Drat. Up until now I had been hoping that the Tropical Plant International Expo (TPIE) 2021 would be the first live, in-person industry trade show since the pandemic hit last March. Florida cases had been down, and the state, county and convention center were committed to staying open—safe, but open.

Alas, I was too sanguine. Florida and the Tampa Bay Convention Center were not the culprit; it was the overall concerns and current trendlines surrounding COVID nationwide and internationally, that led the TPIE planning committee to make the tough decision to cancel the January 20-22 event. (I know it was tough; I’m on the committee.)

Coronavirus case numbers continue to spike, and the holidays (and more risk of spread) remain ahead of us. Exhibitors were saying they’d be there, but with reduced staff and booth sizes. Attendee participation was questionable, with many corporate buyers remaining on travel restrictions and international air travel questionable. So rather than offer the industry an event that was not to FNGLA’s high standards, it was decided to forgo this year’s show. We will regroup and get ready for the next TPIE, to be held in Tampa, Florida on January 19-21, 2022.

“We knew a level of unease would get in the way of face-to-face business meetings and in-person networking,” says Linda Adams, TPIE show manager and FNGLA’s chief operating officer. “With so many enthusiastic TPIE exhibitors and attendees, cancelation is a big disappointment, yet FNGLA appreciates everyone’s understanding of this final decision.”

Attendees who pre-registered for TPIE will be refunded automatically.

FNGLA will soon send out information to our exhibitors and supporters on several meaningful ways to keep the TPIE connection between buyers and exhibitors strong and active, especially at a time when interior and tropical plant demand is so high.

Don’t erase the TPIE dates (January 20-22), because TPIE will be delivering the planned Opening Session with trend expert Max Luthy, which promises to be an eye-opener! Max, Director of Trends & Insights at TrendWatching, has appeared before (most recently this past January), and he has the most amazing knack of connecting global macro trends to consumer interest in our products. He always wows the audience with his insights, and I can’t wait to hear what he has to say about the pandemic’s impact on consumers.

In addition, TPIE will still host (online), the other educational sessions that were to take place at the show.

Most importantly for buyers who were counting on TPIE to source tropical plant material for 2021, TPIE will continue to serve as a conduit between you and exhibitors, offering targeted information on plant availability, showcasing exhibitors and their plants and products, and more. Stay tuned for details!

If you want to know what last week's Heimos poinsettia trial looked like—I mean really looked like, up close and in fine detail—you’ll want to fire up your biggest UHD TV set and stream our 4K VIDEO coverage of the trial to it. Videographer extraordinaire Jen Zurko did a fine job operating our new Canon camera, which captured the subtle color differences of the reds, whites and even orange better than I could have hoped.



Check it out HERE. (Of course, you can watch in old-fashioned 1080p HD and it still looked pretty darned good.)

Plantpeddler, in bucolic Cresco*, Iowa, has added two days to its 2020 Poinsettia Variety Day, so if you’re able to be in the neighborhood of northeastern Iowa, stop in—they promise to “ensure a safe and valuable experience for all attendees.”

In addition to the primary Poinsettia Variety Day event on Thursday, December 3, the trial area will also be open on Wednesday, December 2, from 9 to 4 (CST) and Friday, December 4, from 9 to noon, in order to allow individuals and groups additional opportunities to tour the trial.

To ensure a safe event for all, in accordance with State of Iowa mandates, wearing face masks will be required of all those attending the event. Hand disinfection stations will be available throughout the trial area. Social distancing and additional adjustments in the program will be in place. Box lunches will be provided for those who register in advance.  

If you are planning on attending, please RSVP to info@plantpeddler.com or call (800) 827-1654.

*Cresco, the seat of Howard County, means “I grow” in Latin. Ellen Church, the world’s first female flight attendant, was born in Cresco. And on October 20, 1980, “The David Letterman Show” was broadcast from Cresco after the town won a competition to host the show.

If you’re looking for indoor farming resources combined with independent grocery contacts, well then, head to Vegas next May 16-19, specifically the new Caesars Forum Convention Center, where you will find two co-located shows: the NGA Show, the leading trade show and conference for independent grocers, and Indoor Ag-Con, the premier agriculture conference and trade show for the indoor and vertical farming industry.

What a great idea! Put the growers and the retailers side by side so they can rub elbows and swap business cards!

Personally, I didn’t know the NGA Show until now. But it’s been around, 38 years precisely, and it’s “the world’s premier educational and supplier resource serving the independent grocer community,” said Courtney Muller, chief corporate development and strategy officer with Clarion Events North America.

Indoor Ag-Con is much younger, having launched in 2013. It provides exhibitors and attendees with the latest technology and business strategies for growing crops in indoor systems, using hydroponic, aeroponic and aquaponics techniques. And if you didn’t know, that’s a hot market—I’ll bet there will be some deep-pocketed investors roaming that show floor!

“This is an exciting opportunity and what’s bound to be a successful industry-first event that delivers much more value to our members, customers, partners and the markets we serve,” said Greg Ferrara, president and CEO of the National Grocers Association.

