A History of Minnesota Floriculture

Minnesota greenhouse area totaled more than 5.85 million square feet of covered growing space by 1980, and this figure did not even include many smaller part-time horticultural producers. Average size of a major commercial greenhouse range was 22,000 square feet.

Cut flowers shipped into Minnesota accounted for as much as 75 percent of retail cut flower sales. The sources were varied. Many were grown in California and Florida. Imports of cut chrysanthemums and carnations from Central and South America were increasing. Imports also came from Europe, Israel, South Africa, Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand.

Bedding plant and seed geranium production remained a Minnesota mainstay, increasing faster than production of all other crops in Minnesota, especially to meet demand for the increasingly popular first generation hybrid cultivars. Production of poinsettia pot plants, hanging baskets and diverse new crops also increased. There were fewer rose growers by 1980, but improved growing methods and larger ranges resulted in greater rose cut flower production.

Foliage plant sales in Minnesota increased eight-fold between 1970 and 1977. Most of the foliage plant production had moved to warmer climates, but the sales surge resulted in a limited increase in local production. Minnesota was 16th in population in the United States, but local bedding plant growers were 11th in wholesale production value in the late 1970s. There was a significant decline in joint grower-retailer floral operations in the country, but such was not true in the midwest.

Industry Developments

The Green Giant firm wished to take advantage of both the popularity of outdoor living and its positive corporate and consumer image in vegetable processing, to enter the garden center field. The first Green Giant Home and Garden Center opened in St. Paul in 1970. Within four years it operated six centers in the Twin City area, including Bob's Produce Ranch which it had purchased.

Fifty percent of the garden center business is usually done in April, May and June. Green Giant tried to overcome limited off-season sales by adding items such as crafts, gifts, casual furniture, wine making ingredients, etc., with limited success. Previous company experience had been with wholesale, not retail sales, and their limited retailing experience showed. Management overhead systems were structured for a large scale, rather than a limited scale business. Thus, while individual stores may have been profitable, the addition of Green Giant overhead costs probably resulted in losses or minimal profits. In 1974, the Green Giant Home and Garden Centers were sold to Frank's Nursery and Crafts, a Michigan firm that operated a large chain of garden centers in the midwestern states. Frank's has grown to operate 15 garden and craft centers in the Twin City area alone.

Herman Holland bought Scheidler's Nursery in Moorhead in 1970 and added five greenhouses to the operation. He currently sells bedding plants, nursery stock and garden center items.

The first National Bedding Plant Conference to be held outside of Michigan was held on the St. Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota in 1971. SAF's annual meeting and conference was held in Minneapolis, also in 1971.

Richard Donahue purchased Lehman Gardens in Faribault in 1972. He continued the garden chrysanthemum business, but concentrated on wholesale sales in the United States and Canada. The company discontinued the outdoor plantings and indoor displays. Its range was enlarged significantly and a second large range was developed in the 1990s in nearby Warsaw. In 1990, the firm name was changed to Donahue's Greenhouses.

The largest area of Donahue's Greenhouses has been devoted to bedding plants. The firm became the country's largest clematis propagator, selling the bulk of them as potted plants. It grew 25,000 pans of poinsettias for wholesale and retail sales. Other plants were produced on a smaller scale for its retail business. Donahue had a railway caboose car moved to the Faribault location in 1990. It was refurbished to make an unusual but attractive private office. In 1994, Donahue's sold the garden chrysanthemum business to George Chappuis, a Faribault resident. Donahue had seven of his children working full time in the greenhouse business: Mike, Mark, Kathy, Julie, Mary, Tim and Joe. He also purchased a $50,000 transplanting machine for his bedding plants. Donahue died in September 1994. His children have continued to operate the business.

In 1972, the third generation of Linders, Dave, Lill, and later Rob and Peter, began running Linder's Greenhouses. They enlarged the establishment regularly, and started working with plugs in the early seventies. The greenhouses have been mostly of their own design and glazed with plastic film. In 1984, they erected a large, attractive, year-round garden center on the Larpenteur Avenue end of their property. The attached display and growing greenhouses were glazed with double layer, box-rib, acrylic panels.

George Lucht, an employee of Malmborg's, Inc., in Brooklyn Center, purchased the Brooklyn Center part of the business from Lloyd Malmborg in 1972. He leased Malmborg's second range, in Rogers, until purchasing it from Malmborg in 1976. Lucht specialized in quality geraniums and wholesaling young plants to commercial growers around the country. He also grew bedding plants, perennials and other crops for the retail store and garden center.

