PlantAmerica NewsRoom

PlantAmerica, in conjunction with Michael Dirr, is proud to announce that it has completed a new interactive CD, the Interactive Guide to Woody Landscape Plants. The CD will be available in early April. “My fervent hope is that the Interactive Guide to Woody Landscape Plants provides inspiration and education as you travel the electronic path to plant selection and garden-making,” said Dirr. “The Interactive Guide is designed to make plant selection credible, educational, and easy,” Dirr added. During his 30-year academic career, Dirr has received abundant queries relative to plant selection for specific requirements. This Interactive Guide will allow the user to define the search criteria from general (tree, shrub, vine, groundcover, evergreen, deciduous) to razor-edge specificity (contorted stems, fruits for birds) to develop a litany of plants matching the characteristics. The user can then proceed to text, thumbnail or complete, for each species or cultivar. Additionally, a photograph of habit is available for most species. Furthermore, seventy-two search criteria can be utilized to delineate plants that will mesh with your design and garden expectations. The Interactive Guide can also be used in concert with the Photo-Library of Woody Landscape Plants on CD-ROM. This brings over 7,600 photographs featuring habit, flower, fruit, fall color, bark, and design considerations to the user. The Photo-Library is sold separately by PlantAmerica. Said PlantAmerica CEO Michael Deale, “The Interactive Guide is a powerful resource that distills almost 10,000 woody plants to a workable quotient. Amateur gardeners, landscape architects and designers, nursery and landscape management professionals, and students will find the Interactive Guide their most powerful resource.” Other publications by Michael A. Dirr include, Manual of Woody Landscape Plants: Their Identification, Ornamental Characteristics, Culture, Propagation and Uses, Fifth Edition, Stipes Publishing, 1998; Dirr’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs, An Illustrated Encyclopedia, Timber Press, 1997; The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation, From Seed to Tissue Culture, Varsity Press, 1987; Michael A. Dirr’s Photo-Library of Woody Landscape Plants on CD-ROM, PlantAmerica, 1997. The cost of the CD is $79.95. Visit http://www.plantamerica.com or call (888) PLANTCD for more information.

PlantAmerica focuses on helping the lawn and landscape industry work more effectively, boost sales, and increase customer loyalty. It was founded in 1995 by Rick Webel, managing partner of Innocenti and Webel. The company has become a key resource for horticulture, nursery and landscape professionals, by providing unique business tools, including easy-to-use Internet-based marketing tools, consulting services and exclusive CD-based plant references covering the works of Dr. Michael Dirr and Dr. Allan Armitage.