AmericanHort is excited to host two industry sisters for our October Women in Horticulture interview. With their father staring N.G. Heimos Greenhouses in 1951, both Amy Heimos Morris and Micky Heimos Byland were groomed into the horticulture industry since childhood.Micky received her horticulture degree from the University of Missouri Columbia and her MBA from Webster University and has worked in the industry for over 36 years. A graduate of Southeast Missouri University’s Agribusiness Horticulture program, Amy has been rooted in horticulture industry for more than 35 years.

After working for two years for a marketing firm in Chicago, Micky joined the family business where she has led their sales efforts. She works closely with plant breeders and carries on the legacy her father started by working with the supermarket and mass market trade. Amy is vice president having previously served ashead grower at Heimos Greenhouses for more than 10 years growing annuals, perennials, blooming crops, holiday crops, and foliage. Today the head grower, labor manager, and production team report to Amy. 

Both Amy and Micky have an entrepreneurial spirit.Micky’s Minis Flora Express®, named after Micky, is an award-winning miniature plant line launched in 1990 to capture the gift market. With the objective of keeping their work force year-round. in 2001 Amy opened Millstadt Young Plants to offer rooting liners for Syngenta, Selecta, Dümmen, and Suntory. In 2007 Amyintroduced North America’s largest Poinsettia Trial and Educational Workshop for growers, breeders, and college horticulture students across the country.

Both women are civic minded and leaders in the industry. Micky serves on SAF’s grades and standards committee, the advisory board for the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) and on the Floral Marketing Advisory Board. She recently received one of PMA’s highest honors being named PMA Floral Marketer of the Year in 2019. Micky frequently speaks at garden club events, works with golf course maintenance teams to identify the best annuals and perennials to grow on golf courses. She has also been very involved in the Missouri Botanical Gardens and the St. Louis Community College. In addition to her role on the AmericanHort board of directors, Amy is a member of PMA, SFA, and other industry organizations. She is a contributing writer for GrowerTalk magazine under Growers Talk Business. One of her greatest accomplishments is receiving the Industry Leadership award in 2018 from Greenhouse Management andNursery Managementsponsored by Syngenta. This award was voted on by industry peers who know her commitment to the Industry.

Join us to hear what it has been like for this dynamic duo growing up in a family of nine children. We’ll talk about the keys to successfully working in a family business, and how these two sisters have grown their profession and become leaders in the green industry, and what advice they have for anyone seeking a rewarding career in horticulture.