Be on the Lookout for Purple Loosestrife and Floating Heart

by Bridget Lassiter, Ph.D.
Weed Specialist, N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services

Many beautiful plants have been introduced to gardeners and landscapers through the ornamental industry. Most of these non-native plants stay right where they were planted and have no unintended consequences. However, there are always going to be a few bad players that escape cultivation and cause serious harm to the environment. Two plants that are of particular concern in North Carolina in are Purple Loosestrife and Yellow Floating Heart.

Purple Loosestrife flowers along Bat Fork in Hendersonville, NC. Photo by Rick Iverson, former Weed Specialist, NCDA&CS.

Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) was introduced into N.C. as an ornamental plant in the early 1990s and has persisted in at least one location for more than 20 years despite yearly control efforts. This highly invasive perennial plant is a Federal Noxious Weed, and quite common in states to our north (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan), but is not yet widespread in N.C. This plant has beautiful purple/pink flowers and loves to grow in wet and swampy areas. It grows prolifically in wetland areas and will eventually out-compete the native swamp plants that provide valuable food and habitat for wildlife.

Each plant can produce millions of seeds in a year, and one plant can have 30-50 seed heads if left untreated. The N.C. Department of Agriculture is actively managing three infestations of Purple Loosestrife in Guilford, Henderson, and Onslow Counties. In N.C., Purple Loosestrife has been found planted in commercial and residential landscapes.  As a reminder, selling or transporting Purple Loosestrife or any other plants that are on the state and federal Noxious Weed Lists is prohibited.

Yellow Floating Heart flowers and leaves in New Bern, NC. Photo by Bridget Lassiter.

The Floating Hearts are a more recent introduction into the N.C. water garden industry. Although there are several native Nymphoides, two species within the genus - Yellow (N. peltata) and Crested (N. cristata) Floating Heart pose the greatest threat to our state and are both Class A state Noxious Weeds.

These ornamental aquatic plants have heart-shaped leaves the size of a golf ball, and either yellow or white flowers with 5-petals. The plants are rooted in soil, but the leaves and flowers float on the surface of the water. The plants have impressive reproductive capabilities; producing seeds and ramets, while also creating new plants from leaf and stem cuttings (called fragmentation) as well as daughter plants formed along the stem. The plants were widely available in the water garden trade until the N.C. Department of Agriculture placed these plants on the state Noxious Weed List in 2011.

Crested Floating Heart leaf and flower. Photo by Bridget Lassiter.

Crested Floating Heart has been an extremely invasive plant in South Carolina, growing from a two-acre infestation in Lake Marion to over 2,000 acres in just two years! Only one location of Crested Floating Heart has been found in N.C. so far, and it is almost completely eradicated. Management of Yellow Floating Heart, however, proves to be more of a challenge. There are currently 15 separate known infestations in the state, ranging in location from Burke County in the Mountains, to Lee County in the Piedmont, to Craven County in the Coastal Plain. This plant is highly adaptable and will grow in a variety of temperature and water quality environments. It is thought that some of the infestations were planted intentionally by homeowners, and others may have been introduced by waterfowl. Keep your eyes peeled for this beautiful, but invasive plant! It started flowering in May and continue flowering until frost in N.C., and the flowers are one of the easiest ways to spot this plant.

Your help is needed to help us find and control new infestations of these plants. If you think you have seen Purple Loosestrife or Floating Heart, please contact the NCDA&CS Weed Specialist Dr. Bridget Lassiter at bridget.lassiter@ncagr.gov or (919) 707-3749.

You are always invited to report invasive species to the NCDA&CS by calling 1-800-206-9333 or report by email: newpest@ncagr.gov.