The NGA Show and Indoor Ag-Con visitors will have access to all exhibits, and discounts will be available for cross-over educational event attendance.

For updated information on all of The NGA Show and Indoor Ag-Con events, and to stay connected and educated, visit the websites at www.thengashow.com and www.indoor.ag.

The latest Axiom Marketing-sponsored research study, the Axiom 2021 Gardening Insights Survey, reveals some good stuff about the 1,200 homeowners they surveyed. Such as:

- 86 percent of homeowners plan to continue gardening in 2021.

- Nearly 40 percent of those surveyed say they will plant about the same as last year.

- 47 percent say they will be planting more and expanding their garden spaces next season.

- Many homeowners surveyed said they were gardening in 2020 because it gave them something to do while stuck at home during the pandemic, provided a source of exercise and helped to cope with stress.

- More than 80 percent of those surveyed said they felt successful or very successful in their 2020 gardening tasks.

- Growing flowers is by far the most popular gardening activity, at nearly 73 percent, with shrubs and vegetables rounding out the top three.

- More than 32 percent rank container gardening high on their list.

- Houseplants are also important, with 46 percent saying indoor gardening is a meaningful activity.

- Overwhelmingly, most were gardening to add beauty in their lives—more than half of those surveyed said they just wanted a beautiful outdoor space.

For more information on the Axiom 2021 Gardening Survey, visit https://axiomcom.com/win-win-research-axiom-2021-gardening-survey/.

Vita Farms, ForemostCo Inc.’s production facility in Guatemala, has achieved an A+ rating in the MPS-ABC registration system, showing its “complete dedication to sustainable production,” as their press release states. It is a pretty good achievement, as A+ is the highest level MPS offers in its environmental certification. Nurseries have to score at least 90 out of 110 possible points.

Vita Farms is a 50-acre nursery (with an additional 185-acre expansion underway) that used to be Mayacrops’ Villa Canales Farm, with which ForemostCo had a longstanding relationship. In 2010, the farm was destroyed by the combined effects of the eruption of the Pacaya volcano and (the very next day!) Tropical Storm Agnes. The owner decided not to rebuild. Enter ForemostCo, which bought the farm and rebuilt it, giving birth to Vita Farms. Today, they ship 200 million cuttings in more than 500 varieties of foliage, succulents, groundcovers and perennials to the U.S., Canada and Europe.

“Social responsibility and sustainable production has always been a guiding principle at Vita Farms,” said Luis Pacheco, General Manager of Vita. “Obtaining MPS certification was a natural step forward towards lowering our burden on the environment, and assures that we are in compliance with market requirements.”

Click the image above to link to a page with a nice video tour of their operation.

Not sure what "New Deal" they're speaking of, but that’s the unusual theme of the fifth installment of the International Forum for Agricultural Robotics (FIRA), taking place virtually December 8-10 from Toulouse, France. And hey! There’s complimentary admission for farmers! So far, more than 500 participants from around the globe, including robotics manufacturers, agri-food companies, agribusinesses, producers, researchers, investors and media have registered to join this year’s online edition.

Since 2016, FIRA has become established as the leading event for professionals in the agricultural robotics sector. It looks to be much more about field and row-crop agriculture than greenhouse, but if you’re interested in the topic, there are always crossovers. A skim of the presentations shows there will be “live” demos of all the robots, including SwarmFarm’s autonomous sprayers, PixelFarming’s robot weeder, VitiBot’s vineyard robot, ZTractor’s Bearcub 24—“the world’s first autonomous electric tractor,” and Robotti, from AgroIntelli. Fun stuff!

Early registration of only €150 ($178), available through November 30, is half off the registration of €299 ($355) during conference week. Registration for farmers is at no cost until December 8, the opening day of the conference.

Conference sessions and roundtable discussions will be available both live online and “on demand” immediately after they are completed to allow participation from anywhere in the world, regardless of time zone.

Learn more at www.fira-agtech.com/en.

Chad has just been named Head of Sales for North America for Syngenta Flowers. In that role, Chad will lead Syngenta’s commercial sales team and “play a pivotal role in building on the strategic relationships with brokers and growers in the North American market.” Chad, who’s been with Syngenta since 2014, first as a Broker Account Manager and then as Business Operations Manager, will remain part of the leadership team in North America and will also become part of the global leadership team.

Chad’s background before Syngenta includes stints with Twixwood Nursery, Neal Mast Greenhouses, Kalamazoo Valley Plant Growers Co-op and the Kalamazoo Flowers Group, Express Seed and Green Circle Growers, so he’s definitely got a strong background in the North American market.

Let’s talk poinsettias!

I’m curious how your crop turned out and how sales have been thus far. Are you seeing a continuation of the strong demand of summer and fall? What are customers asking for in colors—reds vs. novelties? What’s happening in poinsettia painting/dying/glittering? And are you selling anything floriculture besides poinsettias? What else do consumers want for Christmas?

Send me your thoughts and photos at beytes@growertalks.com.