Why this plant has been named 2022’s houseplant of the year | 18
Plant interests continue to soar What’s big this year and the next | 28
RON WRAY Fernlea Flowers, ON
2021 Vol.41, Issue 7
Growing in the heat
Heat waves have been moving across Canada. Here’s what greenhouse vegetable producers can do about it. By: Dr. Mohyuddin Mirza | 24
Editorial 4
Industry News 6
Water Moratorium 32
Greenhouse construction put on hold
Inside View 34
Carrying on to the next generation
18
Ron Wray of Fernlea Flowers is the 2021 Grower of the Year.
Image credit: M. Sawaya | Pg. 12
8 18 28
Plants with a purpose
Greenhouse ornamentals that drew pollinators the most – and least
BY DR. SARAH JANDRICIC ET AL.
Houseplant of the year
Why this new ‘Year of’ category for houseplants debuts with the peperomia
BY DIANE BLAZEK
Botanical bonanza
What’s big for annuals, perennials, tropicals, vegetables and more
BY TREENA HEIN
FROM
What’s old is hip again
It’s interesting how ideas and trends resurface, making small adjustments each time.
In my conversation with Ron Wray for this month’s cover story (pg. 12), the Grower of the Year award winner shared his thoughts on how the industry’s changed. What didn’t make it onto the page was his recount of how houseplants were quite popular when he started at Fernlea 37 years ago. Even then, philodendrons and snake plants were big. He’s seen a number of plant trends come, go and resurge at different points over time, much like succulents.
There’s so much interest in houseplants, that U.S.-based National Garden Bureau, which serves North America, has added a houseplant category to its annual ‘Year of’ program. Check out their debut with the chosen peperomia (pg. 18).
were sold [out], we could not get more,” he shares.
As Brian Minter of Minter Country Garden in Chilliwack, B.C. recalls, there was a problem importing them from Australia. Plus, he says, they’re very difficult to overwinter indoors in our climate. The only ones he knew of on the west coast were specimens at the University of British Columbia.
If you read our annual garden trends report (pg. 28), you’ll see that all plants were generally a hit this year. The question is, what will happen as society opens its doors again and home owners are no longer sequestered to their property?
Is it more important to know who we’re catering to? Are you looking to target the urban condo dweller who wants low-maintenance mini plants with fast results? Or are you appealing to the pollinator-friendly, resource-conserving segment?
Marketing and communications play a big role in shaping trends.
Take pollinator-friendly plants for instance. How many of us have
Is it more important to know who we’re catering to?
Another plant of interest has been the Wollemi pine. Since starting at Greenhouse Canada three and a half years ago, I’ve received on and off waves of inquiries about its availability. The most recent occurrence took place last summer and into the fall, with readers looking for seeds or cuttings.
Glenn Andersen at Nordic Nurseries in B.C. was just as perplexed about this newfound interest. It’s been over 10 years since they’ve grown Wollemi, and no one else in North America seems to produce them.
“When we were selling them we brought them in from the only grower in Australia which is no longer growing them, as I understand. We distributed them across North America and once all
always thought that pollinatorfriendly varieties should be native cultivars to the region? The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) teamed up with the University of Guelph to carry out a three-year study, which shows how native cultivars don’t always excel in attracting pollinators (pg. 8). In fact, many non-native cultivars commonly grown in greenhouses do very well in attracting a large number and variety of pollinators.
In a world where trends come and go, could prioritizing fit over fad win out in the end?
Tomatoes
Hot Peppers Sweet Peppers
$165.7M clean technology fund invites applications
The new federal agricultural clean technnology program helps farmers and agri-businesses reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
• The Adoption Stream supports the purchase and installation of clean technologies and solutions to reduce GHG emissions. Examples include fuel switching from diesel, energy-efficient watering or heating, and bio-product boiler systems for greenhouses.
• The Research and Innovation Stream will support research, development, demonstration and commercialization of agricultural clean technologies. Applications will be accepted on a continuous basis until funding has been fully committed. The program will allocate $10 million towards powering farms with clean energy and moving off diesel.
Source: AAFC
16 Indigenous-led agricultural projects receive over $4 million in funding
Ottawa announced over $4 million for 16 projects that will help support Indigenous food systems initiatives. Announced through the Indigenous Agriculture and Food Systems Initiative (IASFI) and the AgriDiversity Program, the aim is to provide equitable access to healthy food and increase participation of under-represented groups in the agri-
culture and agri-food sector. Select IAFSI projects included:
• $720,854 to Cree Nation of Nemaska in Que.: To implement an LED-based, smart vertical farm
• $254,019 to Kwadacha First Nation in B.C: To provide the knowledge and skills necessary for their community to operate their 10,800 square foot hydro-
Greenhouse trophies
ponic greenhouse facility, independently
• $130,566 to Bigstone Cree Nation in Alta.; To identify and plan agribusiness opportunities to succeed in Alberta’s and Canada’s agribusiness sector
• $15,000 to Poundmaker Cree Nation in Sask.; To develop a business plan for a community garden and greenhouse Applications for IAFSI
After last year’s hiatus, R.E.A.C.H International brought back its annual Greenhouse Competitions in Essex County, Ont. for 2021. The best overall winners in each category were:
• The Hottest Tomato: Umami bite-sized tomato by Nature Fresh Farms
• The Sweetest Strawberry: Dreamberry by Sunset/ Mastronardi Produce
• The Perfect Pepper: Rustico sweet long pepper by Mucci Farms
• The Coolest Cucumber: Sunset Mini Seedless cucumber by Sunset/Mastronardi Produce
Producers and marketers entered 125 products into the competitions and donated over 3,000 lbs of produce to gleaners and local food banks.
A Canadian registered charity run by local volunteers, R.E.A.C.H. International uses 100 per cent of the proceeds to sponsor over 50 children in Uganda, Africa, annually. These sponsorships give children and teens the food, school supplies, medicine, and other essentials needed for education and to break the cycle of poverty.