The full list of regulated invasive weeds can be found here: http://www.ncagr.gov/plantindustry/Plant/weed/weedprog.htm

Plant distribution maps can be found at the EddMaps webpage: https://www.eddmaps.org/distribution

Roadmap of Research Priorities for the Green Industry

by Anthony V. LeBude, Ph.D., NC State
Jim S. Owen, Virginia Tech
Jill Calabro, AmericanHort/HRI
Jennifer Gray, AmericanHort

Highlights from a two-day stakeholder workshop held in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Environmental horticulture, or the green industry, is an integral component of specialty crops and agriculture as a whole. In fact, our industry generates one third of all specialty crop revenue (over 19 billion each year!) and its workforce. Yet, our industry received only 12 percent of federal funds earmarked for specialty crops from USDA Agricultural Research Service and USDA’s Specialty Crop Research Initiative in the past five years. The Horticultural Research Institute (HRI) recognized this disparity and began a mission to bring federal funding awards more in line with environmental horticulture’s economic impact.

HRI realized that the industry lacked a unified, strategic roadmap of research priorities to better leverage federal funds. With this new mandate, HRI set to work. The result was a professionally moderated, two-day stakeholder workshop, where attendees shared their collective understanding of current and future industry challenges, trends, and opportunities. Through this consensus effort, HRI identified research priorities to address challenges, capitalize on future trends and opportunities, better direct research investments, and steer federal funds toward removing barriers to increasing sustainability.

About 45 delegates representing all segments of environmental horticulture and regions of the country gathered for a face-to-face summit to listen, learn, and share their insights with each other. Participants were encouraged to advocate for their peers by first engaging in conversations with them in advance of the meeting to widen their perspectives. During the summit, the moderator led the group through a series of discussions that culminated in a consensus on four key research priorities.

Participants of the stakeholder workshop held by HRI and NCSU.

Quantifying Plant Benefits

Research that quantifies and validates the benefits of plants on ecosystems, human health, and society can be used to craft better value propositions for consumers. Ultimately, this will boost industry sales and services and increase interest in industry careers.

Our industry and society benefits when individuals understand how plants contribute to both their health and well-being and their ecosystems in which they live. New research regarding plant benefits need to be aligned with industry priorities to maintain environmental horticulture at the forefront of providing sustainable green solutions for the world.

Creating Innovative Solutions

Research that develops or adapts biological, mechanical, and technological systems make practices and processes more efficient and productive for horticultural businesses of all segments and sizes. Ultimately, this will introduce new plants into commerce, increase efficiencies, reduce labor, and improve sustainability.

Our industry continually needs improved systems to produce new or improved crops with less labor, water, nutrients, time, and pesticides in a safe work environment while adding value to quality plants that thrive during shipping, marketing, and consumer use. Whether in the supply chain, current inventory, or on the road to end-users, crops and inputs need to be traced, evaluated, ordered, managed and/or improved upon to continually provide cost effective solutions for producers to integrate into existing production practices. This would include (but not be limited to) advances in plant breeding, crop production and protection, software, automation, mechanization, and logistics. Recognizing and addressing barriers to adoption will be crucial.

Gathering Consumer Insights

Research that evaluates consumer behavior, preferences, and trends empowers horticultural businesses to optimize products and services. Ultimately, this will lead to industry-wide profitability and growth.

Consumers are responsible for the health and sustainability of our industry. Therefore, producers need to understand generational shifts in consumer demographics, as well as how those shifts affect consumer purchasing behaviors. Examples include emerging market preferences, relative purchasing power, and general gardening confidence. Markets, consumers, and the products they desire interact and change over time. To adapt, industry producers need information that synthesizes all this, yet is easily understandable and crafted for various segments of the industry. Research on consumer preference, motivation, purchasing behavior, and perception of our industry’s products and services will help producers develop better business strategies that fulfill consumer desires.

Producing Practical and Actionable Solutions

Research that addresses ongoing and emergent industry challenges in production, resource management, and pest and disease management, provides practical and actionable advice for horticultural businesses to improve sustainability and profitability.  Disruptive, ongoing, emergent issues that challenge short-term profitability and success of environmental horticulture will continue to rise. Therefore, providing solutions to these challenges must remain a research priority for funding agencies.