Northrup King's field crop trial plots were moved to a new research center in Stanford in 1972. Sandoz Ltd. of Switzerland, a large chemical company, purchased Northrup King in 1976. Kerm Henrikson retired in 1979. The flower trials were moved to Stanford, but discontinued shortly thereafter in the early 1980s. Rodger Robb, a University of Minnesota Horticulture graduate, headed the greenhouse unit after D. Bruce Johnstone retired. In the late 1980s, the greenhouse unit was sold to Vaughan's, an Illinois firm also owned by Sandoz. Sandoz owns seed companies around the world and had estimated total seed sales (including field crops) of $660 million in 1992. This was second only to the Pioneer Seed Company which does not sell flower seeds. While the Northrup King Corporation headquarters was moved to Golden Valley, the field crop processing and distribution units have remained spread across approximately 20 locations in the United States.

Waste Heat Research by Northern States Power

When the modern period of high fuel costs began in the early 1970s, Northern States Power Company (NSP) began collaborating with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the University of Minnesota on research to determine the feasibility of heating commercial greenhouses with waste heat, 85-95 degree Fahrenheit water from NSP cooling towers.

A preliminary project was financed by NSP, coordinated by Russ Stansfield, NSP's Administrator of Agricultural Research, and conducted in a Hans Rosacker Company greenhouse in Lino Lakes beginning around 1973. Assistant Agricultural Experiment Station Director L. Boyd, Ph.D., spearheaded the University's portion of this program. With positive preliminary results, a half-acre experimental range was erected at the Becker NSP electric generating plant. Flowers, including cut roses, as well as vegetable crops were grown successfully.

More Florist Developments

Three generations of Bachman's with their 1970 Easter lily crop. Henry, the son of the founder, is on the right. Lloyd, Henry's son, is at the left. Todd, Lloyd's son, is in the center rear. (Photo courtesy Lloyd Bachman)

In 1977, Al Hermes and his sons built an acre of 17-foot-wide connecting hoop greenhouses, covered with two layers of polyethylene film, on power company land in Becker. They produced cut flowers with warm waste water from the NSP coal-fired electric generating plants being the primary heat source. The use of this heat source proved to be economically feasible, and in 1978 the Hermes Company purchased an adjacent vegetable production range.

In 1979, the original Hermes property on Larpenteur Avenue in Falcon Heights was sold and the greenhouses were replaced by a large commercial building. Ewald, Vic and Bob retired and Ewald's son Bill became the State Fair's horticulturist. Al and his sons then purchased a smaller wholesale rose range across Larpenteur Avenue which had been owned by Jansen Brothers, leased by Emerson Kohler and owned by Vic Peterson and son Ron, in that order. Ron now owns and operates Wadena Floral Greenhouse in Wadena. Hermes added a new retail complex, continued the wholesale cut flower business and within a few years replaced the old greenhouses with new ones.

Erickson Greenhouses, which had been established in Brainerd in 1883 by Peter A. Erickson, has passed through several family members on its way to its current owner and operator, David Erickson. David is a great-grandnephew of the founder. Peter had been followed to the company's helm by David's grandfather Carl A., and by David's father C. Hilding Erickson. David became the owner in 1972 and has continued to run the greenhouse and retail shop to the present.

Julius Wadekamper, a former monk who served in South America, opened Borbeleta Gardens in Elk River in 1972, and later moved the business to Faribault in 1986. He also earned an master of science degree in Horticultural Science at the University of Minnesota. Wadekamper grew four specialty perennials: lilies, daylilies, Siberian irises, and dwarf and intermediate bearded irises. He sustained an active breeding program which led to the development and introduction of more than 70 new cultivars of Asiatic lilies. Wadekamper's firm also maintained a large area of display gardens. David and Jeanne Campbell purchased Borbeleta Gardens in 1992, but Wadekamper has maintained a relationship with the new owners of Borbeleta Gardens, continuing the hybridizing program and releasing new cultivars through that firm.

Metro Florist Supply, Inc., started in Roseville in 1973 as a delivery service. During the shortage of gasoline supplies in 1976, the firm became a center for pooled deliveries for retail florists. Lynn Graves, the founder, branched out into selling, not growing, potted plants and supplies in 1987. Cut flowers were added to the offerings in 1989.

Christopher Boock, of Dutch origin, had grown flowers as a hobby before turning it into a business. He started New Ulm Greenhouses in 1884, later operated by his son Otto in the late 1890s. Otto's sons Walter and Erwin subsequently operated the business together until Erwin left in 1960. Walter contined growing and selling flowers and plants until 1973 when his nephew Jerry Danheim took over for a few years. It was renamed Holiday Growers in 1981.

