Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers

Ask an Expert: Using the Paperpot Planting System for Specialty Cut Flowers
2024-05-13 20:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom
Join the ASCFG for the May 2024 Ask an Expert session led by Julia Keel of Full Keel Farm!
Julia will present on using the Paperpot system for cut flowers on her farm in Florida. After adopting the Paperpot trays in 2020, she estimates that about 85% of Full Keel Farm’s 2024 crops will be planted using this system. For this webinar, she will specifically address crop selection and spacing, timing of transplanting, bed prep and weed management, and the overall benefits and drawbacks of the system. Julia will also share detailed information about the cost per plant, time for transplanting and weeding, and more. By sharing in detail how Full Keel Farm converted from using all landscape fabric to almost entirely Paperpot-planted crops, attendees will be able to evaluate the potential of this system for their own operations while maintaining realistic expectations for using this tool.
Full Keel Farm is a small, family farm owned by Julia & Earl Keel. The flower farm developed out of Julia and Earl’s love for growing, decades working in and around agriculture, and their desire to build a small farm at our home in north central Florida. After meeting at a research station on a large Florida cattle ranch, they started growing vegetables together in a small garden. In the spring of 2017, inspired by the Slow Flowers movement, they added two 50-ft beds of cosmos and zinnias into the vegetable garden, and quickly decided to transition to growing flowers.
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Ask an Expert: How Intellectual Property Can Protect and Grow Your Flower Business
2024-06-10 20:00 - 21:00
Join us for the June 2024 Ask an Expert session on intellectual property!
Jenny Jonak of Dragon Song Farm has been an attorney for 27 years. She will talk about intellectual property issues that you can use to protect and grow your flower business. Briefly, intellectual property refers to the creative work or processes you put into your business. Jenny will go over the different types of intellectual property (patents, trademarks, copyrights), how you can use each for your flower business, and how to incorporate IP protection in flower farming contracts and other legal documents.
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Ask an Expert: Drawbacks in Selling Invasives to Florists
2024-07-08 20:00 - 21:00
Curbing the Spread of Invasive Species in Flower Farming and Floristry
Challenges and Solutions for Growers and Florists
Invasive species are causing problems across farms, gardens, waterways, wildlife habitats, and landscapes. They are often foraged or grown by flower farmers and used in designs by florists. Sometimes this is intentional, while other times it results from a lack of knowledge about which species are invasive, how they spread, and why they are dangerous. Flower farmers and florists have the power to either contribute to the spread of invasive species or help prevent it.

In this webinar, Ellen will address the thorny subject of invasive species: what they are, the damage they can cause, how they spread, and why many farmers and florists continue to use them. She will also cover the economic impact of moving away from using invasives and what farmers and florists can do to stop their spread. Ellen will share her own journey to become educated about invasives and explain the strategies she uses to find alternatives for her designs.
Ellen Frost is the renowned florist of Local Color Flowers in Baltimore, MD, and co-contributor of The Cut Flower Quarterly column, “The Farmer and The Florist.” She is passionate about using local flowers in her work and in 2016, she was awarded the Allan M Armitage Award for Leadership by the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers. She has been featured on The Flower Podcast, the Slow Flowers Society, and much more.
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Ask an Expert: Maximizing Season Extension
2024-09-09 20:00 - 21:00
Join Maya Kosok of Hillen Homestead (Baltimore, MD) to learn about season extension without a greenhouse or high tunnel. Maya will cover several different ways to maximize your growing space with minimal infrastructure, including planting hardy annuals, selecting perennials, using low tunnels for frost protection, succession planting, and more. Many regions of the United States have the highest demand for local flowers in spring and fall, making season extension especially important. This talk will include many ideas that can be applied across different growing regions and different scales, but it is worth noting that Hillen Homestead is located in a warm zone 7b and produces very intensively with minimal equipment.
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Ask an Expert: Business Planning for Flower Farmers
2024-10-07 20:00 - 21:00
RESCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER 7, 2024.
Join us for an Ask an Expert session taught by Lennie Larkin of B-Side Flower Farm.
Business planning can be an overwhelming process, which keeps flower farmers from doing it. But the good news is that business planning doesn’t have to be a one-site-fits-all, formal process. In this session, Lennie will guide you through some introductory business planning methods and leave you with actionable steps to help grow or refine your farm.
Lennie Larkin started B-Side Farm after falling head over heels for flowers. She came to farming and flowers from a background in adult education. Naturally, B-Side Farm has quickly become an educational farm where Lennie not only grows and designs with flowers, but teaches others how she’s doing what she’s doing. B-Side Farm workshops are designed to meet every student where they’re at and encourage them to dive a little deeper into the world of flowers – whether in the garden or design studio. The B-Side Blog is a growing resource for both of these arenas.

