December 2020

Celebrate the Sunflower

Sunflowers are a forever favorite among many flower lovers — from children to new gardeners to experienced gardening vets. For many, they symbolize unwavering faith. For others, they signify joy, wa... more

Chat Room – December 2020

This month, we asked our readers about petunia production, new technology goals and favorite poinsettias. Click on the PDF below to see what they had to say.... more

Culture Report: Begonia Double Delight Series

The path to this incredible new series was long but well worth the wait. From breeding work to trials and now to market, Double Delight has proven to be a true garden performer.

Early Scaling-Up Challenges with LED Lighting

The fundamental advantages of light-emitting diode (LED) lighting are clear. They are increasingly efficient at converting electricity into photosynthetic light, and their rated lifetime is much longe... more

Effect of Growing Media on Common Greenhouse Pests

Can media help manage the occurrence of western flower thrips and fungus gnats?

From Family Farm to Controlled Environment Agriculture: Integrating Plant Science and Technology

Today’s guest, Neil Mattson, earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota in 2000 and his master’s and Ph.D. degrees at the University of California—Davis in 2002 and 2007, res... more

Growing from the Ground Up: Poinsettia and Mum Production in Wood Substrates

This is the second article of a two-part series highlighting research trials aimed at better understanding the potential and use of wood products in greenhouse substrates.

How Soon Will You Be Using AI in Controlled Environment Production?

Controlled environment growers are using artificial intelligence to save energy, identify pests and diseases, maximize production space, and increase margins and profits.

Petunia Extravaganza

These dazzling and vivacious petunia introductions for 2021 exhibit outstanding garden performance and unique flower patterns.

The Trials of Flower Trials in a Pandemic

Since 1933, Penn State University has been testing flowers and plants. Our trial is one of the oldest and largest universitybased flower trials research programs in the U.S. I have been involved with ... more