From the editor: Reinvention and resilience

Cultivate’26 was a whirlwind. I’ve been to 14 of these summer shows in Columbus, but this year was my first Cultivate that I caught some sort of bug – and not with sticky cards. Apologies to anyone who felt I skipped their happy hour or reception or that I wasn’t at 100% during a conversation. I was trying my best. I don’t get sick very often, but when I do, it tends to hit pretty hard.

Luckily, I’m only one member of the GIE Media Horticulture Group. We had our full team in Columbus, and they did a great job covering the event on social media. If you’re not following us on Instagram or Facebook, you should remedy that.

On the cover this month, learn how Robert Watkins and his team have led Watkins Nurseries to success after 150 years in business. It’s not all sunshine and daisies, though. They had to get through some tough times, but after some hard decisions and reinvention, the family business is in a good position.

For this month’s Marketing Confidential, Sue Markgraf visited the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, a 19-acre campus created with plant material from more than 20 nurseries. She found out how Midwest Groundcovers got involved with the project, and how they managed the challenges of growing for such a diverse landscape.

Inventory management is a struggle for many nurseries. RFID tags have been touted as a potential answer for years, but has the technology improved? A collaboration of university and industry researchers share their latest findings, including evaluations of several types of tags, antennas and readers.

Tune into Associate Editor Katie McDaniel’s conversation with Kristopher Criscione to find out about his work as nursery production specialist at Virginia Tech’s Hampton Roads Agricultural Research & Extension Center, including tips to improve container root development.

Stay clear of those summer colds.