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Dear Wisconsin nurseries, Christmas tree growers, and gardeners:
Wishing you a safe, healthy, and joyful holiday season! Take a moment to read through a few updates from the DATCP nursery and other Plant Protection programs. Please send any feedback, questions, or ideas for future e-news updates to datcpnursery@wisconsin.gov.
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 Christmas trees, wreaths, roping and holiday greenery are inspected for invasive pests | DATCP image
Christmas tree lot inspections are in full swing. Since Thanksgiving, inspectors have been checking Christmas tree lots and retailers that sell Christmas trees and decor. The purpose of Christmas tree lot inspections is to ensure trees are purchased from a licensed Christmas tree grower, if stock is grown in Wisconsin, and inspect material for injurious pests.
In July 2023, Wisconsin instituted an exterior quarantine for Elongate Hemlock Scale (EHS), which requires growers or vendors importing conifer stock from an infested area to sign an annual compliance agreement with DATCP. Regulated articles include Christmas trees, boughs, wreaths, roping, and nursery stock or seedlings. Documentation verifying the imported plant material is free of EHS and pre-notification of incoming shipments are requirements of the compliance agreement. If no compliance agreement has been issued, each shipment of regulated material from an infested area must be accompanied by a state phytosanitary certificate verifying the materials were inspected by a pest control official from the state of origin. Failure to adhere to the exterior quarantine may result in a Pest Abatement Order and require the imported material to be properly disposed of.
In 2022, eight of the 67 lots inspected had EHS on Christmas trees or décor items. Four Pest Abatement Orders were issued, requiring infested stock be removed from sale and properly disposed of. (image right: EHS on fir boughs)
So far this season, over 80 lots have been inspected and three locations have had live EHS on stock coming from out-of-state sources. One lot selling holiday greenery was found to have material infested with live Balsam Woolly Agelgid (BWA) that had been sourced from Quebec. This was the first time BWA has been detected on material imported into the state. That material was also ordered to be removed from sale and destroyed.
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 Distorted twig growth caused by BWA infestation | DATCP M. Wensing
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 Close up of live BWA on the bud of a fir bough | DATCP M. Falk
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If you have questions regarding EHS regulations or need to obtain a compliance agreement with DATCP, please contact Meg Sanders, Forest Pest Regulatory Coordinator, at (715) 891-8158 or MeganT.Sanders@wisconsin.gov.
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Nursery and Christmas tree licenses for this growing season (LY2024) will expire on February 20, 2024. Paper expiration notices to renew your license for the next growing season (LY2025) were mailed in late November. Expiration notices were emailed out on December 4, 2023. Please contact us if you have not yet received one of these communications.
License renewals can be completed online using the MyDATCP portal. If you have never used the online license portal, a PIN will be located on your expiration notice so you can register for a MyDATCP account. If you need assistance getting into your account, contact datcpnursery@wisconsin.gov or (608) 224-4574.
Renewing online is an efficient way to update location information, contact information, and sources of plant materials without having to mail in a paper application. Also, once your license is issued, you have the ability to print your license certificate from your MyDATCP account; no need to wait for the mail!
If you are no longer in business, please let us know so we can close your license. This avoids any enforcement actions, which may occur for entities who fail to contact us or renew by the February 20, 2024 deadline.
Tips and Reminders:
- Allow pop-ups from MyDATCP.
- Only one tab of MyDATCP can be open at a time.
- If you have multiple license types, they each need to be renewed individually. However, you can pay for them all at once by accessing your invoices from the "My Invoices" tab of MyDATCP.
- Watch the short video tutorial to walk you through the online renewal process.
- Renew your nursery license before Feb. 20 to avoid the 20% late fee, and to check this off your busy to-do list!
For more information, email DATCPnursery@wi.gov, call (608) 224-4574, or visit the Nursery and Christmas tree licensing webpage.
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 Nursery Grower, Nursery Dealer and Christmas Tree Grower license certificates | DATCP image
Are you new to the green industry and are unsure about licensing? Or is your current nursery business evolving?
Many businesses initially operate as a nursery dealer, purchasing perennial stock (herbaceous and/or woody) from a wholesaler or distributor and reselling the stock through their establishment within one season. Dealers do not split, plant in the ground, or change the stock from the time of purchase. Many nursery dealers are landscapers who buy, resell, and install nursery stock. Businesses that end up incidentally keeping a few nursery stock plants over winter are not required to obtain a nursery growers license.
A nursery grower sells perennial stock (herbaceous and/or woody) they have planted, grown, split, or propagated from seeds or young stock bought in. Nursery stock is commonly grown at the grower’s location for at least a year. A nursery grower is often someone who has fields but can also include those who grow plants in greenhouses or containers. A grower who buys young wholesale stock to grow for eventual sale does not also need a Dealer license, unless they are purchasing it seasonally to supplement their inventory.
A Christmas tree grower license is for a person who grows and maintains evergreen trees for eventual sale as Christmas Trees. If a Christmas tree grower wishes to also sell more than $250 in live trees for landscaping, they would then also need a Nursery Grower license.
Your operation could need one, two, or all three of the license types. Take time to assess your current business and plans for the upcoming season to ensure you have the correct license(s). Refer to the Nursery Program Frequently Asked Questions for more information.
Wondering if someone down the road has a nursery license?
All businesses with current Wisconsin nursery licenses and Christmas tree grower’s licenses are publicly listed on the MyDATCP "Registries/Lists" portal.
How to report a business that may be operating without a license?
If you have a question about a license or if you want to report a business operating without a license, please contact the Nursery Program at (608) 224-4574 or DATCPnursery@wi.gov.
All tips and inquiries received are treated anonymously.
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The annual Nursery Newsletter is now available online. It was also printed and mailed along with the license renewal application you should have recently received in the mail.
The annual nursery newsletter includes many resources and DATCP contact information for nursery dealers, nursery growers, and Christmas tree growers. It also includes pest and disease updates, upcoming 2024 events, and a brief 2023 programmatic summary.
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This end-of-season Part 2 edition of Field Notes summarizes the results of our forest, fruit, and vegetable pest surveys.
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The Invasive Species Council has announced that nominations are now open for the 2024 Invader Crusader Awards. This will be the 20th anniversary of the awards, and the Council's Education Committee is working on planning some special things to celebrate this milestone.
More information, and the nomination form, is available on the Council's website. Nominations are due February 18, 2024. Please help spread the word to anyone who might be interested in making a nomination.
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The next Boxwood Blight Insight Group (BBIG) webinar will be held December 19, 2023 at 12:00 Central time and is titled, "In the Lab and the Landscape at the National Arboretum: Boxwood Genomics and AI Solutions for Blight Detection and Protection."
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