CAST becomes California Summer Trials for 2021

CAST, formerly the California Spring Trials, is set to return in 2021, under the name ‘California Summer Trials’, according to a press release. Scheduled dates for the new summer trade event are Wednesday, June 23 through Sunday, June 27, 2021.

The 2020 event was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Seeking to help stimulate attendance of brokers, growers and retailers, the change in date was a direct response to requests from the broker community. Many brokerage companies felt that a June event more aligned with their schedules to travel away from their territories to learn about the new plants and programs.

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Ralstonia solanacearum Race 3 Biovar 2 has been eradicated from U.S. greenhouses

The United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and its State partners have successfully completed actions to eliminate Ralstonia solanacearum Race 3 Biovar 2 from U.S. greenhouses. This announcement comes just two months after the pathogen was first detected in a Michigan greenhouse in April (NAPPO PAS OPR). In total, the response involved more than 650 facilities in 44 States.

R. solanacearum Race 3 Biovar 2 can cause a wilt disease in several important agricultural crops such as potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. This was the first confirmed case of this pathogen in U.S. greenhouses since 2004.

Photo courtesy of spoga+gafa

spoga+gafa canceled for 2020, rescheduled for 2021

Per a release, spoga+gafa 2020 has been canceled and rescheduled for May 30 - June 1, 2021 in Cologne. The statement read as follows:

“Despite high registration levels in the Spring of this year and extensive preparations, the current COVID situation has caused strong health, safety, economic and travel concerns among many of our registered exhibitors and visitors.

As the health and safety of our customers is of outmost importance to us, we reassessed the overall situation and made the decision to respond to the wishes of the majority of our exhibitors and visitors not to go forward with the 2020 event.”

Photos courtesy of BASF

According to Emma Lookabaugh, a technical service representative for BASF, root diseases can be easily overlooked by growers. Sometimes, she says, growers are looking at other parts of the plant and either misidentify issues or miss them altogether. 

“Things like yellowing or chlorosis of the foliage can be mistaken for fertility issues like nitrogen deficiency,” Lookabaugh says. “Early on, you can also see plants that are slightly stunted. So when you look out across your greenhouse bay, you’ll be able to pick out a couple of plants that look a little stunted, but otherwise healthy.” 

Different root diseases — including, but not limited to, Pythium, Fusarium, Rhizoctonia, Phytophthora and Thielaviopsis — present differently and can lead to other issues for the plant like increased susceptibility to pest outbreaks. 

“In general, these issues all go hand in hand,” Lookabaugh says. “If you have insect damage — say, a high whitefly population on poinsettias — and it’s already stressing the poinsettia, that’s just going to open you up to more problems like root diseases. Looking at it the other way, when you have a root problem, it stresses out a plant and makes it more susceptible to other diseases and pests that could be more damaging than they might be on their own.”  

Identifying root diseases 

According to Lookabaugh, Pythium can cause plants to wilt during the day only for them to recover overnight and appear fine at first glance. However, she says that over time, the wilting will become irreversible. 

“The roots will appear brown and they can be water-soaked,” she says. “If you take your fingers and run them along the root, that outer cortex will actually slough off between your fingertips. And if you pull the plant out of the pot, you will likely see that the roots haven’t grown past their initial plug.” She says rot from Pythium can extend up the stem of the plant and destroy it. Lookabaugh adds mums, snapdragons and poinsettias are three of the crops most susceptible to Pythium. 

Like Pythium, Phytophthora can cause stunting, chlorosis and root rot, but also a noticeable lack of vigorous growth. According to Lookabaugh, the first sign of disease is often a plant not looking as good as it should. African violets, gerbera daisies and woody ornamentals are among the crops most susceptible to Phytophthora. 

Lastly, there’s Rhizoctonia — a disease that often presents itself right at the soil line in a pot or plug. Lookabaugh says that it’s particularly dangerous to plants in flats for one reason. 

