Snow hurts La. nurseries, garden centers
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Experts with the LSU AgCenter say last week’s snowfall across south Louisiana caused major damage to the state’s commercial and ornamental plant industry, but has not yet been able to put a price tag on the damage.
Allen Owings, LSU AgCenter horticulture specialist at the Hammond Research Station, said snow resulted in the partial or total collapse of at least 300 greenhouses and related structures in the Forest Hill area alone.
“Some plant material can be salvaged but will have lost quality, while other plant material was damaged to the point that it will have to be discarded,” Owings said in a release. “Some trees and shrubs in field and container production settings lost limbs from the weight of snow accumulation.”
The AgCenter estimates annual sales of wholesale ornamental plants in the $150 million-$170 million range with another $100 million-$150 million in inventory.
Louisiana’s total commercial ornamental horticulture industry, which includes wholesale nursery growers, landscape contracting and maintenance, as well as garden centers, contributes more than $2.2 billion annually to Louisiana’s economy and employs 57,000 individuals, the AgCenter said.
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