Children of an earlier time did the monster mash. The Royer’s Flowers & Gifts Kids Club has an updated take on Halloween: spooky succulents.
The kids club is celebrating the season with its first virtual event, offering free take-home kits that will allow children ages 5 to 12 to decorate a Halloween tin with a succulent plant.
Kits include a tin decorated with a jack-o-lantern, mummy or Dracula; two-inch succulent; cellophane for lining the tin; instruction sheet with QR code linking to a video with assembly and plant-care tips; and a Halloween coloring sheet.
Kits must be reserved at royers.com/kidsclub while supplies last, limit three per family. In-store pickup of the kits will be available Oct. 19-24.
Royer’s is encouraging moms and dads to send photos of their child’s completed project to kidsclub@royers.com for sharing on social media.
Royer’s Flowers & Gifts will continue an annual tradition by collecting holiday cards and coloring pages for service members and veterans from Oct. 16 through Nov. 14.
Royer’s has partnered with the American Red Cross “Holidays for Heroes” program for more than a decade.
The Red Cross offers these guidelines for preparing cards:
Use generic salutations: “Dear Service Member” or “Dear Veteran”
Be thoughtful with messages, expressing reasons why you are thankful for the service members/veterans; if you have a personal connection, such as a family member who served, consider adding that
Try not to be overtly religious, but messages such as “Merry Christmas” or “God Bless You” are acceptable
Do not include inserts such as glitter, photos, business cards
Do not include personal information such as telephone number, address or email
Sign your name
The American Red Cross prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.
A Royer’s truck set out from Lebanon in early August on a 250-mile journey into the future of foliage plants.
The truck headed southwest on Interstate 81, its destination a 200-acre farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western Virginia, in the town of Stuarts Draft. On that farm lies a five-acre building that from above looks like nothing so much as a gigantic Lego piece (photo, below).
It’s a state-of-the art greenhouse where The Plant Co., which was birthed during the pandemic, is drawing on one family’s decades of floriculture experience and the latest technology in a quest to “reinvent the houseplant industry.”
Royer’s is the first florist to carry The Plant Co.’s products.
“It was amazing to see how many of our own people purchased the Proven Winners plants as soon as they came in,” said Cheryl Brill, chief operating officer.
CEO Tom Royer and Zach Barkman, wholesale manager, got to know The Plant Co. this spring when they attended the International Floriculture Expo in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. It was there that they met Jennifer Kuziw, The Plant Co.’s northeast sales manager.
Kuziw grew up and still lives in central Pennsylvania. She already was familiar with Royer’s and thought the two companies would be a good fit given their commitment to delivering high-quality products to customers.
Within weeks, she was showing product samples to Royer’s officials in Lebanon. Tom and Zach then visited the massive greenhouse in Virginia, which opened in 2020.
Tissue culture
“This is all great stuff,” Tom recalled upon seeing the plants.
Tom noted that in the past 30 years, mass marketers began offering foliage plants. Florida growers either catered to those customers, turning plants into mere commodities, or went out of business altogether.
The result was plants that weren’t as special as they once were. That left fertile ground for The Plant Co., the brainchild of founders and brothers-in-law Jason Van Wingerden and Frank Paul.
Just as four generations of Royers have made the family name synonymous with flower shops, the Van Wingerden family is deeply rooted in the greenhouse trade. It began with Aart and Cora Van Wingerden, who arrived from Holland in 1948 and started a greenhouse business in New Jersey, spawning many other similar enterprises.
Jason Van Wingerden, a grandson of Aart and Cora, worked at Green Circle Growers in Oberlin, Ohio, which Jason’s father started in 1968. Green Circle comprises 150 acres of indoor growing space, making it one of the largest greenhouses in the United States. Frank Paul was Green Circle’s former head grower of orchids.
The brothers-in-law settled on western Virginia for its climate, proximity to interstates 81 and 64, and high-quality well water, said Ben Wright, The Plant Co.’s national account manager.
The elevation in the Blue Ridge Mountains means warm days, cool nights and “good, consistent quality growth year-round,” Wright said.
The greenhouse (photo, above) is just a couple miles away from a Hershey Co. factory that makes Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
The Plant Co.’s products begin as tissue culture in test tubes, arriving from labs around the world, before they are rooted in soil in the greenhouse. Tissue culture makes the plants cleaner and less prone to disease.
Ease of care and use
The greenhouse’s 21-foot ceilings keep plants cooler, as do metal poles that are powder coated white to absorb less heat.
