A History of Minnesota Floriculture

The Minnesota Commercial Flower Growers started fund raising activities at their annual convention short course in late February 1960 to support efforts to obtain new research and teaching facilities at the University for floriculture and horticulture. The chief recipient of funds in the 1960s was United Minnesota Horticulture. They also paid for the printing of a career bulletin, prepared by the Department of Horticulture, featuring jobs in horticulture and the teaching program of the department. These bulletins were distributed to high schools in the state and to potential University students. The industry was growing, further expansion was anticipated, and a supply of people trained and educated with appropriate floricultural skills was needed.

Clint Chastek started growing vegetables and raspberries in Hopkins in the late 1920s. In 1960, his son Stan started growing bedding plants and built additional greenhouses. In 1971, Stan moved to Corcoran where he built a three-acre range. Main crops are bedding plants and hanging baskets. Stan's sons, Scott and Jeff, are now active in the business.

Fred Hurias, Sr. began growing truck garden crops in St. Paul in 1934. His sons, Fred, Jr. (Bud), and Marvin, later joined him. About 1960, they started to change to floral crops. Later, the sons developed their own greenhouse business. Bud died in 1992. Marvin still runs a thriving bedding plant operation in Roseville with his four children, daughters Dianne DeGrood, Patricia O'Connell and Lynn Gustafson, and son Tom.

The Puvogels sold their retail business on Grand Avenue to Don and Kay Minni, and Jim McGinty and wife in 1960. The greenhouses were dismantled, and Don and Jim, who had worked for Hans Rosacker Company, moved the shop to 949 Grand Avenue. After Jim died, the Minnis continued the business. In 1991, the retail shop was sold and renamed Stems and Vines by its new owner, Peter Linney, of Chicago.

Hertog Floral, of St. Anthony Village, built an attractive new retail shop at its greenhouses in 1960. Cut flowers, pot plants and bedding plants were grown until the business closed after being destroyed by a tornado in 1984. Thereafter, John Hertog's son David worked for J.R. Johnson's wholesale and growing business. For three years starting in 1991, Dave, under a joint agreement, operated the Holm and Olson range in St. Paul.

O. Eidsmoe and University of Minnesota floriculture graduate R. Brostrom purchased R.L. Gould & Company in 1962 and expanded both its product lines and market areas. However, they discontinued the retail portion of their business when they moved to a new building in Arden Hills in 1965. Their customers included flower growers, garden centers, nursery operators and golf courses. A branch of the company operated in Portland, Oregon, from 1975 to 1987, selling chain saws and related hardware to that area's lumberjacks. Another branch operated in Green Bay, Wisconsin, from 1979 to 1987. The firm closed in 1988, primarily because of the failing health of both owners.

David Sindt of St. Paul started breeding mini irises in the 1960s, eventually introducing 30 cultivars through the Riverside Iris Garden in Minneapolis. His new cultivars included 'Zipper', which was a top rated cultivar across the nation. Sindt died in 1986.

In 1963, the national meeting of Roses Inc. was held in Minneapolis. It included a 'Land of Lakes Rose Show' which featured 70,000 rose blooms. Open to the public, the well-attended show was staged in the Dayton's department store auditorium in its flagship downtown Minneapolis location.

In 1964, Harold and Lucille Thomford opened Thomford's Garden Center in Crookston. They sold potted plants, bedding plants, nursery stock and supplies. Their son John and his wife Jean now run the business, with Harold still on duty.

Brainerd Vocational Technical Institute

Formal education programs in horiticultural subjects expanded outside the Twin Cities in 1964, when floriculture retailing began to be taught at the Brainerd Vocational Technical Institute, known since 1993 as the Brainerd/Staples Technical College. The one-year program included an internship in industry. Very little content on greenhouse operations was included in the program, and its instructional curriculum was on a technical school level. At the peak, Brainerd averaged 24 graduates per year.

Joe Bilski, who had been a co-owner of Merriam Park Floral, taught the course at Brainerd in its first year. Rudy Hillig taught the Brainerd retail florists program from 1965 to 1971. He had worked in the University of Minnesota floriculture greenhouse and had owned a retail flower shop. Bert Knandel taught from 1971 until his retirement in 1991. Jeff Dirks took over teaching the floriculture program in 1991.

Annual Dayton's-Bachman's Flower Show

In 1964, Dayton's and Bachman's joined forces to present a spectacular garden flower show in the downtown Minneapolis Dayton's department store auditorium at the end of the winter. The show, free to the public, has become a much anticipated annual event, drawing about 100,000 people every year during its 15-day run.