Source: R.E.A.C.H. International
funding will be accepted until July 31, 2021, for projects to be completed by March 31, 2023. $123,406 went to Indigenous Works Organization Inc., which will be used to identify gaps, challenges and opportunities for Indigenous groups to increase their participation and innovation in the agriculture and agrifood sectors in Canada.
Source: AAFC
BY THE NUMBERS
Agricultural clean technology program – Adoption stream
$10 million to clean energy and moving off diesel Focuses on project costs valued at $50,000 +
The program will contribute a maximum of:
50% for forprofit applicants
75% for nonprofit applicants
60% for businesses owned or led by under-represented groups (women, youth, Indigenous, visible minorities, persons with disabilities)
Selling Plants with a Purpose
In the world of pollinator gardens, is there a place for greenhouse ornamentals?
BY DR. SARAH JANDRICIC, FAMKE ALBERTS, RODGER TSCHANZ AND DR. AL SULLIVAN
For many, a home garden is a place of comfort and beauty. But for the past several years there’s been rising demand for gardens that serve a purpose. A great example of this is the COVIDspurred resurgence of Victory Gardens, which not only produce vegetables and herbs, but also boost morale.
Gardening with purpose can also mean contributing to the world around us. Planting ornamentals that provide nectar or pollen to pollinators in urban environments is a popular way to support the local ecosystem. Unfortunately, attempting to find the “right” or “best” plants to support pollinators can lead growers (and homeowners) down an internet rabbit hole. Many websites try to simplify things by promoting the exclusive use of local native plants – but does that mean Ontario growers have to switch up what they grow to capitalize on this trend?
With the help of researchers at the University of Guelph, summer students at the Ontario
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Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) have spent several years trying to answer this question: “In the world of pollinator gardens, is there a place for ornamentals commonly grown by Ontario’s greenhouses?” After three years of watching insects fly by, we think we have a definitive answer!
COUNTING SIX-LEGGED VISITORS
Each year, we selected 10 “exotic” plant species, meaning they originated outside of Canada and the continental U.S. We directly compared these to 10 species of native plants. Specifically, we used “nativars” – cultivars of native plants that have been somewhat altered by the ornamental industry for aesthetics – to provide a more apples-to-apples comparison. Although we attempted to choose the same plant species each year, availability from suppliers donating to the trial differed somewhat year-to-year. But all species chosen – whether exotic or native –can typically be found in local greenhouses or
Non-native plants can be very attractive to local pollinators. The Cosmos pictured here is a great example of a non-native plant species which attracts native bees in Ontario.
PHOTO CREDIT: M. BOUCHER, OMAFRA
Perennial Cosmos bipinnatus Cosmos
Annual Verbena bonariensis Tall Verbena
EXOTIC
‘Candy Stripe’ Honeybees, Native Bees
‘Meteor Shower’ Honeybees, Native Bees, Hoverflies, Butterflies and Moths
Perennial Salvia farinacea Mealycup Sage ‘Unplugged So Blue’ Native Bees, Hoverflies, Bumblebees
These exotic and nativar species attracted the most pollinators during three-year trials in Southern Ontario. Plants that attracted high numbers of native bees are indicated in bold, as they are often of most interest to consumers.
nurseries in Ontario.
Trials were run at the University of Guelph, as part of the university’s bedding plant trials in 2016 and 2018, and at the Landscape Ontario office in Milton, Ont. in 2020. Students watched small plots of individual plant species for specific time intervals, and recorded the number and type of pollinators they saw.
STANDOUT EXOTICS AND NATIVARS
So, after three years, what did we find?
If we look at the average number of pollinators observed on similar observation dates over three years at both trial locations (Guelph and Milton), we see a trend towards native plants being more attractive to pollinators (Figure 1). This is especially apparent early in the season around late June to early July, and again in late July.
Overall, we observed an average of 117 pollinator visits per hour per m 2 in plots filled with native plants. This
TABLE 2.
Exotic plant species that consistantly do not attract a high number of pollinators, in terms of abundance or diversity. These plants should be avoided in sales of mixed containers or flats promoted as “pollinator-friendly.” (*tested in Ontario)
average was lower at 96 pollinator visits per hour in plots of exotic plant species. Despite this trend, however, the difference between the two plant categories wasn’t statistically meaningful – mostly because we saw a lot of variation in attractiveness depending on the actual plant species involved.
If you remember the last time we reported on this research (see “Annuals and Perennials That Cause a Buzz” in the November 2018 issue of Greenhouse Canada Magazine), you’ll recall that in both the native and exotic plots, there were species that performed well and those that performed poorly – despite
1.
Average pollinator visits per hour per square metre of native (N) or exotic (E) plant species, taken on similar observation dates over a three-year trial.
careful selection of plants that we thought would be successful.
In an example from our 2020 data, native plants like Helianthus and Coreopsis attracted some of the highest total numbers of pollinators of all the plants tested, with more than 650 pollinator visits each over the summer. But, other native plant species like Monarda and Gaura (with the common names Bee Balm and Bee Blossom, respectively) attracted very few pollinators comparatively, at fewer than 90 total pollinator visits each. What this ultimately means is that, when it comes to pollinators, generalizations about plants (“native plants good, exotics bad”) is a trend that needs to go the way of the dinosaur.
Instead, our research has shown us that there are both good and bad selections of exotic species for growers who are interested in producing and promoting more pollinator-friendly plants as part of their spring-crop selection. Based on our three years of
2.
data, we’ve compiled a list of the top eight exotic plant species (four annuals and four perennials) and top eight nativar plants (all perennials) in terms of pollinator attraction, when tested in suburban areas of Ontario.
As both abundance (total number of pollinator visits) and diversity (kinds of pollinators) are important from a pollinator garden perspective, we kept this in mind while making this list. Exotic plants that attracted a moderate number of total pollinator visits were still included if they attracted more “rare” pollinators such as bee flies, hawk moths, and pollinating beetles. We also made sure to include cultivar information, as our data and other research demonstrate that variety can also play a significant role in pollinator attraction (see Figure 2). This could be due to changes in volatiles, amount of pollen or nectar, or the colour perceived by the insect. Extensive testing is being done by Michigan State and other U.S. institutions on this front. They
suggest watching for specific cultivar recommendations from breeders or extension publications to get the best bee- or butterfly-friendly variety.
