As California’s five-year drought continues, the need for low-water-use plants becomes increasingly vital for landscape architects and designers. To that end, the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (UCANR) Landscape Irrigation Trials is currently evaluating Village Nurseries’ plants for their potential as good performers in low-water-use gardens. The plants entered into the trials will help growers and breeders evaluate new plant varieties at the University’s South Coast Research and Extension Center in Irvine, California with the goal of successfully distributing and marketing these plants to landscape architect and design professionals.
Village Nurseries continues to partner with Hunter Industries, which donated all the necessary irrigation system components including irrigation controller, anti-siphon irrigation valves, inline drip tube and fittings, and drip indicator device. Together, the two companies are committed to providing products and opportunities for learning about landscapes throughout the plant-driven communities they serve.
“Village Nurseries has always been about providing the very best plants to landscape architects, designers and contractors,” said Nicholas Staddon, Village Nurseries Plantsman, “so whenever we have an opportunity to get involved in a fully-fledged trial and evaluation program like UCANR, we’ll be there. However, it’s not just about the result. Because the plants don’t get any special treatment, we can observe them throughout the trial period under real-world conditions.
“We also get to see other plants in the trials entered by plant breeders and growers from other regions of the United States, which provides us with the opportunity to see how their plants perform and to establish new relationships with plant providers.”
Nick Straabe, specification manager at Hunter Industries, noted: “We see the UCANR facility and the programs they are making available to the public, industry and profession as very worthwhile and educational. We know the information gained from the research performed on the products we provided will make for healthier landscapes and more educated landscape professionals.”
In 2019, UCANR will offer regular dates where the landscape design and landscape architect community and other interested parties can examine how the plants are faring in the field.
Last year, Village Nurseries entered 120 plants into the UC Davis Landscape Irrigation Trials as part of the company’s ongoing commitment to develop information about water use for regionally significant plants.
For more information:
Village Nurseries
www.villagenurseries.com