Industry Development Continues

Linder's Greenhouses in St. Paul in 1965. Hot beds and cold frames, commonly used to supplement greenhouse production, are in the foreground. They were replaced by plastic-covered greenhouses when low cost plastic films became available. (Photo courtesy Lill Linder)

A cooperative for purchasing cut flowers was established by Minneapolis retailers Neut Beugen, Janet and Lowell Karlsted, Don Lindskoog, Jerry Louiselle, Ed Peterson and Ted Soteroplos in the early 1960s. It was named Traders Supply. A few years later, a professional manager was hired. The cooperative also sold cut flowers and florist supplies at wholesale. Its building burned about 1970, and the business moved to a new location on Blaisdell Avenue in Minneapolis. It was later moved again, to Edina. Leonard Le May bought the firm in the late 1970s and moved it to Bloomington. In still another change of ownership, Scott Parriball bought the firm in 1989, and changed its name to Traders' Edge in 1990. In 1991, Parriball was joined by a partner, Tom Christopherson.

Len Busch built a new greenhouse range in Plymouth in 1965. Previously, he had worked at the Busch Brothers range, a facility partly owned by his father, Bill Busch. Len's range was enlarged regularly over the years and he specialized in cut roses. Len was most innovative and progressive in introducing new ideas to reduce costs and improve productivity.

Among the greenhouse innovations introduced by Len Busch was the 1974 installation of a boiler that produced heat by burning waste materials such as wood chips and sawdust. An underground horizontal six foot high chimney (exiting on a hillside) was added to minimize particle distribution into the air. High-pressure sodium, high-intensity discharge lamps were added in 1984 to improve crop quality and yield. Fuel cost for waste wood was 25-30 cents per square foot per year. Between the heat given off by the sodium vapor lamps, use of thermal-light curtains at night and the low cost of the wood fuel, his heating cost was about 25 percent of what it would have been for natural gas.

In 1984, Len installed a computer to automate environmental control in a portion of the range. In 1987, he added a supplies unit for retail florists to supplement the wholesale cut flower business. In the 1980s, he also experimented with growing the roses in a rock-wool medium. Seventy percent of the rose plants are now grown in rock-wool. More computers were included with additional range expansion.

Keith Brodin was Len Busch's head grower from 1970 until his retirement in 1981. Brodin had previously been a partner in Madsen's Floral and Greenhouses in Brooklyn Center, from 1940 to 1966, specializing in quality snapdragon production. During this period, he was active in industry activities. He also served as president of the Minnesota Conservation Foundation, an affiliate of the National Widlife Federation. After leaving Madsen's, he worked at Kakach's rose range in Minnetonka until he joined Len Busch.

Roy Sackter, another University of Minnesota Department of Horticulture graduate, started a gardening service and maintenance business in 1946. It gradually developed into the Dundee Nursery and Landscaping Company. Jerry Theis was hired in 1954 and became a partner in 1958. They operated a garden center in Golden Valley in the 1950s and moved Dundee Nursery to Plymouth in 1959. Their first greenhouse was built in the early 1960s and more followed. Primary crops were bedding plants and perennials. Dundee Floral began in 1981 with the opening of a retail floral shop. A garden center was added in Savage in 1982.

Jerry and Elaine Theis became full owners of Dundee in 1988. They added a garden center in St. Cloud, which was purchased from Bergen's Greenhouses of Detroit Lakes in 1990. It had been operated by the Juenemann family before Bergen's had purchased it. Leo Juenemann had started that St. Cloud business as a truck gardener, and gradually added greenhouses.

John Richard Johnson continued John R. Johnson Supply, Inc. and the firm grew rapidly. In 1964, he and his son Rick bought Weeber Manufacturing, a greenhouse construction company in Minneapolis. The Kinsman's Greenhouses and Flower Shop in Austin were acquired in 1966.

Belden Plastics was started in 1968 to produce pots, packs, hanging baskets, etc. The company developed and patented the first plastic hanging basket which separated horizontally to permit placing plants in the sides of the plastic basket without having to push and crush the young plants through the side holes, an especially useful feature for poinsettia plants.

The Johnson Wholesale cut flower and supply business moved to larger quarters in Roseville in 1972. The Johnsons also operated Rachel's Roses range, formerly St. Anthony Floral Greenhouses, in Minneapolis from 1973 to 1980, when the location was sold for development. Rachel Case was a minority owner and the head grower. In 1980, a Florida growing operation and a branch supply business was started.

