A History of Minnesota Floriculture

While extensive construction of greenhouses occurred in the Twin Cities, greenhouses also began appearing in Minnesota towns of almost any size. Flowers became more readily available from local sources throughout most of the state than they had ever been before. The result was that shipment of floral products from firms like Kinsman, Holm and Olson, and Neilsen to agents in the upper midwest gradually diminished. New greenhouse owners were often recent immigrants from Europe.

Another byproduct of the growth of the floral market was a corresponding decline in greenhouse vegetable production. The decline, which began to set in after World War I, left only a few species, especially tomatoes, commercially viable in Minnesota until the second world war.

Florists' Cooperative Efforts

Florists of the era worked together quite well professionally in their organizations (conventions, short courses, flower shows, state fair exhibits, etc.) and socially through annual summer picnics (for both owners and employees), baseball teams and florist bowling teams. Times were prosperous for industry.

Interstate florist working relationships were strengthened by the founding in 1920 of the Tri-State Florists' Association in Fargo, North Dakota. As suggested by the name, members came primarily from the Dakotas and Minnesota. Approximately 75 percent of the charter and associate charter members were from North Dakota. A few of the charter members were Frank Shotwell of Fargo, North Dakota, Ben Siebrecht of Abereen, South Dakota, and E.W. Schuster of Crookston, Minnesota. Associate charter members included R.W. Lumry of Bismark, North Dakota, Frank Siebrecht of Rapid City, South Dakota; and from Minnesota, Morris Fredericks of Moorehead, and O.R. Eckhardt and Max Kaiser of St. Paul.

During the Tri-State Florists' Association annual meetings, which rotated among locations outside the Twin Cities, the organization's members usually visited flower shops and greenhouses in the local meeting area. The association also had a strong social component, providing time and opportunity for members to come to better know their colleagues. In some years educational growing and design schools were included. Ardyce and Lorraine Anderson of Alexandria served as the group's elected officers from 1946 to 1959.

With improved transportation, a need for efficient operations and so many florist's educational activities available across the country, interest in the mainly social Tri-State Florists' Association gradually waned. Florists from the Dakotas frequently attended meetings and short courses in Minnesota. The Association ceased functioning in the late 1970s.

The Minnesota State Florists' Association staged a flower show in the Kenwood Armory in Minneapolis in November, 1922. Prizes totaled $6,000 in cash and cups. The admission fee was 50 cents per person.

Rush of New Growers

The R.L. Gould & Company headquarters in the mid 1920s. (Photo courtesy Al Gerdin of Northstar Turf)

Carl F. Wahl purchased the Sunnyside Greenhouse business in Minneapolis in 1920. His grandson LeRoy Erickson became the owner in 1957. The business closed in 1975 because of urban redevelopment and Erickson worked at Twin City Florist Supply in Minneapolis until 1994.

Mr. and Mrs. Paul A. Janisch established Eveleth Floral Company as a retail florist in 1920. A greenhouse was added in 1925 and two more later. A native of Germany, he worked in greenhouses in Ohio, Michigan, Montana and Minnesota before starting his own business. Daughter Virginia and her husband Jim Squillace, an engineer, plus Paul's son, Robert Janisch, took over the business in 1950. The new set of owners added a greenhouse and in 1952 started Jim's Flower and Gift Shop in nearby Virginia. They added more growing area and are now the only greenhouse firm growing floral crops the year round on the East Range. The two shops have a total of 15 employees. Jim and his wife Virginia's five daughters will be the new owners. Jamie is now the general manager and Paula is the bookkeeper and assistant manager.

In the early 1920s, Paul Koennicke started a greenhouse and flower shop in Perham. Robert L. Perry purchased the business in the second half of the 1940s. In 1976, John Bergum bought the firm. He currently operates 45,000 square feet of greenhouses. Primary crops are bedding plants and potted plants.

George and Viola Butterfield started the George Butterfield Greenhouse in 1920 in Orono and added a retail shop. In time, customers included some of the prosperous residents who lived on estates around Lake Minnetonka. George's son Ned took over the business in 1957 and moved the retail shop to Wayzata in 1967. Also in 1967, he started a seasonal business for making evergreen wreaths which are sold at wholesale. Lorna, Ned's wife, was active in the retail business. The company name was changed to Butterfield's around 1970.

The Neil Neilsen Greenhouses in Mankato totaled 50,000 square feet as shown here in 1921. Neil expanded the range to 125,000 square feet by 1925. Note the electric streetcars in the background. (Illustration from company letterhead and advertising. Used with permission.)

Leo Hertog came to Minnesota from Holland via South America and worked for Max Kaiser. In 1920, he started his Hertog greenhouse range in St. Anthony Village next door to the John R. Johnson range. He first grew vegetables and flowers. After World War II, his sons John, Leo and Ronald took over the business, renamed it Hertog Floral, Inc., and expanded the range. A retail business was added in 1940, discontinued during World War II, and then restarted in 1945.

Herman Kersten started growing floral and vegetable products in his greenhouses in New Brighton in 1920. The floral products were primarily pansy and petunia plants. Later his son Fred operated the business until he sold it in 1976 and retired. The new owner was Joseph Chenoweth III. Chenoweth's grandfather had been a grower at Como Park Conservatory, while his father had opened a retail floral shop in downtown St. Paul in 1953. Chenoweth II, moved his business to his son's greenhouse location where an attractive new retail shop was built, and the greenhouse area expanded. The younger Chenoweth has operated the retail and greenhouse business since his father's retirement.

Nic Lebens started his greenhouse and retail floral business on Larpenteur Avenue in St. Paul, also in 1920. His sons Nic II and Laurence continued and expanded the business with a large wholesale volume and a garden center. Nic II also added flower farms in Guatamala in 1964 and 1975. The two farms were at different elevations to permit growing different crops. The Lebens family collected clothing and shipped it to Guatamala to help the natives following a devastating earthquake. Prior to Nic III's premature death, the firm operated a propagating range in Florida for rooting geranium cuttings from their farms in Guatamala. Since the death of Nic II in 1986, the Guatamalan farms have been leased to other parties. Current operators in St. Paul are Nic II's widow Pat, son Phil, daughter Jody and her husband Frank Puleo.

John Pletscher started his business in New Brighton in 1920. Early crops included both indoor and outdoor flowers (pansies and petunias) and vegetables. Sons John, Robert and Glen joined the firm and it was expanded, especially after World War II. They built one of the first commercial aluminum greenhouses in Minnesota in 1946, a Zachman product. A retail business was developed and a new retail store and garden center were built about 1955. Glen's son Brian is now in charge of growing, while Glen operates the retail business. Although retired, Bob and John still spend many hours working at the greenhouses.

In 1924, Harold S. Soderberg opened Soderberg's Florist on Lake Street in Minneapolis. Later, his son Harold Jr. joined the business. Lyle Blair purchased the firm in 1976 and is the current owner and manager.

Joseph Weinholzer, a truck crop gardener, built greenhouses in 1924 in Roseville (then called Rosetown) and grew bedding plants. His daughter, Elsie Weinholzer-McLean, a School of Agriculture graduate, bought the business, expanded it and still operates some of the greenhouses in the spring.

John W. Vasatka of Minneapolis, the 1888 founder of the John W. Vasatka Greenhouse, died in 1924. His daughter Mamie Peterson, who operated the retail business, renamed Chicago Avenue Greenhouses. The business closed in 1971 when Mamie died.

Peonies were becoming very popular in the 1920s. The 21st annual National Peony Show was held in St. Paul in 1924, and the 37th annual National Peony Show was held in Mayo Civic Auditorium in Rochester in 1940.

Brand Peony Farms evolved from the Brand Nursery Company in Faribault in 1925, when it was run by O.F. Brand's son, A.M. Brand. In 1929, the firm was incorporated to include Myrtle G. Gentry. They developed an active breeding program with peonies as the primary crop and developed a national reputation. In 1955, brothers Robert and Archibald Tischler bought the business, which ceased functioning in 1980. Robert continued to breed and sell new cultivars under the name Tischler Peony Garden. Some Brand cultivars are currently sold by Jerry Lund who owns and operates the Farmer's Nursery and Garden Center in St. Cloud.

A Hans Rosacker Company delivery truck about 1921. Identity of the young man is unknown. (Photo courtesy Don Rosacker)

In 1925, John Reiss started a greenhouse operation in Golden Valley, producing flowers and vegetables. Over the years, a large modern range was developed devoted primarily to pot plant production. Sons Hans, Henry and Fritz followed John into the business. Later, Henry's son Hank and Hans' son Bill took over management of the range. Bill's son Greg and Hank's son John worked for the firm a few years before the site was sold for development purposes. Fourth generation Jeff is now head grower at the Minneapolis Floral Company greenhouses where his brother Pat was also employed. In the 1940s and 1950s, Busch Brothers and the Reiss Greenhouses, both wholesale growers, were the only commercial taxpayers in Golden Valley.

Robert Rosacker, a fourth son of the original Hans Rosacker, started the Rosetown Greenhouses on Cleveland Avenue, St. Paul, in 1925. Its location was adjacent to the University of Minnesota Golf Course, located near the St. Paul campus in Falcon Heights. Cut roses was the only crop Robert grew. Al Bilski, formerly a co-owner of the Merriam Park Floral Company greenhouses, purchased the establishment in 1959 and continued growing roses. The University Athletic Department bought the property in 1969 and converted the area into recreational athletic fields.

