BULLETIN 219

PENNSYLVANIA

FLOWER GROWERS

JUNE, 1969

Dr. R. E. Larson, Dean of the College of Agriculture, and Dr. D. E. Walker, Head of Dept. of Horticulture,are briefed on the construction details of new experiniental floriculture greenhouses by Dr. John White, whosupervised design and construction. Cover story on page 1 provides details on construction costs.

The Latest on Plant DiseasesLes Nichols

Plant Pathology Extension

Figure 1

AZALEA LEAF AND

FLOWER GALL

Recently we have seen several easesof leaf and flower gall on azaleas being forced in the greenhouse. Thefungus Exobasidium vaccinii infectsthe leaf and flower buds and as theleaves and flowers expand causes theformation of thickened bladder-likegalls (Fig. 1). The galls are green atfirst, then pinkish, and then becomecovered with a white coating of thespores of the fungus. As the galls agethey turn brown and hard. The culti-var Hino-cn'mson is very susceptible.If only a few galls are present, pickand burn them before they turnwhite. If the disease has been a problem spray once before the new leavesunfold from the buds with 2 poundsof zineb 75% WP or ferbam 76% WP

per 100 gallons of water

DISINFECTING PLASTIC POTS

Disease-causing organisms oftenlive for some time on old used pots.Clay pots may be sterilized very easilyby steaming them for x/> hour at212°F. Since plastic pots cannot besteamed, they must be soaked in adisinfestant that will do an effective

job of killing the plant pathogens andwhich can be used safely by the grower. LF-10 or Clorox are two materials

which have given satisfactory resultsin ridding plastic pots of all commonsoil-borne pathogens with the excep

tion of resistant species of Thielaviop-sis and Fusarium. It is suggested thatrubber gloves be worn to protect thehands from irritation by Clorox orLF-10.

Pots should first be washed to re

move any soil adhering to them andthen soaked for 10 minutes in 2-100

LF-10 (2'/2 oz. per gal. of water) orfor 5 minutes in 10% Clorox (1 oz. per9 oz. of water).

Figure 2

GERANIUM BACTERIAL FASCIA-

TION OR BASAL WITCHES

BROOM

The bacterium Corynebacteriunifascians infects the stems at or justbelow the soil line. At this point manyfleshy, thick stems and leaves appearin a gall-like-growth (Fig. 2). Theparts of the gall above the soil linehave the normal green color, but thosebelow the surface of the soil are usually lacking in clilorophyl. Affectedplants may be stunted.

While stunting may be desirable inminiature geraniums, it is not desirable in commercial varieties of geraniums and Pennsylvania growersshould do all they can to prevent bacterial fasciation from becoming established in their ranges. Preventive measures would include roguing and destroying affected plants found in thepropagating or production bench andusing cuttings from pathogen-freeplants in steamed soil.

PENNSYLVANIA FLOWER GROWERS

BULLETIN 219 JUNE, 1969

Published monthly except January at 907Glenn Circle South. State College, Pennsylvania 16801. l>v tlie Pennsylvania FlowerGrowers, P.O. liox 217 Chalfont, Pennsylvania 18914. Second class matter, postagepaid at State College, Pennsylvania 16801.Subscription rates: active members - So.00per year; all other subscriptions - $10.00per year. Send all communications to thePublications Office or to the ExecutiveSecretary, P.O. Box 247, Chalfont, Pennsylvania 18914.

OFFICERS

PRESIDENT DOUGLAS K. DILLONJ. L. Dillon, Inc., Bloomsburg, Pa. 17815

V. PHESIDENT LOUIS HELBLINGMercer Greenhouses, Inc.

Fredonia, Pa. 16124

TREASURER AND EXECUTIVESECBETABY ... HOWARD G. KBUPP

P.O. Box 247, Chalfont. Pa. 18914

EDITOB JOHN W. MASTALERZ907 Glenn Circle South,State College, Pa. 16801

HAVE YOU

TRIED GREEN

BEDDING PLANTS?For many years, bedding plant

growers have promoted the sale ofbedding plants without flowers. It ^is well-known that they will transplantbetter and perform more satisfactorilyaround the home.

