Three of our Koppert experts will be appearing at two Education Sessions during Cultivate ’25 on July 14th, 2025 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Cultivate by AmericanHort is one of the leading horticulture events in North America, providing a wide range of opportunities to explore and network with industry colleagues. In Cultivate’s Education Sessions, experienced researchers and horticulture experts gather to share the knowledge and tools attendees need to become more efficient and productive with their IPM programs.
Koppert’s National Ornamental Crop Specialist, Heidi Doering, and Technical Sales Consultant for the Northeast Region, Phil Gerry, will be the featured speakers on Monday, July 14th, at the 10:45AM session, ’Tis the Season: Repeatable Success with Biocontrols in Mums and Poinsettias. They’ll talk about their experiences building successful IPM programs for fall, including what to watch out for and some reality checks. Topics range from problems on incoming cutting material to IPM strategies in propagation, and pest control into spaced and finishing production for both mums and poinsettias.
Heidi and Phil are crop experts who are well versed in fall crops. Heidi has worked with Koppert for the past decade and is one of the most well-informed plant experts of the day regarding ornamental IPM. Her broad range of experience includes greenhouse production, university extension, sales, and technical product management. She earned her masters in horticulture at Penn State.
Phil is a Technical Sales Consultant for the Northeast Region, covering six states. He was a lead grower for large nurseries and greenhouses in the Northeast and Northwest before joining Koppert in 2021, and brings a wealth of practical knowledge and creative strategies to the topic of managing some of the most troubling pests in garden mum and poinsettia production. All of our Koppert experts are very capable of getting into the technical weeds—they truly enjoy it—so bring all your questions!
Koppert US National Ornamental Consultant Team Manager, Jeremy Webber, will be moderating a session, From the Horse’s Mouth: Experienced Growers Share Their Biocontrol Stories, on Tuesday, July 15th, at 9am. A panel of IPM experts from Koppert, Wagner Greenhouses, Pleasant View Gardens, and Star Roses will discuss practical and repeating IPM techniques. They’ll cover how to get an IPM system to work well, managing IPM systems, and what it takes to be successful on the ground from year to year.
Jeremy rose through several New England production facilities, and was Director of Operations for a large perennial wholesale nursery. He’s shipped a wide range of perennials, shrubs, annuals, and edibles, using both traditional pest treatments and innovative biocontrols, championing hybrid BioSolutions.
For more information about Cultivate ’25 Education Sessions please visit: