Labor costs lead the list of concerns keeping Top 100 growers up at night. Of the 101 floriculture and ornamentals growers who responded to Greenhouse Grower’s Top 100 Growers Survey for 2020, 78% indicated they’re concerned about labor expenses, and 56% said they are anxious about the availability of skilled labor. This is undoubtably driving Top 100 Growers’ investment in technology, as cost of labor and availability of skilled labor ranked just behind improved efficiency in the top three reasons growers say are prompting them to invest in automation, equipment, and structures this year.
Not surprisingly, growers reported they’re also worried about the economy and government regulations revolving around immigration, labor, and healthcare, and all this before COVID-19 worries hit the U.S. (the survey circulated prior to COVID-19 lockdowns). In the face of these challenges, growers are exhibiting the resilience they are known for and are retaining hope for a positive future. Fifty-six percent plan to build more on their current site in 2020, and 39% will increase production of plugs and propagation material, followed closely by 36% who will expand production of annuals in 2020.
The List
Total production space for the Top 100 Growers who made this year’s list totals 219,875,073 square feet of environmentally controlled production space. This is down 9,883,371 square feet from the 2019 report. Top 100 Growers account for around 26% of the 859 million square feet of covered area for floriculture crop production listed in the 2018 USDA Floriculture Crops report.
Several newcomers joined the Top 100 list this year:
- Silver Vase: #61
- The Perennial Farm: Tied for #65 with Harts Nursery and Plainview Growers
- Parks Brothers Farm: #93
- Hampshire Farms: #95
- Roseville Farms: #96
- Emerald Coast Growers: #97
- Pleasant Valley Farms: #98
Significant moves on the list of ten or more spaces include:
Introducing UNIQ, the New Face of Succulents Unlimited
- Plug Connection: #64 in 2019 to #30 in 2020
- Henry Mast Greenhouses/Masterpiece Flower Co.: #52 in 2019 to tied for #37 with Valley Flowers
- Silver Vase in 2020
- Plainview Growers: #81 in 2019 to tied for #65 with Hart’s Nursery and The Perennial Farm
- Baucom’s Nursery: #79 in 2019 to #69 in 2020
- Green Valley Greenhouses: #86 in 2019 to #74 in 2020
Check out the complete list below! (note: a * means this year’s square footage number is an estimate; M = certified by More Profitable Sustainability. V ; Veriflora certification)
| 2020 Rank | 2019 Rank | Name Of Operation | State | 2020 Total (Environmentally Controlled Square Feet) |
| 1 | 1 | Altman Plants | CA | 25,886,000 |
| 2 | 2 | Costa Farms (M) | FL | 15,028,200 |
| 3 | 3 | Kurt Weiss Greenhouses* | NY | 9,238,232 |
| 4 | 4 | Rocket Farms* | CA | 8,305,120 |
| 5 | 5t | Metrolina Greenhouses (M) | NC | 8,100,000 |
| 6 | 5t | Bell Nursery USA | MD | 7,400,000 |
| 7 | 7 | Seville Farms (M) | TX | 5,935,000 |
| 8 | 9 | Green Circle Growers (M) | OH | 5,250,000 |
| 9t | 10 | The Sun Valley Group* | CA | 4,000,000 |
| 9t | 13 | Speedling (M) | FL | 4,000,000 |
| 11 | 12 | Olson's Greenhouse Gardens (M) | UT | 3,792,000 |
| 12 | 14 | Milgro Nursery | UT | 3,500,000 |
| 13 | 11 | Coastal Greenhouses | NY | 3,310,560 |
| 14 | 15 | Dallas Johnson Greenhouses (M) | IA | 3,267,000 |
| 15 | 16 | Woodburn Nursery and Azaleas* | OR | 3,200,000 |
| 16 | 17 | Bela Flor Nurseries | MO | 3,049,200 |
| 17 | 18t | Smith Gardens (M) | WA | 3,000,000 |
| 18 | 18t | Matsui Nursery* | CA | 2,800,000 |
| 19 | 20 | Headstart Nursery* | CA | 2,682,000 |
| 20 | 21 | Wenke/Sunbelt Greenhouses (M) | MI | 2,657,160 |
| 21 | 22 | Aris Horticulture (M) | OH | 2,616,460 |
| 22 | 23 | Skagit Horticulture (M) | WA | 2,613,600 |
| 23 | 25 | Bergen's Greenhouses (M) | MN | 2,592,937 |
| 24 | 27 | Tagawa Greenhouse Enterprises | CO | 2,400,000 |
| 25 | 26 | Natural Beauty Growers (V) | WI | 2,381,000 |
| 26 | 29 | Battlefield Farms (M) | VA | 2,178,000 |
| 27 | 28 | N.G. Heimos Greenhouses | IL | 2,148,600 |
| 28 | 30 | Dan & Jerry's Greenhouses* | MN | 1,960,000 |
| 29 | 31 | Dewar Nurseries (M) (V) | FL | 1,901,745 |
| 30 | 64 | The Plug Connection | CA | 1,849,948 |
| 31 | 33 | Young's Plant Farm (M) | AL | 1,845,000 |
| 32 | 32 | Dan Schantz Farm (M) | PA | 1,814,381 |
