
Caitlin Lorenz, general manager of SoCo Organics
Garden Center in Pueblo, Colorado, says, " We sell a lot
to the cannabis home-grower. I'm looking to bring in
more new lines, like hemp-based grow mats and other
products on the market. "
For a detailed look at the ongoing legalization and
decriminalization of cannabis across the United States,
IGC retailers can go to DISA Global Solutions' website,
which details the current status by state: www.disa.com.
IGC Show's trade show, three keynotes and
Wednesday's concert from San Francisco rock music
legends Starship are all 100% focused on independent
garden centers and are all free. Register now at
www.igcshow.com.
GCA Summer Tour Nashville
Itinerary & Education Announced
Indie garden center retailers from all across the
country will get a jolt of retail inspiration on the
2019 GCA Summer Tour, June 23-26, in Nashville. The
Music City-bound tour holds a dynamic mix of IGC
retailers, eye-opening educational sessions daily and
more opportunities for networking with owners and
managers at each store than ever before.
Not only will the 16th annual tour visit a wide
variety of garden retailers, from trendy, urban garden
boutiques to country-rustic nurseries and multigenerational,
established independents, but also
it will include enlightening Q&A sessions with the
leadership at each garden center stop.
Plus, this summer's GCA Tour Nashville will give
attendees the opportunity to share their thoughts
on the industry's hot-button issues with their peers
during daily facilitated conversations, modeled after
the IGC Show's popular Shop Talk Retail Discussions
in the IGC Networking Lounge. Participants can swap
strategies with fellow indies in a uniquely focused,
collaborative setting, on these topics:
* Staffing Symposium - Ideas on hiring, training
and retaining great employees; pay and benefits;
continuing education and training for staff;
and more.
* Events & Activities - How to plan successful
events and workshops that bring in shoppers.
* Enhancing Your Web Presence - Covering
websites, social media, email blasts, online
ordering and more.
Adding even more educational value this year are
daily container-building demos with Sharon Hadden,
who wowed audiences at the IGC Show last summer
with her energetic workshops. She will reveal her
latest recipes for Grab & Go container sales that will
turn a fast profit at your store.
GCA Summer Tour Nashville's festivities begin
with Sunday's Opening Night Reception at host hotel
Sheraton Grand Nashville Downtown. Attendees will
enjoy networking over two complimentary beverages
from the full bar, followed by dinner with a range
of choices that include chicken and beef fajitas, an
assortment of pastas with a mix of sauces and meats,
and fresh tossed-to-order salads.
Don't forget to sign up for the Tuesday night pub
crawl on Nashville's famous Music Row, home to many
restaurants and bars, including Blake Shelton's Ole
Red, Jason Aldean's Kitchen & Rooftop Bar and Florida
Georgia Line's restaurant, FGL House and more.
GCA Summer Tour Nashville's welcoming host
destinations include:
* Moore & Moore Garden Center, Nashville
* Gardens of Babylon, Nashville
* JVI Secret Gardens, Nashville
* Martin's Home & Garden, Murfreesboro
* Yarrow Acres, Franklin
* Optimara/Holtkamp Greenhouses, Nashville
* Bates Nursery & Garden Center, Nashville
* Hewitt Garden and Design Center, Franklin
* Creekside Garden Center & Landscaping, Nashville
* Long Hollow Gardens & Vineyards, Gallatin
* Johnny Cash Museum, Nashville
* " American Pickers " Star Mike Wolfe's Store in
Marathon Village, Nashville
IGC retailers are encouraged to make their
reservations at the Sheraton Grand Nashville
Downtown now. Nashville is a popular summer
destination and books up quickly, and hotel rates will
quickly climb to $350 or higher. GCA Summer Tour
Nashville is open to GCA members and non-members
alike. Register today and enjoy early bird savings at
www.gardencentersofamerica.com
Proven Winners ColorChoice
Adds Trees
Spring Meadow Nursery has announced plans to add
ornamental trees to its already wide variety of woody
plants in the 2019 growing season.
Spring Meadow is partnering with the horticulture
firm UpShoot, owned and run by Maria Zampini. She is
the former president of Lake County Nursery Inc. and
her family's retail garden center, Champion Garden.
Zampini grew up in the tree business and learned
from the best - her late father Jim Zampini who spent
a lifetime breeding, selecting and introducing trees.
" Maria Zampini is the perfect person to organize and
run the Proven Winners tree program, " said Jeremy
Deppe, Spring Meadow's general manager. " She knows
what makes a great tree and understands the supply
chain. Our Proven Winners growers and retailers have
been asking for trees, but we wanted to do it right. "
The new Proven Winners ColorChoice ornamental
tree program will begin with six superior selections
that fit the Proven Winners standards of beauty and
performance.
Chosen for their landscape worthiness, the six
varieties were selected for good scale, form and multiseason
interest. The new ornamental tree program
is geared toward garden centers, homeowners and
residential landscapers.
Ornamental fruit-bearing selections include dwarf,
disease-resistant crabapples Lollipop Malus, with a
tight, compact head, prolific white flowers and tiny, red
fruit and Show Time Malus, with florescent fuchsia-red
flowers and red fruit.
The program will also feature two flowering cherry
cultivars. Pink Snow Showers Prunus, a vigorous
grower with clean pink flowers and dark green leaves
and Weeping Extraordinaire Prunus which features
extra-large, double light pink fluffy blooms.
Also joining the list of Proven Winners ColorChoice
ornamental trees will be Avalanche, an Asian birch
(Betula x) with proven borer resistance. Golden
Shadows pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia), is
a small native tree with vibrant variegated foliage,
white spring flowers and red-orange new growth.
Crusader hawthorn (Crataegus crus-galli) is a
thornless, disease resistant, rugged urban street tree
with multi-season interest.
" We will continue to grow a wide selection of
varieties that offer different color, habit, features,
seasonality and adaptability to different sites -
all that are worthy of the Proven Winners brand, "
says Zampini. " Proven Winners already has a
great network of growers, but any tree grower can
participate by purchasing liners. We are working
with some excellent bare root liner producers and
propagators. "
For more information about shrub or ornamental
tree varieties, visit www.spring.meadownursery.com.
LGRMAG.COM | 9
http://www.disa.com http://www.igcshow.com http://www.gardencentersofamerica.com http://www.spring.meadownursery.com http://www.LGRMAG.COM
June 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of June 2019
