As the eldest of three siblings, Donald Blew has always had an innate knack for leadership and responsibility. That hasn’t changed much, given his presidential status at Centerton Nursery in Bridgeton, New Jersey. Like many operations, management has been in the family for multiple generations and in Donald’s case, he leads the third.

Generational growth

Nearly 50 years ago, Centerton only consisted of 9 acres of land that were purchased by Donald’s grandparents, Ray and Marlene. That property was home to fewer than a dozen small greenhouses that held a few azaleas and rhododendrons, along with a 10- by 10-foot hut, otherwise known as the office. In 1977, Donald’s father Denny joined the company after graduating college. Now in its fifth decade of business, the nursery is operated by Donald and his two younger siblings, Robert (Bob) and Amy.

Currently, Centerton sits on 3 million square feet under plastic and has around 190 greenhouses that were drawn and built by Donald himself. The nursery now grows broadleaf evergreens, flowering shrubs, perennials and a full line of edibles (vegetables and herbs) — more than the few azaleas and rhododendrons it once had — and sells 10 specially crafted brands, along with many others.

The Blew brothers also co-own BlewLine Nursery, a bareroot daylily and shrub hub that was founded by their grandfather in the early 1990s to mitigate the unreliability of finding bareroot perennials. In 2006, they purchased the property with Bob serving as president and Donald as vice president and expanded the offerings to more than 100 varieties of bareroot shrubs. In 2016, they began selling through the Star Roses & Plants brand.

Organically driven

While working at two nurseries may sound like a heavy workload, it’s virtually all Donald knows.

“I grew up on one end of the nursery, so I had a really big playground,” Donald says. “I even keep a picture here on my desk of me at 3 years old, loading a truck with my dad. That was always what I wanted to do — come back and run the nursery.”

After high school, both Bob and Amy went to college to pursue other careers. Amy majored in communications at Loyola Marymount University and Bob majored in agriculture business at Penn State University. And while Donald studied agriculture business as well, he attended Delaware Valley University with specific plans of applying his knowledge to the nursery. This wasn’t by choice but was a requirement by Donald’s grandfather who determined it a prerequisite to running the business. His grandfather had to practically “force him” to go, but it was Daniel Seik, an independent salesman for Centerton and decades-long friend of the Blew family, who suggested the major.

“I recommended it to him because with working alongside his grandfather and dad, he was already familiar with plant identification. He probably even knew more about the plants than his professors,” Daniel says. “But school gave him the background of business.”

Daniel says he’s known Donald since he was about 12, and although his siblings grew up on the nursery as well, Donald had an intuitive attraction for the business. Some natural qualities he has, according to Daniel, are “common sense” and the ability to “solve problems and figure things out,” much like his grandfather. He also says Donald was “curious” and “always designing things.”

“Even though he doesn’t have an engineering degree, he’s definitely an engineer,” says Amy Ordog, who is five years younger than Donald.

When he began their Stone Cottage Farm — a line dedicated to lavender — Donald built the facility and designed rolling benches just from looking at other places. He also designed their potting machines, water boom, water tunnel, trimming machines and greenhouses, and has replicated concepts he’s seen from his trips to Europe. Amy says every time they attend a trade show, they ask Donald to replicate something and he’ll respond with, “Yep, I’ll get it done!”

From employees to family

Amy also describes Donald as “humble” and “hands-on,” and uses his interaction with their employees as an example.

“He knows every single person who works here — all 120 of them — and that makes me proud because there are other companies who don’t know who’s working for them,” she says. “He knows everybody’s first and last name and is the one who actually hands out checks.”

He also implemented a generous employee production bonus where employees receive a bonus for their daily accomplishments, on top of their hourly wages. But the biggest bonus he gives is in the employees’ evaluation three times a year.

“It’s just another way to say, ‘Hey, we’re all working together,’” Donald says. “It’s about the company and if the company does good, we all do good.”

Centerton also has a low employee turnover rate and treats everyone like family. Not only is the nursery run by a generation of siblings, it’s also operated by about 30 employees who were originally hired by Ray decades ago. Donald even said the original secretary his grandfather hired worked for 38 years before retiring just a few years ago.

A future of promise

Both Bob and Amy say they are proud to be Donald’s siblings and work alongside him while continuing the legacy their grandfather began. Daniel says Donald is the “ideal” person to lead the family operation, and work in the horticulture business.