Although our list is not exhaustive, it does provide a starting guide to what growers can confidently promote as pollinator-friendly spring crops. It could also serve as a guide to customize higher-value mixed containers for garden centres. To help avoid missteps, we’ve also compiled a “No-fly” list of exotic plants that do not attract any kind of pollinator. This is based on our research, and is backed up by similar research done by Michigan State University.
The bottom line of our study is, if we want to capitalize on pollinator gardens as a trend, flower growers don’t need to grow more native plants to satisfy customers. Instead, they need to expand their definition of “pollinator-friendly” plants to include exotic ornamentals and help educate the buyer. Ultimately, using mixes of plants – native and exotic, annual and perennial, tall and short, early and late flowering – creates the kind of pollinator garden that supports many and different types of pollinators throughout the gardening season. And looks good while doing it.
Sarah Jandricic, PhD, is the greenhouse floriculture IPM specialist for OMAFRA. Famke Alberts is a fourth-year student at McMaster University and was part of the Summer Employment Opportunity program at OMAFRA in 2020. Rodger Tschanz is the trial garden manager at the University of Guelph (UofG), and Al Sullivan, PhD, is Professor Emeritus at UofG. Land was provided by The University of Guelph in 2016&2018, and by Landscape Ontario in 2020. Special thanks to the plant breeders who donated plant material for these trials.
There were differences in attractiveness between cultivars of the same plant species tested. Other reports suggest different cultivars can vary in attractiveness to pollinators by up to 10 times.
FIGURE
FIGURE
Grower cultivates joy in greenhouse production
Ron Wray’s passion for plants, dedication to teaching and unyielding pursuit for improvement put him in the top spot for the 2021 Grower of the Year award.
BY GRETA CHIU
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Wray’s keen interest in plant science contributes to a quality product.
PHOTO: M. SAWAYA
Growing with the times
Started in 1939 by Lloyd and Mary Veit, then succeeded by their daughter Virginia and husband Joe Howe in 1974, Fernlea Flowers has grown to become one of the largest greenhouse operators in North America.
As Wray’s team winds down their spring bedding plants for Canadian sales, they gear up to propagate tropicals for their southern locations in the U.S., including four nurseries in Florida with 250 acres of production space, plus one leased location in California. The products will then continue to grow over the winter for Home Depot U.S.
Next spring, some of those tropical materials will make their way back to Ontario for repotting, in time for late spring sales at Lowes and Walmart in Eastern Canada.
The business is markedly different from Wray’s early days. Growing mostly flats and baskets at the time, plants had generic tags and labels that could be sold to whomever wanted them. “Now every customer has their own labels, their different pots,” he says.
The crops have also changed. “When I started here, we were probably the largest poinsettia grower in Canada. We were doing about a million and a half poinsettias,” says Wray. The operation ceased poinsettia production in 2004. They’ve also reduced their Icicle pansies program in the past 20 years, using most of the outdoor area for fall mums.
Over the past few decades, Wray’s witnessed a progressive move towards containers and higher end products such as tropicals. They currently grow dipladenias, hibiscus, Red Star spike, flowering cucurma, ferns and more – all of which have filled the gap between spring and fall crops.
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The people at Fernlea, both past and present, are another source of motivation for Wray, who’s pictured here with Larry Nigh [left] and Jette Vanadrichem [middle].
“He has this ability to [help] a person come up with a solution to a problem without telling them the solution,” says Bobbi Robinson, an assistant grower at Fernlea who has worked with Wray for over 20 years. “He sees potential in people and draws it out.”
“I first worked for Ron while he was the plug grower at Fernlea, many moons ago. This was back when we watered mostly everything by hand, and I was on the end of a hose all day, every day,” she recalls. “Even then, he was always so kind to us ‘little people.’ He always stopped to say hello and encouraged us to ask questions.”
Continuous improvement is key for Wray, who always looks for ways to take things to the next level. He encourages staff to advance their knowledge and put it into practice. His management style has fostered a collaborative environment for the sharing of ideas, information and workload.
“If we have a project or trial we are working on, he will push us to take it to the next step, to see if we can improve more,” says Robinson. Currently trialling new lighting and fogging techniques, the team is already seeing improvements to their product.
Over the years, Wray’s work has also reduced the use of conventional pesticides in the greenhouse and kept Fernlea at the forefront of this rapidly evolving practice.
“I remember spraying weekly or sometimes twice a week throughout the whole range, just to keep insects under control,” Robinson recalls. “Now, using biologicals and bio-friendly chemicals to
reduce pest populations in our propagation houses, we have very much improved the quality of our finished product as we have been able to use far less pesticides in the finishing areas.”
A PLANT-FIRST APPROACH
While some growers will find a growing recipe that works and stick to it, Wray looks to the plants for cues.
“A plant tells you a lot of things just by looking at it. It can tell you a lot about its environment, its past, whether it’s stressed,” he explains. “You have to be very, very flexible…and be in-tune with what’s going on in the greenhouse.”
While working as a grower in Fernlea’s plug area, Wray would pull out his sketchpad, documenting the roots, leaves and general morphology as the plantlets progressed. The sketchpad was eventually replaced by a digital camera and phone, amassing hundreds of thousands of images that would become essential training tools for new employees.
“I think some people need that visual,” he says. “This is what you’re looking for at a certain day. If you’re not there, why aren’t you there?” Cross-referencing with other greenhouse records, they revisit what was done from planting onwards, helping staff understand the crop’s needs at different stages of development and whether they’ve been met. And while modern software has helped to automate control of the greenhouse climate, Wray finds that the user still needs to understand plants before they can make the most of it.
PHOTO: M. SAWAYA
PHOTO: R. WRAY
“If they’re growing too aggressively, if they’re not growing fast enough, if the roots are in good shape or not in good shape – the plant will tell you.”
