Regina Coronado, the head grower at Stacy`s Greenhouses, has

Regina Coronado, the head grower at Stacy's
Greenhouses, has taken perennial production to
new heights by developing precise crop programs
on a large scale. We are pleased to recognize her
as our first Head Grower of the Year.
by DELILAH ONOFREY
Editor
donofrey@meistermedia.com
HE came for three months and
S
ended up staying for 20 years.
That's how Regina Coronado's
journey began from an agrono­
mist in Guatemala to becoming one of the
leading ornamental plant growers in the
United States.
Regina is the head grower at Stacy's
Greenhouses in York, S.c. Ranked at No. 87
on our Top 100 Growers, Stacy's has 815,000
square feet of greenhouse production and
250 acres of outside growing area. The com­
pany founded by Louis Stacy, Jr. specializes
in perennials, pansies and mums and serves
the nation's largest retailers directly and in­
directly through many of the largest bedding
plant growers. Stacy's also has two retail gar­
den centers and is in touch with consumers.
Our panel chose Regina among a pool
of 17 nominated growers and four final­
ists for our very first award recogni zing an
outstanding Head Grower of the Year as
part of our Grower of the Year awards pro­
22
I
Greenhouse Grower September 2010
gram. More greenhouse operation owners
are relying on talen ts of head growers.
The award sponsored by BASF was pre­
sented July 12 at the OFA Short Course in
Columbus, Ohio, and recognizes high -level
employees who lead production while el­
evating the value of their profession.
Regina earned her U.s. citlzenship in 2008
and is a shining, but humble, example of
how hard work and a dedication to education
leads to a brighter future. She feels fortunate
to have had the opportunity to pursue higher
education and is very proud of her adopted
sister, who is 26 and studying biochemistry.
"In Guatemala, o nly 10 percent of the
children go to school and only "1 percent
of those who go to school have a college
degree," she says. "There are a lot of kids
under age 10 working. They quit school to
support their families."
Regina attended a Ge rman school in
G uatemala from age four through 18. This
is whe re her diSCiplined founda tion in sci­
ence began. The agronomy school Regina
attended focused on cotton, soybeans
and coffee and had a research relation­
ship wi th Auburn University in Alabama.
H EA D
G R)
FRO F T [-I E Y f: A R
2010 Grower of the Y.ilf
Sponsor Partner
"I chose to study soils with a focus on
testing and plant tissue analysis," Regina
says. "We used to study soil and conduct
big trials in cotton and fertility progran~s."
One day a friend asked if she'd like to
go to Florida to learn greenhouse produc­
tion as part of a free, three-month train­
ing program. Regina then met Roger
Vasquez, a grower from Honduras, who
taught her how to grow ornamental plugs
for Speed ling in Florida. She also tried
growing herbs and spices in Mexico before
returning to grow vegetable tran splan ts
for Speedling in Texas.
She transferred to Speed ling's
Blairsville, Ga., facility, which has a strong
focus o n pansy plugs. It was in Blairsville
where Regina met "Mr. Stacy," who came
to visit and inspect the plugs as a potential
customer. "He asked me severa l questions
and said, 'If you ever need a job, call me
first,'" she says.
Regina kept his card and gave him a
call when she was interviewing at several
operat ions in the Southeast. She started at
Stacy's as a section grower for three years
and then was promoted to head grower in
make a difference in being successful. I
love the people here," she says, adding that
teams come toge ther for fun, educational
activities and to celebrate progress. One
initiative has been safe ty. "We went from
50 accidents two years ago to 22 las t year,"
s he says. "This year we've only had one
and it wa s a me rchandiser at the stores."
Stacy's President Tim Brindley commends
re tes t. And if it's positive again, we put a
hold on the variety a nd send a sa mple to
Agdi a labs," Regina says. "If it comes back
positive, we send the plants back to the
supplier." Oaylilies are ano ther big cro p to
screen for di seases and samples are sent
to C le mson Univers it y.