Busse Garden Center and Nursery was started in Cokato in 1973 by Norman and Ainie Busse. They published their first mail order catalog in 1978 under the name Busse Gardens. In 1984, they opened the Busse Bed and Breakfast in their home at the garden center site. In 1986, the garden center and home were sold and the business was moved to a 35-acre farm in French Lake township, eight miles north of Cokato. A corporation was formed in 1988. In 1994, the business returned to Cokato. Busse Gardens' business is 75 percent wholesale and 25 percent retail conducted through catalogs. Busse Perennial Center added ornamental shrubs and shade trees in the fall of 1996. Ainie Busse is one of the founders and past presidents of the national Perennial Plant Association.

Wayne Davis started growing outdoor vegetables in 1973 and worked in a greenhouse in the winter. In 1974 he started the Green Valley Greenhouses in Anoka. With Ron Hunt, his partner from 1973 to 1977, he expanded the wooden frame, polyethylene film greenhouse range. Davis became the sole owner and continued to expand the business after 1977. Later, he rebuilt the greenhouses with improved metal frame units. Green Valley Greenhouses specializes in foliage plants and hanging baskets, but also grows many other crops in its large range. No bedding plants in packs are produced in this wholesale business.

Lloyd Bachman reported total production costs per year at $6.71 per square foot in modern glass greenhouses for 1974-1975. The average-sized Minnesota greenhouse range in 1974 was 21,800 square feet for those with wholesale sales greater than $10,000 per year.

In 1975, Tom Silver and Tim Pellizzer started Terra Products Corporation in Lakeville, selling a wide selection of pots and potted plants to the wholesale trade. The greenhouse range has been expanded over the years.

Also in 1975, Clarence Engwall sold his Duluth firm to Don Rosacker, Marv Saline and Rochester retail florist Bud Renning. Marv's son Rod became manager of the firm, enlarged the range and added several retail outlets over the years.

Varied Business Approaches

The owners of Flowers, Inc., Minneapolis, sold the retail section of their business in 1975. In 1980, they bought back Island Orchids in Hawaii, renamed it Island Tropicals, and became the exclusive United States broker for Island Tropicals' production in 1984. An unfortunate series of disasters hit the business shortly thereafter. In 1986, blight struck their anthuruims, followed by an apparent injurious incompatibility with a commercial fungicide in 1990. The Island Tropicals farm ceased operating in 1994.

One of Island Tropicals' owners, Mike Goldstein, continues to use the name Tropicals, Inc., operating as a reseller of plants which he purchases, packages and sells direct to retail customers on the mainland. The other former owner of Flowers, Inc., Jim Goldstein, and other partners started a new Minneapolis retail business, Monday Blooms, in 1987. He bought out his partners in 1990, and younger brother Allen joined him in the new business. Flowers, Inc. handles commercial accounts and specials events for the Minnesota Twins baseball team, non-profit organizations and other groups.

In 1976, University floricultural graduate Craig Johnson erected greenhouses in Wyoming, Minnesota, which were later destroyed by a tornado. After working in another greenhouse while rebuilding his range, the new greenhouses collapsed under a 24-inch snowfall because nobody was around to reset thermostats higher while he was out of the state on his honeymoon. Once again he rebuilt, this time on a smaller scale, and he changed from a wholesale to a retail operation. He also chose to diversify his business and developed an 18-hole golf course on his property.

Franz Beelen started the Multiflora Company in Plymouth in 1976, selling bulbs for both greenhouse forcing and to dry bulb retailers. He added perennials to his offerings and contracted with other growers for their production. To utilize his large coolers in the off season, Beelen started potting flower bulbs in 1989, precooling them and selling them ready for immediate forcing. Sales of that product have since grown to 90,000 pots per year. He and four other regional bulb wholesalers in the United States combined their operations in 1991 to form Van Bloem, Inc. A sixth unit in Canada was subsequently added, and Beelen added ownership of three of the other domestic units to his local Minnesota unit. The company maintains centers in Georgia, and overseas in the Netherlands. It continues to contract with other producers in the United States and the Netherlands for bulbs and plants.

The Waldos sold Forest Lake Greenhouses to their daughter Sandy and her husband Mick Roberts in 1976. The business had grown and a 1,600 square foot retail shop was added in 1978.

Van's of Chicago, a cut flower wholesaler, opened a branch in Edina in 1976. The company now sells plants produced in its Michigan greenhouses, as well as supplies. Jess Poyner is the manger of the Edina unit.

