Seed to Sales

Peppered throughout Northeast Ohio are 10 Petitti Garden Centers that are bursting with color and beckoning gardeners, thanks to the devoted team at Casa Verde Growers in Columbia Station, Ohio. Now in its 54th year, the Petitti family has poured their heart and soul into the garden retail market. And for 30 years, they’ve supplied Ohio gardeners with high quality annuals, perennials and tropicals grown at Casa Verde.

Led by Head Grower and General Manager Todd Metevia, Casa Verde encompasses 35 acres of covered production space. There are different types of greenhouse structures on the property, filled with both branded and non-branded plants that are trucked to the Petitti’s 10 stores, all within a 60-mile radius. During the spring rush, some 20 semi-trucks a day leave Casa Verde. Each store may get two to three shipments per day, seven days a week in May, Metevia says.

This year marks Metevia’s sixth spring at Casa Verde and more than 30 years in the horticulture industry. When he began working for the Petitti family, he was struck by their passion for plants and how that mindset spills over into the production side of the business.

He also appreciates how much control the growing facility has, as about 95% of what is sold at the retail centers is produced in-house. Metevia and the rest of the production team start most of the plant material, focusing primarily on vegetative propagation, although some plants start as seedlings.

“We control the entire system ourselves, from seed to sales,” Metevia explains. “We buy the cuttings, grow the material and ship it, so the entire process is in our control. It gives us a good advantage.”

Casa Verde grows flats up to 20-inch combo pots. Quarts make up the majority of production, with close to a million grown annually. “But the driving force is our baskets,” he adds.

Production schedules

Casa Verde focuses mainly on vegetative propagation. Most liner production times are 4 to 8 weeks, depending on the time of year.

“We have a robust perennial program. The liners are started in July, then planted in August and September. They are bulked up for a few months, then cooled down to 35°F to help with vernalization," Metevia explains. "Once the weather warms, we take them back outside in March. This space opens up perfectly for our annual production. The plants are built for the consumers’ success. They can take a beating, and they can take the cold. We’re not finishing them fast, and we’re not pushing them out the door. We’re growing them to get a good flower size and making them robust and hardy.”

   

IPM for quality

Metevia’s attention to detail and commitment to quality are entrenched in his integrated pest management programs. His approach is solid, but not complicated. It starts with the basics like sanitation and crop layout.

“Knowing your crops is number one when it comes to plant health,” Metevia says. “Knowing where your suspect crops are, that’s always key. We try to group challenging crops together. For example, anything that might be susceptible to spider mites or powdery mildew magnets. When those are grouped together, it’s easier to monitor and treat.”

His crew also scouts and uses sticky cards throughout the greenhouse ranges for monitoring pests. Communication is paramount to tracking and stopping any outbreaks.

“We have a pretty rigorous communication program, whether it’s grower to grower, or grower to me. They’re constantly communicating what they’re seeing, how they’re treating for it and what’s working,” he adds.

In terms of sanitation, one of Metevia’s top concerns is keeping weeds in check to prevent pests and diseases from entering the production areas. During active production, tools are sanitized with peracetic acid. Between crops, trays, bays and floors are sanitized.

Most of Casa Verde’s disease management programs are preventive. “We’re pretty aggressive, especially during propagation. If you get a good liner to start with, then your problems are less as you go on through production. So, we tend to take the preventive approach.”

Plant health programs sometimes need to be tweaked to be successful.

“Two years ago, we really looked at our liner program to make sure we were using the right chemistries. And we were always having issues with calibrachoa, mainly root rot and especially pythium. So, we changed our program and we added Empress^® [Intrinsic^® brand fungicide] into the rotation as a final drench on liners before everything gets transplanted,” he explains. “For the last two years, we’ve had very little loss. Our yields have gone up quite a bit — even by 10% or 20% on some of the problematic crops.”

Metevia has also consistently used Pageant^® Intrinsic brand fungicide as part of the rotation as a broad-spectrum product and with “great results,” he says.

The Casa Verde team uses Aveylo^® fungicide as a spray application on dahlias, which is a “substantial” crop.

“Dahlias are a magnet for powdery mildew. We added Avelyo to our rotation last year and we were much cleaner. It’s going to stay in our program. We love it,” he says.

Casa Verde grows a large crop of vegetable transplants, and the crew applies Ventigra^® insecticide to that crop. It’s one of the few insecticides labeled for vegetables, Metevia says, and that is used early in the crop cycle for aphids and whiteflies.

“Ventigra has some translaminar properties, so it’s great for pests that may be hiding on the other side of a leaf,” he explains.

Metevia stresses the importance of rotating modes of actions and active ingredients.

“When you rotate modes of action, you’ll have a greater success of knocking down those pests,” he says. “Ventigra is a group nine, and there aren’t too many group nine insecticides, so that’s another reason it’s been good for us.”

Metevia receives a lot of support from Kimberly Noffke, his BASF sales representative, and she was instrumental in getting him to try some of those new products.

“She is awesome. She really takes care of us. When I told her we were struggling with powdery mildew on dahlias and with aphids on some calibrachoa, she listened. Then she did some research and came back to me with some proposals and suggestions. It’s been really helpful having a good partnership with them. And the BASF team in general provides really good support. If Kimberly isn’t able to figure out something, she can run it past some of the technical staff to help figure things out.”

From robust communication to a reliable IPM program, Casa Verde Growers helps power the Petitti promise of quality, selection and service.