About Mischel's Greenhouses
Mischel's Greenhouses Ltd was founded in 1986 when John Mischel purchased an existing greenhouse business in Byron Center, MI. John had worked in greenhouses since his teens. After obtaining his Bachelor of Science degree in horticulture from Michigan State University, he was the grower for several large greenhouses with ever increasing responsibilities before deciding to step out on his own.
The previous owner only grew one crop, zonal cutting geraniums, for local garden center clients. Building customer loyalty and growing crops year round were top priorities the first few years. To accomplish these goals new plant varieties were grown for summer sales, hardy mum crops were added for fall sales and poinsettias were introduced for a winter crop. Great service along with great plants kept the customers coming back.
Container gardening was a new and growing trend in the early 1990's. Spotting an untapped opportunity John and his wife, Renee', started a mail order division of the company selling the new specialty annuals people wanted for their container gardens directly to retail customers through their catalog, in addition to servicing their wholesale customers. Renee's prior experience in marketing, sales, and research along with her B.A Degree from Michigan State University in agricultural marketing helped launch this new division.
Soon the old greenhouses had reached their maximum capacity. Changes in zoning compounded with the need for newer structures prompted a decision to relocate and build a new facility in 1995 in Williamsburg, Michigan. Since that time the mail order division has continued to grow.
In 2004 Dr. Will Carlson, professor and mentor to John from Michigan State University, introduced the concept of Know N' Grow. The Mischel's and Dr. Carlson developed a complete vegetable garden program, which they now grow and ship directly to mail order gardeners.
What had been a greenhouse growing just one type of flower and serving only a few local garden centers, has become a mail order business growing hundreds of different types of annual flowers, vegetables and herbs serving gardeners across the county.
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About Dr. William H. Carlson
Dr. William H. Carlson is a Professor Emeritus of Michigan State University, where he was a professor and director of Horticultural Extension for 32 years. Dr. Carlson was responsible for the educational programs for commercial floriculture which include statewide training sessions, area meetings, magazine articles and personal contacts. An offshoot of this program was the development of the Professional Plant Growers Association, a nonprofit trade association of over 2,000 growers, wholesalers, and retailers of bedding plants throughout the United States, Canada, and 29 foreign countries. He has developed strategic plans for over $100,000,000 of horticultural businesses withing Michigan, the United States, and Canada.
Dr. Carlson's research dealt mainly with the physiology of flowering crops. He has published over 35 scientific articles and 400 popular articles on the physiology of geraniums, chrysanthemums, poinsettias, roses, bedding plants, and perennials. As a widely traveled lecturer on commercial floriculture subjects ranging from production to marketing of many crops, he has presented lectures in 49 states, six Canadian provinces, England, Holland, Sweden, and Costa Rica. He has also led tour groups of amateur and professional horticulturists in England, Holland, France, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Dr. Carlson is also involved with the consumers of flower crops.
Dr. Carlson established and was the faculty coordinator for the Michigan Master Gardener program that now trains over 1800 people per year. He was responsible for the Horticultural Demonstration Gardens and past Chairperson of the MSU Garden Consortium. Dr. Carlson is also the Project Leader for the Horticulture Extension and the faculty coordinator for the 150,000 sq. ft. Plant Science Greenhouse Research Ranges. He has been a director of the Garden Writers of America and lectures to various garden groups throughout the country.
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