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Ask an Expert: Hosting Successful & Profitable On-Farm Workshops
2024-11-18 20:00 - 21:00
Join us for the November 2024 Ask an Expert Session!
Hosting workshops can be a wonderful way to share about your farm operation and to provide guests with a unique, memorable experience – but there is more planning and preparation to hosting workshops than most farmers anticipate. During this session, Niki Irving of Flourish Flower Farm will give attendees the information and tools for success by providing them with strategies for hosting smooth, enjoyable workshops on their farms. By the end of the webinar, attendees will have a realistic picture of what it costs – financially and in labor – to successfully host workshops on their farms.
Sponsored by:

ASCFG Supplier Showcase: Get Ready to Thrive in 2025!
2024-12-09 15:00 - 18:00, 2024-12-10 15:00 - 18:00
The ASCFG will host the 2025 Supplier Showcase on Monday, December 9, and Tuesday, December 10, 2024.
This is a wonderful opportunity for members to connect with agricultural and cut flower vendors. ASCFG members are invited to attend these complimentary webinars, during which vendors will discuss current and forthcoming products, tools, and other useful resources. More information will be available in Fall 2024.
Sponsored by:

Ask an Expert: Best Practices for Seed Saving
2025-01-13 20:00 - 21:00
Join us for the ASCFG’s January 2025 Ask an Expert webinar on Monday, January 13, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern!
Erika Clarke founded and manages Sow Local Seeds, a family farm that specializes in locally adapted and ecologically produced flower, herb, and vegetable seeds in Nova Scotia, Canada. During her presentation, she will walk attendees through her practices and processes for saving cut flower seeds before ending the webinar with a robust question and answer session. More details coming soon!

Ask an Expert: Pressed Flowers for New Products and New Customers
2025-02-17 20:00 - 21:00
Join us for the ASCFG’s February 2025 Ask an Expert webinar on Monday, February 17, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern!
Kate Punnett created a small flower press company called The August Press where she sells flower presses across North America. She also captures her pressed art digitally and sells her prints, and her future goals are to create a longer format book celebrating local pressed flowers throughout the season. Learn from her experiences in developing alternative streams of income and a new customer base through developing new services and products featuring pressed flowers.
Kate Punnett is an artist, homemaker and homeschooling mom that has created an artistic practice in between mothering her kids, growing a garden, and starting a part-time school. She teaches art and the creative process in her community to both children and adults. Kate was a sustainable florist before she started pressing flowers. She ran a small social enterprise in her floral studio gifting flowers to community members. Her passion lies in mixing the ephemeral nature of flowers with people. Her artistic work is driven by the desire to create change through aesthetics, from garden, to street, to community, to city and beyond. She fell in love with pressing flowers as a way to slow down the quick pace of the locally grown flower season. Always celebrating the spirit of local, her pressed work is a call for hope, joy and connection.
Zoom instructions will be emailed to members on the day of the event. All Ask an Expert webinars are recorded.
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Ask an Expert: Solar Panels on Cut Flower Farms
2025-03-10 20:00 - 21:00
Jenny Jonak has been an attorney for 27 years as well as the founder and owner of Dragon Song Farm in Eugene, Oregon. During this Ask an Expert webinar, Jenny will describe her experience with installing solar panels on her cut flower farm. This important infrastructure investment required time, upfront costs, and research, and Jenny will share advice and considerations for fellow farmers.
Zoom instructions will be emailed to ASCFG members prior to the event. All Ask an Expert webinars are recorded and available through the Members Only website after the event.