Educating the public to buy"green" bedding plants is not easy.But progress is being made. A studyof buyers was sponsored by Geo. J.Ball, Inc. and the Jiffy Pot Companyof America and reported by Dr. Ernest Dichter of the Institute for Moti

vational Research, Inc.

One statistic from this studyshowed that 70% of experienced buyers bought plants not in bloom whileonly 10% of inexperienced buyers did.And conversely, 5% of experiencedbuyers bought bedding plants inbloom while 75% of the inexperiencedbuyers did.

Let's keep up the good work.Spread the word that "green" beddingplants return the most for the buyers'green. And the entire industry willbenefit from it.

Jay S. Koti-is

Extension Ornamental Horticulturist ^Reprinted from Conn. Florists yews Letter

RIGID PLASTICS USED

FOR NEW FLORICULTURE

RESEARCH GREENHOUSESJohn W. White, Robert A. Aldrich, and William M. Smith1

A quonset and two gothic archgreenhouses have been built adjacentto the floriculture research greenhouses. All three houses were covered

with rigid, corrugated, five ounceglass reinforced plastic sheets.

These greenhouses provide two additional designs for studies of structural use of plastic in greenhousesand plant response within these structures. Because of their close proximityto floriculture instructional facilities,they also can serve as teaching toolsfor demonstrating growing techniques, heating and ventilating, andconstruction methods of greenhousetypes which are being used more frequently by commercial growers.

Neither of these designs was originated at Penn State. Several types ofsemicircular or quonset and gothicgreenhouse were illustrated in Cour-ter's publication "Plastic Greenhouses" (1965).

The gothic arch has centuries ofuse as an architectural form. It apparently originated in France andspread through western Europe between 1160 and 1530 A.D. It's popularity as a greenhouse form seemsto have been as a result of simplifiedproduction techniques developed atVirginia Polytechnic Institute by Mas-sey (1961). The Canadian Farm Building Plan Service also has designed-a gothic greenhouse built from curvedlaminated wood rafters.

1John W. White, Assistant Professor ofFloriculture, R. A. Aldrich, Professor ofAgricultural Engineering, and William M.Smith, Supervisor of Horticultural Greenhouses.

GOTHIC GREENHOUSE CONSTRUCTION

The gothic houses at Penn State,as located in relation to existing facilities, are shown in Figure 1 as I. Eachhouse is 17' wide and 36' long asillustrated in the lower half of Figure2. The skeletal structure without the

fiberglass covering can be seen inFigure 3.

Footer holes 6" in diameter and 36"

deep were dug every 8' along the 36'side using a tractor mounted auger.Steel pipes V/2 inches in diameterwere concreted in the footer holeswith 8" of pipe extending above a

|-"'-''-1

CURTIS ROAD (POM. I40ICI

© - GOTHIC ARCH GREENHOUSES -17'. 36'

@- OUONSET GREENHOUSE -I9-4"»T2'

Fig. 1. Plot plan showing location of newgreenhouses in relation to research greenhouses and floriculture headhouse.

— 1 —

4" diameter concrete pier. A ridgecolumn post used in commercial glasshouse construction was driven into

the V/2" pipe. Sills were built by fastening the ridge column posts to redwood 4 x 4's.

Laminated wood rafters, whichwere designed for use in barn construction, were held on the sills withU-grip joist hangers and attached tothe ridge with angle plates. The rafters were spaced 4' on center so thatthe 50%" wide fiberglass panelscould be overlapped at each rafter.

•-0" ON CENTER

QUONSET GREENHOUSE

4'-0"0N CENTER

G0~HIC ARCH GREENHOUSE

Fig. 2. Dimensions of new greenhouses.

