RESUME
Name: Ben Bolusky.
Position: Executive vice president.
Firm: Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association, 1533 Park Center Drive, Orlando, FL 32832-5705; (407) 295-7994; bbolusky@fngla.org.

Do you have a response to this article? Send an e-mail to Todd Davis.

Last year's hurricane season was devastating for Florida growers, with four named storms hitting the state in a six-week period. Recovery was slow, and there was no way to recover from lost sales during that period. But many speculated that high demand for replacement plants in 2005 would help the green industry. I spoke with Ben Bolusky to see how the spring panned out for growers in the Sunshine State.

Q. How is demand for landscape plants in Florida this spring?

A. The engine is going at full throttle. Demand for landscape plants in Florida this spring is very strong.

All reports coming into FNGLA's office indicate the industry is exceptionally busy.

Q. What types of materials are primarily in demand? Primarily shade trees?

A. It's a challenge to pinpoint which plants are in the strongest demand. Right now, the demand appears to be across all product segments: Foliage, floriculture and woody.

However, I do know that shade trees are in very high demand, and I hear through the grapevine that for some species we're starting to see some shortages. I'm also hearing that contractors are having difficulty finding some tree material that's up to specified sizes.

But demand is up for everything.

Q. Are Florida growers able to meet most of this demand? How much material is coming in from out of state?

A. Despite the hits incurred by Florida's nursery industry with last year's hurricanes, Florida growers are meeting most of the demand with Florida material. However, since sales are so strong, some material entering the market channels seems to be getting smaller in size.

Q. On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 meaning no recovery and 10 meaning fully recovered), how far would you consider the Florida nursery industry recovered from last year's hurricanes?

A. I would estimate the industry is at the 7.5 or 8 point on your scale. Some growers are still repairing some of their facilities. However, from a sales perspective, the industry is fully recovered and is humming at a solid 10.

Q. How many nurseries do you think went out of business due to the storms?

A. It's a true testimonial to the resiliency of nursery growers that very, very few nurseries went out of business as a result of the hurricanes. I can probably count them on one hand.

Q. What are the next big opportunities for Florida nursery growers?

A. With the pace of construction and development, the Florida nursery and landscape industry's pie keeps getting larger. The thirst for plant material continues to expand. We're seeing great interest in mixing foliage plants with annuals and bedding plants for that unusual splash of color and texture in exterior landscapes.

So if you consider keeping up with an expanding consumer market for our products a challenge, I'd say that's it. It's a nice problem to have.

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© 2002 Branch-Smith Publishing