January 2021 - 12

HEADLINES/CALENDAR
Longtime Dümmen Orange
Employee Retires
Dümmen Orange announced that its current longesttenured
employee, Carmen Bautista, retired on Dec. 2.
Bautista, who grew up in San Diego County, started working
in 1977 at the former Paul Ecke Ranch, now
a key Dümmen Orange breeding facility, in
Encinitas, California as a direct laborer. She
dedicated the past 43+ years of her career
to becoming a fast learner, hard worker and
knowledgeable handler of poinsettias and
mums grown in Southern California's ideal
coastal conditions.
" Carmen has always been willing to help no matter the task
and she's really been part of the backbone of our business, "
said Luis Hernandez, production manager at Dümmen
Orange. " She does the day-to-day work of caring for the
flowers and plants, always giving her best and taking the
details to heart. "
Enjoying every facet of the job, Bautista played a vital
role in the growth of Dümmen's poinsettia program. Her
involvement included everything from transplanting cuttings
and liners in the greenhouses to packing and loading finished
plants on trucks.
The most crucial step in plant breeding is pollinating the
plants, a specialized skill that Bautista developed and excelled
at over the years. From pollination to the time seedlings are
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selected and hit the market, the process can take four to five
years on the fast end or more like seven to eight years on
average. That means Bautista's daily actions have always had a
long-reaching impact before her handiwork could be enjoyed
by green thumbs and flower enthusiasts around the world.
With an unrelenting attention to detail, Bautista could
always be counted on to get done what needed to be done. It
was an invaluable attribute that never went overlooked by her
employer or fellow laborers.
" What she does is important because her work today lives
on as a legacy, " said Ruth Kobayashi, breeding manager at
Dümmen Orange. " With 30,000 plants to look through every
year, we are very fortunate to have Carmen help us finish yet
another poinsettia season to keep future seasons on track.
We are stronger as a company by her sharing her extensive
knowledge with other team members. "
" I loved all the years that I worked here, " said Bautista. " I
hope that everyone who comes to work here will also love
what they do. For me, it was mostly the poinsettias - I really
love the poinsettias. "
Bautista's more than four decades of professional
excellence can serve as an inspiration for anyone thinking
about pursuing a career opportunity in horticulture. Her last
official day at Dümmen Orange was Dec. 4, 2020.
For more information about Dümmen Orange, visit
na.dummenorange.com.
AmericanHort Offers E-Commerce
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π
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Circle 154
12 | LAWN & GARDEN RETAILER | JANUARY 2021
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Visit www.americanhort.org/page/ecommerce-masteryseries
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http://na.dummenorange.com http://www.americanhort.org/page/ecommerce-mastery
January 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2021