“When Rhizoctonia presents in flats, it can spread very rapidly,” she says. “The entire crop could be lost to disease in just a few days.” Like Pythium, it also presents by plants not growing as vigorously as they should. Seedlings can also emerge apparently healthy but then collapse right at the soil line. 

To learn more about these diseases, others such as Fusarium and Thielaviopsis and how they can lead to other issues, Lookabaugh recommends reaching out to technical service reps like herself and/or local extension specialists. 

Preventing root disease

According to Lookabaugh, there are two main things to focus on to prevent root disease: timely fungicide applications and sanitation.

For fungicides, Lookabaugh says a good place to start is a drench application. At the beginning of a growing cycle, applying a drench can prevent disease. However, its effectiveness will fade over time. Repeat applications may be necessary to maintain control throughout the production cycle.

“Most applications wear off within 14-28 days and pathogens can then become active again,” she says. “Waiting until symptoms appear to treat is risky because the plant may be already too far gone to reverse the damage.” 

To prevent that from happening, Lookabaugh says it’s key to apply preventative fungicides on schedule and with the right product. 

“If you are growing a crop that is susceptible to a specific disease or have a history of disease in your greenhouse, you want to stick to a strict, preventative fungicide schedule,” Lookabaugh says. “You want to rotate your fungicides so you’re utilizing different modes of action to reduce the risk of fungicide resistance and also maximize efficacy.” 

BASF products Lookabaugh recommends include: 

- Pageant®, which she advises using at sticking to increase rooting and strong root systems

- Empress®, a product Lookabaugh suggests using as a tank mix when transplanting to continue helping the plant root faster and protect against major root diseases

- Orkestra®, which also helps with root growth and recently became available for use in California and offers control of Thielaviopsis

As for sanitation, Lookabaugh says it is also key to stay on a regular schedule and be consistent with efforts to keep a growing area clean. That can include, but is not limited to, sanitizing growing areas, cleaning benches deeply between crop cycle, sanitizing pots when they have to be reused, treating water if it’s being recirculated and cleaning up any debris where a pathogen can ‘hang out.’ 

One other step Lookabaugh recommends is buying disease-free material from companies with a reputation for cleanliness. Chances are that if a company is known for having disease-free material, it will be pest-free too. 

“Buy from reliable sources that are known for having healthy plants,” she says. “And do everything you can to promote fast rooting.” 

What to know about vegetable expansion  

For growers who are considering expanding into vegetable production, Lookabaugh says the diseases are largely the same as in ornamental production. 

“It’s pretty much the same diseases — Pythium, Phytophthora, Rhizoctonia, etc. — and all of them can be problematic with vegetables and vegetable transplants,” she says. “Tomatoes and peppers seem to be most notably the most susceptible, with Pythium most common with tomatoes.” 

  For establishing robust roots in vegetable crops, Lookabaugh offers the following tips: 

- Start strong. Apply products like Pageant® early in production to promote healthy roots and early disease prevention.

- Have strong sanitation protocols in place and use disease-free plant material, as well as pathogen-free growing media.

- Maintain strong fertility programs.

- For vegetable transplants, Lookabaugh says managing insects and pests is especially important — making scouting especially important.

“It’s the same logic as ornamental crops,” she says. “Any time your plant is struggling or it’s stressed, it is more vulnerable to disease and pest pressures.” 

Overall, Lookabaugh has direct advice for growers looking to update their program. 

“Always rotate with different modes of action,” she says. “And know what product your using does. What controls Pythium will not control Rhizoctonia and vice versa. Consider a tank mix with multiple modes of action to prepare yourself with any root disease you might encounter.” 

It seems like no matter where you go or what you do, no matter who you’re talking to or what you’re talking about, the conversation always comes back to COVID. Over the past few months, there has been an onslaught of bad news, scary developments and new things to worry about.

