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New Nursery® Inc. |
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last updated 02/17/2008
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[Back to Product Page] FOR THIS YEAR 2006 NONE AVAILABLE
Boston Compacta Fern
The following is a short history of how Apopka's foliage industry began. This story is taken from a 1967 Florida Foliage Festival Program written by Virgil Conner The Apopka Foliage Industry sends beauty and glamour to every one of the United States and beyond. It is appropriate that it was born from the intangible substance of visions and dreams. This was factually and literally true. The dream was that of an older man named Powell; the vision and drive that of a younger man named Ustler. Powell was sales manager for Springfield Floral Company in far away Springfield, Ohio. (None of the several people still living and who came here from Springfield can remember Powell's full name. He was just "Mr. Powell" around the packing sheds and on the road selling plants.) By 1912 he had reached some fixed conclusions about his plans for Florida. As Henry Ford, at this very same time, was revolutionizing the manufacture and sale of automobiles, Powell hatched the idea that revolutionized the production and sale of plants. Put the cheer of a living plant into the humblest home. Springfield Floral was producing and selling, along with other items a popular foliage plant called the Boston Fern. Production required a lot of labor and expense in the ice and snow of Ohio. Ferns of this type grew wild in Florida. What could be done with the Boston Fern if it were cultivated and given a chance in that happy climate? This was a good question. It was the germ of the Apopka Foliage Industry. The late Harry Ustler was then a very young man and order clerk in the floral packing sheds. Powell outlined the plan to the young Ustler substantially as follows: "Go to Florida. Produce these plants outside and by the millions at one fifth to one tenth the cost of producing them in hot houses in Ohio. Mass produce them and do a mass selling job. Take them out of their present status as a semi-luxury item sold by florists. Sell them at ridiculously low prices to the thousands who shop the counters of the "five-and-dime" stores." Like Ford's idea about automobiles, this idea was new. In pursuit of the idea, Powell had already bought some land in or near Orlando. Ustler quit his job and came to Orlando with the understanding Powell would follow in not more than a month. Powell had some misfortunes and decided almost immediately not to take the plunge in Florida. This left Ustler stranded with his high purposes. He had some resources of his own, but not nearly enough to see the project through. He was shaken but by no means floored, and got a job as a waiter in the dining room of the old Altamonte Springs Hotel. He had no experience as a waiter, but it was a way to keep alive and save some money while he looked around. W.P. Newell was a guest of the hotel. In him Ustler found his man. They started operations on Lake Eola in Orlando. This was because there was a slat shed there that had been used previously for growing pineapples. Fern growing required slat sheds and slat sheds cost money. Enough was done at
this first location to show that the plan would work. But the land on
which the slat shed was located could not be bought. This was the accident
that made it the "Apopka Foliage Industry" instead of the
"Orlando Foliage Industry." Not only its price,
but the superior quality of the Florida Boston Fern pushed competitors out of
the market. The demand was fantastic. From this small beginning the
industry grew to its present proportions. Greenhouses were added in the
early forties...... From this beginning, Apopka became the "Indoor
Foliage Capital of the World."
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The Fern Baskets we grow are the classic "Parlor
Ferns" that Grandmother loved. Growing in a spreading manner, the ferns
start to droop as they grow. The result is a graceful spreading plant.
Easy to care for and easy to sell, they will be appreciated by your
customers!
They are ready to go! 
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