Underutilized Plant Material

Are You A Negligent Employer?

Summer 2015A Newsletter from Waverly Farm

In the Field

Celebrating 25 Years!

Time does fly when one is having fun. In September, 1989 I made my annual journey to Oregon to visit with Paul Bizon and

other friends for fishing and hunting. For years I had thought about getting back to my roots – farming. While walking with Paul in his

nursery I blurted out, “I will start planting nursery stock next spring!”.

I didn’t have land or liners.I found land, Paul and Phin Tuthill helped me secure liners. It was started. The first nursery site was not big enough and I bought what is now Waverly Farm in

1996. Working the soil, planting, building an irrigation system, buying equipment, new buildings, constantly experimenting with growing systems and equipment,

propagation, finding great people, finding the very best customers; building a new career was exciting and very satisfying. After all these years I can honestly say I

can’t wait to arrive at the farm everyday, more than ready to have fun.

Great staff, great customers, great vendors. Wonderful and sharing industry colleagues! Thanks to all for helping me to have way more fun than many will ever

experience in their work. -Jerry

Contact Info:

Waverly Farm1931 Greenfield Road

Adamstown, Maryland 21710(301) 874-8300 Office

(301) 874-8302 Fax

Jessica Ahrweiler - Sales & MarketingJessica@waverlyfarm.com

Lisa DeRamus - Sales & AccountingLisa@waverlyfarm.com

Celebrating 25 Years!

Clipped hedging used to form patterns date back to the early 16th century, first seen as labyrinths and knot gardens. Parterres, the traditional knot gardens, were very popular in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries and the landsacping trend found its way to America as we colonized. Clipped boxwood hedges in particular are still largely prevelant in our landscapes.

We have grown Buxus sempervirens ‘Vardar Valley’ in 3-piece groupings, prepared for hedging. With two end sections and a middle section, these 3-part Boxwood are primed for use in decorative hedges. The separate sections ensure an easier time piecing together a landscape design. The shrubs are consistantly maintained as low-growing rectangular hedges.

Buxus microphylla ‘Vardar Valley’ is a favorite for easily-maintained hedges. It is a slow-growing dwarf Boxwood that maxes out at around 3’. (1.5’ x 3’ by 15 years, and 2.5’ x 5’ by 25 years). Attractive powdery blue foliage appears in Spring before settling to a dark green in Summer. They tend to keep their form well and are easily maintained by occasional clipping.

These sectioned ‘Vardar Valley’ are already cropped and squared off. Primed and available for instant hedging!

Sectional Boxwood

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expected to drive a vehicle while conducting company business. This matter includes driving a personal vehicle on company business as well as company owned or leased vehicles. Sexual misconduct is another major concern. If an existing employee is violated, and you should have known the potential existed, you can be hauled into court by the violated employee and bear liability. To avoid concerns in the hiring process, we must be very diligent in all matters such as thoroughly checking references, educational background, criminal background, etc.

Negligent Retention.

The high level concern here occurs when an employer becomes aware of an employee’s shortcomings and fails to act on the facts. This can occur when the employee exceeds the position description authority as in bending rules related to company policy or exceeding authority when managing other staff along with an almost infinite list of other activities.

Negligent Supervision.

Negligent supervision is similar to negligent retention. If for example you discover one is addicted to prescription or illegal drugs and the addiction will impair the person, management can become liable for the actions of the addicted person.

The following is not intended to pass muster as legal advice so to avoid a law suit, I make no claim for accuracy or legality.

At a recent gathering I sat with an attorney that specializes in labor law and all manner of personnel/employer relations. Although there are many, many ways an employer can sink the ship by not diligently following the rules, he directed me toward a concern that many are not well versed in.

Employer negligence has always been more or less something I didn’t want to know about due to the ominous concept. The discussion woke me up to the reality of how we can so easily become entangled in horrible outcomes.

