New Braunfels Edition | January 2022

BUSINESS FEATURE

BY WARREN BROWN

The Plant Haus has a greenhouse full of indoor and outdoor plants for sale in the winter.

Flowers are a great way to attract bees to pollinate garden produce.

HOW TO ATTRACT BEES Bees oer a number of benets to the environment

and are especially helpful as pollinators for gardeners aiming to grow food. Here are several plants you can plan to grow this year to attract bees.

The Plant Haus owner Weston Pacharzina will celebrate 45 years of business this year. (Photos by Warren Brown/Community Impact Newspaper)

A variety of plants are sold at The Plant Haus, including owers, trees and more.

PLANTS FOR BEES

• black-eyed Susan • borage • buddleia • milkweed • marigold

• monarda • penstemon • purple coneower • zinnia

The Plant Haus For almost 45 years, nursery helps customers develop green thumbs W hile growing up in New Braunfels in the 1970s, Weston Pacharzina said

SOURCE: WWW.MASTERCLASS.COM COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

neighborly approach to business. “Whether they’re spending $10 or $100, a customer is a customer,” Pacharzina said. He and his sta oer gardening advice freely to new and veteran gardeners alike, such as how to select from the variety of available soils and mulches for various situa- tions, or when to begin planting. “On a typical day during the springtime [before the pan- demic], we may have—during the week—maybe 150-200 customers,” Pacharzina said. “We were having 250-300 customers [per day] during the week, 400-500 … on Saturdays and Sundays.” Keeping plants in stock became a sizable hurdle and was still an

industrywide issue going into 2022 due to 2021’s winter storm and supply chain issues, according to Pacharzina. However, the Plant Haus was navigating these challenges by acquiring plants from across the country and even managed to keep its greenhouse stocked this winter. While people may not consider the winter for gardening, Pachar- zina pointed out many plants can be grown indoors year round, and some can even manage the cold. He also noted chilly months were good for prepping for the growing season. “If you’re going to do ower beds … better to dig it out when it’s 50 degrees outside than when it’s 150 degrees outside,” Pacharzina said.

The Plant Haus 956 N. Walnut Ave., New Braunfels 830-629-2401 www.facebook.com/ the-plant-haus-141467745891890 Hours: Tue.-Sat. 9 a.m.-5 p.m., closed Sun.-Mon.

he tended a garden with his father. The elder Pacharzina, Bob, was a New Braunfels coach and educator who grew plants as everyday gifts for people in his life. “[Bob] started making a list of friends’ anniversaries and birth- days,” Pacharzina said. “Usually in the mornings or before I went to school, I’d go with him, and I’d deliver hanging baskets.” After a couple of years, Bob’s growing reputation as a green thumb with a giving spirit led to an opportunity to open Plant Haus in 1977. Nearly 45 years later, the Plant Haus is still dened by its

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