I’ll admit it: I was skeptical when AmericanHort announced they were going to attempt a virtual trade show this year. I’ve poked around in these online trade shows in the past, and found them a hard and boring slog.

Then again, I’ve never attended an online trade show where I knew most of the vendors and many of the people “walking” the “aisles” with me. The several hours I spent online “visiting” booths and looking for new products was punctuated with chats with long-time colleagues and friends, with comments about the North Market, Short North and Jeni’s ice cream, to name a few of the usual haunts in Columbus during “Short Course” week.

So I give AmericanHort a 10 out of 10 for giving the industry someplace to gather this summer—even if it was via computer and Zoom. AmericanHort CEO Ken Fisher says that more than 9,000 people registered for the event, with thousands on each day of the four-day show. Anytime I was online there were 1,600 to 1,900 others online with me. I was especially impressed by the crowd at the Monday morning State of the Industry presentation by Craig Regelbrugge, Dr. Charlie Hall and Ken Fisher, which showed more than 700 people in attendance—more than they can accommodate during the live event, I think!

Best of all, you can still watch that event and all the others because they were all recorded. And the trade show doesn’t get “torn down” until September 1, so you can still visit and look for new products until then. It’s a week later and I’m in the “lobby” right now and there are 95 other folks poking around with me. Try that in Columbus!

The big challenge for AmericanHort is that Cultivate generates a significant part of their programming and operating expenses every year, and having to cancel the live event put a big dent in their budget. How big? I doubt they’d tell me, but they need all the support we can offer as an industry. The virtual event brought in some moneys through booth fees and sponsorships, but only a fraction of the real event. In addition, they opened up the show to everyone, whether or not they were a member, and also gave members free access to the 50 education events (non-members paid only a nominal fee). That, says Ken, was for the benefit of the industry.

How can you help support AmericanHort in return? Consider joining, upgrading your membership level or contributing to the association.

Says Ken, “No matter how large or small, you will be making a powerful investment in our continued advocacy, training and education, research, and overall industry support. Our industry has challenges ahead of us, but together there are no obstacles we cannot overcome.”

Email them at hello@americanhort.com or click HERE if you think you’d be willing to support your association with a donation.

Here’s where a virtual event is REALLY different than the real one: It’s difficult to walk the aisles seeking out new tools and equipment—my usual beat for the last quarter of a century I’ve been going. So instead, me and fellow editors Jen Zurko, Bill Calkins, Ellen Wells, Jen Polanz and Allison Westbrook divvied up the show alphabetically, with me taking exhibitors M through P. (Lucky Bill Calkins got A-D, which included equipment companies AgriNomix, Argus, Atlas Greenhouse, Bellpark, Blackmore, Conley’s, Cravo, Dramm … maybe I should have thought before I picked?)

Anyway, we’ll have full coverage of the “trade show” in our September issue, just like we always do. For now, here are a few of the fine products I spotted in the M-P aisles. (To learn more about any of these, go to cultivatevirtual.org, sign up to visit the trade show, then search for the company name in the Exhibit Hall search box.)

A new company to me, MAD, which offers benches, grow lights, ebb-and-flow trays and other greenhouse equipment also offers eco-friendly, plant-based solvents to clean dirt, grime and algae from greenhouse walls, floors and equipment. Surfaces safely cleaned with their biodegradable, plant-based greenhouse cleaning product formulas include acrylic, aluminum, concrete, glass, granite, grates, greenhouse walls, plexiglass, polystyrene, stainless steel, tile, wood, brick, stone, pavers, composite decking and asphalt.

They’ve got an ebb-and-flow table/tray cleaner, a greenhouse floor and wall wash, and “clean the green”—a concentrated cleaner safe to use around plants.

Each product comes in 32-oz., 1-gal. and 5-gal. sizes.

MasterTag is excited about their new Houseplant Tags. And why shouldn't they be, seeing how the trend is still white-hot, yet houseplant tags look like they’re left over from the last houseplant trend of the 1970s.

MasterTag’s Gerry Giorgio says the goal of the new tags is to provide the consumer with as much information as possible.

“Light is their primary concern and need of direction when selecting a plant, so we provide detailed, yet visual, direction here, along with other important information," such as a text code.

Says Gerry, “Unlike QR codes, most people text. And when they do, they are taken to a landing page on our consumer website, MyGardenLife.com, where they will have an abundance of good care information and inspiration.”



In addition, they’ve got a new line of “Mini Signs,” again based on their consumer research.

Says Gerry, “We know that people need help. We also know that growers and retailers need something that is flexible and can be used in many different display scenarios. These are perfect for the grower/retailer that have a direct connection to the consumer. They can be placed around a given area and retained at checkout to be used again. We put them in stock so they are easy to order.”

OHP showed their most recently launched pesticide products, two of which are traditional and one of which is a biosolution.

Pradia insecticide is a combination of two unique insecticides providing both contact and systemic activity. Pradia contains cyclaniliprole and flonicamid in a soluble concentrate formulation for use as a foliar spray. Pradia delivers a quick knockdown (48 hours) and excellent long-term control of three to four weeks of residual activity on problem insects such as aphids, thrips and whiteflies. It’s registered everywhere but California.

Sarisa insecticide contains a novel active ingredient, cyclaniliprole, formulated as a soluble concentrate, which acts on contact and ingestion. Sarisa provides quick knockdown (48 hours) of target pests with residual control of three to four weeks on thrips, caterpillars and beetles (including flea and Japanese beetles), along with other sucking and chewing insects. It's also registered in all states but California.

