US: This Ohio greenhouse is taking cues on growing orchids from the masters

Along with its windmills, and canals, Holland holds a title as the reigning capital of the flower world. But the greenhouse expertise of the Dutch is now helping to make a US-based grower a powerhouse in its own right. And it isn’t in California or Florida.

Green Circle Growers is in Oberlin, Ohio, about 40 minutes from Cleveland. It is a huge operation, with nearly 700 employees and 100 acres of greenhouses. The facilities are state-of-the-art, and about five years ago, the company shifted a big part of the business toward orchids.

“We probably invested a total of $50 million,” says Scott Giesbrecht, Green Circle's director of sales and marketing. “It’s a 25-acre project, and we are currently the biggest orchid grower in North America at this point.”

Ohio actually has a few things going for it as an orchid hub. For one, the state’s moderate temperatures are perfect for growing orchids, as it's cheaper to heat the finicky flowers than to cool them.

And Ohio is well-placed for shipping to the US and Canada. Green Circle supplies about 110,000 orchids a week to customers like Home Depot and Walmart in both countries.

Giesbrecht says they’ve worked with Dutch experts to create a global business in small-town Ohio. Much of the machinery and expertise in Green Circle's orchid operation is Dutch, but the business actually involves 13 countries. Orchid genetics, for example, are perfected in Taiwan. Green Circle’s plants start in Europe.

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