Fred Holasek purchased greenhouses from a tomato grower in 1978. He enlarged the Lester Prairie range and changed its output to poinsettias and bedding plants.

Jerry Fisher opened his Orchids Ltd. greenhouse business in north Plymouth in 1978, specializing, logically enough, in growing and breeding orchids. He had worked at Bachman's for three years. His 12,750 square feet of greenhouses contained a wide array of orchids, grown primarily for retail sales and for his mail order business which shipped product to buyers around the world.

Dan Tutushek, Sr., grew vegetables in Eden Prairie. In the late 1960s, he erected his first greenhouse. Any space not needed for vegetables was filled with floral plants. His son, Dan Jr., and Jerry Quaal worked on the farm. In 1979, they built a one-acre greenhouse range and began growing bedding plants. In 1981, they erected a range in Monticello to raise hothouse tomatoes, but bedding plants soon replaced the tomatoes. In 1990, additional property was purchased for further expansion. An existing greenhouse range in Buffalo was acquired in 1992. Another range was built in Montrose, and expansion continued with a new range built near the existing facility in Monticello in 1993-1994. The Dan and Jerry firm then had five ranges totaling 12.1 acres. Crops grown include bedding plants, hanging baskets, perennials, fall garden mums and poinsettias that are sold wholesale to outlets across Minnesota. They also operate garden centers in Monticello and Buffalo.

Ned Butterfield and partner Jerry Ramthun started Flower Farm greenhouses in Delano in 1979. They expanded it to a moderately large growing range, with bedding plants and poinsettias as their primary crops. A wreath business in Orono, which Ned also owned, continued to grow as well, focusing on fund raiser oriented sales to groups such as schools and Scout troops. It has grown to employ about 100 people in each fall season. The management of Butterfield's retail shop in Wayzata was taken over by Ned's daughter, Amy Mullen, starting in 1992. A garden center was added next to the shop in 1994. The shop alone was subsequently sold in early 1995 to Tom Bradley, who renamed it Nature's Harvest.

Ralph Bachman was inducted into the SAF Floricultural Hall of Fame in 1979, commemorating his lifetime of outstanding service to floriculture.

Mr. and Mrs. Glen Ray became an executive secretary and editor team for the Minnesota State Horticultural Society and the Minnesota Horticulturist respectively in 1974, after Eldred Hunt retired. Hunt died in 1993, never having lost his love of gardening and horticulture.

Mike Lemke purchased the Nelson Tree Farm in Zimmerman in 1979. He still produces some Christmas trees, but the business now also includes an expansive garden center. He has more than 100,000 square feet of polyethylene film covered greenhouses, and grows annuals, perennials, rose plants in pots for wholesaling and custom potted shrubs and trees.

Industry Advances

Late in 1970, University of Minnesota researchers and instructors plus students started using this new greenhouse range. There were 21,600 square feet of new greenhouses plus 5,400 square feet erected in 1959, and 3,100 square feet in the house the students rebuilt for a total of 30,100 square feet. Some greenhouse space was also used in the University's northwest (formerly Gibbs-Nelson) range. The attached headhouse, teaching and research building contained 34,494 square feet on two levels. Buildings in the background are part of the University's St. Paul campus. (Photo by author)

Use of dry fertilizers became less common through the decade of the 1970s. Fertilizer injectors and sprayers became standard greenhouse equipment as constant application of water soluble fertilizers became routine. Use of lighter and soilless growth media and more highly refined water soluble fertilizers brought with it the desirability of closer monitoring of the use of micronutrients in the growing mediums, and also the levels they were reaching in the plants. Tissue analysis for a fee became available to greenhouse operators through University of Minnesota floricultural faculty. Analysis was conducted by Bob Munter's laboratory on the St. Paul Campus.

Energy conservation was also becoming essential with the increasingly high fuel costs of the time. Greenhouses were tightened and repaired more frequently. Thermal curtains began to be used at night to limit heat loss. They also served a secondary purpose as photoperiod control covers for the crops which needed such treatment. A negative consequence of this energy conservation was that plant damage caused by pollution from sources inside and outside the greenhouses became more frequent as a result of fewer air exchanges occurring per hour.

Mechanization and automation were becoming more common. The innovations included watering with tubes, capillary mats and nozzles; plant movement equipment; improved direct seeding machines for packs and plugs; flat fillers and equipment for automatic application and removal of covers for photoperiod control; all with computer controls. Improved, uniform evaporative pads made from cellulose fibers started replacing aspen pads for more efficient cooling. Rolling bench tops reduced the numbers of aisles needed, increasing greenhouse growing space utilization from 66 to 90 percent of the floor space. Use of high-intensity, high-pressure sodium vapor lamps advanced crop growth and improved plant quality, especially during the short-day season.