ALWAYS LEARNING
When asked what motivates him to do what he does today, Wray says he originally came for the plants but has been completely taken by the people in the industry, both in and outside of Fernlea.
“The people I work with every day are the ones that make all the magic happen,” he says. “I’m really grateful for that.”
A HUMUNGOUS hobby
When he’s not in the greenhouse, Ron Wray can be found in his backyard tending to giant pumpkins and squash grown for the annual Norfolk county fair and other competitions. It’s a hobby that he says many people, including his wife of 36 years, don’t quite understand.
“We’ve grown giant pumpkins ever since we’ve been married, and my wife still to this day doesn’t know why I work in a greenhouse with plants all day and then come home and work in the garden,” he shares. The largest pumpkin he’s grown so far has reached 1,301 Ib.
One of the highlights of his job has been working with students spending their summers or after-school hours at Fernlea. “You get to watch them evolve…and then to see them go on and be successful doing other things.” Teaching and passing down his knowledge, especially to the next generation, he finds great satisfaction in showing others how to appreciate the complexity of plants while continuing to discover them himself.
“I never stopped being a student, especially in growing plants,” he says. For almost four decades, he’s collaborated with the greenhouse sector all over North America and around the world, forming a network for sharing and learning.
The average career length at Fernlea speaks volumes. Most on Wray’s team have stayed for over 20 years, with one recently retiring after 47 years. As more approach retirement, Wray says they’re on the lookout for young, budding horticulturalists.
COVID has been a wakeup call, he says. While the industry
49th Golf Tournament
was heading towards automation, he feels that the pandemic has emphasized a greater urgency for automated solutions and a call to be less reliant on a seasonal labour force.
Luckily, he’s noticed a resurgence in horticulture in recent years, which was accelerated by COVID. Though Fernlea lost out on early sales due to COVID closures in 2020, they quickly sold out of product once garden centres were able to reopen, particularly in their ‘Harvest Thyme’ vegetable line. This year, items sold ahead of schedule, where some meant for week 21 were gone by week 19 or 20.
Perhaps that appreciation for plants will bring new interest to careers in horticulture, as it did for him over three decades ago.
“Love what you do and do what you love. If you enjoy what you’re doing, it’s never really a job.”
PHOTO: R. WRAY
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Houseplant in the spotlight: Peperomia
The popular ‘Year of’ garden marketing program debuts a new category this year to reflect consumer wants.
BY DIANE BLAZEK
Houseplant sales were booming before the COVID pandemic, and they are in even greater demand now. More home offices mean a surging demand for houseplants. Multiple news outlets report that North American houseplant sales are up by a range of almost 50 per cent to more than double what they were pre-pandemic.
With National Garden Bureau’s (NGB) expanding member base and more members offering houseplants, the organization added this new category to the long-established ‘Year of’ program for 2022.
Since 1980, NGB’s ‘Year of’ program has chosen and promoted a specific crop class within each category that is popular, easy-to-grow and has a diverse number of varieties. The early years featured an edible and an annual, most often
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seed-propagated. In the new millennium, the organization expanded the program to include more non-seed varieties and also added perennials, bulbs, and flowering shrubs.
For the newly established houseplant category, 2022 was named ‘Year of the Peperomia.’
WHY PEPEROMIA?
Peperomia are native to hot humid areas like the South American rain forests and similar regions in Florida and the Caribbean. Because of this, they make wonderful houseplants with many desirable features. They can tolerate almost any light levels and survive with just medium watering, making them an easy addition to a houseplant assortment.
There are many varieties of peperomia with varying shapes and foliage colours. These days,
The peperomia was selected for 2022’s ‘Year of’ program in the new houseplant category for its diverse colour and pattern choices, ease of growth and popularity among consumers.
smaller houseplants (a.k.a. babies or minis) are fashionable. And with peperomia’s limited size of 12-18” tall (30 to 46 cm), it is an extremely popular houseplant pick.
Here are a few varieties of note:
• Beetle Peperomia (P. quadrangularis)
• Belly Button Peperomia (P. verticillate)
• Bibi Peperomia (P. trinervula)
• Colombian Peperomia (P. metallica var. colombiana)
• Cupid Peperomia (P. scandens)
• Golden Gate Peperomia (P. obtusifolia)
• Jelly Peperomia (P. clusiifolia)
• Rainbow Peperomia (P. clusiifolia)
• Raindrop Peperomia (P. polybotrya)
• Teardrop Peperomia (P. orba)
• Watermelon Peperomia (P. argyreia)
CULTURE TIPS
According to the following excerpt from the University of Florida’s Mid-Florida Research and Education Center (MREC) in Apopka, Fla., peperomia are easy to grow from cuttings and generally easy to root.
“Terminal stem cuttings can be used
with all types and permit production of finished plants in the shortest possible time. Cuttings with one leaf and a short section of stem can be used if stock is limited or small finished plants are needed. Stem cuttings which have one or more buds are necessary for propagation of variegated cultivars.”
For three-inch pots, the MREC says it’s common to use two terminal stem cuttings, each with two to four expanded leaves. “Rooting and finishing threeinch pots require three to five weeks depending upon size of cuttings and season.” For four-inch pots, it’s common to go with three to four cuttings each.
Moisture is an important factor. The MREC suggests that peperomia should be produced in greenhouses in order to keep tighter reins on soil moisture. Potting media should be “very well drained and as pathogen-free as possible.” They recommend using peat-lite mixes with coarse particles, such as perlite, styrofoam or bark char for aeration.
Mid-day light intensity should fall between 1,500 and 3,500 foot candles. Nitrogen is approximately 2.3 pounds of per 1,000 square feet per month, based
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Peperomia come in various textures, including this P. argyreia.
on a 3-1-2 ratio fertilizer. “Since some of the peperomias are very short-term crops, a liquid fertilization program is preferred because excessive soluble salts severely damage plants in retail stores or homes of consumers. Liquid fertilizer should
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be administered at least once a week to ensure a slow rise in fertility during the short production period.”
‘YEAR OF’ PROGRAM
As an indicator of popularity, the ‘Year of’ content on the NGB website is consistently among the top 10 visited pages on the site each month.
NGB does extensive work in creating marketing content, which helps save you time and money, especially during the busy spring season!
This fall, photos provided by NGB members of numerous peperomia varieties will be posted on the NGB website. After November 1, 2021, fact sheets, flyers, handouts, signage, posters, and social media graphics can be downloaded for use at no charge.
Growers and garden centres can take advantage of the publicity from this program and use the marketing collateral in their 2022 catalogs, websites, advertisements, presentations, trade show booths, event exhibits and other purposes. Consumer publicity for the 2022 ‘Year of’ crops will begin in January 2022.
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The variegated P. obtusifolia (left) and P. polybotrya (right) are examples of how diverse this houseplant group can be.
Stay tuned for profiles of each 2022 ‘Year of’ crop in future editions of Greenhouse Canada
Diane Blazek is executive director of AllAmerica Selections and National Garden Bureau. NGB is a North American non-
profit organization and marketing arm of the gardening industry. It exists to educate, inspire, and motivate the use of plants in homes, gardens, and workplaces. NGB members come from around the world and are experts in the field of horticulture. Find out more at ngb.org.
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Sharing a healthy future
Managing heat stress in vegetablesgreenhouse
With high temperatures abound, here’s how greenhouses can reduce heat stress in their vegetable crop.
BY DR. MOHYUDDIN MIRZA
With outside temperatures rising above 30°C in many parts of Canada, heat warnings have been issued and reports have come in that indicate heat stress in greenhouse vegetables.
Signs include severe tomato fruit splitting and blotchy ripening, cucumbers not setting new flowers and fruit abortion, pepper fruits showing wavy skin, and strawberry flower and fruit size becoming smaller.
Inside greenhouses, air temperatures have been recorded at around 36 to 38°C. The temperature of the skin on red-coloured tomato fruits have measured at 41.2°C.
ENERGY INPUTS FOR A TYPICAL GREENHOUSE
It is important to understand the impact of solar energy in generating heat in greenhouses. What happens to solar energy once it falls on greenhouse glazing material?
On average, 19 per cent of solar energy falling on a greenhouse roof is reflected back to the outside air, 12 per cent is absorbed by the material itself and about 69 per cent is transmitted inside the greenhouse envelope. These are averages and do vary with the sun’s angle, type of glazing material and many other factors.
ABOVE The top branches of the tomato plant are wilted. Leaves measure at 38.4°C.
INSET This fruit damage occurs 24 hours after being exposed to high heat. The fruit surface measures 41.2°C.
ALL PHOTOS:
M. MIRZA
Inside the greenhouse, 14 per cent of the light is reflected by the plants, 17 per cent is given off as heat and 38 per cent is used for evapotranspiration.
Transpiration and evapotranspiration are two important aspects of how plants cool themselves under high solar radiation. Did you know that plants are designed to transport water from the root zone through transpiration pull and root pressure push? They lose the water to the surrounding air and retain the nutrients in their cells to use for growth. They keep themselves cool this way, and during hot weather that is an important part of crop management.
Also remember that plants can selectively take up water only, leaving behind all the nutrients in the root zone. This has implications for EC readings later on, as you’ll see.
OBSERVATIONS FROM A GREENHOUSE
On the previous page are pictures of tomato plants where I recorded leaf and fruit temperature. The outside air temperature was 28°C, but the inside air
temperature was 30°C. The wilted leaves measured at 38.4°C while the fruit surface measured at 41.2°C – almost 10 °C higher than the temperature indoors.
The two pictures on the right show how high fruit temperatures can lead to goldspeckled skin and corky, dry tissue inside, rendering the fruit unsaleable. Heat stress reduces pollen viability and could lead to potential crop loss, while corky tissue may be an indirect effect of heat stress as well.
GENERAL TIPS FOR REDUCING HEAT STRESS
So what can be done to reduce heat stress on plants?
1. Since the heat is coming from solar energy, try to reduce the incoming light during the hotter periods. Many growers are effectively using screens to block sunlight during the period when light levels are surpassing 1,500 to 2,000 joules.
2. Keep air moving by using vertical and horizontal fans.
3. Temperature and relative humidity go hand in hand, and that means paying attention to moisture deficit or vapour
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Tomato fruit showing gold speckling due to heat stress.
pressure deficit (VPD). For example, if the temperature is 30°C and relative humidity is 50 per cent, then the VPD is 14 grams per m3 or 18.4 millibars which is very stressful for the plants. If the relative humidity is raised to 70 per cent, then VPD is 8.5 grams or 11.2 millibars. Plants can perform better in these VPD ranges. Wherever possible,
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fogging and misting systems should be utilized to the fullest.
4. Under high ventilation conditions during hot weather, CO2 can become a limiting factor for photosynthesis and production can suffer. This may result in reduced fruit size, smaller leaves and reduced overall vigour of plants. Many growers increase the ventilation setpoint
by 2°C and thus reduce ventilation in the morning. This helps make CO2 available to plants for a longer period of time.
5. Water and nutrient management need more attention. Growers who water their crops based on sunlight automatically increase their irrigation frequency. For example, the standard formula is to use 300 ml/m2 per every 100 joules of light. Since the light levels could be as high as 2,000 joules, up to 6L per m2 may be required.
6. Many growers increase the leach percentage by 50 per cent but still notice that the Electrical Conductivity (EC) keeps on increasing. This is because plants can selectively take up water to meet their evapotranspiration needs, so nutrients can increase. It is recommended to switch over to plain, pH-adjusted water when light levels are highest, generally between 11 am to 4 pm.
7. Under high light and high heat, plants will become more generative and top growth can become thin and spindly. If possible, try to achieve a lower 24-hour
average temperature by reducing the night-time temperature.
Crops are in midseason and have a few months to go. Paying attention to the above points may help to restore the crop to good condition and maintain good fruit quality.
