Suntory Flowers Glams Up the Grammys

Suntory Flowers delivered beautiful blooms to the red carpet with Tu Bloom of Bloom Designs, Inc., the official botanical artist for the Grammys. The 65th Annual Grammy® Awards were held February 5th at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.Bloom chose rich, jewel tones inspired by Viva Magenta, the Pantone color of the year. A series of 24 large, raised planters lined the red carpet, filled with living plants beneath elevated lush, floral displays. “Senetti is the perfect plant for the magenta theme. We supplied 400 pots produced locally by Armstrong Growers,” says Delilah Onofrey, marketing director for Suntory Flowers in North America. “It was a great opportunity to showcase newer varieties – White Red Heart and Rose Glow. Tu also incorporated Rose Glow…

Uplifting Arizona Florists Through Continued Education

We are thrilled to announce the recipient of AFE’s 2023 Arizona Retail Florist Education Travel Grant – Renee’ Potter AIFD from Fred’s Flowers in Tempe, Arizona! “I am so excited to receive the Arizona Retail Florist Travel Grant! What a great opportunity AFE is providing for AZ florists to continue learning,” Renee’ said. The grant was established in 2017 to help give owners, managers, and employees of retail florists located in Arizona the opportunity to pursue continued education through national industry events. Funding for this grant originated from the defunct FTD District 8K with additional initial funding requirements coming from an Arizona floral industry member.Each year, AFE’s Education Committee selects a recipient to receive a grant of up to $1,000 to help…

Introducing Friends of Floral

Hello Floral Industry Friends,2023 is already in full swing and AFE's Board of Trustees & Staff are excitedly gearing up for a wonderful year of supporting floriculture. This year we are funding many vital floriculture resources, such as hosting a new personal leadership course for the Young Professionals Council, continuing our widely popular monthly Grow Pro Webinars, sharing the results from our Thrips & Botrytis Research Fund, and awarding over 30 Scholarships – just to name a few! All of this is possible because of the loyal support of our philanthropic donors that share AFE’s passion for the floral industry. Philanthropy is about truly caring for a specific industry and wanting to give back to ensure its future success. To better support all…

Memorial Tribute Established in Memory of Nicholas I. Paul

Being young (and perhaps idealistic), the Paul brothers decided if they were to spend their lives in the business they had inherited, they wanted to establish a more congenial working relationship among their competitors. Among many other challenges at the time, this was their mission.In 1986, Nick was instrumental in developing a trusting relationship with the company’s wholesaler partners resulting in a joint move of McCallum Sauber Florist Inc., A. Gude Sons, the Washington Florists’ Exchange, and Paul’s Wholesale Florist. Through keeping this collective together for the move, Nick was a part of preserving a 70-year tradition of doing business side-by-side. The original location of the wholesale partners on I Street in Washington D.C. had become difficult for in-person shopping…

Educational Grant Blooming at Mississippi State University

If there’s one thing we love to see, it’s our educational grants in action, educating and inspiring students. In 2022, AFE gave researchers at Mississippi State University an educational grant of $5,500 to start a cut flower garden on campus. This funding helped purchase perennial plants, gardening tools, and materials to create raised gardens with an irrigation system. MSU began work on the garden last Spring. Since then, they have installed 24 raised flower beds, established a drip irrigation system, placed weed barriers, and set up compost bins. In addition, they grew and evaluated 23 varieties of specialty-cut annual flowers as part of an experiment through the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers.  As the flowers grow, the MSU faculty have…

Memorial Tribute Established in Memory of Del Demaree

Under Del’s guidance, Syndicate was the first company to use barcode shipping to add a new level of transparency, accountability, and efficiency to the supply chain. Del also pushed Syndicate to become among the first in the industry to implement online ordering. In 1994, Syndicate began manufacturing floral preservative, Aquaplus, and floral foam, Aquafoam. Raised on farms in Michigan and then outside of Kokomo, Indiana, Del’s first taste of being an entrepreneur was when he sold chickens from the family farm door to door. During that time in the mid-’40s, Del’s father spent four days a week farming and three days on the road selling giftware to florists. It was around this time that the family business was born. During…

Memorial Tribute Established in Memory of Edward Seagroatt

Born in Troy, Ed was the son of the late Albert Seagroatt and Helen Brown Seagroatt. Ed was raised in Berlin, NY, and resided in the Capital District area all his life. He attended Avon Old Farms School in Connecticut and was a graduate of La Salle Institute in Troy, NY. Ed earned a degree in Ornamental Horticulture from the State University of New York at Farmingdale and later served in the Coast Guard. You may have driven with him in his prized 1934 Ford Cabriolet with the top down. You may have spotted him in town surprising someone with a bouquet of long-stemmed roses. Or he may have called you on your birthday, always remembering the date but too polite to mention the year. A natural optimist, Ed faced…

Protect Spring Crops from Ethylene

Protect Spring Crops from Ethylene Ethylene damages and kills plants and flowers. Ethylene is a naturally occurring wound hormone that causes leaf yellowing, leaf drop, bud drop, and reduced flower life. Ethylene gas is given off by dying, decaying, and dead fruits and vegetables. Also, plants and flowers produce ethylene internally as they age and when plants have undergone mechanical damage, such as vibration during shipping, drought, and heat stress. Damage to plants and flowers may be caused by ethylene in the atmosphere and from ethylene produced within the plant.  In severe situations, plants may not be marketable unless plants are treated with anti-ethylene products. You can protect your plants and flowers from ethylene. Today, several products are available from…

How to Get Involved and Volunteer with AFE

Did you know there’s a multitude of ways you can get involved with AFE? Volunteering not only supports vital floral industry programs – but also inspires networking, community collaboration, and leadership opportunities to help provide for the future.  The Endowment has been providing support for the industry for over 60 years, and we can use your help to keep going for the next 60 years and beyond! Why Volunteer With AFEAFE is the trusted source and catalyst for floriculture advancement through funding innovative research, scholarships, internships, and educational grants that best serve the dynamic needs and demographics of all industry sectors.  Through volunteer opportunities, you will get an inside look at how AFE makes an impact on our industry and a chance…

Celebrating AFE’s 2022 Research #Eras

Some of you may have seen people talking about their 2022 “Eras” on TikTok or other social media platforms. (By the way, AFE is on TikTok – follow us at @AmericanFloralEndowment) An era, in this sense, is a lighthearted and often humorous way to look at an important phase, event, or milestone that happened during the year. As we wrap up 2022 and look back on AFE’s research accomplishments, I thought it might be fun to put our own twist on this trend and share some of our standout #2022Eras.#InvestmentEra:AFE-funded university researchers, along with the help of highly talented graduate students, work with all segments of the floral industry to understand challenges and identify solutions in order to prepare for…

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