The fiberglass panels were fastened tothe rafters with 1" long aluminumscrew nails with neoprene washers.Flat transite, %" thick, was used fora curtain wall below the sill and the

fiberglass panels were long enoughto extend 6" below the sill, forminga double layer for this distance. Corrugated plastic closure strips wereused between the fiberglass and thetransite and were held in place withaluminum screw nails.

Although originally planned, noridge cap was used because the plastic panels fit sufficiently tight to exclude precipitation. The small airspace created at the ridge by theoverlapping fiberglass panels seemedto be preferable to the shade whichwould have been created with anytype of ridge cap.

Construction of the gable ends, including mounting of ventilation fans,is shown in Figure 4. The gables wereframed with redwood 2 x 4's and covered with 5 ounce, clear, flat fiberglass. A commercially manufacturedaluminum storm door with screenswas mounted in the north gable endof each house. The doors were located as close to the west side of the

structure as possible to permit the useof a side aisle and peninsular typebenches.

Benches

Three benches 8' by 13%' and onebench 4' by 13%' were framed withredwood 2 x 4's and covered with 4'wide shade fence. Shade fence wasused instead of snow fence becausethe slats are thicker and more closelyspaced for greater strength and rigidity. The framing was secured atjoints with angle braces and U-gripjoist hangers so that no toe-nailingwas necessary. The benches wereeasily portable, but self-supporting.They were raised off the ground withconcrete blocks. Of the 612 sq. ft. offloor space 378 sq. ft. or 62 per centwas filled with benches.

Heating

Heat was supplied by connectingunit heaters to steam lines brought infrom the adjacent buildings. Two 33,-600 BTU per hour, horizontallymounted unit heaters were located

Figure 3. Gothic greenhouse under construction —glass research greenhouses in background.

•"<

Figure 4. Completed gothic greenhouse with fan jet louvre and exhaust fan for ventilation.

near the center of the house, V/2 feetbelow and to either side of the ridgewith one facing north and the otherfacing south. One tier of 2%" blackpipe was used around the perimeterof the house with a loop under eachbench. Each loop can be controlledmanually with a gate valve. A thermostat with separate day-night controls was attached to a 25 foot long

— 2 —

cord so that the thermostat could be

moved throughout the house if necessary. A 7 day clock was used whichcan electrically switch the thermostatto day or night settings at times pre-scheduled for each day of the week.

Ventilation

Ventilation was automated by us-(continued on page 4)

FRANK TINARI ELECTED PRESIDENT

OF AFRICAN VIOLET SOCIETY OF AMERICA

MAYOR PROCLAIMS AFRICAN VIOLET WEEK

A Montgomery County florist,Frank Tinari, Bethayres, was electedpresident of the African Violet Societyof America. Over 600 African violet

enthusiasts were present at the 23rdannual convention held in Philadel

phia during April.The organization boasts of over 10,-

000 members and has 80 commercial

members. The Philadelphia convention marked the 75th anniversary ofthe introduction of the African violetcommercially to the United States.In recognition of this event, the Tinarigreenhouses introduced a new variety—Diamond Jubilee.

Tinari is recognized as one of thetop African hybridizers in the UnitedStates. Frank has introduced over 100

registered varieties during the past 20years. In addition to silver cupsawarded him for new varieties, he re

ceived a bronze medal for excellence

in African Violet hybridization fromthe African Violet Society of America.In recognition of his work, he wasawarded the Hybridizer Plaque for1968. Among other awards Frank hasreceived is the Indiana State African

Violet Society Award in 1968.Prior to assuming the presidency,

Frank served as chairman of the re

search committee for the organization. As chairman of this committee,he was responsible for the initiationof research on soil mealy bug conducted at Penn State. In recognitionof his research findings, Dr. Snet-singer was awarded a bronze medalby the African Violet Society.

The society publishes the AfricanViolet magazine five times a year.Mrs. Tinari has conducted the column

"The Question Box" during the past

Frank Tinari (center), president of African Violet Society, displays Mayor Tate's proclamationas Richard Myers, convention chairman, and Harold Schick, Philadelphia's Fainnount Park-director, comment on new African violet varieties.