This concern is one reason large companies have a Human Resource department. Most of us are smaller employers and can not justify such a position but can cover the bases with a labor law attorney on the sidelines.

There are several major employer negligence issues we should be concerned with. This list is not all inclusive. All of these concerns can cause liability for a company and its owners.

Negligent Hiring.

This basically revolves around due diligence related to background checks. Our problem is that public records are readily available to all, including those who may be victims, and we must do a search to look for a less than stellar background. If a staff member is wronged by another, he or she, or an attorney, can readily determine if an employer should have known about an individual’s prior misconduct. We, or our insurance company, should check driving records if an employee will be

auto accident

Are you a Negligent Employer? article written by Jerry Faulring

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If the addicted person harms others or himself you could be financially and/or criminally liable. Hurting another is obvious. But if he hurts himself on the job, Workman’s Compensation panels may require you to pay for costs normally incurred by insurance. The attorney told me that once you are aware of this issue and the employee admits to it or is discovered through drug testing, you can recommend a rehabilitation program. However, the employee will be off duty for 60 to 90 days and rehab often does not succeed. Prescription drug abuse authorized by doctors is becoming an increasingly serious problem. One would think we are immune to liability due to the doctor’s prescription but this is not the case. Most prescription pain medications come with specific restrictions regarding driving or operating equipment. Negligent Training.

Negligent training would appear to be fairly obvious. If you fail to properly train a person to perform work found in a job description, you could be liable for costs related to another staff person’s injuries or those of the improperly trained staff person. We can not assume that a prospective employee who had a previous job as a forklift operator, for example, was properly trained. If you thoroughly read the operator manual for a piece of equipment, you will be really surprised at the recommendations that the manufacturer provides. This can become the basis for liability if an operator is not aware of all the concerns.

Vicarious Liability.

This liability occurs when an employee acts as an agent of the company. For example, a staff person alters or extends a company’s standard guarantee without the consent of management; a wronged customer would have a claim against the company if an unauthorized policy is given either verbally or in writing.

In summary, lawyers are waiting at their phone to hear about our negligence and will be very pleased to bring an action against us in court. Company handbooks can go a long way in avoiding these and many other employment related concerns. Handbooks are often written and then mostly forgotten except to provide a copy for new staff. Handbooks should be reviewed annually, preferably by an attorney, to consider revision in laws and case law changes. For most of us we will not sink our business over these matters. Yet, one serious incident such as your driver harming or killing others while on drugs when we knew about the circumstance could end very badly.

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Physocarpus opulifolius

Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diablo’

‘Diablo’ is a Ninebark with reddish purple foliage that

retains its color in the summer. The flowers vary from pink to

white.

Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Summer Wine’

‘Summer Wine’ is a compact form but still quite vigorous.

Foliage is wine-red to bronze-red with pinkish flowers.

25% off listed price

Ack now le dging the Under uti l iz e d

‘Green Mound’Viburnum ‘Eskimo’

Wow, there is large variety in the plant world. Breeders all over the world continue to develop new and (hopefully) improved cultivars. Yet hundreds of cultivars created never even make it to market- which is mostly for the best due to market demand and to avoid confusing the consumer. On the other hand, a few cultivars truly are all around better improvements yet remain unknown...largely because it is hard to compete with the heavily marketed brand names.

The best part (for me) is that there is always more to learn in this industry. I’ll never get bored! These plants hold exceptional merit yet are not widely recognized.

Viburnum ‘Eskimo’For a while this heavy bloomer was flying under the radar. It has an incredible, heavy white bloom, with flowers covering

Which mounding Boxwood to use??Often customers will call asking for a specific Boxwood. Little do many of them know, but ‘Green Mound’, ‘Green Velvet’, and ‘Chicagoland Green’ are nearly the same. ‘Green Velvet’ may have slightly lighter green foliage; ‘Green Mound’ is more spherical than the other two, which tend to be wider than tall at maturity; and ‘Green Mound’ and ‘Chicagoland Green’ are more cold hardy than ‘Green Velvet’. Otherwise they are extremly hard to tell apart and are easily substituted for one another.