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Popped with Phebe: Pop Up Events, Workshops, and Unique Retail Options
2025-04-08 20:00 - 21:00
Phebe Robinson-Higgins of Grace Floral and Co.
Tuesday, April 8, 2025, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
Pop-up workshops are an exciting way for flower farmers and floral professionals to engage your community, to showcase your expertise, and create memorable experiences. Often hosted in third party retail and boutique spaces, these unique events are offer incredible opportunities to connect with new clients and to partner with local businesses. Join the remarkable Phebe Robinson-Higgins from Grace Floral and Co., who will teach you how to successfully design, plan, and execute pop-up events that attract and inspire new customers.
You’ll learn the following…

Planning and Logistics: How define your workshop’s purpose and target audience; how to choose the right venue (and if applicable, the right business partner); and the necessary considerations for selecting materials, managing time, and organizing all the moving parts.
Fundraising and Financial Support: While pop up events and retail experiences require less funds than traditional brick and mortar shops, business owners still need capital to get started. Phebe has expertise in grant writing and seeking funds to bankroll new business endeavors, and will share her advice and experiences.
During and After the Workshop: Phebe will share recommendations for how to create an interactive and memorable experience for your attendees, including recommended practices for day-of event execution, troubleshooting common challenges, and ensuring smooth operations. Lastly, Phebe will share guidance how to sustain the new relationships you’ve built with participants.

What Attendees Receive:

Live webinar access.
Event recording for one year.
Electronic copy of presentation slides.

This event is part of the 2025 Flowers are Serious Business webinar series. Learn more and register here!

Ask an Expert: Developing New Customer Experiences, Diversifying Income Streams
2025-04-14 20:00 - 21:00
Sarah and Curtis Millsap grow 2 acres of flowers and vegetables annually, with 25,000 square feet under plastic, including a 1,600 square foot Chinese solar greenhouse and a 6,000 square foot minimally heated greenhouse. They use organic practices, and offer their produce for sale through a year-round, a 185 member CSA, farmers’ market, and restaurant sales. They also offer an array of unique customer experiences: An Airbnb called the Tiny Turtle, a weekly Pizza Club, and Twilight Walks on the farm. The Millsaps will provide an overview of these on-farm programs and workshops, and share advice on building unique customer experiences. Attendees will leave the webinar with new ideas to apply to their own farms.
Zoom instructions will be emailed to ASCFG members prior to the event. All Ask an Expert webinars are recorded and available through the Members Only website after the event.

Sponsored by:

Effective Email Marketing for Cut Flower Farmers
2025-04-22 20:00 - 21:00
Angie Machado of Etereas Flowers, LLC.
Tuesday, April 22, 2025, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern

With unpredictable algorithms, uncertain legislation, and changing demographics, communicating with consumers has moved away from social media and onto building an email-based community through which you can directly contact your customers. Angie Machado is a marketing specialist and owner of Etereas Flowers LLC. Attendees will learn how to develop an email newsletter from scratch; what components and practices are necessary for a successful newsletter; and will afterwards feel confident in starting their own.
What Attendees Receive:

Live webinar access.
Event recording for one year.
Electronic copy of presentation slides.

This event is part of the 2025 Flowers are Serious Business webinar series. Learn more and register here!

RESCHEDULED: Optimizing Websites for Marketing and Sales
2025-04-29 20:00 - 21:00
RESCHEDULED for Tuesday, April 29, 2025, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern
***
CEO Katie Elzer-Peters of Garden of Words, LLC.
With over fifteen years of marketing expertise for the green industry, Katie Elzer-Peters of Garden of Words LLC knows how agricultural professionals can set their online presence up for success. Join this incredible presentation on the importance of creating an effective and powerful website. For attendees who wish to enact recommendations from the webinar as soon as possible, a personalized consultation with Katie is available for up to fifty attendees with an added fee of $25.
What Attendees Receive:

Live webinar access.
Event recording for one year.
Electronic copy of presentation slides.
Optional: Katie will evaluate your website and send a private feedback video between five and ten minutes that details personalized, specific recommendations for enhancements. Available for up to fifty attendees with an added fee of $25.

This event is part of the 2025 Flowers are Serious Business webinar series. Learn more and register here!

RESCHEDULED: Preparing Effective Financial Statements for Your Farm
2025-05-05 20:00 - 21:00
Sarah Scott, CPA, Allegiant Tax & Accounting Services and Flower Farm.
Monday, May 5, 2025, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

Maintaining clear, accurate and timely financial statements is one of the most impactful investments you can make in the long-term success of your cut flower farm. Well-prepared statements ensure hassle-free internal and external audits, help guide management decisions and present the stability and growth potential of your business to prospective lenders, investors or buyers.
Preparing the primary components of a financial statement – mainly the balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement and statement of shareholders’ equity – requires thorough record keeping and detailed analysis. Clear, easy-to-read presentation matters every bit as much as precision.
Join Certified Public Accountant and cut flower farmer Sarah Scott of Allegiant Tax & Accounting Services as she walks you through how to create a consistent template to keep using every period. Attendees will learn what comprises a financial statement, its value and importance to your business, and how to establish great practices moving forward.
What Attendees Receive:

Live webinar access.
Event recording for one year.
Electronic copy of presentation slides.

Ask an Expert: Online Bookkeeping for Cut Flower Farmers
2025-05-12 20:00 - 21:00
Jessica and Graham Chase are the owners and farmer-florists of Sierra Flower Farm in Gardner, Nevada. The farm isn’t the typical farm of rolling acres, but rather a tiny urban farm with about a half acre in production, selling wholesale blooms and servicing local weddings. Conscious of their impact on the environment and the ecosystem within their gardens and beyond, the Chases are committed to only using sustainable growing practices and to adding to the earth’s health, not depleting it. In this webinar, the Chases will offer an in-depth primer on bookkeeping tools, good practices, and considerations for cut flower farmers.
Zoom instructions will be emailed to ASCFG members prior to the event. All Ask an Expert webinars are recorded and available through the Members Only website after the event.
Sponsored by:

Ask an Expert: Companion Planting for Cut Flower Crops
2025-06-09 20:00 - 21:00
Join us for a session on companion planting for crop flower crops with Jalisca Thomason, founder of Rustic Roots Floral Design, and agroforestry professor at Bakersfield College. Jalisca will introduce the concept of companion planting, discuss the benefits and considerations, and provide practical advice that attendees can try on their own farms.
Jalisca Thomason is an educator and an artist. She spent a decade as a high school agriculture teacher in California, coaching Floral Design Teams and teaching introductory and advanced floral design. She is currently a full professor at Bakersfield College in the area of forestry and natural resources, with the occasional section of Floral Design. Jalisca started her studio, Rustic Roots Floral Design, in 2010 and enjoys working in her home based studio.

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Ask an Expert: Developing a Safety Management Program
2025-07-14 20:00 - 21:00
Zach Bruce is the Director of Safety Services at Hortica and joined the company in 2005 as a Safety Services Consultant, providing safety and loss control services to the horticultural industry. With decades of experience and insight, be sure to join in as he offers advice on developing a robust safety program for your farm.
Zoom instructions will be emailed to members on the day of the event. All Ask an Expert webinars are recorded.
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Ask an Expert: Sustainability Practices to Incorporate into Your Farm
2025-08-11 20:00 - 21:00
So you want to be a more sustainable farmer but are uncertain how to get started? We’ve got you: Join Mandy and Steve O’Shea of 3 Porch Farms as they cover a sampling of easy-to-incorporate practices that will reduce the environmental impact of your farm.
3 Porch Farm is renowned for their commitment to environmental well-being and sustainable agriculture. The flowers are grown with only organic certified fertilizers and their pest control is managed through organic certified plant and fungal derivatives or with beneficial insects. 3 Porch Farm flowers are chilled and processed in facilities that are powered with over 150 solar panels and as of Spring of 2021, the farm now provides carbon neutral shipping on all products by purchasing Carbon Offsets through Pachama. Furthermore, 3 Porch Farm uses paper tape, recyclable boxes, post consumer paper packaging, paper towels instead of sponges, and plant based plastic baggies to keep stems wet. All of which can be composted or recycled. Even our shipping labels and stickers are compostable and printed with soy-based inks.
Zoom instructions will be emailed to members on the day of the event. All Ask an Expert Webinars are recorded.

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Ask an Expert: Speed Guide to Making an Annual Marketing Plan for Cut Flower Farmers
2025-09-08 20:00 - 21:00
Join us for a session on developing an annual marketing plan for your farm! Myrna Greenfield is the “Top Egg” at Good Egg Marketing and the author of Marketing Your Farm: A practical guide to attracting loyal customers and increasing sales (Savvy Press 2022). Good Egg Marketing provides business planning and marketing services for food and farm-related businesses and nonprofits. Clients include flower growers, garden centers, nurseries, and other businesses in the green industry. Attendees of this webinar will walk away with actionable next steps for their marketing goals.
Greenfield is a frequent speaker and trainer at conferences, events, and meetings on topics such as agritourism, branding, sales and marketing strategies, websites, and social media. She received her MBA from Simmons School of Management in Boston, MA. A foodie, treehugger, and mensch, Greenfield is a board member of Boston Farms Community Land Trust and lives in Jamaica Plain, MA. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow Good Egg Marketing on Facebook and Instagram.
Zoom instructions will be emailed to members on the day of the event. All Ask an Expert webinars are recorded.
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Ask an Expert: Floral Design for Destination Weddings and Elopements
2025-10-20 20:00 - 21:00
Join us for a session on floral designs for destination weddings and elopements with Jalisca Thomason, founder of Rustic Roots Floral Design, and agroforestry professor at Bakersfield College. Jalisca will discuss the unique considerations and practices inherent in creating floral designs for small and unique events held in distant locations, such as transportation, heat management, and other aspects.
Thomason is an educator and an artist. She spent a decade as a high school agriculture teacher in California, coaching Floral Design Teams and teaching introductory and advanced floral design. She is currently a full professor at Bakersfield College in the area of forestry and natural resources, with the occasional section of Floral Design. Jalisca started her studio, Rustic Roots Floral Design, in 2010 and enjoys working in her home based studio.
Zoom instructions will be emailed to members on the day of the event. All Ask an Expert webinars are recorded.

Sponsored by:

Ask an Expert: Pest Management for Cut Flower Farmers
2025-11-10 20:00 - 21:00
Cut flower farmers face unique pest pressures that can reduce yields, damage blooms, and limit marketability. This Ask an Expert session highlights the top three to five pests most commonly encountered in cut flower production—such as aphids, thrips, caterpillars, and spider mites—and explores effective strategies for monitoring, prevention, and management. Attendees will learn from Kristen Fowler of Koppert about integrated pest management (IPM) practices, including cultural controls, beneficial insects, and targeted treatments, to protect crop quality while supporting farm productivity. Lastly, Kristen will touch on plant diseases, since many pests vector them, but the primary focus of this webinar will be pests.
Kristen Fowler is the Technical IPM Consultant with Koppert-U.S. for the Mid-Atlantic Region. Prior to this role, she has worked in the green industry for over two decades and has degrees in biology and ornamental horticulture.
Sponsored by: SunflowerSelections.com and Koppert.
Zoom instructions will be emailed to members on the day of the event. All Ask an Expert webinars are recorded.

ASCFG Supplier Showcase: See the Top Picks of 2026!
2025-12-08 15:00 - 18:00, 2025-12-09 15:00 - 18:00
The ASCFG will host the 2026 Supplier Showcase on Monday, December 8, and Tuesday, December 9, 2025. This is a wonderful opportunity for members to connect with agricultural and cut flower vendors. Current ASCFG members are invited to attend these complimentary webinars, during which vendors will discuss current and forthcoming products, tools, and other useful resources.
More details coming soon!