Even if you, your family and your business are doing well, there’s a cloud of uncertainty and distress hanging in the air. Vacations are canceled, school plans are up in the air and everyday stress is starting to take its toll.

Even those that experienced a boom in sales are wondering what the rest of this year and next year will hold. Ken Fisher, CEO of AmericanHort, noted at Cultivate’20 Virtual that the industry has seen about a 25% increase to date this year. But consumer spending will continue to be key and business owners must be careful about capital, cash and spending.

The recession that we’re currently experiencing isn’t like those in the past. Dr. Charlie Hall noted at the virtual trade show that this is the first recession in which we’ve seen a cutback on services spending. To give some context, during the Great Recession, there was a 3% increase. Fisher had a similar analysis, noting that this recession will be impacted greatly by stubborn unemployment rates. “This is a consumer recession,” he said.

The good news is that recessions over the last 50 years have been relatively short-lived — 10 to 16 months, according to Fisher. While that’s short in the grand scheme of things, it can seem like an eternity to businesses scrambling to stay afloat.

Your customers are no doubt dealing with the same fears and crisis fatigue that you are. Thankfully, the green industry is poised to provide much-needed optimism. During the Great Recession, there were tons of great examples of marketing campaigns that seized on the opportunity to provide comfort, hope and a human touch. Remember Coke’s “Open Happiness” campaign from 2009? “Plant Happiness” is just as catchy.

Photo courtesy of John Weddington Greenhouse

Though poinsettias hold the lead in units sold, there was a time they topped the list for wholesale dollars as well. Today’s poinsettias are more compact, more resilient, more colorful and more diverse than ever, but the market has changed as well. Whether poinsettias are on your production schedule or not, these insights can benefit your operation in the days ahead.

Shifts in growers and goals

North Carolina State University’s Dr. John Dole has worked with poinsettias and poinsettia growers for nearly 40 years. An avid poinsettia lover, he helped bring poinsettia production secrets to the forefront for growers nationwide. He recalls advances in grafting, PGRs and genetics that set the stage for poinsettia glory years in the 1980s — and the market saturation that followed in the 2000s.

Since that time, Dole has watched poinsettia production plateau as significant shifts take place. “What we’ve seen is a big decrease in the number of people growing poinsettias, while the number of poinsettias grown has stayed fairly flat. We just see ever-larger production places doing more. More production per grower, fewer growers,” he says.

With this shift, Dole notes two schools of thought regarding poinsettia crops. One side leans toward just covering expenses and using poinsettias to keep labor around for spring bedding plant season. “The other school says if the crop doesn’t make money, you’re better to shut the greenhouse down,” he says. “Most growers are in between — able to keep going and making more than they could otherwise at that time and season.”

For various reasons, many smaller growers have dropped poinsettias. After 35 years of poinsettia production, 2019 marked the last poinsettia season for North Carolina grower John Weddington Greenhouse. Father and son co-owners John and Kurt Weddington say the decision was driven more by the crop’s demands and desire for more family time.

“It’s a time-consuming, very unforgiving crop. You have to be with them daily,” John Weddington says. With 6-year-old triplets, Kurt Weddington says something had to give. Rather than 11,000 florist-quality poinsettias this year, the Weddingtons’ production plans include a less time-consuming, less-demanding mix of fall mums and strawberries.

Even so, the pair wasn’t immune to industry pressures as loss-leader poinsettias became Black Friday specials at box stores. “That’s not our reason for stopping. I never competed with that,” John Weddington says. “But when someone can sell poinsettias at Black Friday pricing for less than I can buy a cutting, something is out of order.”

Market changes and challenges

Known for their annual poinsettia trials and open house, Illinois-based N.G. Heimos Greenhouses has been growing poinsettias since 1952. The crop now comprises about 35 acres of Heimos’s annual production, which translates to roughly 1.5 million poinsettias.

