2025 Northeast Greenhouse Conference & Expo planned for November

The 2025 Northeast Greenhouse Conference & Expo is planned for Nov. 12-13 in Manchester, New Hampshire, at the Doubletree by Hilton Manchester Downtown Hotel and Expo Center.

Exhibitor and sponsor registration is open now as well as attendee registration.

The full event schedule is available here: negreenhouse.org/schedule-2025.html. This year, there will also be a larger exhibit hall.

On Wednesday, Nov. 12, several presenters will discuss cut flowers and floriculture, including the presentations listed below. At the end of the day, attendees can attend a welcome reception.

On Thursday, Nov. 13, there will be presentations focusing on herbaceous perennials and native plants, as well as on small fruit production. The trade show will be open before all talks at 8 a.m. with free coffee.

Both days will include sessions on business and marketing and Business Innovation.

Here are the current sessions:

• How Drone Crop Monitoring Simplifies Floriculture Greenhouse Operations with Frans-Peter Dechering from Corvus Drones
• Powering Up: Growers Talk Greenhouse Energy Upgrades with Camilo Villouta from the University of Rhode Island and John Gedraitis from Van Berkum Nursery
• Sparking Growth: Plasma Activated Water to Improve Plant Vigor and Pest Tolerance with Neil Mattson from Cornell University
• Cut Flowers that Work! with Dave Dowling from Ball Seed
• Tips on Manipulating the Day Length to Extend the Cut Flower Season with Roberto Lopez from Michigan State University
• Growing Cut Flowers in a Greenhouse with Stephanie Burnett from the University of Maine
  
• The Best of the Best: Annual and Perennial Results from the Penn State Flower Trials with Krystal Snyder from Pennsylvania State University
• Water Treatments Theory and Practice with Rosa Raudales from the University of Connecticut
• Train Your Staff How to Irrigate with Paul Fisher from the University of Florida
• Tips for Growing Foliage Plants in the North with Roberto Lopez from Michigan State University
• Diagnosing Common Nutrient Disorders of Floriculture Crops with Garrett Owen from The Ohio State University
• Blooms that Buzz: Perennials for Pollinator-Friendly Gardens and Must Have Native Perennials and Grasses for the Garden, both with Wendy Brister from Cavano’s Perennials
• 35 Years Running a Nursery and I Just Want to Run Around in the Woods Finding Cool Plants with Peter Van Berkum
• Native and Naturalized Perennials for Pollinators of New England with Jane Sorensen from Northeast Pollinator Plants
• Propagating Perennials with Garrett Owen from The Ohio State University
• Introduction to Growing Caneberries (Blackberry and Raspberry) in Soilless Substrate and Using “Long-Cane” Techniques with Ryan Dickson from the University of Arkansas
• Greenhouse and High Tunnel Strawberry Production with Neil Mattson from Cornell University
• POSibilities Unlocked: Planting Systems for Lasting Profit with Erin Pirro from Sepe Farm
• Farm Labor Management and Communication with Anna Meyerhoff from the New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health and Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety
• Marketing Trends, Influencers and More with Wendy Troncone from Adams Fairacre Farms
• Engage, Educate and Activate! How Are You Using AI/Technology to Grow? with Wendy Troncone from Adams Fairacre Farms

There will also be several Spanish language presenters on Nov. 12, including:

• ¡Enseñe a su personal cómo regar!/Train your staff how to irrigate! with Paul Fisher, University of Florida and Nelda Hernandez, University of Florida
• Pesticidas, la seguridad en el trabajo, y el equipo de protección personal/Pesticides, Workplace Safety, and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) with Anna Meyerhoff, New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health and Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety
• Identificación de enfermedades en cultivos ornamentales comúnmente producidos en invernaderos/Disease Identification of Common Ornamental Crops Grown in Greenhouses with Rosa Rudales, University of Connecticut

Additionally, there will be sessions on pest management on Nov. 12 and 13 that allow pesticide applicators to get recertification credits for the six New England states, plus New York. A total of 14 one-hour presentations are approved for credit for New England states, and 12 one-hour presentations are approved for credit for New York. The two presentations marked with an * were approved for pesticides in New England, but not New York.

