A giant globe made of succulent plants will be on display at one of the six growers on the Monterey Bay Greenhouse Growers fourth annual open house tours on June 15. The floral masterpiece of living plants that accurately represents the world was two years in the making. It is the brainchild of Succulent Gardens owner Robin Stockwell. And, he said in an interview, “It spins.”

On May 25, the U.S. Department of Agriculture expanded its import inspections on a non-overtime basis at Miami International Airport for the first time in 66 years. Christine Boldt, executive vice president of the Association of Floral Importers of Florida, said the agency added an entomologist at its Miami Inspection Station on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Previously, the station had done inspections on Saturdays only when importers paid for overtime

If you are confused by the array of certification labels for cut flowers and foliage, stand back: here comes another one. The California Cut Flower Commission has decided it will develop a new sustainability certification exclusively for California flowers, according to Kasey Cronquist, its chief executive officer and ambassador.

Exhibit space for the OFA Short Course in Columbus, OH, July 13-16, is sold out and a waiting list has been established. The association said in a May 10 news release that the seven-acre trade show will have about 585 companies occupying more than 1,500 exhibit spaces.

In March, the U.S. Congress implemented the sequester. mandatory across-the-board budget cuts upon most federal agencies, including the Customs & Border Protection Agency, because Congress was not able to get a budget passed.

The Association of Floral Importers of Florida began to worry about Mother’s Day (May 12), the biggest floral sales holiday of the year.

Irv Betrock of Betrock Information Systems in Hollywood, FL, will be inducted into the Florida Nursery, Growers & Landscape Association Hall of Fame for lifetime achievement in the nursery and landscape industry at the association’s annual meeting June 15 in Weston, FL. Awardees were announced in an April 17 FNGLA news release. The Hall of Fame award is one of the highest awards the association can bestow.