Dec 24, 2017 3 min read

EIGHTY FOUR – Standing amidst some 5,000 poinsettias in dozens of color variations on Tuesday morning, Gene and Rene Hudock couldn’t have looked more prepared for the holidays at Hothouse Floral Co., the business they’ve owned since 1977.

But at 1 p.m. today, the Hudocks will officially retire from the place that has charted the changing seasons for four decades, turning from vegetable starter plants, flowers and hanging baskets in the spring and summer, to mums in the fall, and the poinsettias, fir trees and wreaths that mark the winter holiday season. There were also shrubs, lawn ornaments and birdbaths for sale.

The couple will leave an operation that for the past several months, has been a diminished version of its former self.

“Growing plants is always a challenge because of what the environment throws at you,” Gene said, speaking from the experience of a commercial grower for more than 40 years.

The last punch thrown by Mother Nature was a knockout to the business.

On July 28, heavy rains caused flash flooding that put 4 1/2 feet of water into the couple’s greenhouses that are across Route 136 from the main business at 24 Hot House Lane. The water caused the loss of 20,000 square feet of growing space in the line of greenhouses. Besides bending the walls of the structures – the force of the water moved 7-foot -by-100-foot growing benches inside – the flooding took out a $40,000 computerized transplanting machine used for planting the seedlings for the next stages of growing operations.

“We had been talking about retiring, but when July 28 came around, that was the nail in the coffin,” said Gene, 69.

The Hudocks began the business at the North Strabane Township site on Feb. 2, 1977. Rene, 66, recalled her first day at work, when Gene was still working for Hillman Barge Co., and the wind was blowing seedlings and other materials all around their first greenhouse. It was an inauspicious beginning to a business that would become indispensable for anyone in the area with gardening or landscaping needs.

The couple said the business had its ups and downs over the years like any other business, but they also have fond memories of running a place that drew both old and new customers as the different seasons approached.

At the peak of each season, Gene said, the business would employ between 10 and 15 people, and at one time was employing as many as 25, and had topped 55,000 square feet for the growing operations.

While the July flooding damage was a one-time event, in more recent years, Hothouse Floral, like many other independently run greenhouse businesses, was also feeling the effects of competition from big box stores and flowers imported from South America.

The Hudocks said they aren’t sure what will happen with their site in their retirement.

“There are no young people moving into this business,” Gene said.

While the bloom is leaving Hothouse Floral, the Hudocks are ready to cultivate a new one with their retirement, with plans to spend time with their grandchildren and for Gene to do some fishing.

“We made a lot of good friends, met a lot of nice people and had a lot of good employees,” Rene said. “We’ll miss our customers.”