Editor Patrick Alan Coleman on horticulture succession planning

One of my previous incarnations as a gentleman of words was parenting editor at Fatherly.com. It was a good gig for a guy who had two young kiddos in the exact age range as the parents I was writing for. I spent my days talking to child development experts, child psychologists and storied lab-ensconced Ph.D.s trying to figure out the best research-backed advice about how to keep from raising … jerks.

It turns out that after taking what was essentially a five-year associate’s degree in how to raise kids, the core of the advice was not really all that complicated. It’s not so much about discipline and parenting techniques. It’s not about saying the right things at the right time. It’s not about chore charts and time-outs. In fact, it has very little to do with managing a child’s behavior and everything to do with managing your own. The bottom line? Show up, communicate honestly and openly, love your kid with all your heart no matter who they are and they’ll most likely turn out okay.

Why am I writing about raising kids in a magazine about raising plants? Because when you read our cover story, you’ll discover that, in our industry of multigenerational businesses, sometimes you need to do one in order to accomplish the other.

For this month’s issue, I had the pleasure of getting to know the Knobloch family, proprietors of Knobloch’s Greenhouse in Alvord, Iowa. These grower-retailers grow about 90% of the plants they sell out of their garden center during a lightning-fast 12-week season. Their highly loyal customer base is located a little over 30 miles to the northwest in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and they are more than willing to make the 40-minute drive into the farmlands to buy Knobloch’s annuals and unique mixed baskets and containers.

The business was started by Myron Knobloch and his wife, Beth, in 1987, just a year after they were married. Myron was the grower, and Beth was the business manager. The pair had five children, and the business supported them well. But in 2015, the family lost Beth to cancer and was set adrift into an uncertain future.

That uncertainty is a thing of the past now, as the three Knobloch sons have joined the business and, with their father, have set up a solid succession plan triggered when Myron decides to retire.

Myron and Beth did not start their business with the intention of passing it down the family line. It was a means of supporting their ever-growing family. While the greenhouse was part of the fabric of their children’s lives, their parents never really pushed them into the business. From the way Myron tells it, they let their kids choose their own path. The two eldest boys found their way into the greenhouse naturally. The third was more reluctant but recognized a need to help and decided to return to take on the mantle of leadership.

What’s extraordinary is that even with three siblings involved in succession, they all worked toward a common goal without petty squabbling and ugly conflict. These kids not only respect their father and his business — they respect one another. And I chalk that up to good parenting, no experts needed.

I hope you enjoy their tale, and I hope you learn a little something from it: about growing plants and growing kids.