Greenhouse building in Minnesota averaged 140,000 additional square feet per year in the 1970s. The so-called Dutch greenhouses, which started using triple strength glass up to 39 inches wide, became more evident. Fiberglass reinforced, rigid plastic panels for greenhouse glazing were used less frequently. Instead, use of acrylic, box-rib, double layer, plastic structural sheets increased. Use of polyethylene film also increased significantly with the development of clearer, longer lasting films. Applying two layers of film with an air layer in between provided additional thermal benefits that could lower fuel consumption by as much as 40 percent.

The Environmental Protection Agency developed and enforced safety regulations in and around greenhouses. Violations often resulted in fines.

Better cut-flower preservatives, such as silver thiosulfate, combined with a better understanding of environmental preferences to improve cut-flower life. There were 18 wholesale cut-flower distributors in the Twin City area by 1980. Twelve of them were non-grower wholesalers and six were operated by Minnesota commercial flower growers. The latter sold their home-grown cut flowers and potted plants, usually supplemented with cut flowers from other growers, local and distant. Large retailers often bought directly from wholesalers in Florida, California, and overseas.

University Developments

The University's floricultural faculty increased its productivity as individuals, and as a department, with the improved and enlarged facilities and new additions to the staff. Student enrollments in the department's programs also peaked during this period.

Dedication of New Horticultural Facilities

A smiling group of florists attending 1971 dedication ceremonies for the new horticulture building and greenhouses. From left: Bob Pletscher (New Brigh-ton), Jim Dey (St. Paul), Vic Hermes-front (Falcon Heights), Ernie Keller-rear (St. Paul), Tom Hermes-front (Falcon Heights), Harold Wilkins (University of Minnesota), Malcom Moos (President, University of Minnesota), Loren But-ter-field (Orono), Elsie Weinholzer-McLean (Roseville), Jerry Brown (Hutchin-son) and Clarence Engwall (Duluth). The building was officially named Alderman Hall in 1975. (Photo courtesy Department of Horticultural Science archive)

Dedication of the new Horticultural Science facilities formally occurred on March 24, 1971, with then University president Malcolm Moos participating. Horticultural symposia were held throughout the week. The main building provided 64,473 square feet of classrooms, seminar rooms, laboratories, research areas, offices and work areas.

In addition to the main building, there was a 50 x 250 foot, one-story headhouse which included a full basement and contained classrooms, laboratories, growth chambers, refrigerated units, photoperiod rooms, work and storage areas, and offices. New facilities also included aluminum research greenhouses glazed with glass, covering 21,600 square feet. Not including the teaching greenhouses, about 25 percent of the total space was allocated to floricultural studies.

Total cost for all the facility improvements was $4.17 million. The University's vice-president for agricultural programs, William Hueg, Ph.D., facilitated obtaining significant extra funds to assure that the new facilities were completed as planned, and did not suffer cutbacks due to insufficient funding. The University also funded a technician position, assigned to assist Widmer and Wilkins in using the new facilities efficiently and to their full capacity. A second technician position was later added, providing Widmer and Wilkins each with a technician dedicated to his specific program initiatives.

University's Agricultural Service Award

Lloyd Bachman was awarded the University of Minnesota's Institute of Agriculture Service Award at the dedication of the new horticultural facilities. The Award was in appreciation for his aid, dedication and support over many years, to the University and to its Department of Horticultural Science.

Bachman earned the Service Award through 22 years of service on the University's Agricultural Advisory Council, and five years on the Executive Council. He was a key motivator in United Minnesota Horticulture's efforts to obtain new facilities for floriculture and horticulture. Bachman's support of the floricultural program continued for many years thereafter.

Peak Student Enrollment

Undergraduate horticultural students at the University numbered between 30 and 40 until about 1970. The numbers then began to increase dramatically, reaching a peak of 244 in 1976, with another 67 students majoring in the related Landscape Architecture program. The student population buildup followed the end of the Vietnam conflict and appeared to be closely related to the growing interest of our nation's youth in their environment. Floriculture majors represented about 20 percent of the population of horticulture majors.

The horticultural enrollment peak at the University of Minnesota during this period was paralleled by growing student enrollments in environmentally oriented programs at institutions of higher education across the country. Graduate student numbers also increased, but to a lesser extent because of staff, facility and monetary limitations. Less research money was available later in the decade from government sources, and grants did not keep up with inflation.

Riding this wave of program growth, in September 1971, the University of Minnesota-Waseca horticulture program opened with a major in landscape/nursery. It replaced the School of Agriculture at Waseca, which was closed by 1970. A University of Minnesota-Waseca floriculture/greenhouse major began in 1972 when Phil Allen, who had operated a flower production business in New York state, was hired. Phil was an energetic, capable, well-prepared instructor and the floriculture program thrived. This was a two-year college program offering an Associate Applied Science Degree, and providing appreciable practical experience to supplement the classroom instruction.

Peak registration in Waseca's floriculture/greenhouse program was 1979-1980, with 149 enrolled and more on a waiting list. Phil Allen retired in 1990, two years before the campus itself was closed by the University of Minnesota to accommodate budgetary cutbacks in legislative funding. By that time, a total of 896 student floriculture/greenhouse majors had received degrees from the program, and 206 of those graduates went on to work for higher level degrees.

Staff Changes

Former Department (Division prior to 1952) of Horticulture heads Andrew A. Duncan (1971-1976, left), Leon C. Snyder (1953-1970, center), and William H. Alderman (1919-1953, right). Snyder was also the founder of the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Alderman was 85 years old when the picture was taken in 1970. (Photo courtesy Department of Horticultural Science archives)

L.C. Snyder resigneded as department head in 1970 to devote full time to directing the University's Landscape Arboretum, which he had established after much hard work. He had held both positions since 1958. A.A. Duncan succeeded Snyder as department head.

The horticulture faculty continued to expand in 1970. Jane P. McKinnon was hired as Extension Horticulturist in Ornamentals. Her work was primarily focused on amateur gardeners. W.C. Stienstra was hired as an Extension Specialist in Plant Pathology to work with ornamentals including commercial floral crops and turf.

In 1972, the American Society for Horticultural Science annual meeting was held in St. Paul, hosted by the Department of Horticultural Science. Many of the attending floriculturists from other universities toured the new University of Minnesota facilities and some local commercial florist operations.

The University of Minnesota intercollegiate flower judging team coached by Harold Wilkins placed first in the 1973 competition held at North Carolina State University at Raleigh. Team members were Pauline McGinty, Karen Schrupp and Ronald Peterson. Mary Maguire Lerman, who is now Horticulturist for the Minneapolis Park Board, was the team's alternate.

The 1971 University of Minnesota Intercollegiate Flower Judging Team. Left to right are Richard Widmer (coach), Jim Aderhold, Denny Bengston, Craig Bachman and Carl Busch. All of the former students are now active in the their own businesses. (Photo by author)

Frank L. Pfleger, Ph.D., joined the extension staff in 1974 as a specialist in Plant Pathology. His responsibility was split equally between floral and vegetable crops.

Ralph Bachman, Lloyd Bachman and Vincent Bailey were initiated into Pi Alpha Xi in 1975 as honorary members in recognition of their exceptional efforts on behalf of the industry and the Department of Horticultural Science at the University of Minnesota. The initiation ceremony occurred at the organization's annual meeting, held that year at the University of Missouri in Columbia.

In 1975, the Horticultural Science building which had been dedicated in 1971 was renamed Alderman Hall in honor of the second head of the department. William H. Alderman, then 90 years old, traveled from California to participate in the ceremonies.

The University of Minnesota Department of Horticultural Science moved into this new building with 64,473 square feet of floor space at the start of 1971. The building was renamed Alderman Hall in 1975. (Photo courtesy Department of Horticultural Science archives)

R.E. Nylund, Ph.D., of the Department of Horticultural Science served as the department's acting head for 18 months after A.A. Duncan, Ph.D., moved to Florida. In 1976, Jimmy Ozburn, Ph.D., became the next head of the now named Department of Horticultural Science and Landscape Architecture.

David S. Koranski, Ph.D., became the first full time University of Minnesota Floricultural Extension Specialist in 1978. He also did a limited amount of teaching of undergraduates and promoted the use of plugs in crop production.

Contributions from Other Departments

The contributions of extension and research personnel in other departments, especially Plant Pathology, Soil Science and Entomology proved invaluable to the University of Minnesota's horticultural activities. They assisted in analyzing trouble cases in commercial florist crops, conducted trials and research projects on floral crops and products, regularly contributed articles and research reports to the Minnesota State Florists' Bulletin, and prepared disease and insect control charts and informational bulletins helpful to florists. Collaborators included Ward Stienstra, Don Taylor, Frank Pfleger and David MacDonald (Plant Pathology); John Grava and Robert Munter (Soil Science); and Lawrence Cutkomp and Mark Ascerno (Entomology). The Department's own horticulturists Widmer and Wilkins interpreted soil and plant tissue analysis results regularly for commercial growers.

