Green Industry
The North Carolina Arboretum recently hosted a professional conference for the North Carolina horticultural Green Industry. The conference, “Good Bug Bad Bug: Embracing Integrated Pest Management in Your Business”, drew a variety of green industry professionals including landscape, garden, greenhouse, university and garden center sector representatives. The conference focused on using beneficial insects for pest control as well as organic turf management and identification of exotic beetles that threaten our landscapes.
Partners in the conference were the NC Cooperative Extension Service, NC State University and Biobest Biologicals. Pesticide credits were o
ffered and attendees participated in releasing beneficial insects in the Arboretum’s Baker Greenhouse.
The Arboretum has been using beneficial insects in its greenhouses since June 2010, thereby eliminating the need for harmful pesticides. Beneficial insects are used on specimens of the bonsai collection and in selected areas in the gardens. Sustainability is an important component of The North Carolina Arboretum’s daily operations and using beneficial insects as part of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach to pest management has proven to be stable and effective.
The green industry across North Carolina is a huge part of the economic and environmental success of our state. Across North Carolina the green industry is comprised of various companies and organizations providing products, services, education, and resources that keep NC green and beautiful.
Currently these include: Nursery stock growers, golf courses, sod producers, commercial flower growers, Christmas tree growers, landscape architects, landscape designers, landscape contractors, landscape and grounds maintenance contractors, lawn care contractors, tree care contractors, irrigation contractors, independent and big box retail garden centers and allied suppliers and public gardens.
The North Carolina Arboretum is a green industry partner exhibiting the newest and best plants, demonstrating best practices in landscape systems distributing horticultural marketing and promotional materials, educating professional landscape and horticulture workers through garden exhibits and the Plant Professional Landscape Garden, and hosting regular professional lectures.
Our Plant and Garden Supply Sources listing includes many retail sources in 22 western North Carolina counties. Thank you to the NC Cooperative Extension Service for providing assistance with the preparation of this listing. The North Carolina Green Industry Council indicates that the green industry adds $8.6 billion and 151,982 jobs to the state's economy annually.