“I think he’s the kind of people we need in the industry,” Daniel says. “He’s the kind of person who will try stuff and share his knowledge with others. He actually encourages people to share their knowledge for the greater good of the industry. He’s honest, hardworking, has a good heart, is a very good teacher and I think with the combination of everything, he’ll be a very good leader in the industry for a number of years.”

As for Donald and his plans for the future, he wants the nursery to continue evolving as it has every year.

“I think we’re set up right. Each year we say, ‘This is our best year ever,’ until we do better the next year. We’re on the younger side; we’re hungry. We’re ready to make moves and put the time in,” Donald says. “We’ve got a really good team of people here on board with us and they look forward to our next chapter too, and that’s really what it’s about for us.”

Easter lily bulbs are dug from fields in California and Oregon and are prepared for distribution across the country to be received by growers in mid-October. But what then? Easter lilies have to be cooled in order to develop flowers. There are different strategies to cool Easter lily bulbs, each with advantages and disadvantages. Thankfully, there is also an insurance policy for bulbs that aren’t sufficiently cooled. This article is going to review how to cool Easter lily bulbs to produce flowering plants in the greenhouse.

Cooling requirements

In order to form flowers, Easter lilies require a period of cold temperatures, or vernalization. Once the requirements for vernalization have been satisfied, Easter lily flowers can form. However, if the cold period is insufficient and vernalization requirements are not met, then flowers will not develop. And there is no consumer demand for vegetative Easter lilies! Cooling Easter lilies is imperative to produce a flowering plant. So what does it take to satisfy the vernalization requirements of Easter lilies? Six weeks at 40 to 45 F, with 41° F being a common target temperature. Once they have received this treatment, Easter lilies can form flowers by the end of January, while shoots are emerging and elongating. This cold treatment can be provided to Easter lilies in two different methods, each with their own distinct advantages and disadvantages.

Controlled-temperature forcing

Controlled-temperature forcing (CTF), also referred to as “pot cooling”, is providing vernalization to Easter lily bulbs that are already potted and rooted into containers. Uncooled bulbs are received, potted up, then grown at 60 to 62° F for three weeks to establish roots. After this, the containers with rooted-in bulbs are cooled for 6 weeks at 40 to 45° F, with 41° F being a common target temperature.

For root development, plants are usually placed in a greenhouse after they are potted up. One challenge that can arise during November, when Easter lilies are rooting for CTF, and poinsettia crops are in full swing, is the question, “Is there sufficient bench space?” The requirement for space for rooting potted Easter lilies can conflict with poinsettias on the greenhouse bench if both crops are grown. However, some growers have space in hallways, headhouses, and other spaces where racks of potted lilies can be rooted as long as appropriate temperatures are provided.

Using CTF to cool Easter lily bulbs can produce high quality plants, and this approach should be taken for premium finished lilies. However, the primary drawback is the space and infrastructure required. Coolers are the most common approach for its predictable temperature management. While some growers attempt cooling potted Easter lilies in the greenhouse, it can be too difficult to maintain consistently cool target air temperatures with the solar radiation. If there are other ways that coolers used to chill CTF lilies can be used at other times of the year for other crops, it can helps justify the investment.

Case-cooling

Case-cooling, as the name implies, is providing the vernalization to Easter lily bulbs that remain in the cases they are stored and shipped in. Once the bulbs have received 6 weeks of cooling, they are potted up for rooting and are rooted as described above (3 weeks at 60 to 62° F)

Like CTF, case cooling uses coolers for the vernalization period; however, unlike CTF, the cooler space requirement is much less for case-cooled bulbs. Although the number of bulbs per case ranges from 100 bulbs (grade 10+) to 300 bulbs per case (grade 6/7), there is no space requirement for pots filled with substrate. In addition to cooler space efficiency, case-cooled Easter lilies also reduces space conflicts with poinsettia crops, unlike CTF. An additional opportunity to reduce steps in production is possible when purchasing pre-cooled bulbs from suppliers. These bulbs are provided with a case cooling, then sent to growers for finishing. While there is an additional cost associated with this, it further simplifies production.

Weeds serve as a refuge for insects, supporting pests that can infest crops and transmit viruses. Weeds can also serve as host plants and carry diseases.

Although case cooling can be an extremely space efficient method of production, it can affect the quality of the final product. Compared to lilies cooled using CTF, case-cooled bulbs may not have quite as high a flower count and the bottom or basal leaves do not elongate as much (sometimes referred to as a “palm tree” shape).

