Southeast Missouri State University’s Charles Hutson Horticulture Greenhouse recently became the first retailer in Cape Girardeau to be certified by Proven Winners, a brand composed of leading plant propagators around the world.
The certification makes Southeast one of only two retailers in the southeast Missouri region to hold the designation. Greenhouse manager Melissa LaPlant said the certification will bring in more customers and generate more sales. “It also gives us a higher level for professionalism,” LaPlant said. “It further opens a door for the students in horticulture.”
The Charles Hutson Greenhouse is an on-campus facility that provides experiential learning and student entrepreneurship through commercial plant production and retail sales. It is the largest student-run production greenhouse in the country.
The greenhouse facility grows Poinsettias, Chrysanthemums, All-American Selection Plants, Annuals, Perennials, Shrubs, Houseplants, Vegetables, and Herbs. It also conducts a Syngenta Mum trial each year and is home to one of the state’s largest collections of Amorphophallus (Corpse Flower).
Thanks to its certification, Southeast’s greenhouse qualifies for further training from Proven Winners, LaPlant said.
“It is a resume builder, and it helps keep the students up to date on new cultivars coming to the market from Proven Winners,” LaPlant said, “and it can further their education about certain plants.”
Read the complete article at www.news.semo.edu.
For more information:
Proven Winners
111 E Elm St Ste D
Sycamore, IL 60178
www.provenwinners.com