Greenhouse Grower to Grower

This week Metrolina Greenhouses and South Central Growers announced a strategic merger. The two companies have a long history of collaboration and shared values and business philosophies, and together, they will form a growth-focused organization designed to respond to evolving customer expectations and increasing industry complexity. While the news was breaking, I caught up with Abe VanWingerden, CEO of Metrolina Greenhouses, and ...

The Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association represents companies that are actively involved in the extraction and processing of peat. CSPMA members are committed to responsible peatland management and sustainability, ensuring their practices meet high environmental and industry standards. In this episode, I was joined by my colleague Marisa Reyes for a discussion with CSPMA President Asha Hingorani, Vice President of Science and Re...

The International Plant Trialing Conference took place for the first time in several years this past month in Minneapolis. The event brought together plant trial managers from growing operations, universities, and botanical gardens, as well as plant breeders responsible for developing the varieties featured at trial gardens across the country. In this episode, I talk to Alicain Carlson of Syngenta Flowers, who was one of the main o...

Last month, AmericanHort held its Impact Washington Fly-In Summit, where over three days, more than 140 participants from 25 states met with lawmakers and their staffs to discuss their biggest priorities, including labor, the upcoming Farm Bill, horticulture research funding, and more. In this episode, I talk to two of the growers who attended the event: Alan Jones of Manor View Farm in Maryland, who’s been a long-time attendee of ...

Last week Proven Winners announced that its two growing businesses, Four Star Greenhouse and Pleasant View Gardens, would be combining to form one Proven Winners company. In this special episode of the Greenhouse Grower to Grower podcast, I caught up with Proven Winners CEO Mark Broxon, as well as Four Star Greenhouse owner Tom Smith and Pleasant View Gardens owner Henry Huntington, to learn more about how this arrangement came abo...

Later this year, Jerry Baron will wrap up his tenure as executive director of the IR-4 Project, a USDA-funded program that facilities the EPA registration of crop protection products for specialty or minor crops. Jerry has been involved in specialty agriculture for many years, and I recently caught up with him to talk about his background in pest management at The Ohio State University, how IR-4’s mission has evolved over the years...

In early September the Garden Media Group released its 2026 Garden Trends Report. The downloadable report is not just a closer look at what is up and coming in gardening, landscape design, and green living. It’s also the 25th anniversary of the Garden Media Group team’s forecasting what’s next in the garden world. In this episode, I’m joined by Marisa Reyes, Greenhouse Grower’s new Content Specialist. We chat with Garden Media Grou...

During Cultivate’25, Chris Cimaglio and Ken Lane of PivotPoint Business Solutions shared results from the second annual State of Succession and Exit Planning in the Horticulture Industry Survey. In this episode, I talk to Chris about key findings from the survey, why it also includes industry pulse questions covering everything from tariffs to labor, and actionable responses that business owners can take from the survey results. He...

Claire Chambers is the founder of Meadow Lab, which develops plant products that accelerate the creation of biodiverse and high-performance landscapes. Meadow Lab is focused on the native plant space and has developed a wildflower sod that makes installing meadows faster, easier, and more scalable. I recently spoke with Claire about trends in the native plant category, and how growers can balance sustainability with production and ...

In early July, Joche Smith Jr. was named president of Costa Farms. Smith succeeds his father, Joche Smith Sr., and will oversee day-to-day operations across Costa’s domestic and international business units, and lead strategic initiatives that position the company for continued growth. I recently caught up with Joche to talk more about his background, consumer trends shaping the plant industry, and the biggest opportunities and cha...

AmericanHort’s Impact Washington Fly-in Summit of the nation’s capitol, which takes place in mid-September, gives growers and other members of the floriculture industry a chance to connect with policymakers and advocate for their businesses, and for the industry. In this episode, I talk to Matt Mika, Vice President of Advocacy and Government Affairs at AmericanHort, about what Impact Washington attendees can expect, the important i...

Greenhouse Grower Editor Brian Sparks and CEAg World Content Lead Kristin Zeit were both at Cultivate’25 in Columbus, OH, this past week. In this episode, Brian and Kristin recorded a live conversation on the trade show floor, where they discussed impressions of Cultivate, common challenges and opportunities facing the greenhouse floriculture and controlled-environment agriculture markets, and other insights from their respective m...

After a 10-year absence, the International Plant Trialing Conference is coming back. The event will be held in Minneapolis in mid-October and is organized by All-America Selections and the National Garden Bureau. In this episode, I talk to Diane Blazek, Executive Director of All-America Selections, about why the time was right to bring back the conference, what attendees can expect to learn, and how the format of the event will off...

Safety in the greenhouse, whether it’s safe handling of crop protection materials or preventing slips and falls, is an important but sometimes overlooked concept. During Cultivate’25, a group of growers will come together for a panel discussion on why adopting a safety-first mindset is essential to protecting employees and ensuring smooth, productive operations. In this episode, I talked to two of these growers – Katie Jent of Metr...

Laura Barth is the research coordinator at American Floral Endowment (AFE), which has been monitoring the impacts of federal funding cuts on horticulture research. In this episode, I talk to Laura about the uncertainties being felt at many institutions, how American Floral Endowment can be a funding resource for research, how the AFE endowment works, and AFE’s upcoming Rise to Support fundraising campaign. Here’s our conversation. 

This year’s Southern Garden Tour takes place June 3-5, and features plant trials at Young’s Plant Farm in Alabama, the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, and Metrolina Greenhouses’ North Carolina facilities. This past week, I had a great conversation with the trial managers at each location: Dr. Mark Yelanich, Director of R&D at Metrolina, Penny Merritt-Price, Product Development Manager at Young’s Plant Farm, and John R...