Head grower Amy Morris recalls the company’s decision about 17 years ago to move away from box stores, which accounted for 40 to 50% of their business at the time. “[The box store] went to pay-by-scan at the time and we were dumping way too much because we didn’t have control of how things went into the stores,” she says. “We just decided it would be better for our company if we went back to the basics and simple.”

It turned out to be a good move. New customers migrated to them, on Heimos’s terms. “We were able to be successful and keep growing and expanding,” Morris says.

I feel that a lot of consumers, like myself, have gone back to basics — back to grandma, grandpa, mom and pop. I’m curious if consumers are going to go back to the old, traditional, standard red poinsettia instead of some of the different types of poinsettias and novelties.” — Amy Morris, NG Heimos Greenhouses

Lisa Ambrosio, president of Wenke/Sunbelt Greenhouses, reflects on the decision to move poinsettia production out of Wenke’s Michigan greenhouses to their Georgia Sunbelt greenhouses more than a decade ago. Faced with rising labor and utility costs in the cold climate, the move made economic sense. “It came down to we were putting more cost into it than what we had in a revenue opportunity,” she says.

For 2020, Sunbelt greenhouses will have about 8 acres in poinsettias, with a core crop of about 100,000 plants. Ironically, southern warming trends are now a concern. “It’s a tricky crop and there’s no margin for error,” Ambrosio says. “It is just substantially hotter in the South during October and November than what it has been in the past. That has a huge impact on how the crop grows and what we need to do to produce it.”

The Weddingtons observed another important market shift. As with many poinsettia growers, fundraisers represent a critical segment of their sales — especially church fundraisers aimed at older demographics. “We made money on poinsettias and we had a lot of very loyal customers, but that clientele aged out,” John Weddington says.

Kurt Weddington believes that younger consumers haven’t yet connected to florist-quality poinsettias. “When loss-leaders started appearing on Black Friday, poinsettias were everywhere,” he says. “It wasn’t quite as special. It became more of a commodity crop.”

Trends in popularity and preferences

Dole sees the boon in cultivars as one of the most significant changes in the poinsettia market. New cultivars are now less about major changes and more about subtlety, he says. He reports steadily increasing interest in combination planters. (He recommends growing your poinsettias separately, then dropping them into waiting pots in your combination planters.)

Painting, once considered a fleeting trend, has gained traction.

“Painting has become part of the norm,” Dole says.”Painting, glitter, any of the coloring or decorative stuff applied directly to the plant, that’s here to stay.”

And color? “This is tough for me to say, as somebody who evaluates cultivars, but it’s still all about red,” he says. “It’s a much darker red. The foliage is darker, the leaves last longer. It’s a different red than it used to be, but it’s still very much red.”

Morris has 181 varieties in the Heimos trials this year, plus 151 varieties on private breeder trials. Due to COVID-19 and limits on gatherings, she’s unsure how the trials and open house will play out, but she’s eager to see consumer choices.

“I feel that a lot of consumers, like myself, have gone back to basics — back to grandma, grandpa, mom and pop,” Morris says. “I’m curious if consumers are going to go back to the old, traditional, standard red poinsettia instead of some of the different types of poinsettias and novelties.”

Beyond new cultivars, Morris agrees painted poinsettias are still on the upswing. At Heimos, spray paint and glitter go on in every color — even rainbows. “We painted about 30 to 40 thousand poinsettias last year, which was up about 10% from the year prior. That just keeps growing for us,” she says.

What we've seen is a big decrease in the number of people growing poinsettias, while the number of poinsettias grown has stayed fairly flat." — Dr. John Dole, NCSU

Wenke/Sunbelt doesn’t paint or glitter poinsettias, but novelty varieties and unique colors lead the way. “We are really focused on garden centers and fundraisers,” Ambrosio says. “Our customers are looking for something a little different to separate them from the competition. They have a different type of customer that comes to the store, looking for something a little different than what they would find in the mass market.” Shelf life is especially important.

