Ken Druse REAL DIRT wherein we learn about some exciting new plant introductions!**
April 27, 2007
Dear Friends,
Being
an ex-college radical, I am immediately suspicious of "The Man," a.ka.
big companies that seem to dominate the market place. Consequently,
Monrovia Growers, with giant displays at garden centers of pricey but
not overpriced plants, got my toga in a twist. That is, until I let go
of my prejudice and took a really good look at this company.
There isn't space to get into great detail here, but my opinion of Monrovia did an about-face when I learned the following:
In March 2006, California State agriculture inspectors found Phytophthora ramorum (Sudden Oak Death fungus) on some of the
158
thousand plants shipped by Monrovia to 900 independent nurseries and
garden centers in the US and Canada. I had to investigate the story
first hand.
Instead of trying to keep it a secret, Monrovia did
the right thing: Not only did they recall all of the shipped plants,
Monrovia ended up destroying a total of 1.3 million plants in question.
The loss to the company was a staggering $9 million. The message to me
is: Monrovia is a company I should support. Click here to read Monrovia's Company Values Statement.
But enough about history, what about now:
In our latest episode of REAL DIRT, I talk with Nicholas Staddon
Director of New Plant Introductions, for Monrovia Growers and ask him
to tell us what new and exciting things we can expect from them right
now. The answer:
**Listen now:
Ken interviews Nicholas Staddon from Monrovia, about some of the new plant introductions...which vicki can't wait to get her hands on! (Please forgive the audio problems in this show; we are working hard to solve the issues.)
Click on the links to go to Monrovia's plant descriptions:
