A History of Minnesota Floriculture

Statistics related to the floriculture industry come primarily from U.S. Government data collected as Census Bureau Reports and USDA Floriculture Crops Summaries. Variations in guidelines and changes in methods of data collection over the years have been designed to keep pace with and adapt to changing conditions. For example, data collected for 1966 represents four flowering crops plus foliage plants grown in 23 states. By 1979, anthuriums, snapdragons, geraniums, hydrangeas, lilies, poinsettias and bedding plants grown in 28 states had been added to the base of information evaluated. In 1985, the data collected covered 29 crops, but snapdragons were no longer included. By 1992, there were 36 producing states being surveyed.

Data collection in 1988 used a Census Bureau questionnaire designed to collect information for both the census of Horticulture Specialties and the Floriculture Crops Summary of the USDA. This may have contributed to some differences in comparability of 1988 figures versus those of 1987 and 1986. Further, while USDA reports prior to 1992 included all growers with minimum sales of $10,000, starting in 1992 the minimum was $100,000.

To make the 1991 data comparable to that of 1992, the Floriculture Crops Summary personnel developed a formula for estimating values for firms with sales between $10,000 and $100,000. (This estimated figure was added to the sum for growers with sales over $100,000 to provide the expanded wholesale value found in some tables in this chapter).

The 1992 Census Bureau figures differed by including growers with as little as $1 of floriculture sales, as long as the grower's minimum of any kind of agricultural product sales totaled $1,000. Thus, the Census figures for 1992 are greater than the numbers contained within the more detailed USDA Floricultural Crop Summary. In reality, the two sources complement each other.

Obviously, with all these variations in information collection and reporting, data between years will not always be 100 percent comparable. Still, there is a significant amount of data available to provide a reasonably accurate picture of trends in floriculture through the histories of Minnesota and the nation.

The average size of a greenhouse range has grown over the past 100 plus years, and at a faster pace over the last 10 to 15 years. (Table 3) Average greenhouse range size for firms with minimum annual wholesale sales of $10,000 increased 109 percent in the country, and 65 percent in Minnesota from 1980 to 1993.

The 1990 wholesale value of reported floriculture production crops (Table 4) was almost $2.77 billion in the 28 major production states, versus an expanded wholesale value of $3.08 billion for 36 states in 1993. The difference was probably attributable more to the extended state coverage, than to an increase in sales. For Minnesota, the figures were $42 million in 1990, versus an expanded wholesale value of $50 million for 1993. This data can be said to basically describe a relative flattening of sales in the 1990s, following an extended period of healthy advances. Reasons for the flattening could include the economic recession of 1990-1991 and the increasing volume of cut-flower imports from South America.

The 1993 proportion of floriculture production in bedding plants for 36 states increased by 7 percent over that for 28 states in 1990. This increase was at the expense of cut flowers and foliage plants. In Minnesota, the percentage of local production sales of foliage plants in 1993 was cut by half, while the other crops were fairly stable. In cut flowers and in total floriculture production sales, Minnesota fared better than the 36 state aggregate in the 1990s.

The USDA Floriculture Crops 1993 Summary also reported that almost 69 percent of the 4,543 growers in the 36 states with gross sales over $100,000 grew bedding plants, 57 percent grew potted flowering plants, 43 percent grew foliage plants and 20 percent grew cut flowers. There were 10,236 growers with sales above $10,000. A total of 109,600 hired workers were employed at peak times by 78 percent of the establishments.

Minnesota had 213 producers with a minimum of $10,000 in wholesale sales in 1993. (Table 5) But while the number of growers decreased by 11 from the 1992 summary, the total wholesale dollar volume increased by $382,000 to an expanded value of $50 million for 1993 despite the economic slowdown. (Table 4) Of the 213 Minnesota operators, 28 (an increase of 2 from 1992) had sales values greater than $500,000, while 58 (a loss of 9) had sales values between $100,000 and $499,999. Growers with a wholesale volume between $50,000 and $99,999 increased from 45, to 54, while the number of growers with a sales volume of less than $50,000 decreased from 86 to 73 in that year.

