Grow Pro Webinar Series

Plant growth regulators (PGRs) are valuable tools for managing plant height, uniformity, and crop timing—but knowing when and how to use them is key. This webinar focuses on practical PGR strategies that fit into everyday floriculture production.

Effective irrigation management is one of the most powerful tools growers have to control crop quality, uniformity, and input costs. This webinar takes a practical look at how watering decisions influence root development, nutrient uptake, disease risk, and overall plant performance. We’ll discuss how to adjust irrigation practices based on crop stage, substrate type, and environmental conditions. Growers will leave with clear strategies they can apply immediately to improve consistency, reduce waste, and support healthier floriculture crops.

Mum growers encounter a range of challenges each season—from heat waves and cold snaps to droughts, deluges and the constant threat of pests and diseases. Profitability depends on minimal shrink. In this webinar, Josh Henry from Ball Seed Technical Services will guide you through mum production, from propagation all the way to shipping, sharing practical tips and proven strategies to grow healthy, high-quality mums with minimal losses. We’ll cover essential topics including irrigation management, fertility programs, PGR strategies and effective pest and disease control to help you keep crops uniform, healthy and on schedule. You’ll discover how to leverage pH/EC monitoring and graphical tracking (to steer growth and hit sales specs on time), prevent crown budding and achieve a clean, retail-ready finish.

Thrips may be small, but they create big challenges in floriculture production. In this Grow Pro special session, two expert speakers will share practical, grower-focused strategies for managing thrips, along with an update on an AFE-funded research project exploring the use of UV-C light as a management tool. Learn how current best practices fit into an integrated pest management program and where emerging technologies may offer new solutions. Join us to get bright ideas you can apply now and insights into what’s coming next.

Feeling left behind by the fast pace of technological change? This presentation will start with some of the major technology advances changing agriculture before focusing on potential uses of technology in the cut flower industry, including image analysis for phytosanitary decision-making and artificial intelligence.

Healthy soil is the foundation of successful and sustainable cut flower production. In this Grow Pro webinar, Melanie Stock of Utah State University will explore key soil science principles that support strong plant growth, nutrient efficiency, and long-term soil health. Attendees will learn how soil physical, chemical, and biological properties influence crop performance and management decisions. This session will provide practical insights growers can use to build resilient production systems from the ground up.

Water security is an increasing challenge for horticultural producers, particularly as concerns grow around agrochemical contaminants in irrigation return flow. In this Grow Pro webinar, participants will learn how bioreactors can be used as a practical, cost-effective tool to reduce agrochemicals in agricultural production water. The session will explore how woodchip-based bioreactors work, how microbial communities drive contaminant breakdown, and strategies to improve system effectiveness and startup time. Attendees will gain insights into how these technologies can help protect operations, comply with regulations, and improve long-term water quality.

Understanding how temperature drives plant growth and root and shoot development is key to managing crop timing, plant height, and overall crop quality. This webinar breaks down key concepts including average daily temperature (ADT), DIF, and crop-specific base and optimal temperatures – and how growers can use that information. We’ll also explain how temperature management strategies affect plant height, flowering time, crop quality, and energy costs for heating, and provide simple ways to apply these concepts in production settings. Using real-world grower examples and university-backed recommendations, we’ll help you make confident, cost-effective temperature decisions for your floriculture crops.

Water sanitation plays a critical role in managing root diseases and conserving water in floriculture production, but effective treatment goes beyond simply sterilizing irrigation water. In this Grow Pro webinar, Dr. Paul Fisher will examine how common water sanitizing agents interact with beneficial microbes used to promote root health. The session will also explore water treatment system design considerations that help balance pathogen control, microbial compatibility, and long-term crop performance. Attendees will gain practical insights into building integrated water management strategies that support both plant health and beneficial microbes.