Insurance lighting for insufficient cooling

For a variety of reasons, Easter lilies may not receive the full 6 weeks of cooling at 41° F, in both case cooling or CTF forcing methods. Fortunately, lighting can be used to compensate for insufficient cooling. “Insurance lighting” is the use of photoperiodic lighting to create long day conditions for Easter lilies until flower initiation is complete at the end of January. Either low-intensity (=2 µmol·m–2·s–1 at plant height) day-extension lighting or night-interruption lighting are effective in creating long days for lilies. A general recommendation is that one week of insurance lighting can make up for one week of missed cooling. Note that insurance lighting does not act as a complete substitute for cooling; it can compensate for only a couple missed weeks at most.

Take-home message

With the arrival of the harvest of field-grown Easter lily bulbs, take the time to review your Easter lily production plans to review your cooling strategy. Whether CTF or case cooling, successful cooling is one of the most important steps for programming and forcing Easter lilies.

After eight years of service in the Marine Corps, Ariel Montanez wasn’t really considering a career in horticulture. “The only thing I knew about plants was how to use them as camouflage,” says Montanez, who served in Okinawa and other deployments around the world before finishing his service at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. “I never even thought of plants as a business."

But after earning his business degree, Montanez landed his first post-military job at Monrovia Nursery in 2006 as a human resource assistant.

He worked his way through roles in shipping and logistics, purchasing and maintenance before Monrovia closed its North Carolina facility. At that point, Montanez interviewed for a similar shipping role at Pender Nursery in Garner, North Carolina — but they offered him the position of general manager instead.

“I told them, ‘Look, you realize I don’t have a horticulture background. I don’t know plants,’” Montanez says. “But what I did understand was how to set processes and how to organize people.”

Even without classic plant knowledge, Montanez’s military background provided the right mix of skills to lead the growing team at Pender Nursery, where he’s been since 2013.

“That’s probably the one thing that has helped me as general manager, my military experience: how to organize people, how to motivate people, how to find and develop talent,” Montanez says. “The leaders I had in the military challenged me to be better and work harder, and that’s something I bring to this role. I enjoy seeing people grow and develop.”

Troop mentality

Although Montanez learned leadership from the Marine Corps, he’s definitely “not a drill instructor style” manager.

“I think the drill instructor style works for building Marines, but not necessarily for leading employees. You get more out of people by motivating them,” he says. “I’ve worked for people who had an authoritative leadership style, and honestly, I didn’t enjoy that. I’d rather work for somebody who valued my opinions.”

Instead, Montanez works hard to foster a team environment where everyone has a voice. “From the beginning, I wanted to instill a culture of respect, where people feel that their ideas matter and they’re taken seriously,” he says.

To that end, Montanez meets with the growing, potting and propagation teams weekly to make sure everyone stays on the same page. They discuss plant issues first, then people and processes second – but he’s careful to keep meetings on point.

“If we get into a subject that needs more planning and thought, we’ll table it and (reassign it to) the right team leaders so we’re not dragging it out,” he says. “A lot of people dread meetings because they get stuck in meetings that don’t pertain to them, so I try to make sure that our meetings are meaningful.”

When he stepped into the GM role, Montanez faced a steep learning curve juggling plant production cycles for hundreds of SKUs in Pender’s diverse inventory. The wholesale nursery, which was the first licensed grower of Encore Azaleas on the East Coast, also grows perennials, groundcovers, shrubs, trees and grasses on about 40 acres (10 of which are covered).

“If you don’t manage your inventory, you’ll never be able to manage your sales,” he says, “so I spend a lot of time looking at our crops to see what’s moving. I’m strict about inventory management because of the effect it has on the bottom line.”

To keep products moving through Pender Nursery at a profit, Montanez closely assessed all the processes involved in the operation, and then identified opportunities to improve efficiency. One of the biggest changes happened on the potting line.

“When I first took over, the potting team consisted of 17 people, and the machine we were using wasn’t very efficient,” he says. “By sitting down and looking at how our nursery is arranged, asking ourselves some questions, and experimenting with different processes, we were able to reduce that headcount down to eight people. We ended up eliminating the machine; we’re getting more done without it, and we’re really happy with the quality of the potting.”

