Metrolina Greenhouses INC

We’re excited to share that Plant Partners has become part of Metrolina Greenhouses! Together, we’ll deliver even more value, innovation and quality plants and services to our industry colleagues, retail partners and gardening consumers. Welcome, Plant Partners - Metrolina Greenhouses Community! Plant Partners, formerly a separate retail merchandising services company that celebrated 20 years of merchandising excellence in 2024, officially joined Metrolina Greenhouses at the beginning of this year. The Plant Partners LinkedIn page will soon merge with ours, and we’re thrilled to welcome new followers. We’ll continue sharing updates, industry news and insights from our expanding team. Stay connected with Metrolina Greenhouses for all things green and growing! #metrolinagreenhouses #plantpartners #team #retail #horticulture #floriculture #plants #flowers #grownfreshforyou

The Metrolina Greenhouses team is deeply saddened by the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene across the southeastern United States. While our facilities in York, SC and Huntersville, NC were unharmed, our priority has been ensuring the safety and well-being of our team members, particularly those based in Western North Carolina and South Carolina, where the impact has been greatest. Additionally, with the VanWingerden family roots right in Fletcher, NC, near some of the hardest-hit areas, this storm feels personal to us. Although our extended family’s facilities there were spared, we’re also concerned for other greenhouse operations and horticultural businesses affected by the storm, and we are working with them already in the unique ways greenhouse operators can help each other. We are also working closely with our retail partners and local organizations to provide immediate relief in the affected communities across North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. Many of our Metrolina team members have already donated time, resources, and money this week with their local churches and community organizations, or by going into the impacted areas to help family and friends. We are thankful for them, and as you can imagine, their personal stories are both gut-wrenching and heartwarming. Our Metrolina Community Outreach team has begun organizing donations to key groups in the local community, and we are also supporting donated goods to local drop-off points, including the Lake Norman YMCA in Cornelius, NC, and Liberty Church in York, SC, which are collecting supply donations. At Metrolina, we stand with those affected by Hurricane Helene and we are committed to helping our communities rebuild. We are grateful for the generosity of our team and neighbors. More to come as we know this sudden event has created long-term need and commitment from our team, our company, and our family. #hurricanehelene #disaster #disasterrelief #team #family #horticulture #floriculture #rebuild #business #onemetrolina 

Happy National Intern Day! (+2 days) Another year full of eager students and graduates who are dedicating their summers or up to one year toward learning more about horticulture and pursuing career paths that might interest them. Our interns are placed throughout many different departments in the greenhouses including Horticulture, Marketing, HR and Operations. Metrolina partners with several different programs such as Lake Norman Economic Development, CAEP and Ohio State University International Agriculture. It is a melting pot of cultures and backgrounds. We have the opportunity to host international students from Philippines, South Africa, Dominican Republic, Brazil and Nicaragua, who bring unique perspectives and innovative ideas from their home countries. A majority of our interns are located domestically, attending a number of colleges from within North Carolina, such as Appalachian State, NC State and UNC, to out-of-state at Auburn, Clemson, University of Florida and University of Tennessee, to gain valuable industry experience. We are grateful for our managers and mentors who have taken these interns under their wings and shown them the ropes, while creating an environment where they can learn and contribute! #nationalinternday #internday #interns #OneMetrolina #metrolinagreenhouses #seedyourfuture #careers #jobs #internships #northcarolina #team #cultivate #culture #diversity #students #college #internationalstudents

Congratulations to Growmentum for receiving Greenhouse Grower's Medal of Excellence for Technology of the Year at AmericanHort Cultivate'24! We're proud to work with innovative, enterprising partners like you. Thanks for your contributions! #innovation #business #labor #greenhouses #horticulture #floriculture #technology #ingenuity #partnership #cultivate24

GrowerTalks asked this year’s Young Grower Award finalists how they balance work and life in this industry. Read their essays (including one from Metrolina's own Horticulture Director Carleton Stuecker) here! Congratulations to Carleton Stuecker and all the nominees, and thank you to GrowerTalks and Jennifer Zurko for this thought-provoking series of essays! #growing #careers #greencareers #horticulture #floriculture #greenhouses #team #nextgeneration #leaders #industry #balance #business https://lnkd.in/g-T_BXjt

On June 6, more than 200 members of the horticulture industry visited Metrolina Greenhouses’ 2024 Trial Gardens. Representatives from plant breeding companies, live inputs brokers, hard goods vendors and various members of the allied trade observed how well new plant varieties perform in minimal care, home garden conditions in the North Carolina climate. More than 2,000 varieties are planted each year in the 3-acre gardens. The trial process is essential for observing new genetics for improved plant breeding, and introducing new plants to the market. The Metrolina Greenhouses Research & Development team trials upwards of 15,000 every year in public and private trials. The following day, June 7, Metrolina Greenhouses opened the trial gardens to approximately 500 home gardeners for our general open house and Home Garden Panel consumer research focus groups. We provided four flags to each visitor, asking them to mark their favorite items in the garden. This consumer feedback also helps to inform our variety selection process, so we can grow the plants home gardeners like best and bring them to market! All in all, it was a great and rewarding week - one that the Metrolina team looks forward to every year. This week, we're analyzing data and developing reports to provide insight to our internal teams and retail and industry partners. Onward! #trialgardens #metrolina #grownfreshforyou #industry #consumers #gardening #horticulture #floriculture #greenhouses #plants #flowers #june #spring #northcarolina #MetrolinaGreenhouses #southerngardentour

We're thrilled to be listed among the Top 100 Growers in Greenhouse Grower magazine's annual ranking of the largest controlled environment greenhouse operations in the United States. The industry continues to evolve, with many changing dynamics at play. Metrolina Greenhouses is honored to be included among the most innovative growers in the business. Thanks to Greenhouse Grower, and of course to our team, partners, vendors and customers for all of their contributions to our success. Check out the full ranking and story here: https://lnkd.in/e6RDUbj3 #floriculture #horticulture #business #greenhouses #controlledenvironment #cea #plants #flowers #industry

Nice piece in the local press this week from WBTV and its QC Life program. The segment provided an overview of Metrolina Greenhouses for its "Made in the Carolinas" feature, showing local residents how and where ornamental plants are produced in their own backyard! We enjoyed our visit with reporter/videographer Brian Stephenson and appreciate the coverage! #community #news #press #PR #horticulture #floriculture #business #plants #flowers #greenhouses #local #jobs #sustainability https://lnkd.in/etCKZgJF

Hey #horticulture and #floriculture industry folks, just a reminder that if you plan to attend the Southern Garden Tour June 4-6 at Young's Plant Farm, Inc. and Metrolina Greenhouses INC, you need to register at each event at https://lnkd.in/ebxQfFF7. That's where you'll sign up for the event, along with lunches, etc. Thanks and we look forward to seeing you! #industry #events #plants #flowers

Plants and trees are crucial to using carbon dioxide and producing oxygen to help clean the air and improve the environment. But have you ever stopped to think about the practices used to produce them? Metrolina Greenhouses, one of the largest and most innovative wholesale greenhouse operations in the U.S., is observing Earth Day this year by highlighting the sustainability efforts it has in place and practices every day, and its ongoing commitment to Earth-friendly initiatives. #earthday #sustainability #growingpractices #horticulture #greenhouses #plants #flowers