US (MN): Grower uses hailstorm to upgrade greenhouse
Fifteen years ago when his 15,000-square-foot production greenhouse space suffered severe hail damage; the Horticultural Supervisor at the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory at Como Park in St. Paul, Minnesota was more than ready for a change. The polycarbonate glazing that had been installed only 11 years prior had already yellowed and lost a lot of its light transmission capabilities. When it was time to choose a new glazing to replace what had been damaged in the hailstorm, Paul saw Acrylite acrylic as the obvious choice.
“Acrylite presented us with an option that was going to last for decades without yellowing, that could also stand up to Minnesota hailstorms and offer fantastic light transmission. It really made our decision pretty easy and we couldn’t be happier with the results,” says Paul.
The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory at Como Park grows an incredibly diverse range of plants, including the largest public Bonsai collection in the upper Midwest, an award-winning neo-tropical orchid collection and a rainforest farm featuring crops such as cocoa, avocado, banana, papaya and coffee. The production greenhouse space, which is glazed with 16 mm Acrylite Resist high impact acrylic double-skin sheet, offers these sensitive plants a wonderful space to start their journey toward graduation to the Conservatory’s public gardens.
According to Paul, Acrylite’s light transmission qualities make a noticeable impact on the health of his plants, “We’ve noticed differences in our plants that are grown under Acrylite compared to those grown under glass. They tend to be more compact and sturdy, which is important, because with too much stretch they just don’t want to stand up. We also see a difference in terms of vibrancy of color, and I think that’s directly related to the fact that with Acrylite they’re benefitting from 86% light transmission.”
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