• Pesticides and Pollinators: What are the Facts? with Raymond Cloyd from Kansas State University (Nov. 12)
  
• Managing Pesticide Resistance with Samantha Willden from Cornell University (Nov. 12)
  
• *Improving Microbial Activity of Growing Media: How and Why with Anissa Poleatewich from Mycorrhizal Applications (Nov. 12)
  
• Battling Bacteria: Tips on Identifying and Managing Bacterial Diseases in Greenhouse Crops with Nora Catlin from Cornell University (Nov. 12)
  
• Going Viral: Viruses in the Greenhouse with Dominique Holtappels from Cornell University (Nov. 12)
  
• Pesticidas, la seguridad en el trabajo, y el equipo de protección personal/Pesticides, Workplace Safety, and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) with Anna Myerhoff from the New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health and Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety (Nov. 12)
  
• *Water Treatments Theory and Practice with Rosa Raudales from the University of Connecticut (Nov. 12)
  
• Identification of Mites in Greenhouse Production Systems with Raymond Cloyd from Kansas State University (Nov. 12)
  
• Identificación de enfermedades en cultivos ornamentales comúnmente producidos en invernaderos/Disease Identification of Common Ornamental Crops Grown in Greenhouses with Rosa Raudales from the University of Connecticut (Nov. 12)
  
• Pesticides and Beneficials: The Challenge of Integrating them Effectively with Suzanne Wainwright-Evans from Buglady Consulting (Nov. 13)
  
• Considering the Structure of your Greenhouse for Pest Management with Samantha Willden from Cornell University (Nov. 13)
  
• Identifiable Key Pests of Ornamentals and Vegetables with Suzanne Wainwright-Evans from Buglady Consulting (Nov. 13)
  
• Managing Diseases Perpetuated by Fungi and Water Molds with Margery Daughtrey from Cornell University (Nov. 13)
  
• Winning Against Root Rots and Wilts: Management Strategies for Greenhouse Ornamentals with Charlie Krasnow from the University of Connecticut (Nov. 13)

About the speakers:

Wendy Brister is the marketing director and head of internet sales for Cavano’s Perennials in Kingsville,  Maryland. She holds a bachelor's degree in landscape architecture from Temple University and has worked in the green industry for more than 25 years, from landscape design build to wholesale nursery operations. As the former conference coordinator for the Native Plants in the Landscape Conference (Millersville, Pennsylvania) and an avid gardener herself, Brister has an appreciation for native plants and gardening to support pollinator biodiversity. She spends her free time in York, Pennsylvania, gardening on 3.75 acres, trialing, growing and pushing the limits (sometimes killing) within her expansive gardens.

W. Garrett Owen, an assistant professor in the Department of Horticulture and Crop Science at The Ohio State University, holds a Ph.D. in horticulture. His responsibilities are in sustainable greenhouse and nursery systems, with an appointment of 50% extension, 30% research and 20% teaching. His major program initiatives include floriculture and nursery crop propagation and production, plant nutrition and growth regulation, nutritional monitoring, crop diagnostics, sustainability and grower education. He is also a leader and contributor of two national online extension initiatives: e-GRO (Electronic Grower Resources Online) and Fert, Dirt and Squirt (Nutritional Monitoring of Greenhouse Crops).

Peter van Berkum, along with his wife, Leslie, started Van Berkum Nursery in 1986. It is a wholesale perennial nursery specializing in natives (with particular attention to local ecotype), shade perennials and wicked ruggeds, plants that perform well and last a long time in New England landscapes. Berkum has a degree in plant science from the University of New Hampshire and spent a year studying horticulture in the Netherlands, as well as working at several other nurseries and garden centers before starting Van Berkum Nursery. He is a past president of the NH Plant Growers Association, as well as a founding member of the NH Horticulture Endowment. He has lectured in local and national symposia. He and Leslie were recipients of the Massachusetts Horticulture Societies Silver Medal, and Berkum was the Perennial Plant Association's Grower of the Year in 2013. They sold Van Berkum Nursery in 2021, and Berkum still works part time as a consultant to the nursery as well as working on crop planning and anything else that is helpful. His extra time is spent vegetable gardening and studying the local flora whenever possible.

Jane Sorenson is passionate about pollinator habitat enhancement and loves any opportunity to spread the word. She is a full-time farmer and co-owner of River Berry Farm, an organic fruit and vegetable farm in Fairfax, Vermont, where she grows and sells native plants for pollinators on the farm and through her online nursery, Northeast Pollinator Plants. Sorenson has recently retired from the University of Vermont, where she taught Landscape Design for Pollinators, and is a retired landscape architect with 14 years of experience.

Dave Dowling owned a cut flower farm in Montgomery County, Maryland, for 20 years. With field, high-tunnel and greenhouse production, Farmhouse Flowers & Plants produced cut flowers year-round. Working with two other farms, a marketing co-op, Capital Flower Growers, was formed in 2013. In 2014, Dowling closed his cut flower business and began working for Ednie Flower Bulb, which became a division of Fred C. Gloeckner & Co. in 2016. Gloeckner was acquired by Ball Seed in late 2020. Dowling now works with the Ball Seed Cut Flower Department. He has an online class produced by The Gardeners Workshop that teaches cut flower growers about perennial, bulb and woody cut flower crops. Dowling served as the Mid-Atlantic regional director of the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers from 2002 through 2004, conference chair for the 2005 Lancaster conference, president from 2006 to 2009 and again from 2016 to 2018 and industry liaison from 2014 to 2015.

