Growing through the generations

Added on 03 January 2024

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Joel Van Sprange and his wife Jaime. Photos courtesy of Bosgraaf Greenhouses

Joel Van Sprange carries on a family tradition as third-generation head grower at Bosgraaf Greenhouses.

Third-generation grower Joel Van Sprange grew up in his family’s greenhouse in Hudsonville, Michigan. As a kid, he remembers playing in the dirt at Bosgraaf Greenhouses Inc., named for his maternal grandparents who started the company in 1955. His parents, Bob and Edie, purchased the business in 1978, when Joel was two. Since then, the greenhouse has been his playground, his classroom, his career and ultimately his legacy as he works to carry on Bosgraaf’s growing tradition.

“I guess you could say I was born into it,” Van Sprange says. “It was almost a no-brainer for me” to join the family business.

After filling pots and baskets as a kid and delivering plants as a teen, Van Sprange started growing by the time he was a high school senior — when he was old enough to get a pesticide applicator license, which he’s had ever since. After graduation, Van Sprange naturally stepped into the head grower role at Bosgraaf, where he focuses on growing the best plants possible while passing down his plant passion to the next generation.

Changing crops

Through the decades, Van Sprange has watched plant trends come and go. While keeping a lookout for new varieties, he has learned not to lose focus on the reliable crops that Bosgraaf grows best.

“We tend to stick to plants that we grow well,” Van Sprange says. “We always have our eyes open for new options, but you’ve also got to have basics that are always in production, something you can do well that’s going to pay.”