Home Project Statement Project Participants Annual Reports Meeting Minutes Resources		ANNUAL REPORT OF COOPERATIVE REGIONAL PROJECTS Supported by Allotments of the Regional Research Fund, Hatch Act, as Amended August 11, 1955 January 1 to December 31, 1995 PROJECT: S-103, TECHNICAL AND ECONOMICAL EFFICIENCIES OF PRODUCING AND MARKETING LANDSCAPE PLANTS   WORK PLANNED FOR NEXT YEAR Work will continue on updating valuable cost of production publications. Work will continue on cultural and economic publications including: an overwintering publication; cost of establishing and operating a landscape maintenance firm; cost of establishing and operating a production greenhouse; and principles, practices, physical requirements and comparative cost of irrigating nursery crops. Current publications and all future publications will be made available to interested clientele through the world wide web home page. Surveys will be conducted at one garden center in each of five metropolitan areas during the spring of 1996 to investigate consumer preference for geraniums and provide retailers with decision-making information. A publication summarizing consumer preference research in the retail nursery industry will be completed. The ways consumers measure plant quality and how much they are willing to pay for it will be investigated. Cooperative work has begun on developing and mailing a survey to determine the information needs of the greenhouse industry in the southeast. This survey will help determine the scope of the southerastern greenhouse industry, how they presently obtain inforamtion pertinent ot their business, and what they indsutry considers to be the most pressing issues for business today. A second survey of garden center customers will be conducted to concentrate on garden center advertising as well as the plants purchased during the fall marketing season. A major goal of this study is to collect sufficient data to estimate the own price and income elasticities of fall nursery plants.