The J.R. Johnson Floriculture Research Fund was established in 1980 with the objective of providing funds for worthy research projects and similar floricultural activities. It was jointly funded by the company and many of its customers, who volunteered to donate a quarter of one percent of their equipment and supply purchases to the Fund with the Johnson firm matching the contributions.

In 1967, Floyd Broman, whose father was a truck crop gardener, and his wife Carol started construction of a greenhouse range in Rogers. They now have almost two acres under plastic, specializing in bedding plants.

Also in 1967, Stanley Hampl, a Holm and Olson employee most of his working life, joined with Tom Frampton to buy Holm and Olson's main unit in St. Paul. They built a new greenhouse unit and retail store nearby when the old range was demolished for a freeway. Stan retired in 1980 and Tom continued the business.

"European Flower Markets"

Bachman's started a new retail chain in 1968. Called the 'European Flower Markets,' it covered the market by putting outlets in department stores, supermarkets, the Twin Cities International Airport main terminal and large discount stores across the metropolitan area. There were 22 such markets in 1971 when the Pillsbury Company purchased them, along with the Extension Store which supplied their inventory.

Ralph Bachman stayed with the European Flower Markets portion of the business after the purchase, joining Pillsbury as the chief executive officer for that operation. Stanley Bachman replaced his brother Ralph as president of Bachman's. Pillsbury proceded to open more than 100 additional outlets in markets from Michigan to Texas to North Dakota. Unfortunately for Pillsbury, the business proved to be more labor-intensive and costly than it had allowed for. Bachman's bought back the Minnesota units in 1976. By 1984, their 48 Minnesota units had sales totaling $7.5 million.

In 1971, Bachman's built a new 226,000 square foot greenhouse range on its nursery land in Farmington. Also in 1971, it purchased Holm and Olson's Rochester greenhouses and flower shop. In 1972, the Rochester greenhouses were dismantled. The shop was replaced in 1974 with a full service flower and gift shop plus a garden center. In 1976, a wholesale gift subsidiary, Department 56, was started and annual sales grew to about $15 million by 1979. Early sales were primarily to Bachman's own stores, but sales to large retail chains soon became a major item. Ed Bazinet became president of Department 56 in 1984. The Lyndale store and garden center were remodeled and enlarged in 1977.

Ralph Bachman and Fred Flipse spearheaded the evolution of SAF's National Product Promotion Committee into the current American Floral Marketing Council in 1969. The North Central Florists' Allied organization began statewide advertising at the same time.

Other Companies

In 1969, Al Hermes and his sons Don, Tom and Jim purchased a wholesale greenhouse range on Roselawn Avenue in Falcon Heights. The previous owner, Alf Lorentzen, was a talented floral designer who had operated a retail shop on Cleveland Avenue by the University Golf Course. Alf had purchased the range from a Mr. Norton who grew several crops, but specialized in clean, high quality geraniums. Lorentzen remodeled and enlarged the range and specialized in cut rose production. The Hermes changed the name of Lorentzen Greenhouses to Roseville Greenhouses.

Unusual, winter hardy perennial plants from around the world have been the specialty of Betty Ann and Charles Addison. Betty Ann started Rice Creek Gardens, Inc. at their home in Fridley in 1969, emphasizing rock garden plants. She constructed public gardens in Duluth, at Minneapolis' Lake Harriet, at Grand Forks, North Dakota, and in Central Park in New York City. The plants were hauled from Blaine where the firm had moved in 1988.

Betty Ann graduated from Farmingdale Technical College on Long Island, New York, and added a degree in horticulture from the University of Minnesota in 1982. Charles graduated from the University of Connecticut-Storrs. Their business grew on the five-acre plot in Blain, which was expanded to 16 acres in 1994. Their grounds include display rock gardens, woodland gardens, field plots, test areas, sales area, and greenhouses. Offerings include more than 1,000 perennials and relatively rare trees and shrubs. The firm propagates over 90 percent of the plants it sells and also does some breeding of rhododendrons and daylilies. Charles specializes in tissue culture of Minnesota hardy rhododendrons. Select limestone boulders for rock gardens are also available for pickup at the nursery. Mail orders for plants were discontinued at the nursery several years ago.