— 3 —

10 years as a regular feature.It was interesting to note that the

Mayor of Philadelphia issued a specialproclamation announcing African Violet week. The proclamation was asfollows:

City Of PhiladelphiaProclamation

African Violet Week

Whereas

The arrival in Philadelphia, in 1893.of the first species of the popularand beautiful African Violet hasresulted in bringing great pleasureand satisfaction to millions ofAmericans; and

The presence of this lovely and unlimited family of African Violets inAmerica has also resulted in eco

nomic gain for many AmericanBusinesses; and

The love and appreciation of thisbeautiful flower have brought aboutthe formation of African Violet So

cieties in all fifty states, creating fellowships and environment uniquein American life; and

The Annual Convention of the Afri

can Violet Society of America inPhiladelphia will attract hundredsof delegates from all across the nation;

Now Therefore

I, James IT. J. Tate, Mayor of theCity of Philadelphia, do herebyproclaim April 14-19, 1969 as

AFRICAN VIOLET WEEK

and urge all Philadelphians to takenote of the Diamond Jubilee, of thearrival here of this flower whichhas brought enjoyment and pleasure to all.

MayorGiven Under my hand the Seal ofthe City of Philadelphia this 7 dayof April one thousand and ninehundred and sixty nine.

NEW GREENHOUSES-

(continued from page 2)

ing the combination of a two-speedexhaust fan, automatic outward opening intake louvers, a fan-jet fan andpolyethylene (poly tube) air distribution tubing. The two-speed exhaustfan wras centrally located in the northgable wall and is controlled by atwo stage thermostat which also wasattached to a 25 foot long cord formultiple location sensing.

The fan-jet fan louver and polytube was mounted as near the ridgeas possible. The fan-jet fan runs continuously thus recirculating internalair through the poly tube when theintake louver is closed. The fan-jetsystem louver opens bringing in outside air when the exhaust fan starts

on low speed. The exhaust fan turnsoff if the outside air is cool enoughto lower the house temperature. Ifthe house temperature rises 5 degreesabove the setting for low speed theexhaust fan's speed increases until thetemperature drops back to the lowspeed setting.

Fiberglass panels in the south gablewall can be replaced with saran netting for increased ventilation duringthe summer months. Saran nettingalso can be stretched over the roofto decrease incoming radiant energyduring the months of highest lightintensity.

Irrigation

Three quarter inch plastic pipebrings the water supply to eachbench. The main water supply isopened and closed with a solenoidvalve, which is actuated by a 24 hour-1 hour clock system. The individualbenches can be selected for irrigation by opening or closing quarterturn valves. Each bench could be fitted with various numbers and combinations of smaller tube wateringheaders depending on the crop, potsize and spacing used. Various typesof fertilizer proportioned could behooked into the irrigation system atnumerous points to provide a completely automated fertilization andirrigation system.

QUONSET GREENHOUSE CONSTRUCTION

The semicircular arching roof structures, which were made of corrugatedmetal and used a great deal duringWorld War II were called quonsetsafter their place of manufacture,Quonset, R. 1. As so often is the case,this name is now associated with most

semicircular arching roof type structures.

Several commercial greenhousemanufacturing firms sell prefabricatedquonset type greenhouses. Most ofthese were designed to be coveredwith polyethylene film. However, atleast one firm is presently makingarch type structures specifically forrigid fiberglass and several innovativetype growers have covered the framesdesigned for polyethylene with rigidfiberglass. Some growers have constructed home-made quonset housesout of Y/' or %" electrical conduct.

One limitation on the span whichcan be covered with a single sheet isa limitation on the length of fiberglasssheets which can be made and trans

ported. A 36' long sheet is the maximum length available, unless thefiberglass producers have knocked outsome walls in their processing plantssince this article was written. The 25'

long sheet used in this project is about

the shortest length which could bebent easily to a 7' 8" radius. In fact,this curvature was applied, with no ^tapparent damage to the fiberglass, inspite of recommendations of the manufacturers not to put this much stresson the material.

The quonset house, located in relation to existing facilities, is shown infigure 1 as II. The house is 15'4" wideand 72' long as illustrated in the upper half of Figure 2. Construction details, including placement of unitheaters, and perimeter heating pipes,can be seen in Figure 5.

Footer holes were dug in the sameway as was described for the gothichouses except l'/j" diameter pipe wasconcreted into the footers. The 1%"pipe was used because the 1" pipearches fit tightly inside. The 1" pipewas held in place with a 4" long lagbolt which also serves as the fasteneron the outside of the house for the

wire which holds the fiberglass panelsin place.

Flat, '/j" thick transite was usedas a curtain wall with the plastic panels overlapping it by 4". Sheets ofplastic 25' long by 50%" wide spanned the entire width of the house and

were held in place with a single

Figure 5. Installation of unit heaters in quonset greenhouse.

Figure (>. Fiberglass is attached to pipe framework with #8 electrical wire pulled tightwith a turnbuckle.

strand of plastic covered #8 wirepulled tight with a turnbuckle asshown in Figure 6. The fiberglasswas attached to the transite with

weather proof sidelap fasteners atevery other corrugation. These fasteners also held corrugated plasticclosure strips in place between thetransite and fiberglass. The side lap

fasteners and the wire were the onlymeans by which the plastic was heldin place. The 4' spacing betweentrusses was maintained by the use ofcast aluminum alloy, double U clips.One side of the clip was attachedto each truss and the other side wasattaclied to a one inch pipe purlinrunning the length of the house, as

Figure 7. Gable end of quonset greenhouse with ventilating system.

— 5 —

shown in Figure 5.Gable ends were constructed (Fig

ure 7) with a door mounted in eachend and with a ventilation fan andfan-jet louvre in the north gable. Thegables were covered with 5 ounce,^clear, flat fiberglass.

Benches

Sixteen benches 6' by 8' wereframed with redwood 2 x 4's andcovered with 4' wide shade fence. U-grip joist hangers and angle braceswere used to secure the joints and thebenches were raised off the groundwith concrete blocks. The bencheswere arranged, two across the house,with a 28" wide central aisle and 10"

between benches down the length ofthe house. Of the 1098 sq. ft. of floorspace 768 sq. ft. or 70 per cent wasfilled with benches.

Heating, Ventilation, and IrrigationFour 32,700 BTU per hour, verti

cally mounted, unit heaters withlouver cone diffusers were spacedthroughout the house as shown inFigure 5. One tier of 2%" black pipewas used around the perimeter of thehouse. Two thermostats, each connected to two unit heater fans, created a two zone control system. Theelectrically switchable day-night control system again was used with theheating thermostats.

The fan ventilation and fan-jet system was the same as that used in the

gothic houses. All three thermostats,one for each heating zone and onefor the exhaust fan system, were attached with long cords for easy portability.

Comparison of Construction Costs

Courter (1964) has reported approximate costs for home greenhouses andaccessories. A 10' by 16' even-spanredwood frame, fiberglass coveredhouse is listed at a basic cost of $500to 600. Foundation wall, redwoodbenches, forced warm-air furnace,automatic fan and thermostat add an

additional .$530 to 780 to the basiccost bringing the totals to $1030 toJ380. If expressed on a square footbasis, the range would be $6.44 to8.63.

Although not directly comparablebecause of differences in size and thetype of accessories included; this

COST OF GOTHIC GREENHOUSE

Costs for 17 by 36 foot Gothic greenhouse

(see separate lists for breakdown of major cost groups)

