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Photo courtesy of David Torrance

Norwin Heimos dies at age 90

Norwin Heimos, the founder of N.G. Heimos Greenhouses and Millstadt Young Plants in Millstadt, Illinois, died on Feb. 18. He was 90.

Heimos founded the company in 1951 as a fruit and vegetable producer and the first greenhouses were built in 1955. The Millstadt facility was acquired in the mid-1980s. Three generations of his family have led and continue to lead the business, including his daughter Amy Morris and grandson Adam Heimos.

Botany Lane Greenhouse obtains Veriflora certification

Per a press release, Botany Lane has been certified by Veriflora Sustainably Grown by “meeting the highest levels of performance under the three internally recognized pillars of sustainability: environmental stewardship, social responsibility and economic stability.”

“We are very proud of this certification as it validates all the hard work we are doing as a company to align our practices with the Veriflora standards to keep us focused on sustainability within our community,” said Scott Fulton, general manager at Botany Lane, per the release.

Dümmen Orange debuts ‘Norwin’ poinsettia

Dümmen Orange, per a press release, has announced that it will be honoring the legendary horticultural leader Norwin Heimos, who recently passed away, with the new ‘Norwin’ poinsettia.

An instrumental collaborator with the Ecke poinsettia program (now part of Dümmen Orange), Norwin found a new pink genetic sport of a poinsettia in 1994 which was later named V-14. He brought it to Ecke and this variety was the new industry standard for years in pink poinsettias with the deepest color at the time. It was successfully sold worldwide from 1996 to 2004.

The ‘Norwin’ poinsettia, per the company, is an improvement in orange color and provides color very early in the season, enabling growers to offer it in time for Thanksgiving. It will be introduced for the 2022 holiday season.