Industry-Specific Resources:
Retail Gardens

In addition to the Horticulture Publications included within the ProHort web site, many other resources are available for Florida retail garden professionals. Unlike many resources listed on the Internet, all the resources and information listed below are specific to the plants, soils, conditions and climate of Florida.

Many of the resources below were created by Florida specialists and Extension agents. There is an amazing array of highly useful resources available including books, CDs, newsletters, trade magazines and a wonderful selection of web sites. Also included below are a listing of the professional and trade associations.

Books

• Establishing and Operating a Garden Center: Requirements and Costs.
  Establishing and Operating a Garden Center: Requirements and Costs. 1993. Barton, Susan S., John J. Haydu, Roger A. Hinson, Robert E. McNeil, Travis D. Phillips, Russell Powell and Forrest Stegglin. Washington, DC: Garden Centers of America. 50 pp. The objective of this publication is to estimate establishment and operating costs for garden centers at two levels of sales, and to specify the general set of financial, marketing and business principles that should be available to the owner/manager of a garden center. A large garden center with annual sales of $1 million is described as well as a smaller garden center with annual sales of $350,000.
• The Florida Lawn Handbook
  This popular guide for homeowners and yard-care professionals features sections on selecting and maintaining lawn grasses; identifying and controlling weeds, diseases, and insects and other pests; and pesticide application and uses. Includes quick-reference tables. Call 1-800-226-1764.
• Pests In and Around the Florida Home
  This handy guide gives the general reader a comprehensive look at insects and other pests that Floridians encounter in and around their homes. Complete habitat and life cycle information for insects that live around food, in fabric and wood, or which bite and sting. A section covering occasional pest invaders, such as rats, mice, bats, birds, and spiders, is also included. Color identification sheets make it easy to identify the pests. Call 1-800-226-1764.
• Vegetable Gardening in Florida
  This resource has everything you need to grow vegetables under Florida’s unique climate and pest conditions. Filled with color photographs, this book takes you from site selection through the harvest and storage of your produce. Includes planting guides, gardening measurement conversions, and organic gardening information. Call 1-800-226-1764.
• Your Florida Dooryard Citrus Guide
  The most detailed guide about Florida citrus ever published has been updated for 2001. Author Jim Ferguson, Department of Horticultural Sciences, applies expertise he learned working with commercial citrus growers to the specific needs of the home gardener. Dooryard fruit growers can profit from the wealth of detailed information, charts, appendices, and color photographs. Call 1-800-226-1764.
• Your Florida Guide to Bedding Plants: Selection, Establishment and Maintenance
  Learn how to select, plant and maintain over 60 flowering and ornamental plants in your home landscape. The book covers gardening in all growing regions of the state and features step-by-step instructions and photographs to help you plant simple containers or design and plant intricate flower beds and keep them attractive and disease-free. Includes sample landscape plans and a 24-page plant selector guide to help you tailor plants to specific growing areas, seasons and planting sites. Call 1-800-226-1764.
• Your Florida Guide to Shrubs
  Written for everyone - from the homeowner with limited gardening skills to the landscape professional and property manager - Your Florida Guide to Shrubs guides the reader through selecting and maintaining healthy shrubs for all landscape uses. Discusses exotic and native plants and includes a hardiness-zone map and a color, illustrated shrub selection guide. Call 1-800-226-1764.
• Your Florida Landscape: A Complete Guide to Planting and Maintenance
  With more than 30 faculty contributors, this complete resource covers trees, palms, shrubs, ground covers, and vines. Includes the latest research-based information on topics such as planting site evaluation, mulching, watering, fertilizing, pruning, common pests and beneficial insects. Call 1-800-226-1764.

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CDs

• Horticopia CD-Rom Series
  Enormous database of 10,000 plants with 25,000 color photos combined with management, culture and botanical data and test. There are many different versions and many different prices.
• Tropical Fruits
  Designed for commercial growers, homeowners and county extension agents, Tropical Fruits is an interactive, multimedia, diagnostic expert system. Contains the TFRUIT*Xpert diagnostic system and more than 60 extension fruit crop disorder publications, as well as pest and disease management guides. Helps identify disorders of avocado, carambola, lychee, papaya, mango and "Tahiti" lime. Full-screen color images are available for many symptoms and may help in confirming the unknown problem. The user can browse the tropical fruit crop disorder database by common or scientific name for quick access to information about specific disorders. All summary and extension documents can be printed. Call 1-800-226-1764.
• Woodybug
  Comprehensive guide to pests commonly found on shrubs. Identification, life cycle, damage, hosts and control techniques are included along with more than 150 color photos. Call 1-800-226-1764.

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Newsletters & Listservs

• Growing Concerns
  A free quarterly newsletter written specifically for retail garden employees in Florida. Latest news and events in the industry, along with seasonal horticulture information. Contact Dave Palmer at 813-744-5519 x103.
• Pest Alert
  A listserv provided by the University of Florida Dept of Entomology. Frequent e-mail updates on new and reoccurring pest problems around the state.