Some of Sunbelt’s most popular cultivars include Jingle Bell types and red-and-white speckled cultivars. The Princettia series, especially the whites, have been big sellers. “That’s not because of the color, but the shape of the leaf, the way it looks and that it holds up for a really long time,” she says.

Opportunities vs. obstacles

Though Dole declares he’s “a production guy,” he believes that marketing holds the biggest opportunities for poinsettia growers. Interestingly, he says it also represents the biggest obstacle to overall market growth. Dole, who briefly worked at Ecke Ranch prior to his graduate school days, recalls how Ecke’s wildly successful marketing made poinsettias the Christmas flower, but also painted the crop into a corner. “What he did was make the poinsettia what it is today, but it came at a cost,” he says.

Doles points to opportunities to expand beyond the Christmas market. Examples include pink poinsettias for Valentine’s Day or October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month and pumpkin-orange cultivars for Thanksgiving or even Halloween. But Dole suggests marketers may need to come up with a new plant name and save “poinsettia” strictly for the Christmas holiday.

Wenke/Sunbelt has had some success with orange for Thanksgiving, but southern heat diminishes demand. “If it’s 90 degrees, people just aren’t thinking about poinsettias,” Ambrosio says. Valentine’s Day promotions haven’t met with success. “There’s a perception that says a poinsettia is for this certain time of year and after that, [consumers] don’t want to see it again,” she says.

The Heimos team markets the Color of the Year heavily and does displays to show their customers how to market colorful poinsettias. “For the Year of the Blue, we did a blue poinsettia tree with Elvis Presley cutouts,” Morris says. The marketing efforts have had good response.

Heimos has done orange for Halloween for about 10 years. A white poinsettia painted with Thanksgiving colors, marketed as “Autumn Beauty,” is a regular. Novelty poinsettias timed to compete with Valentine’s Day roses also perform well for their market.

Productivity and profitability

For growers considering poinsettias, Dole stresses the importance of knowing your market. He suggests that trying to compete on cost is a doomed strategy. “It’s a fairly tight market in the sense that there’s not a lot of profits and there’s a lot of competition. For a newcomer to get into that, that’s not going to happen easily — even for a big grower of bedding plants.”

If your market wants and is willing to pay for something different — that you can provide — the outlook is much brighter. “The closer you are to the customer, the higher the prices you can get and the more flexibility you have on what you grow,” he says, noting profitable direct-retail sales by independent grower-retailers.

Capitalizing on advances is also key. “Growers are continuing to refine production and the breeders are as well. Now we’re seeing early cultivars that produce a really substantive plant in a short amount of time. Growing those cultivars and reducing the crop time gets you more greenhouse space to put something else in,” Dole says.

Other developments include cultivars that won’t require pinching or PGRs, or ones that tolerate tighter spacing, freeing up greenhouse space for other crops.

Morris acknowledges that poinsettias are challenging, but says growers should expect to be profitable: “If you’re doing this whole crop and not making any money, then you need to re-look at how you’re doing the crop and maybe re-look sales margins.”

She recommends staying ahead of the game on things such as insecticides, PGRs and fungicides. “Be proactive instead of reactive and chasing a problem. You might be able to save there,” she says. Mechanical pinching instead of hand pinching might yield savings as well.

“The thing that gets most growers right now is the cost of labor. That is one of our biggest issues and it’s our biggest cost,” she says. “You have to stay on point with your people and urge them to do everything as efficiently as possible.” And you have to stay on point yourself.

As someone who has grown poinsettias for decades, Morris offers growers this encouragement: “Be patient. Walk your crop. Be aware of the leaves and what the plant is telling you. … Go back to basics and make sure you’re not taking any shortcuts and, if you do, the crop’s going to be great.” Oh, and don’t forget to pull out your Ecke manual annually. Morris rereads hers every year.

The author is a Minnesota-based freelance writer specializing in the horticulture industry. Reach her at jolene@lovesgarden.com