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You simply cannot take the pulse of the industry this year without discussing how COVID-19 affected greenhouse and independent garden center (IGC) operations.

In most of the country, as the pandemic took hold, the large majority of horticultural businesses were deemed “essential” and permitted to continue operating, albeit with social distancing and mask mandates. In some regions, however, ornamental-producing operations were told that the crops they raise did not fall under essential business status. Those operations faced some interesting new challenges, like how to pick up a delayed production schedule and get the plants back on track for shipment after a multi-week shutdown.

And yet, as those growers soon learned, with new challenges, new opportunities tend to follow close behind.

In the Midwest, two states in particular — Michigan and Pennsylvania — imposed mandatory closures and shutdowns at the crisis’ peak.

It’s worth taking a look at how those greenhouse operations weathered the shutdown situation, just in case similar circumstances befall the industry again. Here’s how a couple of operations rolled with the punches in 2020 and emerged from the chaos, seemingly stronger than ever:

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Terrific year at Telly’s

George Papadelis, president of Telly’s Greenhouse & Garden Center, very well might have been beaming so brightly other motorists caught a gleam when we reached him traversing the countryside in the family vehicle, heading on a late-summer vacation with his wife and kids.

“Like pretty much everyone else, we planted everything that was in our production schedule and it all sold,” he says, noting a 40-50% increase in year-over-year sales at Telly’s.

“We’re a $3-million greenhouse annually, and we’re up over $1 million year-to-date over last year, with four months left to go,” Papadelis says.

That is not to say 2020 was a leisurely trip down easy street for the 40-plus year-old operation. Just like others in the state, the operation faced one particularly daunting hurdle: the greenhouse was shut down for about two weeks.

“We were doing curbside and online orders at the time, and a lot of other people in our area weren’t doing it yet, and we’re selling stuff like crazy,” Papadelis says. “It was during our pansy season, and the crop is just flying out the door. So much so, we had to buy them from other growers here locally [to meet the demand].”

The result? A completely sold-out pansy crop — which is Telly’s spring specialty — and of course, a delighted management team and crew. But a visit from the local police department took a good deal of wind out of the operation’s sails.

“We were kind of taking advantage of, I guess you could call it a ‘gray area’ where we were technically essential because we were also providing vegetable transplants at the garden center,” Papadelis says. “Anyways, they come in and tell us ‘People are wondering why you are still open, and why you’re so busy?’ And then it became, ‘Well, we’re not thinking about closing you down, but maybe you should think about doing it yourself, or somebody else might [do it for you].’”

So Telly’s had to shut down. But with their highest-demand crop already completely sold out, the 14-day shutdown did not hit the businesses’ bottom line for the season too hard. Now, with all the coronavirus shutdown well in rearview, Papadelis is focused on planning what the 2021 spring season will look like.

“We will increase our production of vegetable transplants; I can definitely tell you that right now.” — George Papadelis, Telly's

“Nobody knows for sure, but I’m convinced that at least half of the people that developed new gardens and beds and plantings during the quarantine will be back for more peppers and cucumbers, and hopefully some flowers too,” he says, noting his final decision on planting and production is still pending at the moment.

“We will increase our production of vegetable transplants; I can definitely tell you that right now,” Papadelis says. “And I am thinking we will end up creating two additional plantings to add to the production schedule to kind of sneak in another late crop to meet that late-season demand that we saw in 2020.”

For the upcoming growing season, Telly’s is expecting a much smoother ride, having skillfully traversed a bumpy pandemic path already. And, of course, more of the same, at least until the pandemic fades into the rearview.

“Whether there are rules in place or not, I think a lot more people will be wearing masks in public going forward,” Papadelis says. “Maybe by next spring our customers won’t be required to wear one; I don’t know. Our employees will be wearing masks. In a hot greenhouse, to be honest we can’t stand it, but we’re doing the best that we can.”

Some of the same, some different

Over in the heart of Amish Country in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Green Leaf Plants, a division of Aris Horticulture, experienced much of the same, with a slight twist.

“Sales were up absolutely,” says Blair Hoey, managing director. “We had a great spring and we’ve been dealing with COVID since probably the second week of February.”

Hoey does note a slight hiccup early on with some of Green Leaf’s customers cancelling orders, but says that brief road bump quickly turned to triumph when other customers, “swooped in and bought up what they needed,” essentially filling that lost demand, on-demand.

The hairpin turn in Green Leaf’s windy COVID road was just ahead, however.

“We ended up having to voluntarily close down for a week due to multiple employees testing positive [for COVID],” Hoey says. “Unfortunately, we came to find out that it was brought into the organization by those employees from outside activities away from work.”

“And we discovered all of that over the weekend, just prior to that week we had to close,” he says. “It was the end of April — production week 18 for us — and we had to cancel all incoming and outgoing shipments. It was quite the task, as you can probably imagine.”

“We had PPE in here as early as the end of February ... and I think that early action paid dividends.” — Blair Hoey, Green Leaf Plants

Green Leaf quickly mobilized resources, bringing on a specialized cleaning crew the first Monday it was shut down, and by Thursday, Hoey estimates they had about 25% of the organization back on site. By the following Monday, exactly one week later, they were back to full staffing levels, though they allowed most of the office and administrative staff to continue working remotely. Those workers, too, have since returned to the site.

“We actually had additional people in hand [on that Monday], so we were able to get caught up by the end of the week, and we got both week 18 and week 19 material planted. So we were still able to start week 20 plantings on week 20, which was great,” he says.

Situated in a region heavily trafficked by New York and Philadelphia metropolitan area residents scratching their agritourism itch, everyone on the Green Leaf team from top to bottom has gotten a crash course in PPE and social distancing over the last few months.

“We had PPE in here as early as the end of February, and we’ve since implemented social distancing on the work lines, all kinds of additional sanitation work throughout the facility, and I think that early action paid dividends,” Hoey says.

Now, a repurposed cold fogger is deployed Monday through Friday to spray cleaning products throughout the facility. It is all part of the company’s new normal. And that new normal increases operational expenses.

“Colleagues in Europe that I know are being assessed COVID sanitation fees from some of their vendors, and to be honest we’ve expected to run into some of that with our vendors, but so far we’ve been lucky,” he says.

And while Hoey says it’s hard to put a hard number on the cost, he guesses the company has spent more than $20,000 this year on PPE, cleaning equipment, time and having the facility scrubbed.

Hoey admits he is not sure what to expect as far as COVID is concerned for the upcoming spring season, but the team at Green Leaf sounds open to getting creative.

“Right now, we’re playing our cards as if it will be more of the same [next year],” he says. “Schools are just opening here and we’re currently dealing with that, and how that effects mom and dad. We’re looking into having some employees being able to bring their kids to work, and we can put them in a separate facility with internet and their own tablets, and all kinds of things for them to do …

“That’s much better option, in my opinion, than having people work from home forever.”

Mycorrhizal fungi are the superstars of your growing media ecosystem. These beneficial symbiotic soil organisms partner with your plants to create root-and-mycelial structures known as mycorrhizae, which play a large and complex role in boosting the development and adaptation of approximately 95% of plant species on the planet.

Growers can take advantage of mycorrhizae fungi to unlock efficiency gains within the plant root zone.

These fascinating, hard-working structures are created through the symbiotic colonization, and are able to solubilize and extract far more nutrients and water from the soil or growing media than plants’ roots alone. They’re able to actively transport and transfer macronutrients, micronutrients and water directly to the plant’s root system, improving overall plant performance.

The many varying genera and species of “mycos” have numerous plant benefits that go well beyond boosting fertility uptake and developing a stronger root system. Perhaps most importantly, these fungi naturally strengthen a plant’s internal defenses against environmental stressors and nutrient deficiencies, resulting in a more successful growing season in the greenhouse.

How do mycorrhizae work?

While there are many types of mycorrhizae naturally occurring in soils, the two types most essential for commercial greenhouse production are endomycorrhizae and ectomycorrhizae.

When these microscopic living organisms enter the root zone via inoculant application, the symbiotic relationship commences as mycorrhizae hyphae germinate and proliferate into both root tissues and the surrounding substrate, soil or growing media.

“It normally takes three to four weeks for the symbiosis to establish and for the fungi to provide the benefits for the plant, therefore it is important to introduce the mycorrhizal fungi as early as possible,” says Mycorrhizal Applications Technology Manager Jozsef Racsko.