| 33 | 34 | Riverview Flower Farm | FL | 1,785,960 |
| 34 | 35 | Plant Marketing* | WI | 1,770,279 |
| 35 | 36 | Lucas Greenhouses | NJ | 1,765,000 |
| 36 | 40 | Grower Direct Farms (M) | CT | 1,750,000 |
| 37t | 52 | Henry Mast Greenhouses/Masterpiece Flower Co. | MI | 1,740,000 |
| 37t | 38 | Valley Flowers* | CA | 1,740,000 |
| 39 | 41 | Ocean Breeze International* | CA | 1,614,000 |
| 40 | 42 | Westland Floral Company* | CA | 1,600,000 |
| 41 | 43 | Four Star Greenhouses* | MI | 1,598,801 |
| 42 | 44 | Rockwell Farms (M) | NC | 1,568,160 |
| 43 | 45 | Bailey Nurseries | MN | 1,560,754 |
| 44 | 46 | Post Gardens | MI | 1,527,000 |
| 45 | 48 | Willoway Nurseries (M) | OH | 1,510,000 |
| 46 | 47 | Kawahara Nurseries (M) | CA | 1,500,000 |
| 47 | 49 | Van Wingerden International (M) | NC | 1,481,040 |
| 48 | 50 | Sawyer Nursery | MI | 1,438,154 |
| 49 | 51 | Pineae Greenhouses, Inc. (M) | UT | 1,428,000 |
| 50 | 53 | Panzer Nursery | OR | 1,400,000 |
| 51 | 54 | American Color (M) | VA | 1,393,920 |
| 52 | 60t | Armstrong Growers/Pike Farms | CA | 1,350,600 |
| 53 | 55 | Corso's Horticulture (M) | OH | 1,312,932 |
| 54 | 56 | Garden State Growers | NJ | 1,306,800 |
| 55 | 57 | Richardson Brothers Greenhouses | IL | 1,300,000 |
| 56 | 58 | Kitayama Brothers | CA | 1,250,000 |
| 57 | 59 | Heartland Growers (M) | IN | 1,222,682 |
| 58 | 60t | Van de Wetering Greenhouses (M) | NY | 1,200,000 |
| 59t | 62t | Masson Farms of New Mexico | NM | 1,132,560 |
| 59t | 62t | Red Oak Greenhouse | IA | 1,132,560 |
| 61 | NR | Silver Vase, Inc. | FL | 1,100,000 |
| 62 | 66 | Bob's Market and Greenhouses | WV | 1,040,000 |
| 63 | 67 | South Central Growers (M) | TN | 1,030,354 |
| 64 | 37 | Nash Greenhouses | MI | 1,005,100 |
| 65t | 69 | Harts Nursery* | OR | 1,000,000 |
| 65t | 81 | Plainview Growers | NJ | 1,000,000 |
| 65t | NR | The Perennial Farm | MD | 1,000,000 |
| 68 | 71 | Dramm Echter Farms | CA | 900,000 |
| 69 | 79 | Baucom's Nursery | NC | 875,000 |
| 70 | 72t | Myriad Flowers International* | CA | 871,200 |
| 71 | 74 | Kube-Pak | NJ | 865,000 |
| 72t | 75t | Countryside Greenhouse and Farm Market | MI | 860,000 |
| 72t | 75t | White's Nursery and Greenhouses | VA | 860,000 |
| 74 | 86 | Green Valley Greenhouses | MN | 852,818 |
| 75 | 77 | Sedan Floral | KS | 852,135 |
| 76 | 70 | Petitti/Casa Verde Growers | OH | 840,000 |
| 77 | 80 | Botany Lane Greenhouses | CO | 835,000 |
| 78 | 83t | Kent's Bromeliad Nursery | CA | 800,000 |
| 79 | 82 | Olive Hill Greenhouses (M) | CA | 760,000 |
| 80 | 83t | California Pajarosa* | CA | 750,000 |
| 81t | 87t | Esbenshades Greenhouse* | PA | 740,000 |
| 81t | 87t | Plants Unlimited | MI | 740,000 |
| 83 | 92 | Fessler Nursery | OR | 734,000 |
| 84 | 93 | Pleasant View Gardens (M) | NH | 709,402 |
| 85t | 89t | Catoctin Mountain Growers | MD | 700,000 |
| 85t | 89t | Knox Nursery (M) | FL | 700,000 |
| 87 | 94t | Andy Mast Greenhouses | MI | 676,545 |
| 88 | 94t | Loop's Nursery and Greenhouses | FL | 650,000 |
| 89 | 97 | McLellan Botanicals Taisuco American Corp. | CA | 646,294 |
| 90 | 98 | Cuthbert Greenhouses | OH | 631,817 |
| 91 | 94t | Green Valley Floral | CA | 625,000 |
| 92 | 99 | Tidal Creek Growers | MD | 621,455 |
| 93 | NR | Parks Brothers Farm | AR | 609,840 |
| 94 | 100 | Micandy Gardens Greenhouse | MI | 605,000 |
| 95 | NR | Hampshire Farms, LLC | IL | 573,768 |
| 96 | NR | Roseville Farms LLC | FL | 560,000 |
| 97 | NR | Emerald Coast Growers | FL | 555,000 |
| 98 | NR | Pleasant Valley Farms | AK | 515,000 |
| 99t | 78 | Twixwood Nursery | MI | 500,000 |
| 99t | 65 | Welby Gardens Co./Hardy Boy Plants-Hardystarts | CO | 500,000 |
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2020 Greenhouse Grower Top 100 Ornamentals Growers: The Complete List
Janeen Wright is former Editor for Greenhouse Grower. See all author stories here.
Brian D. Sparks is Editor of Greenhouse Grower and GreenhouseGrower.com. See all author stories here.
Matthew Grassi ([email protected]) is a former Senior Editor for PrecisionAg® Professional, a Meister Media Worldwide publication. See all author stories here.
Rosemary O. Gordon ([email protected]) is Editor of Grower Programs and Events for Meister Media Worldwide. See all author stories here.
May 4, 2020 