Tes ting early and often helps nip prob­
lems in the bud and de termine where
Regina for her positive and hands- on ap­
proach. "She teaches as well as anyone I
have ever encountered. She listens very
well. Her work ethic and hands-on interac­
tio n keep her staff at a very hig h leveL"
Regina spends most of her time perfec t­
More Online
Visit Regina Coronado at
work on a slideshow tour
of Stacy's Greenhouses at
GreenhouseGrower.com.
ing productio n and developing programs
specific to Stacy's growing conditions. She
works with leading indus tty consultants and
technica l advisors. "When we start a new
crop, we get guidelines from the vendors but
use them oilly as a guideline," she says. "Not
everything they tell me works here. You have
charge of all the finished plant production.
"I didn't know anything about perennials
but he assigned me 100 acres and I started
learning," she says. "It was a g reat experi­
men t. Like with anything else, there were
ups and downs. I learned by watching and
doing it myself with people."
Working with Mr. Stacy and taking direc­
to develop your ow n program because the
growin g conditions are so differen t."
Hydrangeas have bee n a hot crop, along
w ith Knock O ut roses, cle matis, phlox,
peonies, callas and Asiatic a nd LA lilies.
While mildew is the disease to wa tch for
in phlox up north, in the south it's aerial
phytophthora. Another big projec t has
been converting all the ou tdoor mums to
drip irrigatio n. Other trials in the works
include testing Co nfigure to see if it
stimulates branching in pe ren nials and
slow-release fertili zer trials.
they originate. "My rul e is if the plugs die
within 10 days of tran spla nt, it's a plug
problem," Regina says. "We're good at
killing plants, but no t that good. After 10
days, th e n it's some thing else."
The cultural practices Regina lea rned
in ag rono my and in plug growing have
served Stacy's well. "Regina has help ed
tion from him made her a bet ter employee,
she says. " He and I used to ride the farm to­
gether. We'd get to certain beds and he'd ask
me what I had done to the crops. Most of the
time, you have to keep trac k of what you're
doing, so I always have a notepad, pen and
Regina believes in mo nitoring soil s
and crops with labo rato ry testing. This
was part of her training in Guatemala,
and wh ile she worked at Speed ling, she
to annuali ze and modernize the thinking
and production in today's perennial m ar­
ket," says Rick Gross man of Express Seed.
"Neve r-ending quality improvemen t ha s
been th e goal with tes ting new va rieties,
PGRs a nd more efficient grow ing meth­
scissors, in case pruning needs to be done."
wo rked with Fafard's Dr. Hug h Poole in
ods. Her leadership in production quality
Florida. Today she uses Fafard's lab in
nearby Anderson, S.c., for soil plant tissue
and water ana lysis.
"Here, when we have issues, the first
thing we do is check soil and water and
Testing, Testing, Testing
Regi na s pends 95 percent of he r time in
the field, w he re she likes to be, with her
notepads, la ptop, and mobile file cabine t
on her golf car t. Her staff includes three
send sa mples to Fafard," she says. "We
has been th e fou ndation for continued
s uccess of thi s grow ing operation."
Brindley adds: "As detailed as any grower
in the world, Regina is able to apply a small
grower mentality at a very large growi ng
facility. She treats every crop indi vidually.
senior growers, four assistant growers,
can do some things here but not the whole
Regina uses a variety of methods to achieve
seven irrigators a nd nine che mical appli ­
cato rs, a ll of whom she trained herself.
"I take care of the chemicals and have
developed prog rams that are mostly pre­
ven tative, but people are the ones who
list of things to check. Certain products
need profeSSional reco mm e ndations."
Stacy's produces more than a millio n
hos tas a year and checks each variety for
Hos ta virus X in house. " If it 's positive, we
her ultimate goal - every plant grown to
the highest quality, ready to perfor m for the
consumer. From 250 miles of drip irrigation
to 20 acres of lit growing beds to new chem­
ical experimentation, Regina does it alL" GG
Outstanding In Her Field
GreenhouseGrower.com
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