QR codes won't help here.

According to Lowe's Japanese Holly is a native plant. They don't tell you where it's native, but why should that matter? Studies show if you put "native" on the tag people will buy more. The tag also tells us it's "easy to grow, low maintenance, and will save you time and money."  What does "Plants that grow naturally in your environment" mean? Which plants grow "unnaturally" in my yard? What does "naturally" mean anyway?

What makes a native plant "easy to grow"?  I know many people who have tried to grow native plants only to fail. Just because its native doesn't mean it's easy to grow, or that it will save you money, or time. Giving Lowe's the benefit of the doubt, we can imagine some worker has simply put the wrong "native plant" tag on the Japanese Holly. I still don't understand why being a native plant makes it easier to grow?

Some in my trade will be excited to see the QR codes on the tags. We are told that you need QR codes on tags so people can scan them with their smart phones. Then the customer can be forwarded to the Lowe's website and more information on this native shrub. Maybe the QR code takes you to a real description of the plant and the disclaimer that it was all a joke. Of course the horticulturists at Lowe's know what they are talking about. "We wanted to see if you noticed."

This is the lowest form of horticulture. The mass merchants look at plants simply as commodities. Japanese Holly is a "rounded evergreen shrub" that may or may not be native. Somehow they grow naturally, unlike the other plants in your yard, which I assume are growing "unnaturally". They are according to the tag a "foundation" shrub, whatever that means. Most important they carry the "one year warranty", which is odd since they are suppose to be so "easy to grow".

Success by thinking small

Finding businesses and people who have become successful by thinking and staying small is a pleasure of mine. "Small is cool" is about people and business who have found success by traveling  a different path. The competition in the nursery trade is fierce, with the box stores bringing in the very suppliers that at one time we're exclusive to the independent channel. Trying to compete on their scale is impossible for most  smaller garden shops, so we need to find a different way. I see examples of different businesses who have achieved some success, however they define it, by staying true to their beliefs and staying small. Today in SFGate an article titled, "Wine shops find success in thinking small"caught my eye. Wine merchants have many of the same concerns as garden centers might have. We read that, "of course, great wine boutiques have been here all along. But in recent years, those who deliberately chose the small path have seen customer loyalty survive even when the recession pushed a $60 splurge down to $20." It continues with, "supermarkets and large retailers like BevMo have always offered ease of shopping - although at times it feels like I'm staring at a long row of wines that came from the same big spigot. But buying wine is becoming more intimate. Customers are willing to pay for expert curation."

So while the big suppliers like BevMo and Costco will always have a market, these wine merchants in the SFGate article have found a way to survive and thrive by, "...downsizing. Similar to what happened on Bay Area wine lists, buyers decided they didn't have to be all things to all people. Stores could be smaller, which meant lower rents and the chance to do one thing really well."  Some garden centers are starting to see this, and are headed in that direction. Should you?

Monrovia branded plants to be sold in Lowe's stores

According to Today's Garden Center Magazine, "Monrovia will begin selling its branded plants in Lowe’s stores in 2013. As a result of an exclusive agreement with Lowe’s, Monrovia plants, currently sold in Home Depot in plain pots, will pull out of Home Depot." In the article David Kirby, the new vice-president of sales say's , "that Lowe’s agreeing to maintain the premium brand image, partly through pricing, was key to Monrovia making the agreement. Until 2010, Monrovia had sold exclusively to independent garden centers." Not sure what "premium brand" image they are talking about? It's the one independent garden centers worked many years to help Monrovia build. Oh well...

We have covered Monrovia at this blog over the years, and there is a lot of background info here. I always thought they would end up at the box stores even after they asked their independent customers to buy more, or else. I even met with Monrovia executives in 2011 who told me they would never let their branded plants go to the boxes.