During this process, the plant’s root zone is extended well beyond its typical footprint of soil colonization. This effectively increases the plant’s total root absorption area up to 50 times.

“The hyphae are much smaller in diameter than the smallest root (hair), therefore they can explore a greater volume of soilless media, providing a greater area for absorption,” Racsko says. “Additionally, the entire length of the hyphae mycelium can absorb water and nutrients, while in the case of the root hair absorption only occurs at the root tip.”

Also important to note, according to Racsko, is that root hairs are only capable of absorbing water-soluble nutrients, while the mycorrhizal hyphae can uptake both soluble and insoluble nutrients present in the soil, dramatically increasing the amount of nutrients available to young plants for vegetative growth.

Simply put, root systems inoculated with mycorrhizae show significantly greater potential for nutrient and water uptake than the plant’s own root system alone without the mycorrhizae.

Greenhouse growers produce plants in containers or pots, and containers only have so much soil volume they can explore and colonize before they become rootbound. “Mycorrhizae penetrate into the smallest pore spaces in the soil or growth media that otherwise would be unavailable to the roots,” Racsko says, adding that soil-bound nutrients require the microbial activity provided by mycorrhizae for uptake.

Evaluating mycorrhizal inoculant products

Like any fertilizer blend, mycorrhizal products contain both active and inert, or carrier, ingredients. The active ingredient is comprised of two main types of mycorrhizal propagules, spores and colonized root fragments. The spores are normally dormant and therefore germinate slower than the more rapidly germinating root fragments, which provide a faster colonization process of the root zone.

Commercially available mycorrhizal products come in one of three forms: granular formulation (excellent for soil incorporation), suspendable powders (increased application flexibility), and liquid formulations (easy to apply and new formulation can be combined with fertilizer).

The diversity of the fungal species present in the product is another important aspect to keep in mind.

“For instance, one species is very efficient in phosphorus uptake, the other one is very efficient in nitrogen uptake and the third one is very effective in reducing drought stress impacts on the plant,” Racsko says. “It’s very important to have a diversity of fungal species in mycorrhizal products.”

Speaking of diversity, mycos are beneficial to plants in virtual any commercial production system, from soilless growing mediums (artificial blends often lack naturally occurring microbes) to hydroponic systems and everything in between.

Application success leads to plant success

Mycorrhizal fungi are applied to plants via inoculation, or direct contact, with the root zone. This can be accomplished via various methods such as direct soil incorporation, plug or bare root dip, or drench via the overhead spray boom, as well as directly adding the propagules into the reservoir in hydroponic or controlled watering systems.

Early application is crucial to achieving the biggest benefit and one application is typically sufficient for the full plant life cycle of perennial and permanent crops. Annuals should be inoculated at planting, and it is important to remember that “overdosing” a plant on mycorrhizal fungi is not possible.

Ornamental growers need to keep in mind that certain pesticide applications can be harmful to mycorrhizal populations in the soil, so timing is critical. Racsko says that most horticultural insecticides and herbicides are generally safe to these beneficial fungi, but there are certain fungicidal modes of action (propiconazole, captan, etc.) that will greatly diminish effectiveness. Mycorrhizae are fungi too, and fungicides are used to kill fungi.

“If a fungicide has known negative effects on mycorrhizae, the mycorrhizae should be applied first and once the symbiosis forms then the fungicide can be applied, because it’s going to have less of a detrimental effect once the symbiosis has formed,” Racsko says.

Applying the science

Mycorrhizal Applications offers a wide range of inoculants for virtually any style of horticultural grow, says Mycorrhizal Applications Commercial Sales Manager Blair Busenbark.

The company offers granular and powder formulations for soil incorporation, plug dips and liner sprays formulated with suspendable powders and liquid media drenches as well as injectable blends that can run through irrigation drip tape or from the overhead boom sprayer.

Growers looking for a versatle product that can be incorporated into the soil or applied on plugs/liners or via media drench would be well-served in looking at the company’s MycoApply Ultrafine line of inoculants, which also comes in a combined endo/ecto blend.

