Development and marketing of new hardy woody plant varieties based primarily on native Newfoundland flora

This project was designed to meet industry demand for more native landscape plants as such plants are often better adapted to Canadian growing conditions. Nine new woody Newfoundland plant selections were provided to seven of Canada’s largest commercial plant propagating nurseries for evaluation.  Unrooted cuttings/scions of the trial plants were supplied to the trialing nurseries to be propagated, grown in the nursery and then rated on their ability to root/graft, foliage appearance, flower production (if applicable), susceptibility to pests and diseases and overall plant habit.

Greening Canada’s highways: expanding nursery and landscape market opportunities

Based on earlier research results which pointed to the negative impact of compacted urban soils, this research project was designed to improve tree survivability in highway and urban environments. After five years of research and four years of direct testing, deep ripping and the addition of organic matter has been proven as a method of remediation of urban soils to ensure the long-term survival of trees. Based on several sites sampled throughout Ontario and Alberta, a soil remediation calculator was developed that estimates the amount of organic amendment required to bring the soil bulk density below root limiting thresholds for trees