‘Green Velvet’ ‘Chicagoland Green’

the entire shrub. Depending on the winter and the siting it can be semi-evergreen. It is a bit larger than ‘Conoy’ but not the monster that is Viburnum x pragense. For intense, heavy flower coverage don’t forget about this impressive Viburnum!

Hibiscus syriacusMany people keep a safe distance from Hibiscus syriacus because of its infamous reputation of reseeding. But step past that (reasonable) bias for a minute to check out some of the newer cultivars- the Hibiscus breeders have been busy. The new cultivars tend to reseed far less. However, in our experience ‘Diana’ and ‘Helene’ haven’t been reseeding at all. Both have white flowers. ‘Helene’ is white with a red eye and might replace ‘Red Heart’, which tends to be a strong reseeder.

Syringa x prestoniaeWe would like to tout the advantages of the Preston Hybrids. Most people tend to stick to the old-fashioned fragrance of Syringa vulgaris even though the plant is prone to borer and powdery mildew, the flower can get blasted by heat, and foliage doesn’t last well through zone 6 & 7 heat. The Preston Hybrids on the other hand, don’t get any of the disease issues and can tolerate heat better. They also bloom later than the Syringa vulgaris – if you have a Lilac border you can mix with vulgaris to get a longer bloom time. One difference some people might not favor is the dried flower heads topping the plant after the flowers are spent. This is easily remedied by pruning off (or deadheading) the spent flower stems. Don’t be shy towards the Prestons- the advantages are worth it.

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‘Diana’ ‘Helene’ ‘Miss Canada’ ‘Minuet’

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Buxus ‘Green Ice’

Buxus ‘Green Ice’I’ve been hearing praise of this guy around the farm lately. Apparently they maintain a compact habit and keeps nicer foliage than ‘Green Mountain’, though it grows a bit slower. It has a dense, compact, upright mounding habit with deep glossy green foliage and a blue-green spring flush. Needs little pruning. ‘Green Ice’ is a good sub for ‘Green Mountain’.

Dwarf & Slow GrowersCurrently there is a demand for compact, dwarf, and slow-growing plants to landscape small urban yards. There are a number of plants lacking name-recognition that are some great bite-sized options.

A compacet pine with silvery-blue & light green needles. Has an upright habit in youth, broadens with age and is slow growing.

Pinus parviflora ‘Gimborn’s Ideal’

A slow growing, compact pyramid with slate blue needles. The foliage is much bluer than ‘Vanderwolf ’s Pyramid’.

Pinus flexilis ‘Cesarini Blue’

This is probably the smallest plant we grow here. Blue-green needles, very dense, globose; it is probably our favorite for consistency of habit and tight appearance.

Pinus strobus ‘Horsford Dwarf ’

Heptacodium miconioides

Heptacodium miconioidesIs a favorite. A loosely branching shrub with light green foliage through the summer, Heptacodium is a heavy bloomer. Large panicles of white flowers dazzle in August, which are followed by an even showier display of pink fruits. To top it off this plant also has exfoliating bark and attracts butterflies. I’ve seen it limbed up to grow in tree form with the bark visible- it makes a beautiful specimen. It is curious how many people seem to not be familiar with this plant. Perhaps the number of insects it attracts might be seen as a deterrent. Though most of the insects are the friendly type.

‘Tempelhof ’

Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Tempelhof ’

This lesser known Hinoki is practically the same as ‘Compacta’. The same reasons ‘Compacta’ is popular apply to ‘Templehof ’ – the outstanding Hinoki habit and attractive foliage. The difference may be that ‘Tempelhof ’ has a lighter, olive-green foliage. However it maintains an attractive, oval habit and can take light shade. It is a well-suited substitute for ‘Compacta’.