Information Request on Woody Ornamentals in California
From: Harold Coble
Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 12:56 PM
To: Mallampalli.Nikhil@epamail.epa.gov
Cc: Jennings, Allen; Jones.Arnet@epamail.epa.gov;
Linda Herbst; Rick Melnicoe
Subject: RE: Request for info on ornamental plants
in California
Hi Nik,
This excercise was a learning experience for me - hope it helps.
I contacted the ornamental hort people at NC State, and they could not agree on what a "typical" woody ornamental would be. They told me there were about 200 woody ornamental plant species grown in North Carolina and that my best bet for answering the questions would be to talk with a nursery operator. I just happen to know the folks at Apex Nursery just west of Raleigh, so I went to see them today. This is an established nursery in business since 1918 - they are not new kids on the block. Here is what they had to say. By the way, I had to swear to them that EPA would not use their name in any way.
They and most of their competitors grow 50 to 75 different woody ornamental species, depending on what the market dictates over time. About 75% of their production is container-grown and 25% in-ground grown. They use container sizes from 1 gallon to 30 gallons, depending on species characteristics, plant age, and market intentions. Most of their container production is 1-gallon and 3-gallon because that is what most of the market demands and they turn these sizes over in 1 year for the 1-gallon size or 2 years for the 3-gallon size. Larger sizes are on site longer and obviously take up more space.
Their in-ground production is aimed at what they intend to market in larger sizes. Most plants in their in-ground production will be in place for at least 3 years, with some plants in place for up to 7 or 8 years. These plants are typically dug on order and sold balled and burlaped.
I am attaching an Excel file with example plant species, typical container size and plant size, and typical number grown per acre for this operation. You will see that the stem diameter varies and is the grower's estimate. I expect that these numbers would be a good surrogate for other nurseries in the woody ornamental business.
If you have any questions, let me know.
Harold
======================
From: Jennings, Allen
Sent: Fri 5/11/2007 9:05 AM
To: Mallampalli.Nikhil@epamail.epa.gov; Rick Melnicoe
Cc: 'Linda Herbst'; Jones.Arnet@epamail.epa.gov; Coble, Harold
Subject: RE: Request for info on ornamental plants in California
Nik,
After our call yesterday, I forwarded the e-mail thread to Harold Coble
who will check with the hort folks at NC State to see what we can pull
together. As you know, nursery plant type and sizes are extremely variable
and I don't think CA would have a unique distribution.
I'll let you know what we find.
Al
-----Original Message-----
From: Mallampalli.Nikhil@epamail.epa.gov
Sent: Wednesday, May 09, 2007 8:16 AM
To: Rick Melnicoe
Cc: Jennings, Allen; 'Linda Herbst'; Jones.Arnet@epamail.epa.gov
Subject: RE: Request for info on ornamental plants in California
Rick -
thanks for letting me know. The acephate work focuses on California,
which is why we thought of you guys immediately. I will see what I
can dig up from other information sources.
Hope you enjoy your vacation - I won't bug you any more while you are
on it!
Regards, Nik
=============================
From: Rick Melnicoe
To: Nikhil Mallampalli/DC/USEPA/US@EPA
cc: Linda Herbst, Jennings,
Allen
Subject: RE: Request for info on ornamental plants in California
Nik,
I am sorry, but we won't be able to reply for awhile. I am on vacation
until May 21 and Linda is mostly out of the office through the end
of the month.
This question should be able to be answered by someone in another region,
I would guess.
Rick
-----Original Message-----
From: Mallampalli.Nikhil@epamail.epa.gov
Sent: Tuesday, May 08, 2007 9:44 AM
To: Rick Melnicoe; Linda Herbst
Cc: Jones.Arnet@epamail.epa.gov; kiely.timothy@epamail.epa.gov;
Allen.Jennings@usda.gov
Subject: Request for info on ornamental plants in California
Hi Rick and Linda -
I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to ask if you can
locate information on the following issue:
OPP is in the process of converting some of the more unorthodox units
of application for acephate into lb. a.i. per acre so that the risk
assessors can model them. For example, the units on some labels for
use in ornamental plants is "gallons per inch of trunk diameter."
In order to convert such a unit, we'd like to know
(1) what is one example of a typical or commonly grown woody ornamental
plant in California operations? Ideally, we would like to identify
a typical plant species grown in the ground as well as one grown in
pots.
(2) Is there any information for the identified woody ornamentals for
the typical number of pots or in-ground plants, per acre, in California?
I realize these are questions that may be challenging to answer, so
I would really appreciate any help you can give us. I am also checking
the information we compiled on ornamentals with your help back in 2003,
but I thought it might help to ask you and the other agricultural experts
you know in California to apply their expertise simultaneously. We
are working with a short timeline on this, so if you could reply within
a week or so, that would be most helpful. Please feel free to forward
this to anyone who you think might be able to provide reliable information
on the questions. Also please feel free to call or e-mail if you have
any questions.
Hopefully we can meet up during the next IPM Center Directors' meeting
in DC.
Warm regards, Nik
Nikhil Mallampalli, Ph.D.
Entomologist
US-EPA
Office of Pesticide Programs
Biological and Economic Analysis Division (BEAD)
(703) 308-1924
