ND Department of Agriculture Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MAY 13, 2008

MAKE SURE TREES, SHRUBS ARE HARDY BEFORE PLANTING

BISMARCK – Homeowners should consult a trusted nursery dealer or horticulturist before buying and planting nursery stock.

“This is the time of year when homeowners are planting trees and shrubs in their yards,” says Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson. “Planting hardy stock now helps ensure that they won’t be digging up the same trees and shrubs next year.”

State law requires that all trees and shrubs, designated by the agriculture commissioner as non-hardy, must be labeled “non-hardy in North Dakota.” The law provides for a penalty of up to $500 per violation. Repeated violations may also result in denial of a dealer license. Letters reminding dealers of the law have been recently mailed.

“Many varieties of trees and shrubs do well in North Dakota, but some plants are not adapted to our winters when the temperature can drop to 25 degrees below zero and colder,” Johnson said. “Other plants may not tolerate our soil types or dry conditions.”

Johnson said the North Dakota Department of Agriculture receives many complaints every year from consumers and dealers about non-hardy stock being sold in the state without proper labeling.

“Most of the complaints involve larger stores that are headquartered in other states,” he said. “It seems that these stores are sometimes unaware of North Dakota’s climate or of what plant materials will perform well here, and some simply ignore our state’s labeling laws.”

Non-hardy trees and shrubs commonly offered for sale in North Dakota include common boxwood, flowering quince, contorted filbert, climbing hydrangea, holly, privet, magnolia, peach, sweet cherry, Callery pear, certain rhododendrons and various apple varieties, such as Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Red Delicious, Winesap and Yellow Delicious.

A more detailed listing of non-hardy trees and shrubs is available on the North Dakota Department of Agriculture website at www.agdepartment.com/Programs/pp /NonhardyListCommonName2006.pdf (common names) or www.agdepartment.com/Programs/pp/NonhardyListBotanicalName2006.pdf (scientific names).

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MEDIA: For more information, please call Ted Quanrud at (701) 328-2233 or tquanrud@nd.gov or Patrice Lahlum at (701) 239-7210 or plahlum@nd.gov.