R.I.S.E. to Support Floral Between May 15-June 30! Donate Now

Apply by March 1 for AFE’s Paid Floriculture Internships!

Internship applications for AFE’s Vic and Margaret Ball Intern Scholarship Program and the Mosmiller Intern Scholarship Program are due March 1.Completing one of AFE’s two floriculture and horticulture internship programs allows students to:Train at the industry’s top facilitiesDevelop critical skills, potentially improving employment opportunitiesGet diverse, hands-on paid experienceApply classroom knowledge to real and practical situationsStudents can jumpstart their careers with a life-changing experience in commercial floriculture production away from home with The Vic and Margaret Ball Intern Scholarship Program, made possible through a generous gift from Vic & Margaret Ball. This program offers paid internships for three, four or six months and provides scholarships of up to $6,000 upon completion.The Mosmiller Intern Scholarship Program honors the late Colonel and Mrs.…

Visiting Industry Leader & Internship Host Bell Nursery

AFE Executive Director Debi Aker meets with Bell Nursery employees at their corporate headquarters in Elkridge, Md. From left to right, Bell employees are Tom Wheeler, Kevin Titherington, Cole Mangum, CEO Gary Mangum, Joe Perret and Paul Chisholm.In the late 1920s, Rose and Grafton Mangum built a greenhouse at their Maryland home, an endeavor that grew into the booming enterprise that is now Bell Nursery. AFE recently visited Bell, the largest wholesale nursery grower in the mid-Atlantic based on production space, and got a taste for the company’s commitment to high-quality plants.AFE supporters since 2000, Bell Nursery exclusively supplies more than 100 million retail ready plants annually to The Home Depot. Bell’s plants are found in 200 Home Depot stores…

New Research Helps Meet Consumer Floral Desires

Report 453: Identifying Consumer Preferences for Essential Elements of a Flower ProductAFE and researchers from the University of Florida (UF) present compelling evidence about just how enticing and alluring flower fragrance is to consumers, among other scintillating findings, in three new consumer preference studies:Identifying Consumer Preferences for Essential Elements of a Flower Product, Report #453Consumer Analysis of Mixed Containers for Indoor Use, Report #455Identifying Consumer Preferences for Cut Rose Fragrances, Report #456In report #453, researchers aim for a better understanding of what flower buyers really want – color, shape, size, fragrance, etc.— to better meet consumer demands and increase sales, and the results show consumers overwhelmingly desire fragrance.“This study allows the industry to gain a better understanding of what consumers value…

Alluring and Murdering Thrips With New Research

A) Marigold guardian plant system in a test greenhouse. B) Thrips lure on sticky card (red arrow).AFE is still up to murder, sex and greed, this time with a new research report. In the report, scientists from the Entomology Research Laboratory at the University of Vermont (UVM) describe how they allured and then murdered western flower thrips through an inexpensive non-chemical pesticide system that is easy to use.Thrips are deadly for ornamentals, causing substantial economic loss by damaging flowers and leaves or transmitting plant viruses, and most chemical insecticides have proven to be ineffective at controlling thrips. Report #216: Formulations of Insect-Killing Fungi in Combination with Plant-Mediated Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Systems for Thrips describes an innovative strategy that uses…

Paul Ecke Jr. Scholarship Offers $10,000

Paul Ecke Jr.AFE is accepting applications now through Feb. 1, 2014 for the Paul Ecke Jr. M.S./Ph.D. Scholarship Program for graduate students who have the skills and passion to become the next noted floriculture researcher or educator. Applications are available online.The scholarship honors the late Paul Ecke Jr. of Encinitas, Calif., who made significant contributions to the floriculture industry and believed strongly in research and education. Ecke was concerned about the future of floriculture and recognized that innovative researchers and educators are necessary for the continued success of the industry.“The Paul Ecke Jr. Scholarship has assisted me in the effort to continue my education at Purdue University, where I am one step closer to becoming a future floriculture extension specialist…

2013 Edition 4 AFE Bulletin Highlights Latest News

The 2013 Edition 4 AFE Bulletin is out now.In this issue:Raising Awareness With a Sinister, Yet Successful, Story!Fundraising Dinner Nets $30,000Meet AFE’s New LeadersCongratulations 2013 Scholarship Recipients!Beat the Year-End ClockNew Study Provides Insight on Purchasing Barriers for Non-Flower BuyersAFE Memorial Tribute Established for Ed and Dorothy Niklas (electronic version only)Floral Plant Giveaway Aims to Boost Horticulture Enrollment (electronic version only)To receive future editions of the bulletin newsletter via email, please send your email address to email@afeendowment.org.

AFE Memorial Tribute Established for Ed and Dorothy Niklas

Ed was born into floriculture. In 1911, Ed’s father and grandfather became partners in Rahn and Herberts Greenhouses in Clackamas, which incorporated in 1922 as Clackamas Greenhouses, Inc. Ed met Dorothy in 1941 after graduating from the University of Oregon with a business degree. They were parted the next year when Ed enlisted in Officer Training School for the U.S. Marine Corps and spent the next several years in the Pacific Ocean theatre during World War II. He married Dorothy on his one stateside leave and was discharged in 1945 with the rank of Major. Eventually, the couple settled in Portland to raise a family that would grow to five children. In 1955, Ed purchased the half of Clackamas Greenhouses,…

Floral Plant Giveaway Aims to Boost Horticulture Enrollment

Volunteers prepare boxes with plants and labels.AFE and Altman Plants supplied plants to the Department of Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University for a Floral Plant Give-Away Project (FPGAP) intending to recruit new horticulture students.During the fall semester of 2012, lecturers Lee Ivy and Lis Meyer, Assistant Professor Julieta Sherk and Professor and Department Head John Dole, Ph.D., began the FPGAP to increase student interest in plants and raise awareness of horticulture as a viable career option.They distributed 715 plants of multiple varieties to undecided undergraduate students and support members of the school’s First Year College Program, as well as to students enrolled in introductory horticulture classes.“Students in the First Year College Program by definition are undecided about a…

AFE Elects New Leaders to Help Floral Industry Bloom

Gabriel BecerraAFE announced at its annual fundraising dinner on Sept. 19, 2013 the appointments of two new leaders: Gabriel Becerra as AFE’s new Chairman-Elect and Randy Tagawa as the newest Trustee.Golden Flowers’ President Gabriel Becerra begins his term as Chairman-Elect after serving as an AFE Trustee for the past seven years.“I think the Endowment is extremely fortunate that Gabriel is willing to take on this chairmanship”, current Chairman Paul Bachman said. “He is a highly-respected trustee and has had great success in helping the U.S. and Colombian floral industries work together for the common good.”Becerra has a long history of supporting the industry through committee work with the Society of American Florists (SAF), The Flower Promotion Organization (FPO), The Colombian…

Murder, Sex and Greed Make AFE’s 2013 Fundraising Dinner One to Remember

Teleflora Chairman and AFE Development Chairman Tom Butler (left) and AFE Chairman Paul Bachman (right) congratulate FTD, Inc. Executive Vice President Tom Moeller.Murder, sex and greed were on the menu for the 200-plus attendees of AFE’s 2013 fundraising dinner, held in conjunction with the Society of American Florists’ Annual Convention in Phoenix.In the animated eye-opening awareness video that debuted at the dinner, murder, sex and greed describe solutions AFE-funded research has unearthed, from controling and eliminating pests to solving breeding and genetic issues.“‘Murder’, ‘sex’ and ‘greed’ are not words normally associated with our industry – until now, and for good reason,” Charles Kremp, AFE Trustee and Public Relations Committee Chairman, said.This new video takes a bold and shocking approach to…

Get Involved with AFE

Make an Impact

Ways to Give

Volunteer With Us

Opportunities