To cut down on steps, a soil + MycoApply premix is often ideal. “One of the easiest things people can do is they can order a premix that already contains the mycorrhizae,” Busenbark says. “If you are interested in that please go to [mycorrhizae.com] and find out who your sales rep is for your region, and we can refer you to a soil manufacturer that can fill that request for premanufactured soil.”

Those who wish to inoculate via irrigation or in a hydroponic system have options as well with the MycoApply Injector Endo and Ecto lines. The Endo line even boasts an OMRI-listed endo formulation option that can be used on edibles and consumables, containing multiple species of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on a soluble humic carrier.

Growing up, Lacey Strupp often visited Moss Greenhouses in Jerome, Idaho, to have lunch with her grandmother, who worked there as a seasonal irrigator for 14 years. Strupp didn’t know then that she’d end up working there, too.

One of 11 children raised on a 185-acre alfalfa farm about 14 miles from the greenhouse, Strupp developed a strong work ethic and passion for the outdoors at a young age. “I’d rather be weeding and working in the garden than in the house,” she says. “I wanted to be outside playing in the dirt.”

Strupp explored various careers at the local community college before earning her associates degree, and later her Bachelor of Science in greenhouse management, from Brigham Young University Idaho. After interning at Moss, Strupp joined the staff full-time after graduation in 2004.

Since then, she’s taken on more responsibilities to lead the greenhouse toward higher standards of quality crop production.

Jumping into new responsibilities

Initially, Strupp oversaw half of the greenhouse as one of two section growers. But then the company eliminated the production manager position, and the other section grower left. As a result, the promotion to head grower “kind of fell in my lap,” Strupp says. “So, I jumped in and took charge.”

Now, Strupp collaborates with Moss’s head of production, co-managing the main facility in Jerome, which comprises 6.44 acres under cover and 1.85 acres of outdoor production, as well as a second location about 40 miles away with more than 2 acres of hoophouses.

A weekly production management meeting brings the team together to discuss problems, plans and progress toward sales deadlines for Moss’s wholesale customers, which include IGCs as well as grocery, farm and hardware stores.

“We’re looking at what the crops need and the timing of when we need to sell them,” says Strupp, who filters those priorities into weekly spacing, trimming and transplanting tasks for her team. “I’m talking to my growers on a daily basis — whether it’s emails, texts, phone calls or face-to-face — asking where they need help to get plants ready to sell.”

Overcoming communication obstacles

With 25 employees year-round and more than 120 at peak, communication remains an ongoing challenge because of the operation’s layout and staff demographics.

The sales team, located in offices on one end of the farm, determines production on the other side of the facility. Over time, this separation has caused a noticeable divide between the teams, sometimes resulting disagreements.

To address this gap, Moss instituted weekly mid-management meetings last fall, focused on communication training. These half-hour sessions helped managers define their individual learning and teaching styles, while providing strategies to communicate effectively with other personalities. “To make our jobs easier, we have to work together,” Strupp says. “Bringing us all to the table so we feel comfortable talking to each other really helps [improve communication].”

Strupp also relies on other employees when it comes to training growers. After introducing new hires to Moss’s watering equipment by showing them instructional videos on YouTube, she pairs them with experienced growers to learn how to identify and diagnose certain crop issues.

Improving over time

By blending 16 years of experience with a deep-seated knowledge of her teammates and what makes them tick, Strupp continues to improve the operation’s growing practices.

“We’ve got to push a lot of product through in a short time,” says Director of Sales and Marketing, and future fourth-generation co-owner Jennifer Moss. “Lacey has to grow as effectively and efficiently as possible so we can meet our sales while keeping top quality.”

For example, Moss faced severe viruses and crop failures several years ago due to constant crop rotations and full greenhouses. In response, Strupp emphasized the importance of emptying and thoroughly sterilizing each greenhouse to mitigate disease. “As long as we do that on a regular basis, we don’t have problems,” she says.

Similarly, instead of keeping greenhouses at a constant 75° F, Strupp began growing at cooler temperatures, which helped cut gas bills while producing sturdier, more compact plants that are prepared for the elements.

Whether she’s enforcing sanitation protocols or modifying growing temperatures to hit sales deadlines, Strupp strives to consistently produce beautiful crops within tight constraints. That is precisely why she is a grower worth meeting.

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The state of the industry is something that is tricky to predict or comment on during these tumultuous times and a recession.