OHP’s new biosolution is Grotto, a bactericide/fungicide. Grotto is an effective broad-spectrum agent for prevention and control of diseases in a variety of plants and crops. It’s OMRI-listed and approved for organic production. Grotto is labeled for use on greenhouse and shadehouse vegetables and herbs, ornamentals, and turf. Diseases controlled include Anthracnose, bacterial blights (Pseudomonas, Erwinia), Botrytis, Cercospora leaf spot, downy mildew, powdery mildew, Phomopsis, volutella leaf blight and more.

This planter and pot cover company is hot on the farmhouse trends with their new Modern Farmhouse Grower Collection—wire baskets in trendy shapes with coco or fabric liners (in a Bistro print).



There are also black metal washtub planters with copper handles. Freestanding, wall and hanging basket planters round out the collection.

Got time on your hands and want to slap in some earbuds? Then check out TECH ON DEMAND, brought to you by GrowerTalks. We’re proud to say it’s available on all the major podcast players—Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, Podbean, Stitcher and more. Subscribe now and never miss an episode.

We have Senior Editor Bill Calkins to thank for producing these. He's the young chap behind the microphone of these interview-style podcasts, the goal of which is to help you grow your best crops ever by sharing cultural and technical information based on discussions with experts around the globe (although sometimes he’ll cover other topics in the horticulture realm, like nursery and retail, and trends and such).

The first four episodes are:

- Holding & Delaying Greenhouse Crops with Jerry Gorschels (PanAmerican Seed), Gary Vollmer (Ball Floraplant/Selecta One) and Chris Fifo (Darwin Perennials/Kieft Seed)

- Greenhouse Sanitation with Dr. Todd Cavins (Ball Seed Technical Services expert)

- Poinsettia Disease Control with Aaron Palmateer (Senior Technical Rep with Bayer Ornamentals)

- Poinsettia Insect Control with Aaron Palmateer (ditto)

These last two on poinsettias are especially timely, obviously. Aaron takes you on an action-oriented journey from starting strong in the early stages of propagation through to finishing this holiday crop with minimal insect and disease pressures. Regional specifics are covered, as well as how to avoid challenges from common and less-common pest problems.

Be sure to listen all the way to the end of these episodes to learn about a new resource available from Bayer—a user-friendly Spanish language pest identification guide that’s sure to be a critical tool for all greenhouse operations.

More episodes will come as relevant topics arise, so subscribe today and add this digital tool to your greenhouse toolbox. Listen to TECH ON DEMAND as you work, drive, exercise, water, spray or whenever you need a horticultural pick-me-up. 

Look for TECH ON DEMAND, brought to you by GrowerTalks, on your favorite podcast app or find all the episodes at growertalks.com/TechOnDemand.

The aforementioned Mr. Calkins is hosting a three-part Poinsettia Tech webinar series with the experts from Selecta One and Part 2 is coming up Thursday, July 30 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern/Noon Central.

The topic? “From Pinch to Bract Development.” Guest experts are Gary Vollmer, Jason Twaddell and James Doukas. These guys know their stuff and they deliver it in an engaging, conversational style that will have you hoping for more (which you’ll get in Part 3!).

Sign up now at growertalks.com/webinars.

If you missed Part 1 (“From Stick Through Pinch”), you’ll find it at the same spot, down the page just a tad in the archives.

You need to make an appointment so they can keep the crowds down to a safe size, but The Gardens at Ball will be open this summer for Ball Seed Customer Days.

Note that I wrote “Days,” not “Day.” That’s because they’ll have open hours from July 28 through August 14, with 50 spots available from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. and another 50 from 10:00 a.m. to noon.

Go to www.ballcustomerday.com for details. The nice thing about the registration form is that it tells you how many slots are still available on what days (good if you’re bringing a group).

I’ve been out in the gardens shooting video and let me tell you, they're in excellent shape! See for yourself—here’s a shot Snoopy took just the other day:

This is a great time to get out and take in some fresh air and fresh annuals, perennials and vegetables, so get yourself a slot reserved now. But if you can’t, well, those videos I’ve been shooting will give you a taste of what you’re missing. Also, Jen “Videographer Extraordinaire” Zurko and I will be in the garden on July 31 doing our annual variety coverage.

Way back in 1990, Donald Layser from Layser’s Flowers in Myerstown, Pennsylvania, wanted to protect his outdoor spring crops from frost and rain.

The Canadian company Cravo had been building flat-roof retractable houses for eight years, but they were just for frost protection—they weren't capable of keeping rain off the plants. Donald’s need lead to the very first greenhouse in the world where the roof could completely open and close, and which could also shed rain to a gutter system (that's the original house in the picture). The Cravo retractable-roof greenhouse was born.

I saw my first Cravo greenhouse three years later, in December 1993, on my first road trip for GrowerTalks. I was with Vic Ball (who wore a coat and tie the whole time). We stopped at Plants Inc. in Texas, run by Clay Murphy, where his new Cravo house was just being erected. I don’t believe the roof fabric was in place yet, but I know Vic was impressed by the concept. As was I—I had just spent the previous 10 years paying crazy power bills to run fans and pads in my Florida greenhouse, and the idea of natural ventilation in the south was a revelation.

Today, retractable roofs for floriculture production have mostly given way to hinged open-roof greenhouses. Cravo has found a much bigger niche in fruit and vegetable crop protection around the world.

(By the way, the open-roof greenhouse was not far behind, as it was the early 1990s when Van Wingerden Greenhouse Company began the first commercial test of an open-roof greenhouse at Van Wingerden International in Asheville, North Carolina. That house, below, is still being used.)

They do some creative things up in Canada. Case in point, an Alberta woman named Doni Rae Franklin who's converted two old schoolbuses into working greenhouses. When you check out the pictures and see the curved metal frames, you realize just how much like an old Everlite greenhouse a schoolbus is!

Read the story HERE.