BASF | Focus on FreeHand Success at Flowerwood Nurseries

I first visited Flowerwood Nurseries in Alabama in 1977, nearly 32 years ago, while I was still in graduate school at Purdue University. I had the privilege to be shown around the Dauphin Island nursery location by none other than Mr. Sidney Meadows. He could not have been a more gracious host. Ever since that visit I have been impressed by Flowerwood Nurseries and have held their operation in high regard.

Flash forward to the fall of 2007. We began working with Casey Marshall, Flowerwood Nurseries’ pest management supervisor, to see if FreeHand™ 1.75G, BASF’s new granular preemergence herbicide, could offer him additional weed control benefits. According to Casey, nursery weed control is his biggest pest management expense. After testing and trialing FreeHand 1.75G on many of their crops last summer, Casey decided last fall to commit to using FreeHand on most of the Loxley nursery location. The results have been excellent. Casey is reporting little to no plant injury with FreeHand and the weed control is lasting 20-25% longer than the products he was using previously. He claims his labor costs for hand weeding between treatments have been reduced by 35-40%, leaving his staff available to perform other chores on the nursery. Earlier this spring, right after FreeHand 1.75G had been applied to the nursery, Flowerwood endured an eleven inch downpour. Casey was concerned that the FreeHand application was figuratively and literally ‘down the drain.’ Those fears proved to be unfounded as the herbicide’s performance has exceeded his expectations during the critical spring season.

Check out the attached pictures and you can see for yourself that the nursery is very clean – a testament to Casey’s comprehensive weed management program that includes timely preemergence herbicide applications, constant scouting and periodic hand weeding. Flowerwood Nurseries is enjoying the benefits of good plant safety and outstanding weed control FreeHand 1.75G was designed to deliver.

BASF is proud to call Flowerwood Nurseries a valued customer. We hope you give FreeHand 1.75G a try so we can count you as one of our valued customers as well.

Hope to see you soon as we grow along together.