Q: With the weather getting cooler, I would imagine Mother Nature can really impact your crops, right?
 

A: You have got that right. Todd Thornton, our Master Grower, spends most of his days in our fields and,  so far, he has good news to report: “weather in our growing regions looks promising for the remainder of November so get ready for some excellent quality and volume. If you planned with us for this holiday then we have planted for you. AND our crops are right on track for Thanksgiving. Let’s hope Ms. Mother Nature is friendly to us for these next two weeks.” 

Q: That’s pretty good news. Anything else we should know?

 A: Yes, we had some concerns about our more northern growing areas at this time of the year so we increased our plantings in the south to compensate. We think this strategy will pay off this year. We shall soon see if that is the case.   

Q: What’s next after Thanksgiving? Anything new?  

A: You bet. Hibiscus Pods are coming back! See the pictures below which Todd has provided from the field. Todd is excited about growing this crop again. He says, “after a few year hiatus, per a clients request, we planted Hibiscus Pods in the spring. The flowers bloom and die quickly (believe it or not this is a good thing).  When the flower dies on the plant, beautiful, red seed pods are formed. This year, Hibiscus Pods will be available late November and December in limited quantities. If we receive more positive client feedback, we’ll plant more for next year. 

Q: What else is in the ground for post Thanksgiving?

A: We are also continuing to plant Ranunculus and Lisianthus this fall adding new colors to our line up. (See picture below).

Q: Anything new on the Sunflower front?

A: modest spring harvest. And…. In true DG fashion, we are testing a new growing area (but it’s a secret) to see if we can further hedge against Ms. Mother Nature. Below is a picture of the first trial Sunflowers in that region. We will keep you posted on the success of this trial.   

Q: And how is Thanksgiving production going?

A: Production is a good word. It really is a big production with all departments firing on all cylinders. This is our time to shine and the team knows it. We are really busy. Our California plant is at full capacity so we added an additional 20,000 square feet of cooler to our grading and assembly center in Mexico. This brings our total grading and assembly square footage to over 100,000 square feet. It’s quite a production! Not quite Broadway worthy, but pretty darn good.  

The Hibiscus flowers blooms very briefly and then….

…..Super Colorful Hibiscus Pods form.

Early stage Lisianthus…all in a row  

Our new “top secret” growing region undergoing the first Sunflower test.

We are working around the clock!  Busy is a good thing.    

   Our assembly team going full speed ahead.   

 Our Fall flowers getting ready to bring some smiles.