A comparison of U.S. Census Bureau and USDA Floriculture Crops Summary statistics for 1992 is presented in Table 6. Number of growers in the census count almost doubled while production area under cover was 17 percent greater, but total wholesale sales differed by less than 1 percent when compared to the USDA's expanded wholesale value of sales. This confirms the accuracy of figures from both sources when that compensating factor is used to include the small producers. Because the USDA reports are more frequent and include more details, their availability is highly beneficial to the floriculture industry.

The Rose Story

Len Busch showing young rose plants growing in rock wool enclosed in plastic film tubes. Nutrient solution flows through the tubes at intervals. Seventy percent of his firm's cut-rose production plants were grown in the rock wool medium in 1995. (Photo courtesy Len Busch)

In 1949, roses outranked all other cut flowers in wholesale dollar sales volume in the United States. Sales averaged 2.69 roses per person annually, but dropped to 2.33 roses per person by 1979, falling to second place in dollar volume behind carnations. Table 7 shows national rose production and sales data for a 44-year span. Rose grower numbers varied, and at 213 in 1993, was less than half the peak of 483 in 1959. Production area increased significantly from 1979 to 1989 and dipped slightly by 1993, while production area per grower increased by 59 percent. Total plant number grown increased significantly, especially in the 1980s and decreased 13 percent by 1993, whereas number of plants per grower more than tripled from 1959 to 1993. This pattern correlated with the increase in growing area per grower. Total numbers of produced flowers sold decreased steadily from 1949 to 1969, increased slightly by 1979, increased by 32 percent in the 1980s followed by a 19 percent dip in the early 1990s. Flower stems per plant decreased in the 1980s and held steady in the 1990s. The wholesale price per rose flower increased regularly until 1989, after which it dipped slightly, especially for hybrid teas.

California produced 51.7 percent of the domestic rose crop in 1979, and 64 percent in 1989 and 1993, despite a decline from 115 growers in 1989 to 103 in 1993. California roses sold at wholesale for about 75 percent of the average price for the country in 1993.

Rose imports (Table 7) represented 7.4 percent of domestic production in 1979 and increased to 87 percent in 1993. In 1994, rose imports, primarily from South America, exceeded domestic production at prices below those of California-grown roses.

Minnesota rose cut-flower figures are presented in Table 8. Production approximately doubled from 5,000,000 flowers in 1949 to 9,986,000 in 1993, while wholesale value of sales increased almost 11-fold from $494,000 in 1949 to $5,380,000 in 1993. National wholesale sales increased about five-fold over that period. Numbers of production units ran from a peak of 23 in 1959, to 5 in 1993, and 4 in 1994. The average unit quadrupled in size, from 26,850 in 1979 to 111,600 square feet in 1993. Total plant numbers dipped slightly from 350,000 in 1959 to 342,000 in 1989, but rebounded to 410,000 in 1993, while plants per grower grew steadily to 82,000. Flower production per plant was relatively stable until increasing significantly in the 1980s. Yield per plant in 1989 and 1993 exceeded the national average. Average price per hybrid tea bloom peaked at 58 cents in 1989.

Both national and Minnesota figures indicated a trend to fewer but larger rose production units, with the average Minnesota unit size only about 58 percent that of the average national unit in 1993. National sales of domestic roses decreased significantly from 1989 to 1993, while Minnesota hybrid tea production and sales increased appreciably. Increased retail sales apparently absorbed the greater supply of home grown and imported roses available on the wholesale market. By early 1995, about 35 percent of the roses sold wholesale in Minnesota were grown in the state.

Wholesale prices of roses increased along with the cost-of-living locally and nationally. Prices of Minnesota-grown roses were significantly higher than national averages because of a better quality local product and higher production costs. National price averages were pulled down by the prices of California and Colorado roses.

Both imported and domestic roses have benefitted from use of the latest developments in cut-flower preservatives. South American growers used unheated structures and were still dependent on the weather. Thus, they sometimes missed planned production schedules. The imported product sells for less than the domestic product, and foreign producers were found to be dumping their flowers at prices below production costs at times in 1994. As a result, the U.S. government imposed a tariff on imported roses in the second half of 1994. The quality of the imported product has improved.

