FORESTRY RESOURCES NAMED THE EXCLUSIVE DISTRIBUTOR OF FLORIKAN ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE FERTILIZER PRODUCTS

Thursday September 13, 2007

Forestry Resources Inc. is now the exclusive distributor of Florikan controlled release fertilizers, according to Alan Shaffer, vice president of sales, marketing and store operations. Developed by Florikan primarily for commercial markets to replace conventional fertilizers that require multiple applications, controlled release fertilizers provide nutrients for up to an entire, 12-month growing season with a single, annual application.

FRI is an industry leader and pioneer in the manufacturing and distribution of environmentally friendly landscape materials, making Florikan fertilizers a perfect addition to Forestry Resources’ family of products, said Shaffer. The company is providing the products to professional users in Lee, Collier, Charlotte and Hendry counties.

Controlled release helps wholesale growers and landscape professionals achieve consistent levels of nutrients required to grow lush and thriving plants and trees, according to Ed Rosenthal, president and CEO of Sarasota-based Florikan.

“This line of fertilizers benefits growers in two major areas. Healthier, more stable growing conditions result in healthier plant materials and higher production,” Shaffer added. “The single application reduces costs by eliminating the need to purchase and store additional fertilizers and the labor required for added applications during the growing seasons.”

The environmentally sustainable character of Florikan’s controlled release fertilizer earned a Gulf Guardian Award from the Environmental Protection Agency in 2005. According to the EPA, the fewer applications of nutrients and the controlled release minimize the potential for excess nitrogen and phosphate runoff that reaches waterways and the Gulf of Mexico feeding algae blooms and fish kills.

The fertilizers are available in a variety of blends created for specific needs: flowering plants, palms, turf, trees and shrubs.

“Southwest Florida’s landscape professionals plant and maintain landscapes for large-project end users such as developers and homeowners’ associations,” Shaffer said. “The benefits of the controlled release products can give them a leg up in a highly competitive market.”

The reduced costs of the single-application fertilizers offset the higher price of the products with an early break-even point, and the fertilizers help professionals cultivate superior landscapes.

Florikan controlled release products were introduced to the horticulture industry in 2000, according to Rosenthal who founded the company in 1982. “Nursery growers in general have embraced the use of best management practices and exhibit a willingness to improve stewardship of the environment,” he said. “Florikan is one way for them to do that.”

The Florikan line of products meets the State of Florida’s new limits on nutrient levels in fertilizer. Adopted by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the nation’s first limits on fertilizer ingredients, will affect all bagged fertilizers sold in Florida beginning in 2009. The limits were developed after the studies determined that yards can be healthy with less potent fertilizer.

Forestry Resources is an industry leader in the manufacturing of environmentally sensible landscape materials for wholesale and retail distribution and is widely known for FloriMulch, the company’s signature mulch product that is made from melaleuca trees, the highly invasive exotic. For information about Forestry Resources, landscaping and landscape products, and the Southwest Florida environment, call 239-334-7343, visit one of their six wholesale-retail locations throughout Lee, Collier and Sarasota counties or go to www.gomulch.com on the Web.