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Plant Locators

• FNGLA Locator
  Florida Nursery Growers & Landscape Association (FNGLA)
  1533 Park Center Dr.
  Orlando, FL  32825-5705
  407-295-7944
• Native Plant & Service Directory
  Association of Florida Native Nurseries
  PO Box 972
  Melbourne, FL  32902
  1-321-917-1960
  http://www.magazinevolume.com/6236CD
  website:  http://www.afnn.org
   
• Nursery Report
  Dade Chapter FNGLA
  18710 SW 288th St., Room 38
  Homestead, FL  33030
  305-247-9596
• Plant Availability Locator
  Tampa Bay Wholesale Growers
  5339 SR-579
  Seffner, FL  33584
  813-655-1914

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Professional Associations

• Florida Nursery Growers & Landscape Association
  FNGLA has a Retail Garden Division.
• Garden Centers of America
  A division of the American Nursery and Landscape Association.

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Trade Magazines & Web sites

• Garden Center Merchandising & Management (GCM&M)
  Branch-Smith Publishing
  120 St. Louis Avenue
  PO Box 1868
  Fort Worth, TX  76104
  817-882-4120
  800-433-5612
  -
  Free to the industry.
• Garden Center Products & Supplies (GCP&S)
  Branch-Smith Publishing
  120 St. Louis Ave.,
  PO Box 1868
  Fort Worth, TX  76104
  817-882-4120
  800-433-5612
  -
  Free to the industry.
• Green Profit
  PO Box 9
  335 N River St.
  Batavia, IL  60510-0009
  630-208-9080
  -
  Specifically for the Retail Garden industry - free to the industry.
• Nursery Retailer
  Brantwood Publications, Inc.
  3023 Eastland Blvd, Ste. 103
  Clearwater, FL  34621-4106
  813-796-3877
  fax: 813-791-4126
  -
  Free to the industry.
• Ornamental Outlook
  1555 Howell Branch Rd., Ste C204
  Winter Park, FL  32789
  407-539-6552
  -
  Primarily for growers but often has interesting and usable information for the retail industry - free to the industry.
• Garden Design magazine
  Recently launched an online directory of thousands of green goods, retailers and service providers that consumers can search for on a local level. Garden Design readers can go to the online version of the publication to search for local retailers that offer the products and services mentioned in the print version of the magazine.

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Web sites

• 516 Landscape Plant Fact Sheet
• 680 Tree Fact Sheets
• Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants - a large database containing publications on many aquatic and invasive plant species, complete with pictures and complete information.
• Citrus Handbook
• Dr. Bob Black's Gardening Tips - very useful for the retail garden employee (many publications).
• Extension Digital Information Source (EDIS) - a database of around 5000 University of Florida publications on all topics including horticulture.
• Groundcover Selection - numerous publications useful for the selection of trees.
• Featured Creatures - a database of over 1000 insects and other pests. Information includes photos, distribution, description, hosts, management, and other references.
• Florida Lawn Handbook
  Also available in book form.
• Florida Turf - information and publications on the various varieties of turf in Florida along with pests, weeds and other information.
• Florida Weeds
• Guide to Florida’s Venomous Snakes - only 6 snakes in Florida are venomous - this site details all of them.
• Groundcover Care - numerous publications useful for the maintenance of trees.
• Insect and Nematode Information - topics include beneficial organisms and beekeeping, biting and stinging pests, fruit pests, household and structural pests, identification and services, nematodes, ornamental, turf and landscape pests, pesticides, pet and livestock pests, and vegetable pests.
• Master Gardener Notebook - North & Central Florida
• Master Gardener Notebook - South Florida - an invaluable resource for retail garden employees covering a wide variety of topics such as botany, communications, entomology, fruit crops, houseplants and flowers, landscape, nematology plant pathology, shrubs and trees, soils and fertilizers, turfgrass Information, vegetables, and wildlife.
• Nematode Management Publications
• Online Guide to Snakes of Florida - this site includes a complete list of the snakes in Florida, a key to identification, and complete details about each type.
• Palm & Cycad Resources - everything you every wanted to know about palms and cycad. A very good site.
• Palm Care - numerous publications useful for the maintenance of trees.
• Palm Fact Sheets
• Palm Selection - numerous publications useful for the selection of trees.
• Plant Nutrient Deficiency Database and Decision Tree - great key to diagnosing plant problems (you'll need to brush up on your plant terminology).
• Plant Disease Management Publications
• Planting Trees in Landscapes - by Dr Ed Gilman. An excellent resource, with tons of information, lots of pictures and links.
• ProHort Web site - information and resources specifically for the professional horticulture service industry, including sections specifically devoted to retail garden employees.
• Turf Disease Fact Sheets
• Pruning Shade Trees in Landscapes - by Dr Ed Gilman. An excellent resource. Much good information, lots of links and photos.
• Shrub Care - numerous publications useful for the maintenance of shrubs.
• Shrub Selection - numerous publications useful for the selection of shrubs.
• Tree Care - numerous publications useful for the maintenance of trees.
• Tree Selection - numerous publications useful for the selection of trees.
• Weed Management Publications
• Wildlife Publications - many University of Florida publications on wildlife, both native and non-native including birds, mammals and reptiles and the problems they may or may not cause and the laws governing them.
• Woody Pest - this site offers identification assistance and management information on insects, mites, nematodes and disease pathogens affecting woody ornamentals in Florida. Also available on CD - sold as "Woody Bug".

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