In 1975 Harold Wilkins, Frank Pfleger, Ph.D., and Mark Ascerno, Ph.D., initiated the Northern Minnesota Bedding Plant Conferences, staged by extension personnel in various northern Minnesota communities. They were designed to attract the many small operators who could not attend educational meetings in the Twin City area. Attendance was so good that the conferences are still held annually in 1995. Although the number of such small or moonlight operators in Minnesota is unknown, it is believed to be about 200.

Numerous short courses, and conferences for commercial florists were sponsored by University of Minnesota faculty and staff over the years. These included "in-depth conferences" which were one day meetings on single subjects or crops, and "hort industries conferences" and meetings on business and growing techniques.

Staff Travel Overseas

Dick Widmer participated in a 'Peat in Horticulture' symposium in Ireland in 1971. In 1973, he visited Morocco as a consultant to a U.S. Agriculture International Development (USAID) team. In 1977 he served as a consultant to the Central International Agriculture Tropical (CIAT) research station in Cali, Columbia.

Harold Wilkins traveled extensively in the summer months of 1973 through 1979. He attended and participated in scientific conferences and visited commercial, educational and research floricultural institutions around the world. Wilkins also served as consultant to a large California cut-flower and pot plant producer.

University of Minnesota Research

A multitude of studies were conducted and the results published by the University of Minnesota horticultural faculty in the 1970s. Even a relatively short list of research highlights covers a considerable range, from chrysanthemums to roses, and from nematodes to negative ions.

Alstromeria

Removal of 50 percent of the shoots (thin and older ones) by mid-January, and again in September and October, both increased flower numbers and resulted in more uniform flowering. Long days (night interruptions) increased flower stem numbers per plant, lowered flower numbers per stem and accelerated flowering. 'Regina' cultivar plants required vernalization at 40-41 degrees Fahrenheit for more than four weeks at low irradiance levels to flower, and a plant's flowering continued when the rhizome temperature was 50 degrees or lower. Flowering ceased in 14 weeks at 68 degree and 77 degree rhizome temperatures.

Chrysanthemums

The latest treatment and Minnesota garden cultivar recommendations for spring flowering potted plants were provided.

Effective radioactive phosphorus treatment methods were determined for application to rooted cuttings of garden chrysanthemums to induce mutations. Flower color changes were the most frequently observed change. Multigenic self-incompatibility in hexaploid chrysanthemums was examined and a rapid method of determining pollen incompatibility was developed.

Eleven garden chrysanthemum cultivars were introduced in the 1970s (see Appendix B). 'Minngopher', a 1977 release, was the first Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station plant introduction to be patented. The royalty funds received via Pan American Plant Company, and later through Yoder Brothers, helped ensure the continuation of the chrysanthemum program when government support decreased significantly.

Cyclamen

Accelerated production of quality plants was a prime objective. Many commercial cultivars and new first generation hybrids were screened for high germination percentage, early flowering and high plant quality. It was determined that after five leaves initiated, the initiation rate accelerated to 1.3 leaves per week until leaf 17, and approximately doubled thereafter. Flower buds initiated in leaf axil six after 10-13 leaves initiated, and plants usually flowered after 35 or more leaves unfolded.

A nutrient enriched moss peat medium with a 5.5-6.0 pH at constant 68 degrees Fahrenheit provided excellent germination. A steady 68 degree temperature at night was also best for growth through the six or seven leaf stage. Then six weeks at 62-64 degree nights usually accelerated flowering by about two weeks. Maximum growth followed at 68 degree nights until 30-35 leaves had unfolded. Then, 60-62 degrees was preferable until flowering.

Plants grew quite well in moss peat media mixes when provided with a steady flow of nutrients. Limiting the nitrogen or potassium supply restricted plant size. Cyclamen were found to require about half the fertilizer quantity required by potted chrysanthemums grown in a moss peat medium. A spray application of 10 parts per million GA3 (gibberellic acid) to the crown of the plant resulted in earlier, more uniform flowering.

Freesias

Seed sown in December and January grew into flowering plants in five months. Spring and summer sown seeds required seven months to flower.