While Minnesota rose production continued strong, production in numerous other states, including California, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, declined appreciably. Alert Minnesota rose growers strove to be more efficient, and applied the latest technology in their efforts to maintain a viable business in what has become a highly competitive world-wide market. Advancements have included growing new and improved cultivars and more productive intermediate class cultivars like 'Sonia', 'Kyria' and 'Kardinal'. Improved culture techniques have included better growth media such as rock wool, injecting carbon dioxide into the greenhouses at controlled levels, monitored nutrition, high-intensity sodium vapor lamp illumination of the plants in the short-day half of the year, computerized greenhouse environment and irrigation controls and more efficient means of heating greenhouses. Some California rose growers are now improving their cultural methods, and are not depending solely on climatic advantages.

Len Busch Roses in Plymouth has the largest plantings of current Minnesota rose growers. J.R. Johnson, with greenhouses in Austin and Hugo; Hermes Floral, with greenhouses in Becker and in Hudson, Wisconsin; and Minneapolis Floral in Hopkins are the other major producers. Rose statistics in Table 8 do not include production of Hermes' Wisconsin range, but those roses are sold through Hermes' wholesale house in St. Paul.

Minnesota, like much of the United States, has lost the bulk, if not all, of its carnation and chrysanthemum cut-flower production. Rose imports are still increasing at a rapid pace. Production costs are expected to increase significantly in other countries, but their flowers are often larger because of a more desirable climate. There appears to be a good possibility that progressive rose growers will share the market with imports for an indefinite period.

Poinsettia Production

Poinsettias are a natural, off-season, complementary crop for bedding plant growers. Minnesota poinsettia production from 1980 to 1993 increased to a wholesale value of $4.1 million. (Table 9) Number of growers increased from 89 in 1980 to a peak of 115 in 1990, but dropped dramatically to 59 in 1993. A surge in poinsettia popularity coincided with the rapid growth in bedding plant production, and lower wholesale prices in the 1990s. This factor, plus the more rigid cultural requirements and higher production costs of poinsettias in comparison to bedding plants, resulted in some bedding plant specialists discontinuing poinsettia production in the early 1990s. Further, some smaller retail growers probably relinquished poinsettia growing to larger specialist growers.

Increased production space per potted poinsettia plant reflects growing larger, pinched specimens. According to an American Floral Endowment Research Report, poinsettias account for 54 percent of all floral sales in the Christmas season, and 21 percent of all floral sales on a national basis. The poinsettia is number one by a wide margin in wholesale sales volume of flowering pot plants.

Easter Lily Production

Minnesota Easter lily production from 1980 to 1993 is shown in Table 10. The wholesale price per pot and total wholesale value increased steadily, although slowly for the latter in the 1990s. As with poinsettias, Easter lily grower numbers peaked in 1990, but dipped sharply by 1993 to about half of the 1980 number and to 40 percent of the 1990 number. Production area was variable, but peaked in 1990 and by 1993 had dropped to just 36,000 square feet above the 1980 amount. Plants grown per square foot increased up to 33 percent because of producing more tailored, uniform plants in 1990 and thereafter. Again, as with poinsettias, some smaller growers relinquished Easter lily production and its difficulties to the large specialist producers. Decreased production in Minnesota also points out the competitive effect of increased shipments of plants from other states such as Illinois and Michigan, rather than decreased retail sales.

Bedding Plants

USDA Floriculture Crop Summary figures for the wholesale value of bedding plant sales quintupled in Minnesota from $4.95 million in 1978 to almost $24.89 million in 1993. Bedding plants were the fastest growing segment of the industry over these 15 years. From 1990 to 1993, the annual increase was only 7 percent, even with an increase from 28 to 36 reporting states. There was a 1 percent drop in wholesale value of floral crops in 1993. The slowdown, which was attributed to a countrywide economic recession, showed signs of ending in late 1993.

Vegetatively propagated geranium cultivars grown in pots under 5 inches in diameter had a total wholesale value 52 percent greater than F-1 seed propagated cultivars in 1993, although the number of pots sold was only 4 percent greater. The average wholesale sales price per cutting propagated plants was $1.38 versus 91 cents for seed grown F-1 hybrids.

Vegetable bedding plants represented about 7.6 percent of all bedding plant wholesale dollar volume. The development of relatively low priced plastic film glazed greenhouses, automation, increasing efficiency in general, plus new and improved cultivars all contributed to the availability of large quantities of bedding plants at reasonable prices.