Roberto Lopez is an associate professor and controlled environment/floriculture extension specialist with a research, teaching and extension appointment in the Department of Horticulture at Michigan State University. His research focuses on propagation and production of young and finished plants (floriculture, leafy green and culinary herb crops) in greenhouses, growth rooms/containers, warehouse-based plant factories and vertical farms. The primary objective of his research is to determine how light (quantity, quality and duration), substrate and air temperature, and carbon dioxide in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) production influences crop timing, rooting, yield, quality, flavor, nutrition and subsequent performance.

Paul Fisher is a professor and floriculture extension specialist in the Environmental Horticulture Department at the University of Florida. He has more than 35 years of experience in applied research and farm advising for the commercial greenhouse and controlled environment industry, including co-director of the Floriculture Research Alliance and the Root Alliance and director of Greenhouse Training Online. He has co-authored books on pH management and greenhouse lighting and written more than 350 articles on floricultural crops.

Nelda Hernandez earned her master's degree in horticulture from Auburn University and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in horticultural sciences at the University of Florida with Paul Fisher. Her research focuses on assessing training needs within the horticultural workforce. As part of this work, she developed the "Professional Irrigator" training series, which combines online modules with hands-on activities to cover key irrigation topics. The training aims to standardize professional development in irrigation practices to promote high-quality plant production and efficient water use. She is also investigating irrigation automation in seedling propagation to establish objective parameters for irrigation decisions.

Stephanie Burnett is a professor of horticulture in the School of Food and Agriculture at the University of Maine. Her research focuses on irrigation management in greenhouses and cut flower production. She teaches greenhouse management, introduction to horticulture and herbaceous landscape plants to horticulture and sustainable agriculture students.

Rosa Raudales is an associate professor of horticulture and greenhouse extension specialist at the University of Connecticut. She has a background in plant pathology and horticulture. In her lab, the team conducts research and outreach in practical issues related to water recirculation, use of low-quality water for irrigation of crops and water treatment design, with a focus on chemical and microbial parameters that impact crop quality and yields in controlled environment agriculture. The Raudales lab also work on developing educational opportunities for the Spanish-speaking workforce.

Krystal Snyder is the interim director of the Penn State Flower Trials and a horticulture extension educator with Penn State Extension. She holds a master’s degree in agricultural and environmental plant science from Penn State and specializes in greenhouse floriculture, plant nutrition and hydroponic systems. Snyder works closely with growers to improve production practices and leads variety evaluations for hundreds of annuals and perennials each season.

Ryan Dickson is an associate professor of greenhouse and protected horticulture at the University ​of Arkansas. His research program focuses on root zone management of hydroponic and container crops and berry production in soilless culture. He is also a contributing member of the Root Alliance.

Neil Mattson is a professor and greenhouse extension specialist in the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell University. The director of Cornell’s Controlled Environment Agriculture program, Mattson's research is focused on optimizing performance and resource use efficiency of vegetables, small fruits and floriculture crops. His particular research interests include strategies to reduce energy use in CEA lighting through LED adoption and intelligent light controls, sustainable fertilization practices, and development of new CEA crops.

Frans-Peter Dechering worked in many international companies in the agrifood business as an employee, employer and interim manager. He was an investor in several biotech startup companies and has experience from bankruptcy to successful exits. He has a marketing and finance background and works to bridge the gap between technology, the daily operational greenhouse business and the boardroom. He was an active sportsman at the Dutch national level and is now a passionate kids' mountain bike trainer and coach.

Camilo Villouta is an assistant professor of controlled environment agriculture at the University of Rhode Island. His research focuses on plant physiology and root function in hydroponic systems, with the goal of improving production practices, resource use and crop resilience in indoor farming.

Erin Pirro grew up on her family’s Connecticut sheep farm, Sepe Farm. She shares economic insight and hands-on experience — from shearing sheep to streamlining POS systems — and works to make complex financial concepts accessible, actionable and a little fun.

Anna Meyerhoff is the bilingual farm safety educator with the New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health and Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety. She trains farmworkers on pesticides, tractors and other safety topics and offers first aid and CPR classes on farms. She also conducts respirator fit testing and helps farmers choose appropriate personal protective equipment.