General Industry Developments in the 1960s

Low cost, plastic film greenhouses at the Ahrens range in Osseo. The houses were used for bedding plant production. Wide, paved driveways permitted loading plants on trailers or trucks directly from doors or openings in the sidewalls of the greenhouses. (Photo by author)

Floricultural production in the United States increased 66 percent to reach $485 million wholesale. Minnesota production increased similarly. Cut chrysanthemum shipments from Central and South America were notable. Container plant production in Minnesota continued to increase, with bedding plants the fastest growing crop in dollar volume. Plastic cell packs, peat pots, compressed peat discs or pellets enclosed in a netting which expanded when wet, hanging baskets and plastic pots became popular. Special growth media were widely available on the market and peat mixes became quite popular. Slow-release fertilizers such as Osmocote and MagAmp came into use, the former developed by Archer-Daniels-Midland, a firm with Minnesota ties.

Mechanization in the form of soil blenders, flat fillers, direct seeding machines, conveyor belts, automated watering and intermittent misting of propagation benches, etc., made for more efficient floral production.

There was increased use of growth regulators to "tailor" plants. The significance of injecting supplemental carbon dioxide into the greenhouse became more evident. Self service in garden centers was promoted.

Glass, fiberglass reinforced rigid plastic panels, and polyethylene films were the three most used materials for covering greenhouses. Fiberglass panels protected with a layer of acrylic plastic, or Tedlar, on the outdoor side had an extended service life. Longer lasting polyethylene films were being developed, as were better greenhouse support structures. Glass 24 inches wide was used in most new standard styled greenhouses. Glass 20 inches wide had been used after World War II, and 16-inch glass before that.

By 1970, the average Minnesota range size was 18,391 square feet with 15,287 glazed with glass and 3,104 covered with plastic. Some greenhouse operators, especially wholesale producers, were moving out of the Twin Cities and locating or relocating within a 50-mile radius of St. Paul-Minneapolis.

University Developments

Hail Damage

Hail struck a relatively narrow, but several mile long strip on the northern edge of the Twin Cities on June 23, 1962. Approximately 90 percent of the glass was broken in most of the University of Minnesota's St. Paul Campus greenhouses. The Como Conservatory, in nearby Como Park, also needed significant repairs. Garden chrysanthemums in field plots were reduced to stubs and 15-20 percent of the plants were killed. Tomato plants in the University's fields were, quite literally, wiped out.

School of Agriculture Closes, Short Course Started

The high school level School of Agriculture on the St. Paul Campus closed in 1960. Annual Garden Center Operators short courses were presented by the Department of Horticulture from 1961 through 1967.

The Commercial Flower Growers Short Course was started by the University as a one day session on the St. Paul Campus in Fall 1964. The program was planned in cooperation with commercial growers Don Rosacker and Dave Linder. It was well received and has been expanded to a two and one-half day course over the years.

St. Paul Campus Horticulture Facilities Expanded

The Gibbs-Nelson greenhouses adjacent to the Agricultural Experiment Station were purchased by the University in 1961. They were rehabilitated and put into regular use by several University departments. Their physical condition deteriorated over the years, however, and by 1994 the glazing was in poor condition, when they were recovered with a double layer of what was hoped would be a long lasting polyethylene plastic film.

Hard work of numerous United Minnesota Horticulture members paid dividends in 1965 when the state's legislature appropriated $80,000 to initiate the development of plans for a new horticulture building and greenhouse complex at the University. The original Horticulture Building, which is still standing, cost $35,000 when it was built in 1898-99. Funds were appropriated by the Legislature in 1967 for construction of the new building and greenhouse complex.

The Department of Horticulture specialized in plant breeding for 50 years. An effort was begun to broaden the program's research scope in the 1960s, efforts which continued into the 1970s.

University Staff

Harold F. Wilkins joined the University of Minnesota horticulture faculty in 1966. His many roles included teaching, conducting research, and serving as the head of extension activities in commercial floriculture. (Photo courtesy Department of Horticultural Science archives)

In 1966, Harold F. Wilkins, Ph.D., an Illinois native, was hired by the University as a second faculty member in floriculture. The activities of his position were split among research, teaching and extension responsibilities.

The University's Northwest School of Agriculture at Crookston offered the two-year high school level program until 1966. Bruce Beresford, who was on the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station staff, also taught some horticultural classes. The School was expanded to a two-year Technical College in 1966. Roger Wagner, who had garden center experience, was added to the teaching staff in 1975. Beresford retired about 1987. Programming at the College expanded again in 1993, with the addition of several four-year college programs. There were 17 students majoring in floriculture and 17 in nursery management in 1996.

