Floral Best Practices: Ever-Bloom in the Spotlight

Floralife’s Spotlight Program is a series of articles about where cut flowers come from, the people who make it happen, and their floral best practices. Today, we check in on California grower Ever-Bloom. They shared with us the beauty of their flowers, as well as the production methods and sustainability efforts that have landed them in the Spotlight!

Ever-Bloom owner Ed Van Wingerden’s family has been growing flowers, in one form or another, since the 1700s! Ed and three brothers emigrated from Holland to California in the 1960s and, in 1979, Ed founded Ever-Bloom in Carpinteria, near Santa Barbara. Today, Ever-Bloom farms has 24 acres, of which 15 acres are gerbera and anthurium production. Ever-Bloom has the distinction of currently being the only Anthurium grower in the contiguous United States. And they claim to carry the “largest Gerbera assortment in America.”

As for best practices, its Ever-Bloom’s leveraging of technology and their sustainable practices – including a robust water management plan – that have drawn the attention of the Floralife Spotlight.

Best Practices: Technology – In Ever-Bloom’s 15 acres of greenhouses, they utilize a 600hp boiler that circulates hot water throughout. There are also dual shade and heat/energy curtains that automatically close to block out excessive sunlight or cold night temperatures as well as regulate humidity.

Best Practices: Sustainability – Ever-Bloom’s gerbera operation is entirely hydroponic, so water management is paramount. They were the first flower nursery in Carpinteria to implement a closed-loop irrigation system, where every drop of excess irrigation water is collected and recycled to be used again. This not only decreased their water use by over 40%, but enables them to keep all of their water on their own property with zero runoff.

For their sustainability efforts, Ever-Bloom received the Green Award for Environmental Excellence!

Floralife is proud to shine the Spotlight on the best practices of Ever-Bloom. And this is just some of the story. Check out the rest on the Floralife Spotlight page, and visit them on the web at www.ever-bloom.com!