Schreiner's Iris Gardens started business in St. Paul in 1925. F.X. Schreiner began growing irises as a hobby in 1915, and it evolved into a business. His son Robert took over after his death in 1931. Robert's sister Connie and brother Bernard (Gus) joined the business full time after World War II. In 1946, the company was moved to the Williamette Valley near Salem, Oregon, seeking a better climate for growing and developing irises. Currently the business is run by third and fourth generation family members. They have won top notch awards in the iris world. Schreiner's is now the largest retail iris growing operation in the world, and they have a worldwide business.

The Hans Rosacker Company greenhouse range on Stinson Blvd. in Minneapolis in the mid 1920s. The chimney atop the hill marks the site of its retail shop, while the structure in the foreground housed the greenhouse boiler room. (Photo courtesy Don Rosacker)

Bill and Emil Dey opened North Oaks Floral in the James J. Hill (North Oaks) Estate greenhouses north of St. Paul in 1927. In 1939, they bought the Hansen Greenhouses at Dale Street and Maryland Avenue in St. Paul, and moved to the new location. They renamed it Dey Brothers Greenhouses, Inc. and added a retail shop in 1948. Bill's son Jim worked at the firm and together with his son they rebuilt and enlarged the range. Jim and his wife later ran the business. In 1994, the firm closed and offered the land for development. Christian Hansen's son was the librarian on the St. Paul Campus during the period after World War II.

Holm and Olson (75 percent) and Harald Thompson (25 percent) purchased the Emil Rieple Greenhouses in Rochester in 1927. The range was enlarged in 1930 and efficiently managed by Mr. Thompson. He added a garden center and a retail shop. Mr. Thompson passed away in 1957. The Rochester branch of Holm and Olson's business was sold to Bachman's in 1971. The presence of the Mayo Clinic accounted for a very good wire order business.

Northrup King of Minneapolis developed a large flower and vegetable packet seed market over the years. Around 1929, it established a one-acre flower test plant area in Eden Prairie. James Donald maintained the plot until 1959 when Kermit Henrikson succeeded him. The test and demonstration area grew to several acres and included All American trials as well as established cultivars and trial samples of seed lots considered for purchase by Northrup King. The trials included vegetables, turf and field crops.

The Northrup King flower test plots were located alongside busy U.S. highway 169 and were open for inspection by florists and other interested persons, including home gardeners and seed industry personnel from around the world. It was a valuable asset for growers in the upper midwest. D. Bruce Johnstone, a University of Minnesota botany graduate, was head of the company's flower section during this period and into the 1980s, when he retired. Northrup King started a greenhouse unit to sell seeds and supplies to professional growers about 1960.

Floral Affairs and Clubs

Florists active in industry affairs in the 1920s and 1930s included Max Kaiser, Carl Lindskoog and Charles Mathes of Holm and Olson, who was secretary-treasurer of the Minnesota State Florists' Association into the 1950s, plus Olaf J. Olson of Holm and Olson, Hans Rosacker II, Henry Rosacker and Harald Thompson.

The Ladies Florist Club of St. Paul was founded at the home of Mrs. O.J. Olson (Holm and Olson) on March 29, 1929. Charter members were Mmes. Olson, O.R. Eckhardt, Thellar Johnston, Alfred Haupt, Max Kaiser, F.H. Gibbs, F.C. Schletty, F.W. Topel, H.S. Reid, Jas Souden, Aage Thompson, George Nelson, E.P. Holm, Warren Olson, Paul Jansen, and John Nylof. The club ceased functioning about 1994.

University Growth

The University of Minnesota School of Agriculture, including the horticulture division, reached early peaks of attendance with 672 students in 1921, and 621 students in 1929.

Assistant professor C.E. Cary was hired in 1923 to replace Mr. Cady in ornamental horticulture. Graduate study in horticulture at the University became available in 1925.

Louis Sando, an Englishman, was hired by the University in 1926 to teach School of Agriculture classes. He was quite active in florist's activities and served as president of the Minnesota State Florists' Association from 1937 until his retirement from the University in 1941.

In 1929, Louis E. Longley, Ph.D., a busy and highly capable broad spectrum floriculturist, was hired to the Division of Horticulture's faculty on a nine-month appointment as an ornamentals plant breeder. Expanding the range of the division's activities, his expertise complemented the Division of Horticulture's existing reputation as a plant breeding unit. He also taught the college level courses in floricultural, plant propagation and woody plant identification, and conducted a variety of research studies.

Produced by Communication and Educational Technology Services, University of Minnesota Extension.

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