By Kristin Boza
Steuber Florist and Greenhouses, 2654 W. 111th St., has provided beautiful cut floral arrangements and plants to fill yards and gardens for nearly 75 years. Whether the flowers are shipped in from other parts of the world or grown right in their on-site greenhouses, Steuber can fulfill nearly any wish for its customers.
Scot Steuber, owner of the shop, is particularly excited about a new variety of geranium: the Survivor Salmon Pink Series. “It’s a relatively new plant and definitely new to us here at Steuber’s this year. It’s a pink geranium that is really beautiful,” he said. “We also have a few other new varieties of geranium, including a semi-trailing geranium. They’re all very cool and have some bright, vivid colors. We have been specializing in geraniums for years and we have a great crop growing right now.”
Geraniums are hardy and work well in areas where there’s full sun. “They’re a good, all-around plant and drought-tolerant once they are established in your garden,” Steuber said. “I do think geraniums are a proven performer that has held up through time and they constantly make improvements to the variety.”
Besides the new geranium varieties, Steuber is always focused on the tried and true plants that he and his team grow in the greenhouses. “We have a lot of varieties here that do well for us in our space. Keep in mind that we have a small space, so it’s hard sometimes when customers ask why we can’t grow all these different varieties,” he said. Despite being unable to grow every single variety that he would like to due to space constraints, Steuber is always on the lookout for new and exciting plants and flowers to offer his customers.
Almost everything you find at Steuber’s is grown onsite. “We’ve had some plants going for nearly four months now,” Steuber said. “We get a lot of our plants from plugs that are already rooted. We do grow some things from seeds as well, such as our tomato plants, begonias and petunias.”
Although everyone is eager to start planting to perk up their yard, Steuber recommends planting mid-May through Memorial Day, although dealing with Mother Nature can be unpredictable. “Old timers used to say that the frost-free date was May 15, around Mother’s Day. But the last couple of years we’ve had a cold snap.”
Since Mother’s Day is around the corner, Steuber has been busy preparing his stock of fresh cut flowers for bouquets and arrangements. “We offer a full-range of cut flowers that we bring in from California, Holland, Italy, Colombia and Ecuador [to name a few],” he said. “Roses are always popular for Mother’s Day, but there’s so many other beautiful foliages out there. We also make up some container gardens and some combination pots that you can put right out on your front porch. We have a wide variety that’s similar in price to fresh-cut flowers so you can have something flowering all summer long.”
“We’re really amped up to get the neighborhood out here to see our beautiful products,” Steuber said. “You’ll be able to enjoy your beautiful plants all summer long.”
Shop Mon. through Fri., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sat., 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Info: www.steuberflorist.com.
