Tracy Wootten and Valann Budischak on Delaware’s Horticulture Industry

On Wednesday, October 16th, Tracy Wootten and Valann Budischak gave a guest lecture on the importance of the Delaware green industry. This industry, according to a 2014 estimate in sales, accounts for over 21,774,000 dollars in the state and supplies jobs to thousands of Americans as producers, retailers, landscapers, and cultivation equipment suppliers, etc. The most popular items in production are containerized floriculture and nursery crops worth over 13.8 billion dollars. These consist of bedding and garden plants, potted plants, evergreen trees, cut greens, ornamental plants and many more. The containerized plants are most profitable, accounting for 62.4 percent of purchases in Delaware. B & B trees come in second with 28.7 percent in production. We were shown many pictures relating to these businesses with mass production of annuals in greenhouses, and open-acre farms for evergreens, Christmas trees, as well as other trees and shrubs. Some may ask, “What is the green industry?”, It is the retailers and suppliers. From large companies like Lowe’s and Home Depot to the small ones like Cordrey Companies and Ronny’s Garden World, these businesses provide many varieties of plants that people of Delaware know and love.

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