Applying exogenous growth regulators did not substitute for the required 13 weeks of 85 degrees Fahrenheit temperature immediately prior to forcing. A forcing temperature drop to below 59 degrees coincided with floral initiation and corm filling, while temperatures higher than 72 degrees inhibited flowering and corm development. Newly harvested corms stored six weeks at 35 degrees and 55 degrees sprouted from 5-20 days after planting at 70 degrees. Corms stored 13 weeks at 55 degrees pupated and did not sprout, while storing at 85 degrees prevented pupation and allowing corms to sprout on planting. Flower production could be extended by maintaining a 55 degree temperature for eight of every 24 hours.

ABA (abscisic acid) and IAA (3 indoleacetic acid) natural plant hormone concentration increased during active corm growth and decreased as the plants dried down. ABA and IAA levels appeared to be associated with corm development during pupation and with corm formation of plants grown from seed.

Lilies

Lily research involved primarily 'Ace' and 'Nellie White' cultivars. Precooling at 40 degrees Fahrenheit was satisfactory for both cultivars, but temperatures between freezing and 40 degrees Fahrenheit were less desirable for 'Nellie White' and least destructive for lowering flower bud counts of 'Ace' bulbs.

Plants grown in an excessively alkaline soil ('Ace' especially) were shorter and narrower, with slightly lower flower count. Moderate soil phosphorus levels could encourage leaf scorch, but some phosphorus was essential early in the forcing period to maintain flower count. Leaf tip burn was evident with higher rates of added limestone, because boron level in limestone from one source was above average.

Fluorine in the water supply was not a primary cause of undesirable plant symptoms when plants were grown as normally recommended. Long photoperiod (night interruption most effective) at temperatures below 70 degrees Fahrenheit after shoot emergence was a satisfactory replacement for precooling the bulbs. Bulbs never exposed to temperatures below 70 degrees after harvest never flowered in two years in the greenhouse.

Supplementing the carbon dioxide level in the greenhouse environment increased lily plant height without changing the flowering date. Plants with white puffy buds may be stored for 20 days in the dark at 36-43 degrees Fahrenheit if the soil is moist.

Updated forcing techniques and recommendations were published annually. Other studies investigated the effects of gibberellic acid, ABA and the growth regulator A-Rest (ancymidol) on lily growth and development, the physiology of dormancy and maturity of lily bulbs, plus forcing of colored lily cultivars and root rot control.

Negative Air Ions

Greater plant fresh weight, and similar or lower plant dry weight resulted from exposure of plants to negative air ions. Unfortunately, it was also noted that use of negative ion treatment of greenhouse grown plants was not likely to be practical on a wide scale basis.

Nematodes

Plant parasitic nematodes were found on the roots of roses in most greenhouses sampled in the Midwest. They were not necessarily the type that distorted roots, but they did lower plant vigor and yield.

Poinsettias

Molybdenum toxicity symptoms were chlorosis between the leaf veins and abscission of leaves from the base up. No symptoms were evident on vegetative plants supplied with 16 times the recommended rate of 0.2 parts per million molybdenum with every watering for two months. Symptoms developed on reproductive plants supplied with 12 times the recommended rate of molybdenum with every watering for three weeks.

Roses

Two hybrid tea ('Forever Yours' and 'Briarcliff Supreme') and two floribunda ('Rose Elf' and 'Red Garnett') rose cultivars were grown at three atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide: 100-500 (normal), 700-1,300 and 1,500-2,500 parts per million. Supplementary carbon dioxide levels resulted in more flowering stems, more lateral buds, greater fresh weight and stem length. At the highest carbon dioxide level, there was also greater leaf abscission and less root development.

'Red Garnett' cultivar roses were found to have a significantly longer vase life (12 hours) when grown in a carbon dioxide enriched environment.

Flower yield of plants fertilized with a 20-20-20 formula in solution was usually greater, sometimes equal, and never lower than yields of plants receiving a 10-10-10 formula ratio in dry form.

Solar radiation was the primary factor influencing rose flower production. Atmospheric carbon dioxide, air temperature and soil nutrient levels were all found to be of lesser importance.

Sphagnum Moss Peat Medium

Nutrient enriched moss peat media, with several formulas of nutrients incorporated, provided for good seed germination, rooting of cuttings in pots or plugs under intermittent mist and crop growth for a wide range of commercial florist plants.

Como Conservatory Restoration

Deterioration of the Como Park Conservatory in St. Paul triggered the formation of the Como Conservatory Restoration Society in 1971. The Conservatory was placed on the national Register of Historic Places in 1974. In 1980, the Como Conservatory Planning Advisory Committee, a citizens group, was created to develop a master plan for renovating and rehabilitating the structure, and to accommodate current and future needs which were to include educational and recreational opportunities.

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

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