Outside Influences

Jennifer Zurko

While I was interviewing people for my July article on the next industry game changer, Dr. Marvin Miller and I landed on the topic of outside influences. What I mean by that are things like weather and politics—things we have less control over, but still impact us.

“Much of what propels our industry happens outside of the industry,” Marvin said. “All of these things—like drought, weather, immigration policies—add to the pressure of doing business.”

I didn’t have the space to go into these outside influences, but I started thinking about them as I was working on this month’s issue. It seems that, out of all of the segments of our industry, the landscape trade is the most affected by a lot of these outside influences, which in turn affects the growers and even the consumers. (Now that I think about it, maybe it’s more of an endless cycle than a domino effect.)

For instance, the housing market—how it goes, so go landscapers, contractors and designers. And according to Dr. Charlie Hall, horticulture economist extraordinaire, housing starts were up 6% through May, even with a weak start to the year, compared to the same time in 2014. 

Although, stagnant incomes and tight credit since the recession have worked in tandem to keep many renters from becoming homeowners in recent years, even as prices plummeted, the housing market continues to recover, said Charlie. However, “questions about home buying affordability are beginning to creep back into the public discussion. But nationally, the affordability outlook remains favorable. The ratio of the mortgage payment on a median-priced home to median incomes remains at near all-time lows, buoying the National Association of Realtors’ affordability index. Median home prices have yet to fully rebound from their mid-2000s peaks in two-thirds of the metros, for which we have data, and interest rates have kept borrower costs historically low.”

And that’s one of the reasons why we’ve dedicated this issue to the landscape market. We’ve tapped into our landscape expert Nicole Wisniewski to delve into the role of the landscape architect and how these fine people influence the look of outdoor spaces to create the total package.

Also, have you wondered what the trends are when it comes to which plants landscapers are using? As common sense would dictate, it depends on where you live.

Have you ever heard of distylium (also known as Isu Tree)? No? Well, according to Dr. Michael Dirr, it’s the next best shrub you’ve never heard of. And since the knowledgeable Dr. Dirr was the one who discovered the reblooming hydrangeas sold under the popular Endless Summer brand, I would take his word for it. It’s the ideal landscape plant and some varieties are hardy up to Zone 6.

More outside influences that landscapers have to contend with like their greenhouse and garden center counterparts are insect and disease issues. For this month’s Pest Management article, Steve Frank from North Carolina State University discusses armored scale—a pesky pest that tortures many trees and shrubs.

I hope you’ve had a pleasant and enjoyable summer!