At the beginning of this year, BASF was on the cusp of introducing three new products that contained new, novel active ingredients for the ornamentals industry. Tower® herbicide (containing the new active ingredient dimethenamid-p), Pageant™ fungicide (which contains pyraclostrobin plus a new a.i., boscalid), and FreeHand™ 1.75G herbicide (which contains pendimethalin and dimethenamid-p).

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It’s been the busiest summer of my professional career.  I worked with our team to launch five new products (Pageant^™ fungicide, Tower^® herbicide, FreeHand^™ 1.75G herbicide, Stature^® SC fungicide and Segment^™ herbicide), host six regional launch/education meetings, attend three major trade shows, attend industry meetings, host distributor training meetings, visit customers, and I even squeezed in a short vacation. Read More

I’ve been trying to diagnose various pest problems on ornamental plants for nearly 30 years.  From my first job at Hines Nurseries in Houston, to my current day travels to commercial growing operations across the U.S., I’ve been trying to identify critters big and small.  Some are weeds, some are insects, while others are disease pathogens – and the question is always the same: What is that anyway?  Read More

The amazing story here is that each of these products alone would represent a potential blockbuster.  Both products are the result of years of lab and field research, hours of formulation chemistry, and even more hours of data review, label writing and regulatory scrutiny.  For one company to launch one new product in a year is a big undertaking, but to launch two in one year is, well, overwhelming!  Read More

I’ve had the good fortune to travel and see some of the world. Along the way I’ve photographed the sites and scenery, pretty much like any tourist. A morbid curiosity of mine is that I’ve always taken a keen interest in finding plants – actually weeds – growing in the most curious places. Read More

This summer marks my 30th year working in the green industry since graduating from college. Add to that my six years of undergraduate and graduate studies, and three years working in a local retail garden center during high school, and I'm approaching 39 years working around plants. And what a terrific journey it has been. Read More