Thirteen layers of sand and gravel sit below capillary mats. Plants are watered from below through the mats, then the water drains back into holding tanks so it isn’t wasted.
Carbon dioxide from the greenhouse’s high-efficiency natural gas boilers is captured and pumped into the greenhouse to encourage plant growth.
The plants are promoted for their quality but also for their ease of care and use. The plants are sold with tags that include the variety name, genus and species and information about where to use them within a room and how to care for them.
The goal is to embolden consumers who haven’t had success with plants in the past.
“And so they kind of discover that green thumb,” Wright said.
Mike Rohrer, who joined the Ephrata store in January as a driver, was delivering flowers to a woman at the Brethren Village retirement community in Lititz.
“It’s my birthday,” the woman said expectantly, “and you’re going to sing to me, aren’t you?”
“I said, ‘You bet I am!” Rohrer recalled. “How could you pass that up?”
Singing birthday greetings has become Rohrer’s calling card.
Rohrer, 66, was born and raised in Manheim, Lancaster County. He spent 32 years as a Christian school administrator, first in Lititz and recently in southern Maryland.
The pandemic prompted him and his wife, Becky, to move to Ephrata and closer to family. They have three grown children; they are “Mimi” and “Poppy” to six grandchildren.
It was Becky who spotted the Royer’s job opening.
“She said, ‘I think you’d really like this job,’“ Rohrer said. “And you know what? She was right. I love the job.”
Rohrer has made it his mission to deliver kindness to customers along with rose bouquets. Of course, challenges exist, from slow traffic (including horse and buggy travelers) to hard-to-find house numbers to growling dogs.
But that doesn’t deter Rohrer.
“There’s a little verse in the Bible that says something like this: Be kind to one another,” Rohrer said. “And on any given day, I’m going to meet people who maybe have had a bad day. Maybe they’ve had a good day. Maybe they have health problems. Maybe they have financial problems. Maybe there’s problems with their families.
“I look at it as kind of a ministry to try to help meet their needs by making them have a good, fun day,” he said.
Rohrer works approximately 30 hours per week, typically making 20 to 25 deliveries each day.
‘It’s somebody’s birthday’
On a recent Tuesday morning, his first shift comprised five stops in Ephrata. First, he pulled up alongside parked cars on a narrow street, turned on his flashers, and slid the side door open. No one was home to accept the snack basket.
The second stop took him to Elite Coach, a charter bus company, where he delivered a Tranquility arrangement to a woman in the office. Next, he brought mixed flowers in a vase to a woman who said she was celebrating her 42nd wedding anniversary.
“Hey, I’ve got you beat,” Roher said in fun. “This year’s my 46th!”
The fourth stop brought him to a neighborhood where many of the streets are named after American presidents. This recipient lived on Garfield Drive.
The typed printout on Mike’s clipboard noted that it was a birthday delivery. Lest there be any doubt, “B-DAY” was handwritten and circled in pink highlighter.
“It looks like it’s somebody’s birthday,” Rohrer said to the woman answering his six knocks on the door. “Is it your birthday?”
“It’s my birthday, thank you!” she said, accepting the Jewel arrangement.
Lisa Birkholz of South Lebanon Township, Lebanon County, always is eager for autumn.
“Fall’s my favorite time of year,” she said.
And with even more reason this year. Her submission in Royer’s Flowers & Gifts’ annual name-the-arrangement contest – “Fall Hues” – was selected as the winner among more than 500 online entries.
Kathy Kissling’s entry “Fall’s Delight” (one of six she contributed overall) was the runner up. Birkholz and Kissling, also of South Lebanon Township, each will receive the all-around arrangement (retail value $34.99) as their prize.
The arrangement features an autumnal color palette: lavender glass vase, orange rose and orange carnations, purple statice, red alstroemeria, sunflower. It measures 14 inches high and 11 inches wide.
The arrangement will debut this fall and will be available in all stores and as part of Royer’s direct-ship program serving the Lower 48 states.
The outcome of last year’s Royer’s Flowers & Gifts Kids Club birthday card design contest was bittersweet for Emily Rivera.
Emily is entering third grade in Lancaster County.
She was happy for her older sister, Allison, who submitted the winning drawing. But Emily had entered the contest, too. Her parents, Debbie and Angel, explained that there could be only one winner.
And this year, that winner is Emily, who dropped off her entry on her ninth birthday, at the Royer’s Lancaster West store. Emily, whose family lives in East Lampeter Township, Lancaster County, will be a third-grader at J.E. Fritz Elementary School.
“She loves to read,” her mother said. “She enjoys math.” With the help of a friend, Emily learned how to turn a cartwheel this year.
Emily’s winning entry (featuring flowers and the message, “Have a beautiful birthday”) will adorn the electronic card that kids club members will receive on their birthdays in the coming year. Her prize is a flower delivery.
Congratulations to Emily and thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s contest. We hope to see your entries again next year, so keep drawing!
Meanwhile, the Royer’s Kids Club is free for children ages 5 to 12. Parents may register their children at any Royer’s store or at royers.com/kidsclub. Kids club benefits include a membership card, online activities, a quarterly e-mail newsletter, contests and events.
If hot summer weather doesn’t make you yearn for fall, then Royer’s Flowers & Gifts’ annual name-the-arrangement contest surely will.
The new all-around arrangement features an autumnal color palette: lavender glass vase, orange rose and orange carnations, purple statice, red alstroemeria, sunflower. It measures 14 inches high and 11 inches wide.
The arrangement has a product number, but Royer’s is asking for help with a name.
One winner and one runner-up will be selected from entries received by Royer’s and its sister company in Columbus, Ohio. Both the winner and runner-up will receive the arrangement (retail value $34.99) as their prize.
The arrangement will debut this fall and will be available in all stores and as part of Royer’s direct-ship program serving the Lower 48 states.
To view the arrangement and enter the contest, visit royers.com/contest. Limit one entry daily per email address, through Aug. 5.
The Royer’s Flowers & Gifts Kids Club is looking for its next birthday card design.
Children ages 5 to 12 are eligible to participate in the kids club’s annual design contest. The winner will receive a free bouquet delivery on his or her birthday.
The card is emailed to kids club members on their birthdays.
Entries must be dropped off by July 15 at any one of Royer’s 16 stores in Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon and York counties, including one Stephenson’s Flowers & Gifts location in Harrisburg.
To download an entry form (and to join the kids club at no cost), visit royers.com/kidsclub.
Daniel Lepp of Elm Family Flowers shows the height his sunflowers will reach by harvest time.
The promise of summer warmth and sunshine arrives in early spring at a 20-acre farm in the village of Penryn, Lancaster County.
It comes in a five-gallon plastic bucket via a package-delivery service. The bucket contains 100,000 seeds that will provide locally grown sunflowers to Royer’s customers from June to October.
“One seed equals one flower,” said Daniel Lapp, the owner of Elm Family Flowers.
Approximately a dozen years ago, Lapp called Royer’s CEO Tom Royer in search of a customer and has been supplying Royer’s stores ever since. The hybrid seed Lapp uses produces beautiful flowers that are also pollenless, which means they won’t leave a mess in someone’s home or draw insects.
Not only do sunflowers have a solar-like appearance, but they actually turn toward the sun while growing, a process known as heliotropism. It’s little wonder, then, that no other flower is more closely linked to summer.
It’s a vibe that customers also want in the doldrums of winter, which is why Royer’s offers sunflowers year-round, both loose and in 15 to 20 arrangements. Lapp harvests until the first frost in October, at which point Royer’s turns to a grower in Peru to fill its need until the next spring.
While the South American sunflowers are of high quality, it takes five or six days for a shipment to arrive. By contrast, Lapp is 20 minutes from Royer’s in Lebanon, shortening the amount of time from farm to customer and all but eliminating travel-related duress for the flowers.
“It’s very convenient,” Royer said. “They last a long time.”
In fact, Lapp’s sunflowers can provide customers with two to three weeks of enjoyment.
But growing sunflowers, like any crop, is wrought with plenty of challenges, mostly having to do with the variable of weather. Going into any growing season Lapp knows that 40 percent of his seeds are unlikely to germinate.
April 15 is associated with Tax Day, but it’s also a benchmark for Lapp’s farm: It’s when his first weekly sunflower planting begins. Six weeks in, this year’s first crop was rising in four rows of green splendor. But the second planting was yielding little.
Biggest challenge
“I probably didn’t even have 1 percent of them come up,” Lapp said, blaming cold, wet weather.
“Here’s the third (planting),” he continued, moving to his right. “This wider one is the fourth one. Here’s the fifth one; that’s coming up. The sixth one here practically didn’t come up at all yet because we didn’t have any rain.”
