A greenhouse full of red and white poinsettias for the Christmas and holiday season | Barb via Adobe Stock
The lingering effects of Hurricane Helene and Milton on greenhouses and nurseries in Florida are likely to affect seasonal-centric plants over the upcoming holidays of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and even New Year’s. Customers and companies in the market for such plants, particularly the holiday favorite of poinsettias, are likely to be faced with the challenges of short supply and rising costs.
The Impact of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton on Florida
In late September, Hurricane Helene made landfall, leaving a path of destruction through the Southeast of the U.S.
Helene brought the effects of flooding, power outages, and strong winds throughout the Southeast, to Florida and its neighboring and nearby states of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee. However, Florida received the double whammy of Hurricane Milton arriving shortly after, with its disastrous effects that were largely contained within the Sunshine State.
Currently, many agricultural and horticultural operations in the state are in recovery mode, with both federal and local organizations helping rebuilding efforts through aid.
Regarding potential aid, Tal Coley, CEO of the Florida Nursery, Growers, and Landscape Association (FNGLA), hopes that Congress will quickly address assistance to those in the nursery industry affected by the disasters, saying, “In the past, our industry, they’ve kind of been left at the chopping block and haven’t been able to access some of those funds. My hope is that everyone will be able to access any type of relief that does come.”
While Congress passed a resolution in late September to extend government funding through Dec. 20, 2025, avoiding the event of a government shutdown, the measure didn’t include additional funding for disaster relief programs.
As reported by WLRN South Florida, Coley says that additional movement on the matter is unlikely until after the conclusion of the Nov. 5 election. “So, right now, it’s just a lot of data collection, which we’re very happy to do.”
Holiday Plants and Supply Chain Issues
According to the FNGLA, Florida’s horticulture industry generates $31.4 billion a year in sales. With such widespread destruction evident from Helene and Milton, the market is sure to be heavily affected over the coming months.
“We are going to see shortages,” says Coley. “We do grow a lot of poinsettias down here. You know, I would expect those shortages to be mainly in the Southeast, especially here in the state of Florida. It will impact your Christmas plants as well as other plants.”
As stated, the poinsettia market, in particular, is one of immense interest, and therefore immense effect. As reported by Axios in 2022, poinsettias during the Christmas season, often sold throughout November and December, account for roughly $214 million in sales within the floriculture industry. At the time of reporting, that was a 40% increase from 2020.
Beyond Florida, other states home to large-scale poinsettia production operations include:
- California
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Texas
- Virginia
Time will tell if other operations will sufficiently be able to cover the gap left by Florida nurseries and growers during disaster recovery efforts, and how much this will affect the local and federal industry centered around poinsettia sales.
