<b>2011 Profit Quest:</b> PGRs make growing easier

Since Kalamazoo Specialty Plants in Kalamazoo, Mich., grows 800-900 different varieties of annual and perennials, the grower uses several different plant growth regulators. (Photo courtesy of Kalamazoo Specialty Plants)Growing 800-900 different varieties of annuals and perennials can be a challenge. Rick Ouding, owner of Kalamazoo Specialty Plants in Kalamazoo, Mich., said the increasing number of plant growth regulators and the application techniques have certainly made his job easier.

“We use five to six different PGRs and they all have their place and they’re all important,” Ouding said. “For me, they all have their place and we definitely have preferred application methods, rates, timing and crops that we like to use them on.”

Ouding said he would not be able to use just one or two PGRs, unlike some growers who can use fewer chemicals because of the nature of the crops they’re producing or their production methods.

Ouding said using PGRs to increase branching (as opposed to having to hand pinch or trim the plants) is one of these chemicals’ big benefits.

“PGRs help the overall quality of plants,” he said. “We’re able to grow the plants at a higher density and they improve the uniformity and overall appearance of the plants. This also impacts being able to time the plants better for shipping and sales.”

Ouding said PGRs do allow him to mix more varieties in the 500,000 square feet of greenhouses he operates.

“I do have a lot of different greenhouse zones, but PGRs allow me to grow more genera under similar conditions by being able to control the growth under those conditions when light and temperature aren’t quite perfect,” he said. “Even though during the winter we may have planned to put a crop in a certain zone, it may not end up that way. PGRs help us to hold a crop longer, which is a quality benefit. But it also may mean the difference between putting a crop on a truck to sell and throwing it away in the dumpster.”

For more: Kalamazoo Specialty Plants, (269) 343-3560.

Specifics:
Name: Kalamazoo Specialty Plants.
Location: Kalamazoo, Mich.
Founded: 1986 by Rick Ouding.
Products: Annuals, perennials, herbs and garden mums.
Production space: 500,000 square feet of greenhouse production; 100,000 square feet of outdoor production.

Quotable:
“We do a fair amount of herbs, but we don’t use PGRs on them. For those we rely on DIF. But when you are doing 100 varieties, how effective is DIF on controlling height? I don’t have any quantitative data. DIF and crop timing are our major control tools.”
– Rick Ouding