This is part of our continuing coverage of the Farwest Show. This post concerns Day Two of the Farwest Show Tours, specifically, Tour 3, the New Plants Tour on Wednesday, August 22, 2012. Keep checking back for updates, or follow @FarwestShow on Twitter.
Our third tour stop this morning was at Woodburn Nursery & Azaleas, owned by Bob and Jean Fessler and their family. Although Woodburn Nursery and the Fesslers are known for many things, there’s one particular thing at which they are number one: florist azaleas. As production manager Brian Taylor explained to tour participants, Woodburn Nursery is the single largest grower of indoor florist azaleas in the United States. Those on the tour got a first-hand view of the nursery’s azalea growing operation. Each 6-inch pot takes 24 months to produce. The retail outlets that sell them to the end customer can buy them in one of two ways — either already blooming, or budded. The budded azaleas then can be forced by the retailer so they are in perfect condition to sell. Once it gets home to the customer, each florist azalea lasts about eight weeks — longer if the customer knows a thing or two about plants.
We’ll post some tour photos tonight at the Farwest Show Facebook page.
