Walters Gardens goes to Elle Plugs

In the maturing perennial market, it is vital for companies to find their edge, increase their efficiency and deliver superior products to remain competitive. Walters Gardens Inc. in Zeeland, Mich., has embraced the new technology of Elle Plugs to help do that.

In the beginning …

Five years ago, a representative from Blackmore Co., the exclusive North American representative for Elle Plugs, visited Walters to introduce a state-of-the-art patented propagation system. Though Walters was not looking to replace its plastic pots at the time, growers did want to find a more efficient system for propagating some varieties by cuttings that were particularly challenging. Ensuing trials in Elle Plugs for these varieties resulted in stands that were up to three times better.

After seeing the positive results of these trials, the excitement over Elle Plugs caught on like wildfire. If the results were this good with the most challenging varieties, would other crops perform just as well in Elles? Would they be cost-efficient? Could the automation-ready Elle Plugs lead to an automated propagation system? Walters growers answered yes to all of these questions.

Trialing times

Before making the switch from plastic pots and plugs to Elle Plugs, a number of important issues had to be resolved. Walters conducted extensive trials on plants and soils before making the switch.

To begin, they selected a group of plants to propagate and grow in various sizes of Elle Plugs. The Elles were grown alongside plants in plastic pots for comparison. Walters growers were very pleased to find that in all cases the plants grown in Elles performed as well as or better than those in plastic pots. The most notable observation from the trials was that the Elle Plug perennials finished up to 60 percent faster than plants grown in plastic pots.

Trial plants were followed through their normal production cycle to evaluate how the Elle Plugs would hold up long term after a dormancy and re-emergence in spring. As expected, they held their own all winter in the greenhouses and re-emerged just as well as plants in plastic pots in spring. Walters had trialed various thicknesses of Elle Plug paper, with the goal that the paper be thick enough to hold up in production but thin enough to degrade by the time the end consumer planted the finished product.

In-depth discussions between employees from every department took place to decide which sizes of Elle Plugs should be offered. After examining all of the trial plants and data collected, they settled on two sizes that compared to the plastic pots customers had grown accustomed to receiving: 65mm (20 per tray) and 50mm (30 per tray), and a new 35mm size that compared to competitors’ 72s. Extensive research and calculations on greenhouse space were also made when designing Elle Plug trays to be sure there was enough production space.

Walters decided to purchase the machinery required to produce its own Elle Plugs rather than buying them in from an outside supplier. Considering the enormous amount of Elles required for production each year, it was the most cost-effective option.

While working with the new machinery, it became apparent that the traditional bark-based growing media Walters had been using in plastic pots was not going to work for Elle Plugs. After trialing five growing media, they settled on a 70/30 mix of peat and perlite. It is trucked in from a supplier in Canada that formulates the mix and delivers it to Walters in compressed bales. The old bark-based mix used to travel twice the distance of the new 70/30 mix before it reached Walters and it could not be compressed, so more trucks were required to deliver the required quantity.

Topping off their extensive trials, Walters growers conducted a finishing trial to verify that the Elle Plugs were not only going to work for them but also for their customers, who typically pot Walters’ liners into quart- and gallon-sized containers. Those trials demonstrated that Elle Plugs were easier to transplant and the plants experienced less transplant shock than those transplanted from plastic pots. This allowed plants to establish and root rapidly in quart- and gallon-sized containers. Generally, 65mm and 50mm Elle Plug perennials took six to 10 weeks to finish in 1-gallon pots while 35mm Elles took eight to 10 weeks to finish in 1-gallon pots. This fast turnaround time is essential to Walters’ customers who are looking to move product quickly through their stores.

What the future may hold

Elle Plugs may hold the key to the future at Walters Gardens. As customers experience the Elle advantage with Walters’ new product line, plastic pots and plugs are becoming a thing of the past. Walters plans to expand its line of 35mm Elle Plug perennials as demand increases, and has begun to offer varieties that previously had only been available bare root in the larger 65mm Elles. Walters is also on the way to becoming an EasyScape Certified Grower for Ball Horticultural Co. The biggest challenge may be in educating customers about the new Elle Plug technology.

Benefits galore: It all boils down to the 3 E’s

Since the benefits of Elle Plugs far outweighed the challenges, Walters began full production of its 65mm, 50mm and 35mm Elles in spring 2007 for fall shipping. Walters’ customers have since experienced many of the same benefits as Walters has. It all boils down to the 3 E’s: Elle Plugs are Economical, Efficient and Environmentally friendly.

Elle Plugs are economical.

* Faster-finishing plants result in a quicker turnaround. Walters’ growing time has been notably reduced and fewer inputs are required to produce a salable plant. Customers’ finishing times are as fast or faster with Elles compared to product grown in plastic pots.

* More uniform crops of stronger, healthier plants result in fewer losses or markdowns.

* Earth-friendly Elle Plugs translate into lower costs and higher profitability for Walters and its customers. The Elles are priced at or even below the cost of the old plastic liners, enabling Walters and its customers to be more competitive in the market.

Elle Plugs are efficient.

* Elle Plugs are quicker and easier to transplant than traditional plugs.

* Elle Plugs are automation ready. They are suitable for mechanical transplanting. Walters uses the Rapid Versaplanter 4000 to transplant up to five trays of production-sized 105s per minute into larger Elle Plugs.

* Less disturbance to roots during transplanting results in faster-finishing plants.

* Walters created one streamlined process for making, dibbling, sticking or transplanting, watering, and sending the Elles back to the greenhouse for growing on. This saves space, time, labor and money.

* Compared to plants grown in plastic pots, plants in Elles are much easier to sort because they pop out of the trays with ease. Plants can be sorted up to twice as fast and with less physical stress on the wrists.

Elle Plugs are environmentally friendly.

* Biodegradable paper sleeves have taken the place of plastic pots, eliminating much of the waste associated with the plants. Before the switch to Elles, Walters shipped an average of 4 million plants in plastic pots annually.

* Elle Plugs fit into the sustainable production program at Walters since they require less growing time and fewer inputs to produce a salable plant.

* Elle Plug trays are recyclable. Walters is looking into the feasibility of a recycling program in which customers would return trays directly to the recycling company, postage prepaid.

* Not to be discounted is the feel-good factor. It makes people feel good to use Earth-friendly products and create less waste for landfills.

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- Susan Martin

Susan Martin is director of marketing communications at Walters Gardens Inc.; (888) 925-8377; www.waltersgardens.com.