So if this goes into law is it going to be a problem for the many small growers that still handwrite plant labels on little white plastic sticks?

I don't think I've ever had a customer question the volume of a plant container.

Aaah, somebody must have launched a frivolous lawsuit against somebody claiming false advertising.

So, now my trade 1 gal. pots will appear to be of less value than they used to.

Nah!!! There are some shady growers out there that don.t care .Take the money and run I have seen some bogus stuff being moved around by the guilty parties and they they know who they are!!We need protection in this trade to keep the balance!!! Notho

It has been law for several years that every product sold must have a size and or weight plainly labeled.

For nurseries, this has largely not been enforced, although specifically the state of PA decided to start enforcing this in the last year, for whatever reason.

This is part of the reason that the nursery business wrote the ANLA Standards in the first place...to prevent a government beaurocrat deciding that the same standards that apply to cut Christmas trees also apply to creeping groundcover evergreens. They're both conifers, right?

Don't like it? The law exists in nearly every state. Granted, enforcment is going to be a bear, and more than one editorial has been written about it. Refer to trade journals and state nursery association publications.

This is an industry that heavily utilizes some variation of the phrase, "apples and oranges." Not all #2 Prince of Walse Junipers are exactly alike, nor are all 4' B&B Pyramidal Arborvitae. The sheer number of different labeling methods dictates confusion. From confusion comes beaucratese. Bareroot, size of pot, field potted, B&B, caliper, and sometimes, multiple variations of the above.

This will be an ongoing issue, not something that will be determined in a couple of years.

I agree this #1, #2 stuff has got to end.

For me it may now pay off for not ever having slimed the volume.
But it did cost some sales when software inputs the false volume and then compares prices. Robotically, the sale goes to the 2 litre or to the #1.

This whole thing is retarded..It's the size and quality of the plant, not the size of the container. There are 2 gallon sized shrubs in a 3 gallon pot and 3 gallon sized shrubs in a 2 gallon pot.

This came about because of the "trade sizes" which I always thought were ludicrous. As a perennial grower growing a true gallon plant(400 pot), I've always been annoyed that others using a 300 pot called their product a 1 gallon.(it's .75 I believe).

This is suposed to protect the consumer..but the consumer just has to look at the product to determine it's true size...Like I said, even with the same pot size from 2 different growers, the size and quality varies tremendously.

From the editor of The American Standard for Nursery Stock (ANSI Z60.1 - the "Standard"): The Standard is not a "retail consumer" standard - it is only applicable within the professional trade because consumers cannot be expected to understand the container size system used in the trade, which allows for RANGES within container classes to provide for flexibility and product variation in the market. Consumer labeling laws control retail transactions. So, while your "in the trade" conversations and specifications should reference the applicable "container class," the rule in consumer transactions is, "if you give a measurement, it must be accurate." So if you choose to market your plants to consumers by container size (this is NOT acceptable practice in the trade because the Standard requires all specifications to include PLANT size), if you call it a "one gallon," make sure you are selling a plant in a "one gallon," or you could be subject to enforcement of state consumer fraud laws. Just make sure your container volumes meet OR EXCEED the volume on the label. Of course, there is nothing to prevent you from selling plants by plant size, as long as the actual size of the plant meets or exceeds the size stated on the label/advertized - - - understanding that this is a more complex way of tracking inventory, it might be an interesting way to avoid commodity pricing competition and give you a unique voice in the marketplace.

Here is a link that might be useful: ANSI Standards and Retail Labeling Guidelines

Is their any regulation saying how much one must fill the pot with soil? I see lots of pots that are only about 2/3 filled.
And a five gallon pot will easily fit inside a 5 gallon paint can with room to spare.