Growers Tour

Each year, the Growers Committee hosts a one-day event that takes attendees on a behind-the-scenes tour of nurseries across Illinois. This unique experience offers an up-close look at the diverse growing operations producing high-quality nursery stock right in our own backyard. It’s a valuable opportunity to connect with green goods suppliers, ask questions directly, and build relationships with the growers who keep our industry thriving—despite ongoing challenges like rising input costs, pest and disease pressures, extreme weather, labor shortages, and more.

Itinerary

8:30am – 9:00am – Check-in, Coffee, Networking
9:00am – 9:15am – Welcome, Introductions, Sponsor Acknowledgements
9:15am – 10:45am – Tour Woldhuis Farms/Sunrise Greenhouse
10:45am – 11:00am – Restroom/Beverage/Networking Break
10:45am – 11:15am – Travel to Kankakee Nursery Co (Travel time – 21 miles/30 minutes)
11:15am – 12:30pm – Lunch at Kankakee Nursery Co
12:30pm – 3:00pm – Tour Kankakee Nursery Co
3:00pm – Event Concludes

Registration

Member Rate – $70
Non-Member Rate – $105
Government Rate – $80
Student/Educator Rate – $50

Deadline to Register: 9/15/25

All registrations include lunch, which will be served at Kankakee Nursery Co. Transportation to both host sites will be the responsibility of each attendee. 

Some portions of this event will include walking and standing for extended periods. If you require assistance with mobility or have accessibility needs, please let us know at the time of registration, so we can make appropriate accommodations.

About the Host Sites

Woldhuis Farms Sunrise Greenhouse
10300 E 9000 N Rd
Grant Park, IL 60940

About the operation:
We are a destination garden center specializing in annuals, hanging baskets, and perennials. We grow a massive amount of variety each spring in our 8-acre greenhouse, including over 160 different varieties of petunias, 100 varieties of coleus, 100 varieties of tomatoes, and 90 varieties of hosta (among others). Over 50,000 people travel each year to browse and shop for plants. We home grow most everything we sell, controlling costs and offering competitive prices for our customers. In the fall, we grow 250,000 garden mums and supply landscapers, non-profits, and other garden centers in addition to our retail customers.

Content to be covered during the tour:

• Tour of the vast selection of mums & fall plants located both outside and in the greenhouse
• Tour of the perennial, tree and shrub department
• Overview of the machinery and technology used to operate the greenhouse
• Behind-the-scenes look at the 8 acre greenhouse facility

Kankakee Nursery Co
4481 S 3250E Rd
Saint Anne, IL 60964
Directions: We are 1/2 mile directly south of the Aroma Park IL post office. Birch St in Aroma Park turns into 3250E.

About the operation:
Kankakee Nursery is a fourth generation family-owned, 2,500-acre wholesale grower of premium-quality B&B and Container Trees & Evergreens with a customer base that ranges from Colorado to Maine as well as Canada. 2025 marks our 100th Anniversary, all 100 of which have been under the Worth/Curren family leadership. We are thrilled for the opportunity to show you what and how we’ve been growing!

Content to be covered during the tour:

• In-depth look at how our annual in-house propagation of 50,000+ tree & evergreen liners allows us to control our inventory
• How and Why we transitioned out of shrubs & perennials in 2019 to focus solely on tree & evergreen production
• Why we prefer pot-in-pot infrastructure to house our container material
• Expansion and progression of our Root Pouch tree production as an alternative to plastic pots
• How contract-growing agreements have changed our sales/production dynamic

Who Attends the Growers Tour?

This event isn’t just for growers. We invite all members of the green industry, especially those who source green goods, to spend a day in the field. Past event registration lists have included landscape professionals, arborists, retailers, municipalities, and of course, many nursery professionals!   

This one-day program promotes networking between green goods suppliers and the professionals who purchase them. This is a great chance to ask direct questions of the Landscape Illinois nurseries that continue to produce high-quality stock while adapting to numerous challenges including rising input costs, pest and disease pressure, extreme weather patterns, labor shortages, and much more.