When Ken and Leah James opened James Greenhouses in Colbert , Ga. , in March 1998 , they were focus on one craw . The husband - and - wife team began their fellowship with a 10,000 - square - invertebrate foot greenhouse for the generation of hardy recurrent starter plants .
The greenhouses were but equip with unit heater and evaporative cooling pads . tight forwards 25 eld , and the company has expanded to over 3 acres of indoor vegetative propagation . The growing facility now operate with bench alluvion irrigation systems , programmable irrigation booms , under - bench hot body of water heating , and heated flooring .
Ken James is producing every hardy perennial starter industrial plant in Ellepots that do good from being grown in them , which is well over one-half of his production . These admit high - value plants and plant life with weaker crowns .
Hardy repeated vegetational propagator"From Day 1 , we wanted to be a hardy repeated vegetative propagator , " said Ken James . " That was our architectural plan . The bulk of our Cartesian product are vegetal immature plant , with about 2 percent propagated from seed . "
" We extend the stock perennial fare , let in veronica , lilac-colored , tick-weed , hosta , and genus Echinacea . We complement the perennials with a tropical flora programme that include Cannova seed - propagated canna lilies , Hollywood tropical hibiscus , and Royal Hawaiian colocasia . We also propagate Star Roses ' Drift and Knock Out serial publication and Heuger Gold Collection helleborus . "
James Greenhouses , which has been using Ellepots for over 10 yr , start with one Ellepot machine with no mechanisation . It is now operating two Ellepot motorcar equip with tray - filling automation and drill , dibbler , and irrigation whole .
Tropical plant programThe starter plant are sold through distributors to growers in the United States , Canada , and some Caribbean islands .
In addition to its young plant life multiplication , James Greenhouses produces about 2 million quart - sizing containers outdoors , which answer as liner and prefinished plants . There are 4 acre of spectre and 6 acres of full - sun outdoor product where large liners are maintain . The company also does some contract - ontogenesis of ruined crop . The ruined crops dovetail into the grower ’s be gravid liner production syllabus .
" We finish a yoke million works per year in principally pint- and quart - size container , " James say . " We broadcast those industrial plant as well , which are about half vegetative cuttings and one-half from tissue paper civilisation . We produce the finished pots for other growers in their potbelly for retail . "
Propagating in EllepotsJames Greenhouses does 100 percent of its own extension . Most of its young starter industrial plant are produce from vegetal slip and tissue paper refinement .
James Greenhouses produces about 10 million starter plants annually . one-half of those plants are propagated in Ellepots . Three Ellepot sizing are used . The 23 - millimeter Ellepot is used as a 105 - cell . The 30 - millimeter by 70 - millimetre is sold as its 72 - cell intersection . The companionship has also been experiment for a twain of season with a 70 - millimeter by 120 - millimeter Ellepot , which is like to an 18 - count or 4 - inch combining weight .
" We have been using Ellepots for over 10 twelvemonth , " James said . " We started with one Ellepot machine with no automation . We are now operate two dedicated machines equip with tray filling mechanisation and drill , dibbler , and irrigation unit . "
Ellepots in Air Trays produce flora with tooth root systems that are air travel - pruned and root branching in the trays . plant life roots do n’t circle around the tray cellular phone and do n’t become root - trammel like in conventional tray .
One growing mediumJames say one matter that has helped control success with Ellepots is using one growing culture medium for all heap sizes .
" Many cultivator are essay to streamline their operations , " he enounce . " We are essay to eliminate additional container size , growing media , and fertilizers so we do n’t have to stock up them . Over the last 10 yr , we have found that one Pindstrup growing medium works with all our crops and all our pot sizing . It works as well in a 105 - cell as it does in an18 - mobile phone . "
" Our end with the Ellepots is to allow for a uniform dirt complex body part with predictable soil chemistry . The consistency of the growing medium is everything when it issue forth to producing a calibre Ellepot . "
Pioneer Pots provide James Greenhouses with more vegetational cuttings per square substructure than any other stock configuration the company used previously . The pots provide very logical and rapid regrowth of stock plant branches once cuttings are glean .
identification number of starter plantsJames said the grounds the company started using Ellepots was because of the identification number of starter plant it produces from tissue paper civilization .
" tissue paper culture entrant plants require several grading footfall through the grow process , " he articulate . " While we rate at planting , we also grade at four weeks and at shipping . This is much easier and faster to do with the plant in Ellepots . "
" The Ellepot is a standard . There are other stabilise metier , but Ellepots make the most mother wit to us from a performance position . There is also an ecosystem around Ellepots . There is the manufacture equipment we have on - site that we ’re familiar with using , and it is well - supported . "
James said he is raise every harvest in Ellepots that would gain from being grown in them , which is well over half of his production .
" If it ’s a high - value input , it goes into an Ellepot , " he said . " If it ’s a industrial plant that has a weaker jacket crown , it give-up the ghost into an Ellepot . As we bring Modern products online , they are usually high - value perennials , and those are probable to go into Ellepots . "
Ken James said Pioneer Pots are ideal for caudex flora output because of their pot - in - tidy sum shape .
Air Trays improve rooting , shorten crop timeInitially , James Greenhouses was not using Air Trays with its Ellepots . It is now using Air Trays with all three sizes of Ellepots .
" When we took a hard look at the whole ecosystem of the trays , Ellepots , growing average , consistency , quality , damage in transit , and customer satisfaction , we earn that although they are n’t the least expensive option , Air Trays give us the most consistent quality and rank best performance , " James said . " The No . 1 thing we hear from our customers is Ellepots are one affair , Ellepota in Air Trays are another . The total is bang-up than the two parting . Ellepots in Air Trays signify a stem system that is air pruned and root fork in the tray . The roots are not circling and becoming root - bound like in established trays . The Air Tray grooves train the root to grow directly down toward the drain gob where they are air pruned . "
Because the radical in Ellepots and Air Trays are oriented down , the plant life root out more quickly once they are transplanted into a container .
" Another benefit of propagating in Ellepots and Air Trays is that plant life do n’t have as much transplant shock or passing due to tearing or damaging the plant crown when flora are remove from Air Trays , " James allege . " With Air Trays , there is a lot of air around the roots , and they are pruned so the cutting are not as besotted in the trays . plant come out of the trays easily without damaging the plants . "
James say growers who start with traditional rooted cuttings unremarkably need to disturb the roots in order for the root to start maturate and branching once they are transplant .
" For traditional heavily - root cutting that are transplanted into young wad without upset the roots , it ’s going to take about two week before those plants are actively turn and the roots colonise the new medium , " he said . " equate that to two to three days for plants coming out of Air Trays . The roots of plants transplant from the Air Trays are still actively growing and colonise the Modern spiritualist and pots very speedily . "
Pioneer Pots are ideal for pedigree plant productionJames Greenhouses is producing virus - indexed rose Malcolm stock plants in Pioneer Pots . The company plans to move its tropic hibiscus stock industrial plant into Pioneer Pots in 2024 .
" These are two big stock plant programs for which we harvest our own thinning , " James said . " Pioneer Pots are ideal for ancestry plant production because of their pot - in - mickle configuration . The exterior pot holds an home mesh pot off the ground , so the pots can be placed on any character of surface , including fabric , gravel , or concrete . The intimate good deal is not subject to sitting in puddle or standing water . The home bay window is mesh around the bottom and side , so there is etymon crop around the entire antecedent ball . "
" Pioneer Pots give us very uniform and rapid regrowth of the stock plant offset once cutting have been harvested . The plant continually fork and renew themselves . Pioneer Pots are giving us more cuttings per square foot than any other stock contour we have used previously . "
In addition to render very predictable development , Pioneer Pots make it easier for the company ’s employee to harvest the cuttings .
" Because Pioneer Pots elevate the stock plant off the ground , they are at a much more comfortable height to harvest the cuttings , " James say . " Pioneer Pots are very sturdy , and because of their retinal cone - work contour , the plants do n’t fall over or get knocked over . For the purpose of stock industrial plant output , I would n’t habituate anything else . "
For more information : James Greenhouses[email protected]https://www.jamesgreenhouses.com/
Blackmore Company[email protected]www.blackmoreco.comwww.air - trays.com
David Kuack , a freelancer technical writer in Fort Worth , Texas;[email protect ]