Best-laid plans and projections went out the window this year with COVID-19 and mass shutdowns turning the world upside down. With a contentious election on the horizon, none of us really know what to expect come the 2021 spring sales season. One thing I feel fairly confident stating is that as we all experience more unrest — and what I like to call “COVID Cranky” — products and hobbies that decrease stress and make us feel better should continue to see improved sales. Provided enough people are gainfully employed come the next spring season.

That said, uncovering and analyzing current trends and business behaviors is always a good way to refocus your planning efforts and keep a grasp on reality. At least in the short term, growers and garden centers have benefited — some greatly — from COVID-19-related shutdowns, which nudged many middle-income consumers back into their gardens or houseplant collections, or to pick up a trowel for the very first time. If your end-customer demographic is wealthy, they have been spending freely with landscape design/build companies on home improvements such as landscapes, pools and the like. This has kept many top-tier landscapers busy and planting.

Many garden centers were overloaded with demand for plants this spring, yet many found themselves unable to capitalize on all the demand due to a lack of e-commerce infrastructure. For you as growers, it’s going to be crucial that garden centers get their act together to make online selling and digital access to plants easier, given that in-person shopping limitations (or inclinations) may continue for a good while. Hopefully, if nothing else, this has been a wakeup call to the industry that digital commerce is no longer optional.

Profits

For the moment, the short-term profit outlook is pretty green for many growers, at least until homeowners start spending more of their available post-recession cash on things like cars and dishwashers. Greenhouse Management’s SOI survey results show that 63% of respondents project significant increased sales projections for the next year, with a majority coming in at the 5-9% increase range. Healthy and doable.

Prices

This year also saw steady price increases on plants, both due to demand and increased costs, with 33% of respondents raising prices by between 1-4%. One category where you can probably afford to increase your margins substantially is houseplants and tropicals. While I’m no fan of the price gouging going on in the houseplant auction market these days — as it may cause a negative backlash for us all down the road — I also support a customer’s desire to pay what they choose for a plant they truly desire. Demand is there, so you should charge accordingly and remember we are training new plant consumers on the value of our products.

Now is a good time to evaluate your offerings to see where you can command better margins.

Production

When it comes to which plant categories respondents plan to increase production on over the next 12 months, it is no surprise that perennials still top the list, which it has done for the last several years. Customers are always looking for plants with resiliency, beauty and wildlife and pollinator support. Resiliency, I believe, is really going to be the key to how perennials are categorized and valued moving forward. It was interesting to me, though, that annual bedding color ran a close second to perennials. In normal years, I would expect this; but in COVID-19 2020, I would have expected to see edibles capture a bigger planned increase over annuals, given the rush on vegetable crops this spring. Not to mention the fact that some growers were only allowed to sell and transport edible crops. However, edibles are running a close third to annuals followed closely by houseplants and tropicals. I think everyone should be taking a close look at their edible offerings to make sure you do not miss out on a big 2021 spring opportunity.

People

It looks like wages are up as well – 53% raised hourly rates and 35% raised annual salaries. I’d love to think this is a result of our industry coming to the realization that many of our employees are underpaid, but based on what I’m seeing with most of my clients, it’s labor shortages that are forcing the wage increases. Finding qualified labor, coupled with the economic recession and increased input costs, are forcing our hands. We should all get ready to spend a lot more time and effort on effective recruiting strategies.

On that point, most respondents stated that increasing labor costs is their second-biggest issue. So it is no surprise that when asked which aspects of your businesses you would most like to improve, automation ranked No. 1. I have always felt we have not done a great job in this industry of marketing our jobs and careers and creating good trade education programs; but now seems like a great time to invest in such an initiative. With many people in the service industry out of work, you may just have access to the very human resources you need, if you are willing to invest in PR and job training.

It is easy and understandable to feel negative about the current pandemic, economy and political realities. Everyone I talk to is feeling serious strain. Just a side note: Many of you are taking it out on your employees right now (I know because they are telling me!). I am no Pollyanna, but I do have a natural inclination to operate as a downturn investor. While things are incredibly difficult right now, it is how we react and respond to the challenges that will determine our fate. When challenged so severely, you may discover new opportunities to be had and improvements and innovations to make. Resiliency and evolution are the answers.