Ask an Expert: Cultivating Connection -- Creating Community-Led Flower Collectives
2026-01-26 20:00 - 21:00
Cultivating Connection: Creating Community-Led Flower Collectives explores how independent flower farmers can join forces to build resilient, community-rooted collectives. This session. led by Tracy Yang of JARN Co. Flowers, will cover the benefits of working cooperatively, while offering practical advice for starting and sustaining a collective. Participants will gain inspiration, tools, and confidence to grow not just flowers, but lasting partnerships grounded in trust, equity, and shared purpose.
Tracy Yang is a Hmong-American flower farmer based near Monroe, Washington, and co-founder of JARN Co. Flowers with her partner, Nick Songsangcharntara. She shifted from a career in fitness and dance into farming during the pandemic, reconnecting with her family’s agricultural roots. Their farm specializes in tulips and heirloom dahlias, grown using sustainable practices and sold through CSAs, the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, and local shops and pop-ups. Tracy also founded the SnoCo. Flower Collective, which brings together regional growers and hosts a weekly summer flower market to strengthen community connections.

Zoom instructions will be emailed to members on the day of the event. All Ask an Expert webinars are recorded.

Ask an Expert: Taking Summers Off -- A Case Study
2026-02-16 20:00 - 21:00
A decade into farming, Laura Beth Resnick of Butterbee Farm decided to institute a summer break: eight weeks off, mid-June to mid-August. She and her husband had no idea if it would work. Would their florists come back after eight weeks away? Would the finances work out? How would they balance vacation, rest, and the necessary farm work to get ready for the fall season? Three summer breaks later, they can attest: it’s working! They have learned a lot about how to manage the precious time, how to hire for the season, and how to think about our cash flow. In this session, Butterbee Farm owner Laura Beth will share the strategy behind the break, what she’s learned, some mistakes made, and how she and her team make up for summer sales during the shoulder seasons.
Laura Beth Resnick is the founder and owner of Butterbee Farm, a five-acre flower farm in northern Maryland. Butterbee Farm has provided locally grown flowers to florists and flower lovers from Baltimore to Washington, D.C. for thirteen seasons. Growing in greenhouses, high tunnels, and fields, Butterbee Farm specializes in high quality cuts for use in design. Laura Beth has served as President of the MCFGA (Maryland Cut Flower Growers Association) and Secretary for the Board of the ASCFG (Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers). She is a regular speaker at conferences, garden clubs, and arboretums, and mentors new growers through Future Harvest’s Beginning Farmer Training Program.
Website: www.butterbeefarm.com
Instagram: @butterbee_farm

Zoom instructions will be emailed to members on the day of the event. All Ask an Expert webinars are recorded.

Digging Deep: High Tunnel Pest Management Practices for Cut Flower Growers
2026-03-03 19:00 - 20:00
Nick Volesky, South Dakota State University
March 3, 2026, 7:00 p.m. Eastern

Pest pressure can cause significant losses in specialty crops nationwide, including cut flowers. However, plant-insect pests represent only 0.5% of all insect species, making accurate identification critical. Feeding damage can occur on all parts of a cut flower, impacting both plant health and aesthetic quality, which in turn affects marketability. Given the wide variability in specialty cut flower species and the regions in which they are grown, standardized thresholds and management recommendations are difficult to establish. Therefore, management strategies should rather be focused on individual farms, taking into account factors such as budget, farm size, and the specific pests present. This presentation will train cut flower growers in proactive scouting methods, identification of insect pests and plant diseases, understanding the damage they cause, their life or disease cycles, and appropriate control strategies. Emphasis will be placed on integrated pest management, including cultural, mechanical, and biological control techniques.
Nick Volesky is an Extension Horticulture and Specialty Crop Field Specialist with South Dakota State University, based in the beautiful Badlands and Black Hills region of western South Dakota. In his role, he works alongside a multidisciplinary team to serve stakeholders across the state through education, outreach, and programming. His work focuses on addressing consumer horticulture needs, including home landscape plantings and specialty crop production in farms, homes, schools, and community gardens. Nick recently completed graduate studies at Utah State University, where his research evaluated the timing and protective cultivation methods for delphinium and larkspur cut flower production in the intermountain west. His expertise includes integrated pest management in specialty crop systems, protected cultivation methods, and vegetable and cut flower production. He is an active member of ASCFG and is passionate about specialty crop production and the Cooperative Extension system, which connects research-based knowledge with community stakeholders. Nick is especially committed to supporting growers in optimizing their production through sustainable, evidence-based practices.
Attendees Receive:

Live webinar access.
Event recording for one year.
Electronic copy of presentation slides.

