Easter floral sales have been in a downward spiral since the recession began, but perked up in 2010 and should show further improvement this year when sales figures for March 31 are available, according to the consumer research firm Prince & Prince.

Still, the 2010 rebound did not return sales to pre-recession levels, the study released Feb. 28 showed that Easter has lost one-third of its “purchasing power” since 1966. And there are warning signs that floral retailers are getting out-hustled by those who market other products for Easter.

Soren Kaplan, author of Leapfrogging, will be the keynote speaker at the International Floriculture Expo on June 20, according to a news release from the show organizers, Diversified Business Communications Inc. Leapfrogging received the 2013 Axiom Best Business Book Award.

The annual Great Lakes Floral Expo in Grand Rapids, MI, drew 500 floral professionals to the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel March 1-3 for a bevy of awards, designer contests, five main stage presentations, seven hands-on workshops, nine business sessions and a tour of four area floral businesses.

The Olympic-themed expo drew growers, wholesalers and florists from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. Bob Patterson, president of the Michigan Floral Association, which sponsors the weekend, termed it “a marvelous investment in the future of your business,” in a news release.

John H. Dane, who began work as chief executive officer at NORCAL on Aug. 6, 2012, has left the organization after about seven months. The board president of the California association of flower growers and shippers, Patricia Mullen of Mayesh Wholesale Florists in Los Angeles, told The Produce News in a phone interview March 21 that the organization would begin a search process to replace Mr. Dane.

NEW YORK — Amy’s Orchids is back in business after a hiatus of more than a year due to the worst floods in Thailand in 50 years and a poor economy. Amy, who goes by one name, said the reopened firm has offices in Thailand and Virginia and will still sell mainly to selected wholesalers and supermarkets. She was interviewed at the World Floral Expo show, here, March 13.

The Produce Marketing Association’s newly rejuvenated floral council has scored a hit with its first major project, a floral pavilion at the PMA Fresh Summit in New Orleans Oct. 18-20. At the March 6 meeting of the 30-member council in Dallas, the group learned that the floral pavilion had been expanded to hold 10 more companies, and space has been sold out.