A US Industry wide call for higher quality nursery stock through improved standards.

[Steve Mercer]

Watch any seed of any species germinate, and you will notice that the primary root or radical always emerges before any top growth occurs. To do otherwise would be suicide. Yet in most information put forth about plant size or quality or any other aspect of growing and selling nursery stock today, the top growth gets major billing and roots a minor note if mentioned at all. Currently, the industry is voting on an updated nursery standard (ANSI Z60.1) there are issues with the current proposed nursery standard that a single nursery standard cannot solve by itself. The industry needs a new standard (in addition to the current standard) to facilitate the improvement and standardization of quality root systems. This proposed standard would enable those nurseries, plant specifiers and buyers who wish to participate in the new standard a mechanism to grow and specify plants in the nursery industry that deliver a superior root system. The proposed standard would require growers to grow plants from propagation through the final production phase in some form of root pruning container. The new standard would require growers to continue to shift plants up into larger root pruning containers throughout the production of the plant. These growing containers could either be above ground containers or in-ground containers (i.e. Grow bags) this does not exclude any grower or buyer who desires to continue to grow or buy plants based on the current industry standard. It would however, provide a mechanism for Growers and buyers who wish to participate in an additional standard where the plants grown would have a far superior root system. The new standard would use the current standard to grade the above ground portion of the plant. There is a consortium now forming to propose this new root pruning standard to the AmericanHort standards committee. ( AmericanHort is the organization that is a merger of the American Nursery and Landscape Association (ANLA) and the Ohio Florist Association (OFA)) We are seeking members of the horticultural industry who would be willing to sign a petition to be presented to the standards committee requesting this additional root pruning standard. If you would like to become a part of this movement and sign our petition please send me an email requesting to be a signer of the petition. A copy of the petition will be forwarded to you for your review and signature. Please send your request to Steve Mercer (smercer@iglou.com email address). ANSI standards are consensus based standards. In order to proceed, we need your help now by becoming a part of this petition. If you have further questions, please email me at the email address above.

[Tyson Carroll]

Steve, 

I was pleasantly surprised to read your thread. As I am sure you are aware ANSI Z.60 covers many things but it does not cover quality. Sadly most firms have old and outdated specifications on this matter or do not know enough in the first place to know any better. The challenge you will run into is that every portion of the country does things differently from bare root, balled and bur lapped, to primarily containers out here in California and Arizona. There are multiple ways to get to a better root system, root pruning is one such avenue. Although it should come with some disclaimer that the Rosacea family is prone to transmitting crown gaul and the practice of root pruning can spread the disease. Currenlty the Urban Tree Foundation is working with Dr. Ed Gilman, Jim Urban and the ISA to develop a series of specs and details for landscape architects which would assist in specifying better plant quality on the job sites. Unfortunately until we as LA’s begin to have a better understanding and increase our knowledge of plants specifically tops and bottoms the process shall continue as is. On the brighter side the industry is just now beginning to turn its attention to roots and are seeing how large the issue is. 

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