Technical Abstract: Nutrient enrichment of public surface water bodies throughout the United States has resulted in the U.S. EPA and state governments development and enforcement to Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for nutrient-impaired water bodies. Previous work has indicated that significant amounts of nutrients can be leached from pots and production areas during normal irrigation and fertigation operations. Nitrate concentrations in runoff or drainage water reported by others has ranged from 1.6 ppm to 304 ppm. With increased pressure from state and federal regulatory agencies, nursery managers will need to reduce nutrient export from production areas to natural water bodies. Results from the study reported here document the reduction in nitrate concentrations within production area drainage water at a foliage plant nursery during their transition from 100% reliance on fertigation to a slow-release fertilizer-based fertility prgram.