Spring 2013
Prime Color This Week
Color sells, as the saying goes, so running low on color generally means you will be running low on customers as well. This is especially true now, since warmer weather has come over the area lately. Nothing stirs the trowel of a gardener like a few warm days right after a cold, hard winter.
Fortunately, we are shipping bright, colorful material this week in prime condition. To combat the big box stores, build a competitive bench with our popular cultivars, plus something a little special.
Most of these plants can handle the cooler days and nights of April, but be sure to protect them if frost threatens your forecast. Here is a list of our prime color, ready for retail:
Early Spring Snapdragons
Snaps are probably the earliest drama plants we sell in the spring. Plant them about the same time as pansies and they will go into full bloom production shortly thereafter. They thrive in the cool nights of the early spring.
It’s good to have snapdragons in your retail mix because the snapdragon is one of those gateway plants that will introduce gardening to the next generation. Many customers have early memories of squeezing snapdragon blossoms to make them “talk”—or roar! When we leave the nest and get a place of our own it’s only natural for us to begin our garden with those plants that are familiar to us.
Eye Candy Pansies
We put a lot of thought into the pansies we plant in our 306 market baskets. This pot & tray package is unlike the other ones we grow—it is specifically designed for impulse purchases. Visually, the handles are little flags that say, “Take me home.” The trays sell well in high-traffic areas. Their smaller size encourages experimentation in a way that larger flats don’t. Since 306s are so visible, we grow our best selection of unique, special and distinctive pansies in this program.
Fancy pansies also make sense right now. We are in that awkward warm/cool cycle of early spring. Although we are headed into warmer weather, customers still remember the cold and chill from last week. Pansies are safe to buy, and fancy pansies are a step up from the common supermarket varieties.