Types of Greenhouse Structures

Current types of greenhouses and areas involved are shown in Table 11. Whereas Minnesota total greenhouse area increased 8.5 percent to 7,712,000 square feet from 1990 to 1993 for ranges of 10,000 square feet minimum, glass-covered greenhouse area decreased 24 percent, to 11 percent of all greenhouses. Rigid plastic glazed structures decreased little in square footage, probably because newer box rib, two-layer plastic panels helped compensate for the loss of corrugated, fiberglass reinforced, single-layer plastic panels. Film plastic-covered greenhouses continued to increase, coming to represent 68 percent of Minnesota greenhouses by 1993. Outdoor production, no doubt, included herbaceous perennials.

Multi-Generation Firms

Many larger greenhouses have been family owned for three or four generations as previously documented. Others have developed large ranges in 'recent' years. First generation firms included Dan and Jerry Greenhouses with 12.1 acres (started in 1979), Green Valley Greenhouses with 5.5 acres (1974), Park Rapids Florist and Nursery with 4.2 acres (1947) and Bauer's Greenhouses with 2.1 acres (1958). Len Busch is from a greenhouse family, but he started his own business in 1965 and now has 10 acres.

In other instances, non-family members have bought existing businesses and enlarged their facilities. Examples of these include 6.4 acre Lehman Gardens, purchased in 1972 and now known as Donahue's Greenhouses, South Cedar Greenhouses with 2.5 acres (1991), Lyndale Garden Center with 2.1 acres (1986), Dundee Floral with 1.5 acres (1962) and Four Seasons Greenhouses with 1.4 acres (1977).

Still another category of businesses are those which existed for some time, but only recently built their own greenhouse ranges. Bailey Nursery is an example for this group. Bailey started its range in 1982, though the nursery is currently a third and fourth generation firm. The company has 11.5 acres used for production of annuals and perennials, plus propagation of nursery stock.

Distribution by size of firms with one acre or more of greenhouses is presented in Table 12. Figures were determined by direct contact with the growers.

Leading Counties

Distribution of greenhouses in eight leading Minnesota counties is shown in Table 13. Figures for many counties in which only a single firm is located are not available in the published census information to avoid disclosure of data for individual firms.

In general, greenhouse area in the Twin Cities area counties increased significantly. Hennepin County, with Bachman's, Len Busch's, Wagner's, Rosacker's, Malmborg's, Lynde's, etc., had the greatest greenhouse area in Minnesota. The total dipped in 1987 as several firms ceased doing business, but their capacity was more than replaced by new structures at continuing business by 1992. Ramsey County, with Linder's, Leben's, Hermes's, Holm and Olson's, Huiras', Pletscher's and Chenoweth's, a much smaller county than Hennepin, showed a steady slow increase that exceeded the loss of a few ranges over 10 years. Washington County including Bailey's Nursery and Linder's Lake Elmo range; Anoka County including Green Valley Greenhouses and the Hans Rosacker farm; Dakota County, with Bachman's farm, Gerten's and South Cedar Greenhouses, and Sherburne County with Hermes's in Becker, Beck's in Big Lake and Nelson's in Zimmerman, show the greatest growth.

St. Louis County in northeastern Minnesota showed a fair increase in greenhouse area by 1987, but lost several firms by 1992. Production in a number of northern counties decreased in the 1980s and early 1990s. Crow Wing County, in the middle of the state, showed modest growth. Various good-sized ranges are also scattered in other counties around the state.

Greenhouse Construction Costs

Ron Wagner showing a chamber for germinating seeds in plugs (above). Eight layers of aluminum bench top trays filled with sheets of plugs use the computerized environment efficiently. Conditions controlled include light, temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide levels. A bank of germination chambers (below) allows high volume production of young plants for national wholesale distribution. Carts in front of the chambers move large numbers of plants throughout the range without individual handling. (Photos by author)

Greenhouse construction costs for the 1993-1994 period ranged from as little as $3 to more than $20 per square foot of floor space, not counting the cost of the land on which they were built. Temporary, quonset-shaped, plastic film houses erected for spring bedding plant sales were designed to sell for $3, or even less, per square foot.

Growing structures designed by individual growers and covered with plastic film ran $2 and higher per square foot for materials. With lumber prices skyrocketing, most new greenhouses were built with metal support structures. A grower could add another $5, or more, to the cost for minimal benches, walks, irrigation, lighting, etc. Computerized environmental controls, mobile bench tops, heat and shade curtains and other refinements, if included, further increased construction costs. The cost of materials for installing high-intensity, sodium vapor lamps for growing roses would be about $3 per square foot of greenhouse area. Plastic film-covered, European-style connecting houses, with sturdy metal frameworks and ready to operate, cost $8 per square foot. Labor for construction of any of these options would cost extra.

Highly efficient, sturdy greenhouses, glazed with plastic film and fully equipped, could easily reach the upper $20 per square foot cost range. Large, aluminum framed standard-style greenhouses, glazed with acrylic or ultra-violet resistant, surface-treated polycarbonate, double-layer, box ribbed plastic panels and equipped to grow plants in a rock wool medium could cost about $23 per square foot.

Aerial view of Len Busch's three greenhouse ranges, which are scattered on his property because of the variable terrain. All are Lauer manufactured and glazed with rigid, double-layer, acrylic panels. The Minneapolis skyline is visible on the horizon to the right of center. (Photo courtesy Len Busch)

Len Busch minimized his fuel bill by using waste wood to provide 75 percent of the heat his greenhouses needed. The other 25 percent would normally be provided by the high-intensity lamps used daily to increase total illumination units and improve plant production and quality. Natural gas was used to supplement the heat supply only on the limited number of extremely cold days. Without the usual heating fuel costs, he heated 400,000 square feet of greenhouses for 25 cents per square foot per year. To achieve this low cost, he also used double layer glazing and internal heat and light retention curtains installed above the high-intensity lamps. The fuel bill for conventional greenhouses heated with natural gas would have been about $1.25 annually for an average winter.

General operating costs per square foot of greenhouse average about $10.00 per year, plus extra costs for individual crops. Figures for northern Minnesota are slightly higher.

Retail Sales

The 1993 Research Report of the American Floral Endowment, Flora-Stats, noted that 57 percent of American households purchased at least one floral product in the period July 1992 through June 1993. The average household annual total expenditure was $46.39, spread over 3.7 purchases, with 53 percent of the customers buying fresh flowers 3.4 times for a total of $40.48. Distribution of sales by outlets in early 1994 is listed in Table 14.

No precise figures for the total number of floral and plant product retail sales outlets in Minnesota are readily available. Florists Transworld Delivery (FTD), the largest floral wire service, reports 404 member firms in the state. Further, numerous firms have multiple outlets. Knowledgeable florists estimate that 90 to 95 percent of retail florists are FTD members, and that the membership helps build their dollar volume. Thus, an estimated minimum of 450 retail florists represent 35 percent of the total florist sales volume, but only 14 percent of the total number of sales.

Fifty-one percent of the nation's approximately 10,000 supermarkets sell floral products, suggesting that about 230 of Minnesota's more than 450 supermarkets also likely do so. Some of these supermarket floral outlets are operated by retail florists. Combine the aforementioned units with significant numbers of garden centers, discount, department and home improvement stores selling floral and plant products and it can be estimated that there is a minimum of 1,200 retail floral and plant outlets in Minnesota.

Increases in the number of wire and long-distance phone service systems in the country have paralleled increases in floral sales. FTD has 23,000 members. American Floral Services (AFS) is the next largest such alliance with 21,000 members. Other similar operations include Teleflora Inc., Redbook Florist Services, Florafax, Carik Services Inc., 1-800-FLOWERS, and Phillips 1-800-FLORALS. Retail floral firms typically have memberships with FTD plus another service.

Temporary Garden Centers

Temporary retail outlets operate only seasonally, usually in the spring, often supplementing the retail operations of production firms. They typically setup shop with temporary quonset-type plastic-covered shelters erected in parking lots of large supermarkets, hardware and building supply, and discount department stores. Other temporary centers operate around the winter holidays in short-term rented spaces within other stores, shopping malls, 'public' plazas, etc.

Linder's started its second greenhouse range in Lake Elmo in 1986. It currently totals 200,000 square feet of greenhouses designed by the Linder's firm. Its major crop of bedding plants is efficiently produced. Flowering potted plants are also grown for sale at its large year-round garden center on Larpenteur Avenue in St. Paul. Linder's large retail business far exceeds its wholesale business. By the spring of 1995, Linder's had 13 temporary garden centers in the greater St. Paul area.

LaVerne and Marge Christianson are now sole owners of Hiebert's 180,000 square foot range in Mountain Lake. Marge's son Paul, a University of Minnesota floriculture graduate, is also in the business. Gaylord Hiebert and his family retain ownership of the company's greenhouse ranges in South Dakota. Bedding plants are the major crop at Hiebert's and they have automated production in numerous respects. In the spring, they set up temporary garden centers at 50 supermarkets, large hardware stores, etc., in Minnesota and in northern Iowa. They also produce Easter lilies and poinsettias to sell wholesale to florists, but do not have a retail flower shop at the home base.

Other firms have also operated temporary garden centers over the years, and the business strategy may be growing.

The Forest Lake area grew rapidly in the 1980s. Mick and Sandy Roberts rebuilt and renamed their Forest Lake Greenhouses to Forest Lake Floral and Garden Center in 1993-1994. Their new facility included an attractive, 3,000 square foot retail flower and gift shop with storage and work areas, plus 12,000 square feet of new greenhouses and additional parking space. A third generation of the family is waiting in the wings to enter the business, and the family is considering entering the temporary garden mart business.

North Central Florists' Association (NCFA)

The NCFA is dedicated to the advancement of the floral industry. Its mission is accomplished by providing educational programs, special services and advertising support through cooperative marketing programs and other services deemed necessary by the association's membership. It operated a self-funded comprehensive health care coverage program for about 42 years, until new government regulations in 1995 resulted in the termination of the florists' managed health plan, and alternatives became available for small business people in Minnesota.

NCFA membership of about 600 is drawn from North and South Dakota, northern Iowa, western Wisconsin, and Minnesota. More than 85 percent of the member firms are in Minnesota. Its members include 48 percent of all retail florists in Minnesota, including many of the larger operations which, in aggragate, represent an even higher percentage of total floral sales in the state. Growers representing the bulk of Minnesota's greenhouse area are also members. Past association presidents are listed in Appendix D.

Government Controls

University of Minnesota greenhouse facilities are used by horticulture students and researchers. Including the attached headhouse, it provides about 65,000 square feet of teaching and research space. (Photo by Dave Hansen)

EPA and OSHA started developing standards for environmental protection and worker safety in the 1970s. Stricter regulations and enforcement were evident in the early 1990s. Minnesota adopted worker protection standards that were stricter than the federal standards, and which applied to farm, forestry, greenhouses and nursery operations and their employees. They required employee training programs for persons using pesticides and equipment, and for persons working in the vicinity. In addition, complete written records had to be maintained to document compliance with the safety standards.

Because the number of enforcement agency employees was limited, most safety inspections followed employee complaints. Penalties for violations in the 1990s were up to ten times as costly as they were in the early years of the safety requirements, around 1974. Compliance with environmental regulations frequently came under scrutiny when a business sought financing for an expansion. Money lenders often required testing to determine if the ground under the greenhouses was free of toxic substances before granting mortgages for the purchase of greenhouse ranges.

Garden Clubs

The Minnesota State Horticultural Society has grown to a membership of 16,000, and in 1993 its headquarters moved off the St. Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota to its own nearby building. The society publishes the bimonthly Minnesota Horticulturist magazine, maintains a large multi-media horticultural library for member use, develops informational seminars and meetings for current members and beginning gardeners, and sponsors tours to outstanding gardens and horticultural features throughout and outside the country. The Horticultural Society is affiliated with 250 local garden clubs throughout Minnesota. It also sponsors the Minnesota Green Community Gardeners program, a grassroots effort to revitalize communities by improving their environments through plantings. It is the only statewide program of this type in the country.

The Federated Garden Clubs, a national organization, has more than 1,000 members in Minnesota. Two of its major activities are operating judging schools and licensing qualified flower judges.

Both the Minnesota State Horticultural Society and the Federated Garden Clubs organizations provide scholarships for horticultural students at the University of Minnesota.

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