GrowerTalks

September 2026 Issue

Vol. 90 No. 5

See the Digital Edition

Providing Purpose

by Neal Glatt

NEWSLETTERS

Read and subscribe to a variety of Newsletters tailored to your industry interests.

COVER STORY

A Happy Accident

Jennifer Zurko

This year’s GrowerTalks/Ball Horticultural Company Young Grower Award winner, Michael Wijesinghe’s foray into our industry took some good timing, rare opportunities and a little bit of luck. But he’s earned every bit of his good fortune.

FEATURES

Finding the Sweet Spot

Luke Finn, Patrick Veazie & Brian Whipker

Dialing in geranium fertility to balance the EC and pH.

Homegrown Substrates: Renewable Resources

Dr. Brian E. Jackson

This is the second article of a three-part series highlighting domestically sourced growing media products. In this article, we’ll focus on organic products and producers.

More Than Pots & Trays

Bill Lucas

What growers need from suppliers today.

Providing Purpose

Neal Glatt

Inspiring your team by communicating how their contributions have meaning.

Resources Rooted in Research

Laura Barth

Free AFE tools for young plant producers.

What a Show!

Chris Beytes, Jennifer Polanz & Jennifer Zurko

That’s the first thing that comes to mind when we think about Cultivate’26.

What Plants Are Customers Searching for & Where Is Breeding Still Open?

Chi D. Nguyen, Seth D. Wannemuehler & Mike A. Schnelle

A new data-integrated framework combines consumer search interest, plant patents and production geography to help breeders identify promising ornamental genera and traits before committing years to cultivar development.

CULTURE NOTES

Always Sunny Gold Sunflower—Always Show-Stopping

Robin Ruether, PanAmerican Seed

Large-size, multi-blooming landscape-type sunflowers have become highly popular due to their strong consumer appeal at point of sale. Who doesn’t love a sunflower?

CitraNova Petchoa: Freshly Squeezed Color for Spring

Gary Vollmer, Ball FloraPlant

Ball FloraPlant’s introduction of CitraNova, its first petchoa series unveiled at the 2026 California Spring Trials, gives growers a fresh option in the increasingly popular petunia x calibrachoa hybrid category.

Dianthus Sprint Series Growing Guide

Katie Miller, Dümmen Orange

The dianthus hybrid Sprint series was developed to be a compact carnation-type selection.

Dramatic Dark Foliage: Sweet Caroline Bewitched After Midnight II Ipomoea

Kate Spirgen, Proven Winners

Typically known for their trailing habit, Ipomoea batatas are perhaps most commonly used as “spillers” in container combinations, but Proven Winners has a more versatile option in the newly improved Sweet Caroline Bewitched After Midnight II Ipomoea.

Fabulous Fan Flowers: How to Grow Surdiva Scaevolas

Delilah Onofrey, Suntory Flowers

Peak summer, we’re always pleased to see how great Surdiva Scaevolas look in landscapes, containers and even hanging baskets.

Growing Rudbeckia Treasure Trove

Jessie Cumber, Walters Gardens

Growing Sorghastrum nutans (Indian Grass)

Chris Brown, Emerald Coast Growers

Native grasses not only play a pivotal role in the American landscape, but they’ve carved out an important role as cornerstones of American gardens and commercial landscapes.

SunPatiens Petite: The SunPatiens for Containers

Mark Seguin & Michael Wiebe, Sakata

The SunPatiens family has built its superb reputation on season-long color, exceptional heat tolerance, and reliable performance in both sun and shade.

The Sunfinity Sandwich: Culture tips to grow Sunfinity Sunflowers from Mother’s Day through Labor Day

Syngenta Flowers Technical Services

When Sunfinity Yellow Dark Center was introduced nearly a decade ago, it changed how many of us thought about ornamental sunflowers.

Growers Talk Production

IPM Meets AI: Where the Biological & Technological Intersect

Janeen Cooper & Stephanie Saccomano

AI should strengthen and support human judgment, never bypass it.