Note that these are general recommendations on handling heat stress in vegetable crops. Each greenhouse is unique as to the type and nature of the growing medium, watering practices, stage of crop and many other factors. For example, although the principle is to apply 300 ml of water/m2 for each 100 joules of solar radiation, many growers may irrigate after 50-joule or 100-joule intervals. The irrigation interval depends on stage of crop, light intensity, moisture deficit, water holding capacity of the growing medium, and oxygen levels in the water.
For more tailored input, be sure to speak with your greenhouse consultant or local specialist.
Mohyuddin Mirza, PhD, is an industry consultant in Alberta. He can be reached at drmirzaconsultants@gmail.com
Making growing easier.
Slicing open the fruit shows corky tissue inside.
The gardening boom continues
2021 is bursting forth with higher greenhouse plant sales than in 2020, but should growers prepare for a return to more normal levels of demand in 2022?
BY TREENA HEIN
In retrospect, the boom in landscaping and gardening across the developed world during the pandemic should not have been a surprise.
People had to, were encouraged to, or chose to spend most of their time at home in 2020. Once spring arrived, Canadians used their time to beautify their outdoor spaces. Trees, shrubs, flowering perennials, annuals, vegetables – you name it, people were buying it.
But it’s likely that this year saw more garden centre sales than in 2020. Brian Minter, a horticultural writer and broadcaster in B.C., reports that shortages have been widespread at garden centres in his province for many plants such as rhododendrons, azaleas and the everpopular daphne ‘Eternal Fragrance.’ He says it’s also very hard in B.C. to find the many new compact flowering shrubs by Proven Winners, such as the ‘Bloomerang’ lilac that flowers all summer long and the new compact buddleias.
Minter adds that the unusual cold spell in
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Texas in early 2021 “has added enormously to the shortages of many annuals like geraniums, calibrachoas and specialty plants. Millions of plants were frozen and greenhouse growers are still suffering from not receiving their normal amounts of cuttings. Soils, seeds and containers are also in short supply.”
VEGETABLE VIBES
In this second year of the pandemic gardening boom, experts report that food gardening has reached a whole new level.
Ben Cullen has been particularly impressed with the sophistication of vegetable gardening on display this year. “We’re not seeing people buying a few tomato plants and sticking them in and hoping for the best, but a high level of food gardening infrastructure,” reports Cullen, who, along with his father Mark Cullen, is a well-known gardening industry author and expert. “There are vertical setups, sophisticated
Consumers have been searching for plants that will attract birds, bees and butterflies to their gardens, such as this black-eyed Susan from the Sheridan Garden Classics Native Roots Collection.
integration of food gardening with ornamental gardening, season extension with cold frames. And these gardeners are interested in the basic vegetables, but also exotic varieties and heirlooms. It’s been amazing to see people going for it.” Cullen also notes a growing movement to create food gardens in the front yards of Toronto, supported by initiatives such as ‘Food Up Front.’
At Sheridan Nurseries in Georgetown, Ont., Director of Marketing Victoria Mulvale notes that extremely high demand started over the winter of 2020/2021 for vegetable seeds, seed propagation tools and seedlings to grow indoors. This has continued right through the spring planting season.
NATIVE AND POLLINATOR PLANTS
Interest in native plants, as well as those that aren’t native but otherwise support natural ecology, has been strong for years in Canada, but it’s still growing.
“Beauty is still the main motivator for our customers,” notes Landscape Ontario Executive Director, Tony DiGiovanni, “however, there is a strong move to use landscaping as a solution for flooding and climate change. Native plants and fusion gardens continue to increase.”
Jon Peter, curator and plant records manager at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington and Hamilton, Ont., notes that gardeners are picking up on the ‘Doug Tallamy approach’ of replacing lawn with a diversity of mostly native, woody and herbaceous plants to support pollinators, native food webs and local watersheds. He also observes that many new cultivars of native plants have been introduced in recent years. “Just look
ABOVE This Baptisia ‘Blueberry Sundae’ is one example of new native plants that have been introduced in recent years.
at how many different flower colours are available for Baptisia,” he says. Baptisia is also known as false or wild indigo and features stunning tall flowering spires.
Peter adds that there are now a wide variety of droughttolerant plants suited to gravel gardens and xeric gardens where little or no watering is needed, and therefore put
PHOTO CREDIT: J. PETER,
minimal strain on local water sources. These include ornamental grasses like native switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) that now come in an array of leaf and flower colours as well as textures.
This year, Sheridan Nurseries launched an email and social media campaign on using different plants to attract beneficial bugs and to keep away pests. It’s had some of the highest levels of engagement rates the company has ever seen.
ANNUALS
Back in B.C., Minter reports that demand for annuals is high across the board for all colours and varieties. “Interest in impatiens had been dropping off in recent years, but it’s back because of the mildew resistance offered by the ‘Beacon’ and ‘Imara’ varieties,” he says. “The superstars right now are the SunPatiens varieties that can withstand the hot sun.”
He adds that their whole cuphea line is popular, especially a Proven Winners variety called ‘Vermillionaire’ which he calls “an absolute magnet with hummingbirds.”
TREES, BUSHES AND SHRUBS
At Sheridan, demand for beech trees is off the charts, growing ever higher each year since 2018. Japanese Maples are also hot commodities, as are hardy roses. “[Since] March, the demand for roses has been very high,” reports Mulvale. “Normally rose sales don’t pick up until they start to come into bloom to show off what you’re getting, but this year, guests have been buying them before they even have buds.”
Minter reports big love for roses in B.C. as well, along with desire for colourful, compact shrubs like hydrangeas and azaleas. People are also looking for any tall, thin trees such as the sweet gum tree, Liquidambar ‘Slender Silhouette.’ And while sales of fruit trees have dipped slightly in B.C., likely because so many were purchased last year, sales of fruit bushes like blueberries are extremely high.
PERENNIALS
As with many other types of plants, shrubs and trees this year, “people are going in every direction” with
perennials, says Cullen.
