Newsletters & Blog

April 2024

Impatiens, and Begonias, and Petunias! Oh my!

Did you know that Michigan is ranked #3 in the United States in flower production. But just when you thought it couldn’t get better… it does! Michigan ranks #1 in growing and selling of chrysanthemums, geraniums, marigolds, impatiens, begonias, and petunias. Oh my!

My name is Pete Petunia, and I am blooming with excitement to talk about floriculture! Floriculture is a type of horticulture that focuses on flowering plants grown in gardens, greenhouses, nurseries, and landscapes. Horticulture is the science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, or ornamental plants, and is a branch of agriculture. Agriculture is the science of producing crops, raising livestock, and preparing the soil.

Oopsie, daisy, let's get back on track learning about Michigan’s flower power!

Floriculture in Michigan covers over 1,000 indoor acres and more than 3,000 outdoor acres of plants. You might be wondering; how can you grow a plant indoors? Due to the colder spring temperatures in Michigan, many plants begin growing or are completely grown in greenhouses. Greenhouses are glass or plastic buildings that protect plants as they grow. The clear roofs, and sometimes clear walls, of a greenhouse let in light from the sun; this helps us plants stay warm and allows us photosynthesize! Inside of a greenhouse, we are also protected from outside weather like rain, snow, hail, or wind. Another cool thing about greenhouses is some can have red and blue lights that act just like the sun that encourage us to keep growing. Plants grow depending on how long the sun is out. This is called photoperiodism.

One of my favorite things to do inside the greenhouse is hang around with my friends Betty Begonia, George Geranium, and Isabel Impatien. Petunias, geraniums, begonias, and impatiens are typically grown in Michigan to be added into hanging baskets. We can also be sold in flats, which are small trays with little compartments that get filled with soil and planted with a seed. There is not a lot of room to grow in a flat, so we grow into tiny plants called plugs. If we are growing in flats, that means we will be planted into the ground for landscaping or into larger pots and baskets. Once we are in the ground or a bigger pot, then we grow from small plugs to big flowers!

Flowers make the journey from seed, to plug, to plant each and every spring in Michigan. There is so much more I want to share with you about floriculture, so if you are feeling impatien(t) and want to learn more - check out these lessons to learn the parts of a flower, what they need to grow, and how they grow!