PEST MANAGEMENT

A Practical, Compatible Strategy for Greenhouse Mealybug Management

Peilin Tan & Muhammad Z. “Zee” Ahmed

As growers adopt integrated approaches, the question is no longer “biocontrol or pesticides,” but how to combine both without undermining either.

COLUMNS

Inside Look

Take This Job & Love It

Jennifer Zurko

Yes, people want a more defined career path with decent pay and good benefits, but they also want a boss who’s supportive, reliable and gives them room for positive growth.

Acres & Acres

Social Media Then & Now

Chris Beytes

Ten years ago, social media was a novelty; today, social media is the front door of your business.

Growers Talk Business

Waste & Opportunity

Stan Vander Waal

Waste happens through any process or product not translating to value/dollars.

Guest Column

Collecting Some Clematis

Lowell Halvorson

Customers still ask for it by name and no other variety comes close in annual sales.

Guest Column

Growing the Next Generation Starts With Awareness

Broch Martindale

Our workforce challenge isn’t primarily a talent problem. It’s an awareness problem.

Guest Column

Responsibility vs. Accountability

Rayne Gibson

Responsibility fills job descriptions; accountability builds companies.

DEPARTMENTS

GT IN BRIEF

Aliette Now Teclera

Ball Customer Day: Now ... and Then

Ball Takes Over Tradewinds Hibiscus (and More) From Aris

BioWorks Introduces New Stemmer Plant Health Product

Box Tree Moth Quarantine in NJ

Fire at Altman Plants’ Texas Location

In Memoriam: David J.C. Austin (1958–2026)

On the Move

COLUMNISTS

Chris Beytes

Jen Zurko

Albert Grimm

Art Parkerson

Paul Pilon

Stan Vander Waal

Susie Raker

Austin Bryant

Tabitha Samuels Slattery

Stephanie Saccomano

VIDEOS

Watch More

Defend Your Crops ft. JC & Dennis from SePRO

A video tour of Ball Customer Days 2026

Don’t Trip Over Fall Production (Ball Seed Customer Days 2026)

The End of Rotation Anxiety ft. Koppert’s Jeremy Webber

High-Tech (and Pretty Plants) from Cultivate'26!

There’s A Good Story To Tell! (ft. Plantpeddler’s Mike Gooder)

4 Questions for Kate, a Garden Center Owner

Darwin Perennials Day 2026

4 Questions for Jeremy, a Cannabis & Ornamental Crop Team Manager

All About the 2026 Plug & Cutting Conference ft. AmericanHort’s Rachel Rawls

Trending Now: Aspidistra Tokyo Skies from Plant Development Services Inc.

Panel Discussion: Echinacea Best Practices (from 2026 Darwin Perennials Day)

The Summer of Soiree Kawaii ft. Suntory’s Lorentina Fielding

The Chris Beytes Podcast, ft. Young Grower Award Winner Quinten Henning

4 Questions for Jose, a Sales & Business Manager

Finishing SuperCal Crops for Fall with Sakata’s Michael Wiebe

The Chris Beytes Podcast, featuring Isaac Brantingham, our 2013 Young Grower Award Winner

Rotating from Resistance to Results ft. Envu’s Dr. Janna Beckerman

4 Questions for Jamie, a Technical Lead

4 Questions for Samuel, a Grower, Retailer & Social Media Manager

4 Questions for Susie, a Greenhouse VP

The Chris Beytes Podcast, featuring John Terhesh, our 2019 Young Grower Award Winner

4 Questions for Leslie, a Green Industry Consultant, Author, Educator (and more …)

New Proven Winners Landscape Plants for 2027 and Beyond!

New Proven Winners Annuals for 2027 and Beyond

4 Questions for Kelly, a North American Head of Technical Services

2026 California Spring Trials Debrief ft. Chris Beytes & Jen Zurko

The Chris Beytes Podcast, featuring TWO YGA winners! Meet Mike Merida & Matthew Tyson

4 Questions for Mason, a VP Of Business Development

California Spring Trials 2026: Bloopers

4 Questions for Lorentina, a North American Sales & Product Representative

4 Questions for Tanya, a Territory Manager (AND BLOOM DIVA!)

The Chris Beytes Podcast, featuring 2024 winner Drew Groezinger, owner of Clara Joyce Flowers

Trending Now: Encore's New Autumn Kiss Azalea!

California Spring Trials 2026: ThinkPlants

California Spring Trials 2026: Syngenta

California Spring Trials 2026: Danziger

California Spring Trials 2026: Takii

California Spring Trials 2026: Kientzler

California Spring Trials 2026: Sakata

California Spring Trials 2026: HilverdaFlorist

California Spring Trials 2026: Dümmen Orange

California Spring Trials 2026: Pacific Plug & Liner

California Spring Trials 2026: PDSI

California Spring Trials 2026: Walters Gardens

California Spring Trials 2026: Suntory

California Spring Trials 2026: PlantHaven

California Spring Trials 2026: Israeli Companies

California Spring Trials 2026: Green Fuse

California Spring Trials 2026: Glow-in-the-Dark Petunias

California Spring Trials 2026: Hem Genetics

California Spring Trials 2026: Westhoff

California Spring Trials 2026: Beekenkamp

California Spring Trials 2026: Benary

California Spring Trials 2026: Darwin Perennials

California Spring Trials 2026: Selecta One

California Spring Trials 2026: Morel

California Spring Trials 2026: PanAmerican Seed

California Spring Trials 2026: Ball FloraPlant

Trending Now: PanAmerican Seed Grower Insights On Select 2027 Varieties

The Chris Beytes Podcast, featuring 2021 YGA Winner Maddie Maynor of BioWorks

The Chris Beytes Podcast, with Young Grower winner Jill Mullaney

The Chris Beytes Podcast: Featuring Stephanie Saccomano of Qualitree

Meet Zoltan Kovacs, our 2008 Young Grower Award winner

The Chris Beytes Podcast, featuring 2025 Young Grower Award winner Isabela Chamorro

The Chris Beytes Podcast—This time with houseplant expert Andrew Britten

At the 2025 Hoffmann Heimos Poinsettia Trials With GrowerTalks Magazine

Trending Now Harnois Greenhouses’ TunnelPro Plus

Growing Your Best Begonias with Syngenta’s Brian Krug & Jamie Gibson

Perfecting Pentas Production with Syngenta’s Dr. Jamie Gibson

Trending Now: Ball Mums

TRENDING NOW

Sensie
Sensie Omni

Ball Seed
Ball Seed WebTrack

Dümmen Orange
BlooMix Rosefield

Suntory Flowers Ltd
Surfinia Heavenly Peach Horizon

Terra Nova Nurseries Inc.
Heuchera FYRE WING series

Novavert GmbH & Co. KG
Novavert’s HS BRAVO

Nominate a Young Grower Today!

Congrats to the 2026 GrowerTalks/Ball Horticultural Company Young Grower Award winner:
Michael Wijesinghe from Bell Nursery, Springfield, Ohio!

Do you know of an excellent, hard-working professional under the age of 35? You should nominate them for the 2027 GrowerTalks/Ball Horticultural Company Young Grower Award! For the last 22 years, we’ve recognized young horticulturists for standing out from the crowd in this tough business, who—for whatever noble reasons—have chosen to have a career in this industry.

After three finalists are chosen, each is asked to write guest editorials for the June issue of GrowerTalks, gets a free trip to Cultivate’27 and, while they’re in Columbus, attend a special dinner with Anna Ball and other industry luminaries. The winner is announced at the Unplugged event during Cultivate’27, will be the subject of our September issue cover story and serve as one of our judges for next year’s award.

An extra special thanks goes to Ball Horticultural Company, BASF and AmericanHort for sponsoring this year’s award!

This Month ...

Providing Purpose