Minter highlights the highest demands for anything that’s compact, has a longer flowering period or has a fragrance. “Lavender of any type is a superstar,” he adds. “People also want old-fashioned bleeding hearts and foxgloves. Shade perennials are also very popular. Brunnera, with its large, speckled, silver foliage and silver flowers, is one of so many new, visuallyinteresting varieties. Hardy fuchsias are popular, and so are the many colourful varieties of heucheras which blend extremely well with most other plants in containers.”
TROPICALS
Tropicals remain a gardening darling in 2021. “The Millennials do so much online research and they want the new and unusual offerings,” Minter reports. “Price is no object. The fiddle leaf fig is popular, as are monsteras, Boston ferns and succulents such as ‘String of Hearts’ and ‘String of Dolphins.’ Folks see them online, and they want them.”
Gardeners are also self-educating about tropicals online, adds Cullen, and significantly more gardeners are overwintering these plants, wanting to keep them for many years. Mulvale says this concept – getting emotional benefit and enjoyment from caring for plants over the long term – has been strongly promoted online by social media influencers. “Demand is outpacing supply as the ‘plant parent’ lifestyle continues to take hold and younger audiences become more engaged,” she says. “Tropicals make great social media subjects – they are very photogenic and create shareable content which helps drive interest with new audiences. We recently brought in a Ficus triangularis
ABOVE Perennials remain in high demand. This magnus coneflower (left) and blueberry bush (right) are examples of perennial choices that not only look beautiful, but serve a purpose.
PHOTO
which is starting to cause chatter on social media as this plant is hard to find.”
Minter also points to the extreme popularity of the ‘Black Raven’ ZZ plant. If garden centres can source any, he says, these plants will be gone by the following day. “People also love the many different colours of calathea,” he says. “Citrus trees, especially lemons which are greatly valued for their fragrance, are in high demand.”
Peter adds that although they are not tropical, there are numerous new swamp rose-mallow hybrids now on the market that feature large tropical-looking foliage and dinner-plate sized flowers.
“We are experimenting with some new introductions in the SUMMERIFIC Series,” he reports, “like ‘Candy Crush’ and ‘Evening Rose.’”
TRYING TO GAUGE 2022
While no one has a crystal ball, Minter believes that by late summer or early fall, a return to normal demand at gardening centres is in the cards. He urges retailers to keep in mind that as the pandemic winds down, people will no longer be
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Sheridan Nurseries introduced the Ficus triangularis this year, which caused a stir on social media as the plant can be difficult to find.
confined to their homes. Those who have forayed into gardening, or have intensified their interest in it, have already purchased so much in 2020 and 2021. They may choose to focus more attention on the many other activities in which they could not participate for so long. “It will be interesting,” he says, “to see how the rest of 2021 and 2022 unfolds in terms of gardening participation.”
For his part, Cullen is optimistic that
interest in gardening will remain high. “I think there’s a temptation for ‘boom and bust’ thinking, but I think demand will continue to be strong,” he says. “People are always changing things and now that they’ve gotten really interested in gardening, even some of them making the effort to take out some lawn, I think you’ll see the interest continue.”
Treena Hein is a freelance writer based out of Ontario.
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Greenhouse construction GRINDS TO A HALT
A 12-month water moratorium in Essex County has pushed pause on new greenhouse construction.
BY FRED GROVES
In mid-March, Union Water Supply System (UWSS), announced a one-year moratorium to any new large service water applications, essentially halting new greenhouse construction in southwestern Ontario.
‘The recent significant increase in water demand is attributed to moderate increase in residential growth but mainly due to significant greenhouse growth in Kingsville and Leamington. Further, some of the water demand increase is likely related to the greenhouse crop switch over from food crop to cannabis which appears to be a more water intensive crop,’ states the UWSS report, dated March 11, 2021.
It might seem drastic, considering that Essex County, has the largest concentration of greenhouses in North America, but one local mayor seems optimistic. Nelson Santos, who is also chairman of the UWSS says the 12-month moratorium, set to end in March 2022, will not stop permits already in place.
“There are about 1,000 acres of connections for greenhouses that have already gone through the system for approval,” says Santos, Mayor of Kingsville. He says that the UWSS now serves 70,000 residential, commercial, industrial and agriculture customers, a dramatic increase over the past few years and one in which the utility has to pay close attention to. Greenhouse use accounts for about 54 per cent of the plant’s production.
“Generally we see more of the growth in the greenhouse sector, however, there has been significant growth in residential and commercial.”
“This would essentially double the current inventory of commercial greenhouses. With only an estimated 2.7 [IGPD] left at this time under our current rated capacity, our ability to take on new large water customers could be quickly reached.”
It’s also difficult to estimate the fraction of forecasted growth that will need municipal water. Some would be able to draw water resources from other areas, just as is the case today.
The UWSS document notes that greenhouse water use was historically estimated at 10,000 IGPD, but the standard for new applications is now 6,000 IGPD.
According to Joe Sbrocchi, general manager of Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers, a closer look is needed to get a clearer picture of how much water is actually available.
“We are doing this in conjunction with Union Water and not in an antagonizing way. We do believe there are certain actions we can take to address that,” he says.
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While Santos admits that water is on a first-come, first-serve basis, he says that this is an opportunity for the UWSS to review water use on a daily basis. Currently, the rated capacity of the plant is just over 27 imperial gallons per day (IGPD), but Santos says this number has not been updated for quite some time despite numerous upgrades and improvements in filtration technology. “The Water Plant is expecting to have a capacity review as part of the current analysis.” Capital projects in the future could include another reservoir to hold as much as four million additional gallons.
Significant greenhouse growth may require more water resources.
Dr. Rupp Carriveau is a civil and environmental engineer and a professor at the University of Windsor. Three years ago, he carried out a water monitoring and modeling project that took a close look at the water consumption in greenhouses.
He says as far as water capacity goes at UWSS, that when numbers were calculated, they could have been a little on the generous side as to how much water was actually available in the system. Carriveau notes that calculations were probably done before growers began their numerous water conservation methods. “I think that is still contributing to the confusion,” he says. Not having accurate data on water conserved, estimates may have been largely based on the amount of water required by each type of crop.