Wendy Troncone, marketing director at Adams Fairacre Farms, has more than 20 years of corporate and agency marketing experience. At Adams — a 106-year-old Hudson Valley retailer with five retail locations featuring grocery, greenhouses, garden centers, nurseries and houseplants and more than 1,800 team members — Troncone leads marketing, promotions and strategy.

Raymond Cloyd from Kansas State University has an extension (70%) and research (30%) appointment in the Department of Entomology at Kansas State University. He earned his master's and Ph.D. from the Department of Entomology at Purdue University and was employed as a professor at the University of Illinois in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences for six years prior to his employment at Kansas State University. His research and extension program involves plant protection/pest management in greenhouses, nurseries, landscapes, turfgrass, conservatories, interiorscapes, Christmas trees, vegetables, fruits, cannabis, hemp and pollinators. Cloyd is the extension specialist in horticultural entomology for the state of Kansas, and his professional specialty areas are plant protection, biological control, plant-insect interactions, insect ecology, pesticides, integrating pesticides with biological control agents, and sanitation.

Samantha Willden from Cornell University is an assistant professor at Cornell AgriTech in the Department of Entomology with a split appointment in research and extension. Her work is focused on controlled environment insect ecology that spans simple tunnels to high-technology greenhouses. Current projects in the Willden lab include biopesticide optimization in CEA tomato, thrips identification and management in high tunnels, and evaluating compatibility of LED lights with IPM. The goal of her program is to serve stakeholders by providing scientifically grounded and cost-effective solutions for insect management in CEA.

Anissa Poleatewich from Mycorrhizal Applications is a plant pathologist with nearly 20 years of experience in crop protection and crop enhancement R&D. She specializes in the use of bioproducts for sustainable crop production. Poleatewich earned her master's and Ph.D. in plant pathology from Penn State. Prior to joining Mycorrhizal Applications in September 2023, Poleatewich worked as an assistant professor of plant pathology at the University of New Hampshire, where she developed a research program to evaluate the effects of amending peat with wood fiber substrates on root disease severity and efficacy of biopesticides. She also led projects to evaluate novel biostimulants and tested the efficacy of chitosan for suppression of foliar diseases on horticultural crops. Poleatewich also worked as a research scientist at the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre, where she conducted research on biorational products in greenhouse crops. Mycorrhizal Applications, Poleatewich coordinates research projects to develop new products and support biofungicide and biostimulant product lines and provides technical support to customers and sales.

Nora Catlin from Cornell University is director of the Cornell University Long Island Horticultural Research and Extension Center and serves as the region’s floriculture and greenhouse specialist. She supports greenhouse growers through applied research, educational programs and technical resources.

Dominique Holtappels from Cornell University is an assistant professor at Cornell AgriTech focusing on plant diseases in controlled environment agriculture. In his research, he focuses on viral and microbial ecology in controlled environments, what drives the development of disease in these specialized production facilities, and how we can effectively manage disease development using the plant microbiome. Holtappels is committed to making virology and viral ecology accessible and relevant to students, growers and industry professionals.

Suzanne Wainwright-Evans is the owner of Buglady Consulting, which has been in business for 25 years. She's a horticultural entomologist specializing in integrated pest management. With more than 30 years of experience in the green industry, she focuses primarily on biological control and the proper use of pesticides. She holds degrees in entomology and environmental horticulture from the University of Florida.

Margery Daughtrey from Cornell University is a senior extension associate with the Section of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology of Cornell University. She has conducted a research and extension program on the management of diseases of ornamental plants since 1978 at Cornell’s Long Island Horticultural Research and Extension Center. She educates growers on management of greenhouse and nursery crop diseases, runs a diagnostic laboratory and investigates controls for boxwood blight, impatiens downy mildew and other diseases. Daughtrey holds a bachelor's degree in biology from the College of William and Mary, a master's degree in plant pathology from the University of Massachusetts and a Ph.D. from Cornell University.

Charlie Krasnow from the University of Connecticut received his bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and his Ph.D. in plant pathology from Michigan State University. He worked for Syngenta with disease control for flowers and ornamentals and completed a postdoctoral appointment at the Volcani Institute working on identification and control of Alternaria. He is currently extension specialist for greenhouse and ornamentals at the University of Connecticut.

The full list of tracks offered this year include:

• Disease and pest management
• Business and marketing
• Soilless substrates
• Hydroponic production
• Floriculture production
• Cut flowers
• Spanish sessions
• Perennials and natives
• Small fruit production
• Business and innovation and greenhouse technology.

The biennial Northeast Greenhouse Conference & Expo is co-sponsored by New England Floriculture, Inc., a group of grower representatives from the Northeast, augmented by university and cooperative extension staff in each state who specialize in greenhouse crops and management.