Lapp’s teen-age son James was working on the seventh planting under bright sunshine on a day when the high temperature was expected to reach the low 80s without precipitation.
“He’s trying to plant them a little deeper right now because it’s so dry,” Lapp said.
If spring can prove too cold or too wet, summer can deliver too much heat and too little rain. Germination is his biggest challenge, Lapp said, followed by the risk of cool, wet weather making the plants susceptible to a fungus called botrytis.
The farm (it also grows vegetables and is certified organic) grows sunflowers on one and a half to two acres. A walk-behind precision seeder opens the soil, plants a seed and covers it.
Lapp with the precision seeder used to plant 100,000 seeds in a growing season.
The goal is to plant the seeds a half-inch deep, but that will be adjusted to one inch in the summer if necessary to protect the seed against heat and get it closer to moisture.
But Lapp must be careful not to put the seed too deep in the ground as a heavy rain can pack the soil so hard that the seed can’t come up. Heavy rain followed by sunshine can turn the soil into a crust.
If germination is light, those seeds that do come up tend to be taller with thicker stems because they have more room to grow.
“Which sometimes a bunch of five you can’t even hold in one hand, which isn’t ideal,” Lapp said.
Wetter weather produces taller, fatter stems; if the weather is drier, stems are shorter and thinner. Thick stems can take up too much space in a bouquet, and the flowers can get too big.
A stem with a half-inch diameter is ideal, Lapp said. For Royer’s, his only sunflower customer, he bands them in bunches of five, 12 to 15 bunches to a bucket.
Germination and weather also determine the quantity of the crop.
Harvest time
“Once we’re harvesting, I report to (Tom Royer) every week to give him an idea what I’m going to have the next week,” Lapp said.
As much as they try to coordinate supply and demand, Lapp said Royer’s has accommodated fluctuations.
“Tom’s been really good at moving them,” Lapp said. “If we get a flush of them, he’ll try to run a sale or a special” to help move the excess inventory.
Come harvest time, Lapp first strips the mature plants of their leaves. Then he cuts the stems with a sickle until he has five in one hand.
If sunflowers are an embodiment of sunshine, banding them is a time for his son to shine.
“James is pretty good with the harvesting part of it,” Lapp said against the backdrop of the clicking precision seeder, which James is operating.
“He’s figured out a way to get that rubber band on his hand before he reaches for the sunflowers,” Lapp said.
Father and son pile the banded sunflowers in the paths between each planting until they are finished with each harvest.
The sunflowers will be moved to buckets filled with water until later that day or the next one when Royer’s makes one of its three weekly pickups throughout the season.
We see them just about everywhere around this time of year in hanging baskets, patio pots and arranged beautifully in garden beds. Annual plants, such as petunias, geraniums and begonias to name a few, complete their life cycle within a years’ time. Being both fairly easy to care for and their ability to look stunning all season long, annuals are perfect for any gardener, with or without experience.
During the pandemic many novice gardeners picked up the hobby of gardening though annual plants, transforming their garden space into a blooming oasis. Continue reading if you are new to these beautiful outdoor plants and would like a few care tips or would like to learn more about them.
LIGHT
Most annuals require full sun, at least six to eight hours daily. Annuals that thrive in the sun include geraniums, petunias and marigolds.
If partial shade is an option or necessity based on where you want to place the flowers, good varieties include begonias, impatiens, fuchsia and coleus.
WATER
Annuals don’t have deep roots because they focus on producing flowers. Be aware of outside conditions such as heat, direct sunlight and wind which can dry the soil out quickly.
Most annuals like soil that is slightly or evenly moist two to three inches down. A rule of thumb is that when the soil is dry one inch below the surface, its time to give the plant water.
The lush foliage of some annual plants can make it difficult for water to make its way down to its roots, so do more than “sprinkle”, water deeply.
When container gardening, check often for water and use containers with drainage holes.
NUTRIENTS
Container plants don’t come in nutrient-rich soil, rather a potting mix including peat moss. Providing your plants with a water-soluble fertilizer on a weekly basis, whether in the garden or in a container will help to make the plant as beautiful and healthy as possible.
NEW GROWTH
Sometimes annuals benefit from a bit of “refreshing” during the heat of the summer. Just pick or trim tired blooms and give them some water-soluble fertilizer and they’ll spring back.
By following these steps, you will be sure to enjoy healthy, vibrant annuals all summer long.