Register Today!
Sponsored by:

Industry Trends and Forecasts: What’s Coming and How to Prepare
2026-03-04 12:00 - 13:00
Wednesday, March 4, 2026
Noon EST
Presented by Drs. John Dole (NCSU) and Charlie Hall (TAMU)

Understanding industry trends and market forecasts is essential for flower farmers and floral businesses looking to plan strategically and stay competitive. Drs. John Dole (NCSU) and Charlie Hall (TAMU) will explore current trends shaping the floral industry, from consumer preferences to supply chain shifts, and provide insights into what’s expected in the months ahead. We’ll also highlight opportunities for growth, emerging niches, and strategies to stay agile in a changing marketplace.
Ideal for growers and floral business owners seeking to make informed, forward-looking decisions, this session provides actionable insights to help your business thrive today and plan confidently for the future. This one-hour Zoom-based webinar will offer a Q and A session with John and Charlie and is complimentary for ASCFG Members.
About the Instructors: Dr. John M. Dole is a leading researcher, educator, and author in the specialty cut flower industry. He is a professor of horticultural science at North Carolina State University and has spent decades advancing research on cut flower production, postharvest handling, and floriculture economics. Dr. Dole is co-author of the widely used reference Floriculture: Principles and Species and has played a key role in supporting flower growers through research, extension, and leadership with organizations such as the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers (ASCFG).
Dr. Charlie Hall is a nationally recognized economist and professor in the Department of Horticultural Sciences at Texas A&M University. He specializes in the economics of the green industry, with research focused on consumer behavior, market trends, profitability, and business management for horticultural enterprises. Dr. Hall is a frequent speaker and author, providing data-driven insights that help growers, retailers, and industry organizations make informed strategic decisions.
Zoom instructions will be emailed to members on the day of the event. All webinars are recorded.
Not an ASCFG member? Register here to receive the webinar instructions!

Ask an Expert: Managing Diseases of Dahlia, Zinnia, Sunflower, and Snapdragon Cut Flower Crops ​
2026-03-09 20:00 - 21:00
​Dr. Margery Daughtrey will cover the most common and aggravating diseases of dahlia, zinnia, snapdragon and sunflower, giving points on identification and prevention. The diseases featured will include root rots, stem rots, leaf spots and flower blights as well as systemic vascular wilts. You will learn more about Xanthomonas, rust, Septoria, powdery mildew, downy mildew and Verticillium wilt, among others. Cultural, biological and chemical controls will be given. Even some diseases that defy control will be described. In the Q & A time, Margery will be happy to hear stories of growers’ successes and failures at management of particularly gnarly diseases.
Margery Daughtrey is a Senior Extension Associate with the Section of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology of Cornell University. She has conducted a research and extension program on the management of diseases of ornamental plants since 1978, at Cornell’s Long Island Horticultural Research and Extension Center in Riverhead, NY. She educates growers on management of greenhouse and nursery crop diseases, runs a diagnostic laboratory and investigates controls for problems such as powdery mildew, impatiens downy mildew and boxwood blight. Daughtrey holds a B.S. degree in Biology from the College of William and Mary and an M.S. in Plant Pathology from the University of Massachusetts, as well as a PhD from Cornell University. She was named a Fellow of APS in 2012. Daughtrey is coauthor of several books, including Diseases of Herbaceous Perennials and the Compendium of Flowering Potted Plant Diseases, as well as the Compendium of Bedding Plant Diseases and Pests.
Zoom instructions will be emailed to ASCFG members prior to the event. All Ask an Expert events are recorded.
Sponsored by:
