The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on greenhouses and florists, many of whom don’t qualify for government aid, forcing them to throw away stock and scale back production
Len Vander Lugt, president and owner of Aldershot Greenhouses Ltd., is photographed amongst some of the Cho roses the company grows, on May 13, 2020.Len Vander Lugt will never forget March 15. One after another, customers cancelled orders for thousands upon thousands of miniature roses. Employees, anxious over the spread of the novel coronavirus, began to grow frightened about coming to work.
Mr. Vander Lugt estimates that over two months, Aldershot Greenhouses tossed $1-million worth of its signature roses onto a compost pile. In a discussion with a local councillor, he explained the scale of the disaster. Some of the farmers that specialize in annuals, biennials, perennials and other fast-growing bedding plants scaled back production.
“When it comes to business benefits, we often fall through the cracks,” Mr. Currie says. “We need easy risk-management programs to be in place. There is no safety net for us.” He did only about half as much business as usual for Mother’s Day. He gave as many potted mums and calla lilies as he could to churches, health care workers and seniors. The rest he composted. He estimates the loss at $250,000.
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