Through continuous improvement and strict inventory management, Montanez streamlined the nursery’s operation to alleviate ongoing labor challenges. “When I took over in 2013, we had 60 to 65 people, and just through analyzing processes, we’ve been able to dwindle that down to 40 people at peak,” he says. “We’ve been able to really impact our labor costs and our bottom line.”

To help Pender Nursery improve its plant quality, and ultimately, maintain profitability, Montanez continues to innovate more efficient solutions.

“Be flexible and be prepared for change, because change is always going to happen,” he advises other growers. “If you fear change, that’s the nail in the coffin for a lot of businesses. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and learn from them so you can become better.”

PHOTO © Andy Dean | Adobe stock

Taking solace in one’s landscape or garden took on an entirely new gravitas this spring. Stuck at home with nowhere to go — be it work or play — many homeowners became acutely aware of how a beautiful and functional landscape space impacts their lives and wellbeing. Not to mention, disruptions in the food supply chain and access to fresh produce. The COVID-19 pandemic shone a new light on the benefits of gardening and the beauty of the natural world, as well as the functionality and beauty — or lack thereof — of our existing landscape and public green spaces.

As a free-range kid of the 70’s, I feel lucky that my childhood mostly meant getting kicked out of the house all day to play outside. No TV, no screens or phones, just nature, mud pies and bikes. Our backyard (and the rest of the neighborhood) was a haven for our imaginations because we had no choice but to figure out how to entertain ourselves. With the kids home all day, every day, having some functional places to play outdoors takes on bigger significance.

My mom grew a vegetable garden because we needed to stretch our food budget, which I suspect will be the case for many moving forward. Food gardening saw a huge boost in popularity over the spring as many homeowners and balcony gardeners alike saw fit to fill in shortages with their own homegrown produce. Not that getting started with vegetable gardening is always a cheap endeavor, but many will be looking for low-cost entry points to growing at least a small amount of their own food. As seen by the massive run on seeds this spring, we have many new budding gardeners to educate and grow.

As an adult stuck in quarantine or municipal shut down, landscape priorities also lean towards privacy, beauty and a comfortable place to relax away from all the screens. The backyard pool industry is having a boom right now. Never was there a time I wished more for a small pool in my own backyard. I would imagine kiddie pool sales are way up too.

All this time spent at home has brought to light for many homeowners the importance of improvements they want and need to make on their property. Urban-fit trees and shrubs for privacy and noise reduction, adequate greenspace or play equipment to keep the kids active outdoors, a nice patio on which to relax and destress, pools and hot tubs, and some flowers and edibles to grow their green thumbs. If you are suddenly spending a ton of time in your yard every day, you will quickly realize its deficiencies or lack of functionality for your new reality. This is especially true for homeowners who now find themselves tele-commuters who may be working and home schooling from home indefinitely.

Photo © Joann Dale | Adobe stock

With travel out the window for most of us, at least for the near future, many homeowners are also considering how staycation-worthy their homes and landscapes are or are not. The landscape design and installation companies I work with saw this shift happen over the spring and into summer. Homeowners are choosing to reinvest in their homes and landscape spaces to make them more useful and enjoyable. Selling one’s home has also gotten a lot more complicated and riskier. When you cannot leave your home, or you have had to reevaluate plans to move, an in-place renovation and refresh may be the only option.

Most importantly, many turned to gardening and growing houseplants as a basic way to manage increased anxiety and stress. Garden centers and gardening in general took on the role of “savior” for many of us during the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Plant collecting is back in fashion and I see a big growth in virtual plant communities sharing plant passion and knowledge. If you have not already, now’s the time to ask yourself, “How does my product assortment fulfill these evolving consumer needs and gardening habits?” and, “Am I engaging with consumers in these new digital spaces?”

As you and your business grow and evolve to make the most of our new reality, helping both your landscaper and retailer customers promote the benefits of beautiful and functional landscapes through plants should be a top priority. It is not just meeting retail or installing demand for quantity and quality that is your job. Helping to craft and amplify the narrative about how your plants bring beauty, health, wellness and many other benefits to the holistic experience of home life is just as important. Closely observe the home improvement trends that are happening and integrate them into your end-user marketing.

As stay-at-home now translates to living and working full-time at home, the green industry has a golden opportunity to significantly improve its perception of value. As our customers surround themselves with our plants and products to improve their stay-at-home existence, we will become a much more important and integrated part of their lives.