The AmericanHort Mission is to unite, promote, and advance our industry through advocacy, collaboration, connectivity, education, market development, and research. HRI, the research foundation of AmericanHort, supports scientific research and students for the advancement of the environmental horticulture industry. HRI was established by industry leaders on the premise that no one could better direct needed research to advance environmental horticulture than the very people who work in it. They adhere to that same vision today:  to fund and guide environmental horticulture research efforts with direct input from industry professionals. It is the strong foundation upon which to build the industry. Since 1962, HRI has provided more than $7.5 million in funds to research projects covering a broad range of production, environmental, and business issues important to the green industry.

Moving forward, HRI has adopted these four research priorities and will use them to guide future HRI funding and leveraging decisions.

Best Practices: A Loyalty Program Can Boost Customer Retention and Your Bottom Line

Loyalty programs are an effective way to increase revenue and encourage customers to keep coming back for your products and services. Retail chains, grocery stores, hotels, airlines and various other companies offer them because they want to keep your business — and it works. According to a 2013 Nielsen study, nearly 84% of customers are more likely to stay with a brand that offers a loyalty program.

New Garden Landscape & Nursery, Greensboro, has run a successful loyalty program for 15 years in their retail store. They use a point-of-sale (POS) system with rewards management features to sign up customers and track sales. Members of their program get a key card that’s scanned each time they make a purchase.

“Every 300 points gets a $15 credit that can be applied to retail purchases. Points are earned on regular- priced purchases and excludes labor, delivery and landscape services,” said Jessica Story, Customer Marketing Manager for New Garden.

Rewards Programs Can Pay Off

Creating a rewards program can give you a great return on investment. Recent marketing research shows that it costs five times more to gain a new customer compared to keeping an existing one. At New Garden, 70% of purchases are by customers enrolled in their rewards program.

Increasing customer retention by a mere five percent can increase your profits from 25%-95%. According to Story, New Garden rewards customers are spending more per transaction than non-rewards customers. Purchases from rewards customers make up 77% of overall sales.

Other Customer Benefits

A rewards program can include additional perks that won’t cost anything to your business but will help you build a marketing database. When a customer signs up for your program, indicate that you want permission to send them exclusive offers.

New Garden customers in the rewards program receive a members-only newsletter with coupons, and invitations to special events and seminars.

 “Our rewards members also get a one-year warranty full replacement on their trees and shrubs, while non-members only get a six-month warranty,” said Story.

If you attend trade shows, you can ask rewards customers to stop by your booth for a special giveaway to help your company stay top-of-mind among the other exhibitors.

Rewards Are Not Just for Retail

Wholesale and service companies can also use a rewards program to maintain customer loyalty throughout the year. Discounts can be offered to wholesale buyers through a tiered program of purchase levels to encourage them to spend more per visit. Service companies can offer regular clients a discount after a certain number of visits.

A rewards program can also help you track customers so you can anticipate their needs. Landscapers can use the program to maintain customer information and send reminders for services. You can also offer special pricing for bundled services to encourage clients to stay with your company for all of their needs.

You can also boost business during slow times of the year by offering a price break. Wholesalers can offer a discount on purchases made at the end of the busy season to help boost sales and get rid of leftover inventory. Landscapers can offer incentives for projects that clients usually want completed in the spring and summer.

Don’t Forget Referrals

Referrals are a great way to secure new business and offer your customers a bonus for their recommendation. Small businesses can use these referrals to increase their customer base through word-of-mouth recommendations from current clients.

Creating a referral program can be as simple as printing business-sized cards for current customers to pass on to potential new customers. You can offer a discount on a regular service or add a smaller service at no cost for every qualified referral that becomes a new customer.

Loyalty programs can work across business types with a little creativity and an investment that works with your budget.

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There are lots of platforms on the market that make it easy to develop a rewards program.
Here are a few places to start:

Stamp Me Loyalty Solutions
Customized digital loyalty programs
www.stampme.com

NCR Counterpoint
POS system with loyalty program options (used by New Garden)
www.ncr.com

Kickback Systems
Specializes in loyalty programs for service industry
www.kickbacksystems.com

Pollen
Digital referral programs for small businesses
www.sharepollen.com