Flower-Covered Cadillac Promotes Greenhouse Business

Flower-Covered Cadillac Promotes Greenhouse Business SPECIALTY/SERVICES Specialty/Services 28-5-44 Ohio parade goers got a special treat this summer when the Robinson family of Meadow View Growers Inc., came driving by in their "Plantillac" - a 1984 Cadillac covered by growing plants. They put the car together to publicize their greenhouse business in New Carlisle, Ohio. Earl Robinson, his son Scott, his grandson Scottie, Scottie's friend Davey, daughter Anne, and granddaughter Haley all worked on the project. Starting in January, the group started covering the Cadillac with chicken wire, sphagnum moss and potting soil. This stage of the project was completed in February. On the hood, they used polycarbonate panels for a base so they could slide them off if they needed to get into the engine compartment. In late March, they planted close to 1,000 plants on the car, including more than 40 varieties, mainly annuals. Contrasting colored plants spell out the initials "MV" above the windshield. "Osmocote," a slow-release fertilizer, was used during planting, and frequent fertilizing with a water soluble fertilizer kept it growing well. So well, in fact, that selective hand pruning with scissors was required on a regular basis. The group even went so far as to devise a sprinkler system that is used to spray the parade crowds. They placed a battery, a 30-gal. water tank, and a small pump on the back seat and ran a hose up through the roof with a stand that holds a sprinkler head, disguised under a moss-covered, wire-framed dragonfly. The car has been in a number of parades and has also appeared at flower industry events around Ohio. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Meadow View Growers Inc., 755 N. Dayton-Lakeview Rd., New Carlisle, Ohio 45344 (ph 937 845-0093; fax 937 845-4082; email: aroberts@meadowview.com; website: www.meadowview.com).

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