Locally Grown Flowers and Plants

It’s an easy and inexpensive way to beautify your yard and home. Stunning roses, exotic flowers, and colorful hanging baskets will spruce up any patio or room in your house. Calgary Co-op offers all of the above and then some.

“The quality of our product is among the freshest in town with our stores receiving several deliveries each week to keep our product replenished regularly,” says Lawrence Wright, Produce Operations Manager at Calgary Co-op.

And if you’re not 100% satisfied, Calgary Co-op will offer a replacement or refund for any floral item that they sell. Among the favorites are tulips, mixed bouquets and roses that are shipped in from South America. A summer favorite is the outdoor baskets and potted plants, which are largely grown right here in Alberta.

Grozone Greenhouse is one of those local suppliers and is based just south of Calgary in High River. The company was bought as an existing business in 2007 and has been expanding their operations ever since.

“This year we’re adding on 50,000 square feet,” says Sales Representative, Martina Graus. “Envision eight football fields of greenhouses; it’s a massive operation.”

Grozone’s relationship with Calgary Co-op has also bloomed over the years into a strong and loyal partnership.

“We are honored to be able to provide Calgary Co-op with our products. Their staff are truly invested in what they do and it inspires us to work harder to ensure we’re getting it right for them.” Since day one, Martina says Grozone has always prided themselves on offering exceptional quality and service.

“It’s a 24-hour business where everyone contributes; it’s a labor of love that really comes through in our products.”

Those products include annual bedding plants, vegetables, herbs, vines and trailers, pre-made planters and their number one seller, hanging baskets.

“We have a number of tried and tested recipes that we use,” Martina explains. “These all contain plant material that we know perform well in Southern Alberta conditions. We want to provide Calgary Co-op with products that people can take home, maintain, and have a long shelf life.”

Survival Tip for Summer Plants

1. Water, water, water! Hanging baskets and potted plants need to be watered everyday in hot weather. With hanging baskets you can drench it until it comes out the bottom or water twice in one day. Be careful though, over-watering can kill your basket just as easy as letting it dry out on hot summer days.
2. Deadheading. This is the process of taking off any flowers that are past their prime. Pluck them off so that the energy from the plant goes to the new buds and blooms.
3. Fertilizing. Using any good quality fertilizer is a good idea. It’s will give your plants that extra boost they need to keep blooming. Be sure to follow the dosage instructions on the box.