Cost percentof total

cost per squarefoot of floor area

Gl. Site Preparation $ 305.25 7.68 $0.50G2. Materials for framing, curtain walls, door

and misc. hardware 451.25 11.35 0.74G3. Materials for covering top and gable ends 427.09 10.75 0.70G4. Materials for 3 large and 1 small bench 168.26 4.23 0.27G5. Equipment for heating and lighting systems 382.94 9.63 0.62G6. Equipment for ventilating system 324.00 8.15 0.53G7. Equipment for irrigation system 18.66 0.47 0.03G8. Labor for general construction and erection 225.00 5.66 0.37G9. Labor for installation of heat, light, and

ventilation systems (30%) 1627.50 40.95 2.66G10 Labor for bench construction and

installation of irrigation system

Total

45.00 1.13 0.07

$6.49$3974.89 100.00

Total cost per square foot Materials cost 52.26 percent$3974.89 -r- 612 = $6.49 Square feet of bench space 378

Labor cost 47.74 percent Cost per square foot of bench space $10.52

Ql.Q2.

Q3.Q4.Q5.Q6.Q7.Q8.Q9.

Q10.

COST OF QUONSET GREENHOUSE

Costs of 15.25 by 72 foot Quonset greenhouse(see separate lists for breakdown of major cost groups)

Site preparationMaterials for framing, curtain walls, doorsand misc. hardwareMaterials for covering top and gable endsMaterials for 16 benchesEquipment for heating and lighting systemsEquipment for ventilation systemEquipment for irrigation systemLabor for general construction and erectionLabor for installation of heat, light, andventilation systems (40%)Labor for bench construction andinstallation of irrigation system

Cost percent cost per squareof total foot of floor area

600.00 10.53 $0.55

687.33 12.06 0.63

628.35 11.02 0.57357.40 6.27 0.325519.16 9.11 0.47

324.00 5.68 0.29

63.22 1.11 0.06275.00 4.83 0.25

2170.00 38.07 1.975

75.00 1.32 0.07

Total $5699.46 100.00 $5.19

Total cost per square foot$5699 -h 1098 = $5.19

Labor cost 44.22 percent

Materials cost 55.78 percentSquare feet of bench space 768Cost per square foot of bench space $7.42

"GERMAN'S SEEDS GERMINATE"When you want your seeds in a hurryCall German's and you will never worry

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— 6 —

places his cost estimates well abovethe $5.19 per foot value for the quonset, but near the $6.49 per foot valuefor the gothic. Comparisons of this ^type illustrate the need for detailed^*^reporting of cost data so that moreprecise evaluations are possible.

The most striking cost differencebetween the gothic and quonsethouses was the increase in cost for thegothic when based on square footageof bench space. The $1.30 differencein cost based on total floor area jumpsto a $3.10 difference when based onbench area. This comparison emphasizes the importance of careful evaluation of bench size and arrangementin relation to the width and total floorarea of the structure.

UtilityNo major environmental control

problems have been encountered witheither the gothic or quonset type ofstructure. Temperature fluctuationsoccur more rapidly and tend to override the thermostat settings more frequently in the quonset because of thesmaller volume of air space in proportion to floor area. Condensationdrip is more of a problem in thequonset because of its lower pitch v̂ Jfnear the ridge. Pots located along the^"^walls of the quonset dry out fasterthan pots in the center because thepoly air distribution tube is necessarily lower and the air stream has lesstime to mix with the more moist internal air before striking pots at thislocation.

Crop ResponseExperiments have not been con

ducted to evaluate relative plantgrowth in the two types of structures.However, a great variety of cropshave been grown in both nouses sincemid-October, 1968. All crops weregrown in pots and included, carnation, rose, cut and pot type chrysanthemum, stock, aster, most of thecurrently popular foliage plants, cyclamen, kalanchoe, cineraria, calceolaria, azalea, poinsettia, several orchid species, and most of the commonly grown bedding plants. None ofthe crops was affected adversely bythe environment created within thesestructures. Some minor insect anddisease problems were encountered,

(continued on page 9)

NEW EDITION-

^ Cornell Recommendations' For Commercial

Floriculture CropsThe Department of Floriculture

and Ornamental Horticulture at Cornell University announces the publication of the 1969-70 edition of Cornell Recommendations for Commercial Floriculture Crops. This 72-pageillustrated edition is expanded in bothscope and depth of subject mattertreatment, and includes discussions ofadditional crops and topics not treatedin earlier editions.