Dick Widmer was on sabbatic leave from the St. Paul Campus from August 1968 to June 1969. He spent that academic year at the Kinsealy Agricultural Research Center in Ireland. His focus during that year in Ireland was research into the conditions associated with successfully growing florist plants in a sphagnum moss peat medium. He followed that year of research with a summer of visits to floricultural research institutions, commercial growers and botanic gardens across Europe.

University Floricultural Research Findings

The garden chrysanthemum cultivar 'Minnwhite', introduced by the University in 1968, illustrates the cushion growth habit of the Minnseries. (Photo by author)

There were many significant findings from the floriculture research studies conducted at the University in the 1960s. The use of herbicides was investigated, with several positive findings associated with the University's renowned garden chrysanthemum breeding program. Chloro IPC herbicide spray or granular applications to garden chrysanthemum field soil provided good weed control in three out of four growing seasons. Additional trials at two locations over two years showed that Trifluralin granular applied post-planting, pre-weed emergence, and tilled after application, provided excellent weed control for 12 weeks.

To properly grow potted, spring flowering, garden chrysanthemums, stock plants were found to require low temperature (30-45 degrees Fahrenheit) for about five weeks to obtain a maximum number of sturdy, fast growing cuttings. Appropriate Minnesota cultivars and complete production schedules were developed and made available to the industry. Twelve garden chrysanthemum cultivars were released to the public in the 1960s. (see Appendix B).

Several important results came from research into plant breeding. For garden chrysanthemum breeding, a 50 degree Fahrenheit night air temperature was found to result in greater seed production than did a higher 60 degree temperature. Plants properly fertilized with nutrients provided greater seed production than did insufficiently fertilized plants. Differences in the combining ability of individual cultivars was discovered to be a major factor in seed production.

Other plants also received their share of attention by the University research staff. Detailed Ace Easter lily fertilizer treatments showed that applications of four kinds of new, slow-release fertilizer were effective for up to 41/2 months after application. Their use was also found to be a plus for the production of quality geraniums and poinsettias.

Easter lily plant heights were found to be greater when nitrogen was lacking. A short photoperiod after March 1 limited plant stretch. The pre-cooling of bulbs planted in pots, contrasted to in-case cooling, resulted in better plants and higher bud count.

Annually revised detailed reports and recommendations for lily plant production based on the latest Minnesota research findings (and key studies elsewhere) were initiated in 1968. The leaf counting lily timing technique developed by A.N. Roberts in Oregon was popularized by the University of Minnesota's Harold Wilkins.

More than 100 water soluble dyes for coloring cut carnations were tested in C.J. Weiser's, Ph.D., laboratory. They also showed the influence of various environmental effects on the dyeing. Recommendations were prepared and presented to the industry.

Application of rooting hormones were found to significantly accelerate the rooting of poinsettias, in both soil mixes and soilless media, in pots under intermittent mist. Good rooting and growth was found in a mix of 2 parts sphagnum moss peat, 1 part sand and 1 part soil, but rooting was quicker in lighter mixes. Incorporating a slow-release fertilizer in the rooting medium at proper rates was discovered to be especially beneficial.

Applications of CCC (Cycocel) effectively controlled plant stretch when applied after rooting. Both soil and foliar applications were found to be effective, but foliar applications were the most efficient. Use of B-995 (B-Nine) required higher concentrations than CCC to be effective.

Environmental effects on growth regulator effectiveness were also studied. Supplementing greenhouse CO2 levels significantly advanced and improved poinsettias, if treatment started no later than 10 days after the initiation of short days. Late propagated plants were found to benefit most.

Azaleas coming from several southern sources were found to be nematode infested.

A range of experiments with plastic alternatives to glass for greenhouse glazing were conducted. An air-supported greenhouse covered with Scotch Pak plastic film withstood the elements for more than three years, including a severe hail storm. Normal, good quality crops were grown in this structure. Another greenhouse glazing alternative, improved long-life polyethylene film, had longer life than regular film, but did not survive a second winter season. Weatherable Mylar was still in good condition after five years.

Insecticide use charts were published in the Minnesota State Florists' Bulletin regularly. The new F-1 (first generation hybrid) seed propagated geraniums were subjected to intense growing trials to determine environmental effects on growth and plant quality. They looked quite promising, but were late to bloom.

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

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