Claire Chambers is the founder of Meadow Lab, which develops plant products that accelerate the creation of biodiverse and high-performance landscapes. Meadow Lab is focused on the native plant space and has developed a wildflower sod that makes installing meadows faster, easier, and more scalable. I recently spoke with Claire about trends in the native plant category, and how growers can balance sustainability with production and economic challenges. Here’s our conversation. 

In early July, Joche Smith Jr. was named president of Costa Farms. Smith succeeds his father, Joche Smith Sr., and will oversee day-to-day operations across Costa’s domestic and international business units, and lead strategic initiatives that position the company for continued growth. I recently caught up with Joche to talk more about his background, consumer trends shaping the plant industry, and the biggest opportunities and challenges facing both Costa Farms and the floriculture market. Here’s our conversation. 

AmericanHort’s Impact Washington Fly-in Summit of the nation’s capitol, which takes place in mid-September, gives growers and other members of the floriculture industry a chance to connect with policymakers and advocate for their businesses, and for the industry. In this episode, I talk to Matt Mika, Vice President of Advocacy and Government Affairs at AmericanHort, about what Impact Washington attendees can expect, the important issues they will be discussing on Capitol Hill, and why telling your story is critical in helping to educate lawmakers about the present and future of horticulture. Here’s our conversation. 

Greenhouse Grower Editor Brian Sparks and CEAg World Content Lead Kristin Zeit were both at Cultivate’25 in Columbus, OH, this past week. In this episode, Brian and Kristin recorded a live conversation on the trade show floor, where they discussed impressions of Cultivate, common challenges and opportunities facing the greenhouse floriculture and controlled-environment agriculture markets, and other insights from their respective markets. Here’s the conversation! 

After a 10-year absence, the International Plant Trialing Conference is coming back. The event will be held in Minneapolis in mid-October and is organized by All-America Selections and the National Garden Bureau. In this episode, I talk to Diane Blazek, Executive Director of All-America Selections, about why the time was right to bring back the conference, what attendees can expect to learn, and how the format of the event will offer enhanced networking opportunities for experienced trial managers as well as novices. Here’s our conversation.

Safety in the greenhouse, whether it’s safe handling of crop protection materials or preventing slips and falls, is an important but sometimes overlooked concept. During Cultivate’25, a group of growers will come together for a panel discussion on why adopting a safety-first mindset is essential to protecting employees and ensuring smooth, productive operations. In this episode, I talked to two of these growers – Katie Jent of Metrolina Greenhouses and Lyndsey Zinni of Millcreek Gardens – as well as Elizabeth Dunbar of BASF, who is moderating the panel, about best practices, lessons they’ve learned, and more. Here’s our conversation. 

Greenhouse Grower Editor Brian Sparks attended California Spring Trials for the first time this year. In this episode, he shares insights on some of his favorite new plants and series, how breeders continue to innovate, and more. 

Laura Barth is the research coordinator at American Floral Endowment (AFE), which has been monitoring the impacts of federal funding cuts on horticulture research. In this episode, I talk to Laura about the uncertainties being felt at many institutions, how American Floral Endowment can be a funding resource for research, how the AFE endowment works, and AFE’s upcoming Rise to Support fundraising campaign. Here’s our conversation. 

This is the 50th episode of the Greenhouse Grower to Grower podcast, and in recognition of that milestone, we want to share some of our favorite insights and perspectives from the conversations we’ve had since launching this podcast. 

This year’s Southern Garden Tour takes place June 3-5, and features plant trials at Young’s Plant Farm in Alabama, the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, and Metrolina Greenhouses’ North Carolina facilities. This past week, I had a great conversation with the trial managers at each location: Dr. Mark Yelanich, Director of R&D at Metrolina, Penny Merritt-Price, Product Development Manager at Young’s Plant Farm, and John Ruter, Director of the Trial Gardens at the University of Georgia. We talked about the trials process from beginning to end, what’s new for this year, and why these trials benefit both growers and plant consumers. Here’s our conversation.