Out-of-state persons may obtain thepublication for $1.00 per copy fromthe Mailing Room, Building #7, Cornell Research Park, Ithaca, New York14850. A 10% discount is given onquantity orders of 100 copies or more.Make checks payable to Cornell University.

NEW GREENHOUSES-

(continued from page 6)but no more than woidd be expected

^to* normally in greenhouse culture.Coleus grown as spring bedding

plants appeared to have been growingslower in the quonset house, whichcould have been due to somewhathigher day temperatures. However,it would not be accurate to count thisas a fault in the quonset house untilother factors have been more precisely controlled and evaluated.

Conclusion

Both of these structural types haveprovided an adequate environmentfor use as research and teaching facilities. Both types were inexpensiveand relatively simple to construct. Ifa semipermanent, low cost, easily constructed house is desired, the quonsettype is preferred. If an additionalcost of S3.10 per square foot of growing space is not a restriction, ifbuilders with some experience areavailable and if more accurate temperature control is important, thenthe gothic would be the better choice.Only time will allow us to answer

C questions about maintenance costsand relative plant growth as thestructures age.

HENRY F. MICHELL CO. KING OF PRUSSIA, PA.

& MORf Wit*UHI

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Potassium Nitrate forWinter FeedingDye for Color TracingChelated ConcentrateInstant Green andGrow Power

Write for literature and prices:KAPCO Division of Summers Fertilizers, Inc.

Somerset, Pa. 15501

PENNSYLVANIA FLORIST CONVENTION

September 21 - 2.'5 — Seven Springs

— 9 —

PENNSYLVANIA FLOWER GROWERS Second Class Postage Paid at

State College, Pa.P.O. BOX 247 CHALFONT, PA. 18914

BULLETIN 219

JUNE, 1969

Thomas Ft Cannon.Assoc.Prof.

Box 521b

North Carolina State University

Raleigh, N. C. 27507

i

Former East Berliner Becomes First Source

of Certified Geraniums in PennsylvaniaA German-bom florist and green

house operator, who fled from Communist East Berlin, has the distinctionof being Pennsylvania's only personcurrently eligible to sell certified geraniums.

Yesterday (June 17), at his greenhouse here, Guenter Wolter had ashis guest State Agriculture SecretaryLeland 11. Bull.

Secretary Bull congratulated Wolter on becoming the first in the stateto be eligible to sell certified geraniums and then presented him with acertificate.

The certificate states that Wolterhas met all the conditions the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculturedemands be met before it declares aperson eligible to sell certified geraniums.

Just what is a certified geraniumand how does it differ from any othergeranium?

A certified geranium is a flowerthat has been grown from disease-freestock in accordance with rules and

regulations established by the StateDepartment of Agriculture. Many geraniums can't boast of such lineage.They are infected with diseases calledbacterial leaf spot and stem rot. Infected plants look good when purchased but become dry and witheredin the heat of summer.

A grower such as Wolter purchaseshis stock from an "elite" grower whomust meet exacting requirementsestablished by Penn State's Department of Pathology. He in turn willraise and sell disease-free certifiedstock to interested greenhouses.

The Pennsylvania Department ofAgriculture's Bureau of Plant Industry will inspect Wolter's stock regularly to make certain it is healthy andmeets other certification requirements.

Wolter, who earned a master gard-^^jener degree from the Werder HavelAgricultural School in Germany,owned greenhouses in East Germanywhen he decided the Russian-domina

ted country was no place for hisfamily. This was a year before theCommunists erected the Berlin Wall.

He and his family managed toreach West Berlin safely in June,1960. They remained six months before coming to the United Stateswhere Wolter obtained employmentin a greenhouse in Staten Island.Three years later he moved to Templewhere he operates a greenhouse andretail store.

Memories remain of the Wolterfamily past and the greenhouses theyleft behind in East Germany nineyears ago.

Today the future lies ahead andcertified geraniums will be playing animportant role in the Wolter familyfuture.