Michigan Greenhouse Pioneer Andy Mast Passes Away
August 8, 2023 Andy Mast, the founder of Andy Mast Greenhouses in Michigan, passed away in July. Born in The Netherlands and emigrating as a child with his parents, Andy grew up in the greenhouse business. After a brief stint in the Navy, he went into partnership with his father Neal, and after five years, formed his own business, Andy Mast Greenhouses.
View all
The team at Andy Mast Greenhouses sent the following statement:
“Andy left a remarkable footprint on the greenhouse industry over the years. Known for growing annual and bulb crops, he grew his business into an industry leader. Easter lilies were his favorite crop and a passion for him.
It was the challenges with growing lilies that led him to be a pioneer in the industry. The biggest was the pioneering and development of DIF (the differences between day and night temperatures) with Michigan State University researchers Dr. Royal Heins and his Ph.D. student John Erwin. DIF was remarkably effective at controlling height on Easter lilies, leading to higher quality lily production. DIF is now used as a practical growing method to control height on crops worldwide.
Andy was also a pioneer in the use of gibberellins, a plant hormone, first primarily with Easter lilies for the prevention of lower leaf chlorosis and subsequently as a promoter of stem elongation on short plants of many species.
Andy never shied away from doing production experiments. Everything he did was full force. If he believed it would work, he did it. He lived his life that way. Everything he did, he liked to do it big. Whether it was work or his hobbies, he went all out. His loud gregarious laughter will be missed. People who knew him will understand the sadness of his loss.”
“I will always remember Andy’s laugh. . . . it was contagious. Besides that, Andy was always willing to experiment and try new things. It would not be an overstatement to say that the concepts of DIP/DROP – cool morning temperature drops to reduce stem elongation that are used by many growers – came about because of Andy’s observations on Easter lilies in his greenhouse,” says John Erwin, Professor and Chair, Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture at the University of Maryland. (here’s a link to learn more).
Contributions in his memory may be made to David’s House Ministries or Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. If you knew Andy, please offer any reflections in the Comments section below, or email [email protected], and we can share them with Andy’s family.
Subscribe to eNewsletter