“Water accounting is not rocket science, but it is a meticulous business that requires a fair bit of rigour because there are a lot of dynamics in there.”
Discussions with local greenhouse growers and associations have forecasted another 1,500 to 2,500 acres of greenhouse development anticipated over the next five years, says Santos.
When it comes to having the 12-month moratorium in place, he says that it is probably a good idea. “It’s a tricky thing to sort out, and that’s probably why the moratorium is in place. They want to sort it out before they overprescribe the system.”
The UWSS can trace its roots back to 1959, and it was in 2001
PHOTO: F. GROVES
that the municipalities of Leamington, Kingsville, Lakeshore and Essex took over ownership from the province.
Raw water is taken from the western basin of Lake Erie through two offshore intakes and treated at the plant before being distributed.
“[The moratorium] came as a surprise in the last 18 months because the growth has been huge,” says Hilda MacDonald, Leamington Mayor and vice-chair of the UWSS, sharing her thoughts on the moratorium. “We based all of our consideration and expectations on growth prior to 2018, so we felt we had a lot of wiggle room as far as capacity [goes].”
“You have greenhouses growing at a rate where one might be putting up 60 acres, and that’s something we’ve never seen before.”
She also says that in order for a municipality to thrive and grow, there has to be balance and having more of the resources going to one particular sector, for example, greenhouses as compared to residential and commercial, is not good.
“We are hoping to find a solution but we have to keep in mind that we need to have balanced growth. It’s what keeps a municipality healthy.”
Water is not the only necessity that is at the forefront of the future greenhouse expansion in Leamington and Kingsville. A past report by the Independent Electricity System Operator predicted greenhouse electricity needs will increase by up to 200 percent in the area between 2018 and 2026.
The good news as far as power is concerned is that Hydro One, Ontario’s largest electricity transmission and distribution provider, announced in 2019 a new 230-kilovolt transmission line into the area. That is expected to deliver 400 megawatts and is expected to be completed by 2025
“The infrastructure has never been in the rural areas. It’s always been in the urban areas. When you don’t have the infrastructure, that’s problematic,” says MacDonald.
For greenhouses looking to expand, they should wait until the moratorium is over to submit an application. There are no waiting lists in the meantime, shares Santos. Because approved applications have a six-month shelf life, any successful applicants who have not connected to the service in that timeframe will need to resubmit an application
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Fred Groves is a freelance writer based in Leamington,
INSIDE VIEW
GARY JONES | Gary.Jones@kpu.ca
Carrying on to the next generation
This time last year, I posed a question on whether new gardeners due to COVID-19 would be a ‘Timeless Trend or Fleeting Fad.’
In this February’s issue, Greenhouse Canada provided some ‘By The Numbers’ from a Dalhousie University survey into consumer food gardening. Of the 1,023 respondents, 51 per cent of home gardeners grew at least one fruit or vegetable in their garden. Of those, 20 per cent just started last year.1 This would include my neighbour to whom I referred last August, and who’s doing even more gardening now. “67 per cent of new food gardeners say the pandemic influenced their decision.”1 I guess it’s true that ‘every cloud…’
Digging deeper, the report says that “in Atlantic Canada, 23.7 per cent of respondents started gardening this year. It is the highest proportion of new gardeners within a region in the country.” That means opportunities by the bucketful in there especially. Incidentally, the survey also noted that “55.5 per cent of home food gardeners consider gardening to be good exercise; 69 per cent of home food gardeners find gardening relaxing.” Perhaps we need to message these excellent benefits more strongly for getting into gardening. And in case you’re wondering,
out to build connections with the School of Horticulture at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, in the long-term hope of securing future employees. This is win-win for everyone for sure, not least for current students and future graduates.
And consider this: what if some of these new ‘COVID gardeners’ will be inspired to make horticulture a new career? Maybe the perceived exercise and restorative benefits of growing plants will steer these converts to seek rewarding jobs at local greenhouses or nurseries? Who knows, but it is possible, and I’m only half tongue-in-cheek when suggesting that we (as an industry) should seriously consider promoting career opportunities to this new gardening group through social media, in-store promotion, on plant labels, on produce packaging and whatever other creative means possible. We should at least consider sowing the seeds of this idea, don’t you think? We’re all aware that finding good new workers has been one of the major headaches of our industry for years, nay decades, so we’ve got nothing to lose.
...finding good new workers has been one of the major
the main reason why people don’t grow their own food at home (41.5 per cent) is “I don’t have room”. My final pick of data from the report got me scratching my head: when asked ‘what do you do with the food you grow in the garden’, 7.3 per cent said they “leave it to rot”. Huh? So it’s purely the pleasure of growing it then? Check out the full report for yourself (see footnote).
In recent chats with growers whose businesses have survived the last year-and-a-bit, several have reported that not only have they had a solid business year, but many are expanding with new glass to catch up with demand for produce and plants. This is very encouraging of course, since they (the growers) see the trend as more timeless than fleeting. But this raises the question as to how these expanding businesses will find sufficient employees to do the work. I’ve had several calls from growers and industry suppliers reaching
headaches
I’m always intrigued by the stories of how people came to be doing what they are doing in life. Everyone has a unique story. I love seeing those fascinating stories behind the nominees and winners of the annual ‘Top 4 Under 40.’ Wouldn’t it be cool if, in a few years’ time, some of those next Top 4 winners reflected back and said they were inspired to become a grower because they started their own garden during the pandemic year, were inspired to make it a career, and heard they could do this because of a sticker on the side of their favourite bell pepper?
But I shouldn’t get ahead of myself. Before then, I look forward to seeing Dalhousie University’s 2021 follow-up report to get a better handle on the original question – will COVID gardeners continue?
1 Dalhousie University, ‘Home Food Gardening During Covid 19’, Oct 2020 https://www.dal.ca/sites/agri-food/research/homefood-gardening-during-covid-19.html
Gary Jones is a faculty member in the School of Horticulture at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Langley, BC. He sits on several industry committees and welcomes comments at Gary.Jones@kpu.ca.
