A Survey of the Alaska Greenhouse Industry and Related Enterprises Results and Analysis

Abstract

A list of commercial greenhouses, nurseries, interiorscape businesses, landscape contractors, florist businesses, and variety stores that sell plant products was developed in order to determine the scope of the horticulture industry in Alaska. The list identified 155 greenhouse, nursery, and interiorscape businesses along with 304 landscape contractors, 80 florist businesses, and 41 variety stores that sell plants. A questionnaire was used to determine the status of these types of enterprises including location, square footage of facilities, source of heating and lighting for greenhouses, number and type of employees, products purchased and/or produced, and total gross sales. The number of businesses responding to this survey totaled 135 and included 54 greenhouses and/or nurseries, 4 interiorscape businesses, 44 landscape contractors, 19 florists, and 14 variety stores. More than half of the greenhouse, nursery, and interiorscape businesses were started after 1976, and 40.4 percent of the businesses began as a hobby that was expanded into a commercial enterprise. Nearly all of the greenhouse operations had Quonset or even-span gable greenhouses covered with corrugated fiberglass or double-layer polyethylene. Most greenhouses were heated with natural gas or heating oil. The businesses that responded had a total of 413,476 square feet (ft2) of year-round heated greenhouse space, 266,900 ft2 of seasonally heated space, and 18,369 ft2 of nonheated space. The most commonly grown crops were flower­ing annual and vegetable bedding plants. The number of employees at the businesses with greenhouses was 678: 152 year-round, full-time employees; 85 year-round, part-time employees; and 441 seasonal employees, 150 of whom were hired only during the transplanting season. The estimated number of jobs available statewide in greenhouse, nursery, and interiorscape businesses totaled 1,559. Forty-four percent of the businesses with greenhouses reported gross sales of less than $25,000, while 5 businesses exceeded $1 million in gross sales. The estimated total gross sales for greenhouse, nursery, and interiorscape businesses in Alaska was $24,387,500.