They might do o.k with the Lowe's deal. Really, what other choice do they have? Many independents have stopped buying from them as they have begun their move into the box stores. In addition, many of Monrovia's independent customers have closed, or gone out of business. The only place that offers any growth for them in the short term is the box stores and chains. Even there, it's likely to be muted as the consolidation of the horticultural businesses continues and economics work against some of the larger wholesale operations, like Monrovia.

Sunset magazine, now a box store brand.

Sunset magazine seems intent on dragging itself into the box, and chain stores.  According to SFGate, "Sunset introduced a line of branded plants designed to thrive and shine in virtually every California garden. The introduction was timed to coincide with the release of the ninth edition of Sunset's influential Western Garden Book."  The article continues, "Sunset's Western Garden Collection is on nursery shelves in all 89 Orchard Supply Hardware stores and 40 Lowe's in California, and the company hopes to expand into selected small chains and independent garden centers."

The plants in the Sunset Western Garden Collection are not even new to the trade. They are in most cases already being sold, but will now be "branded" as "The Sunset Collection". Sunset say's, "The Sunset Western Garden Collection is the first live plant collection to focus exclusively on top performing plants for the Western gardener. The Sunset Western Garden Collection will debut this spring." What a bunch of crock! I, and other western independent garden centers have been selling plants that focus exclusively on the western gardener for many, many years. I guess our independent garden center brands don't count with Sunset.

When Sunset released the most recent edition of their "formally" influential Sunset Western Garden Book, many small garden retailers we're upset when the books showed up at Costco first. Topping  it off, they we're at  prices we small retailers would have to pay just to be able to sell them in our stores. Now Sunset disses the small locally owned garden centers that helped build the Sunset Brand over all those years, and heads straight to the box stores with their collection?

What's with all these branded plant collections? Does no one do anything original anymore? It's all cut and paste for these companies. Take existing plants or products, buy the rights, slap your name on them, tell people how original you are, and hope no one notices it's just more noise. Sunset magazine has managed in just a couple of attempts to alienate small locally owned garden centers across the west. Why would an independent garden center sell plants that are easily recognized as a "box store" brand with Sunsets name on them? I know we won't. Like other small western retailers we will concentrate on building our own brand. We have been "focusing exclusively on top performing plants for the Western gardener" long before this recent attempt to stay relevant from Sunset.

"Hand-Made Plants?"

Interesting article in Wired magazine,"These May Be The Droids Farmers Are Looking For".The article is about robots and technology working for the wholesale nurseries.

It seems the trade continues to fragment along two lines. Large agriculture (wholesale growers)their customers (box stores and mass merchants), and a smaller ("hand made")agriculture for smaller customers. It would seem that we are coming close to a time when we in the smaller garden center businesses will be able to call our offerings "hand-made", distinguishing our offerings from the "robot-produced" goods the competition carries.

A nurseryman's lament

It's a cold, rainy day here in northern California. The perfect opportunity for those of us in the nursery business  to contemplate the future of our trade, and then write about it. The following is a post from Don Shor, a fellow nurseryman who runs The Redwood Barn Nursery in Davis, California. It is a wonderful summation of the "IGC (independent garden centers) vs. Box Store" argument.

"An open letter to the Big Box stores, and other non-garden stores, that sell garden supplies.

When I first moved to Davis to go to college, I went out in search of houseplants. There was a little drugstore chain called PayLess Drugs where they would put out displays of little houseplants. Only problem was, they had no way to water them. So we all learned that within 3 to 4 days they would be half off. And half dead. But we could snatch up some great bargains if we timed our visit right.

As a budding (har!) hort student I found this very amusing. Little did I realize it was going to become an industry standard for plant aftercare at many retail establishments that treat plants as commodities rather than as living organisms.

Those plants you are selling took a lot of resources to get to your store. There are breeders and greenhouse managers with a lot invested there. Lots of water and fuel to grow them and get them to you. Pesticides and fertilizers, and growth regulators, and often careful management of lighting and nutrients to induce bloom.

So the least you could do is keep the thing watered for a few days, and put it in the right place.

There are a few basic practices that we as plant-sellers should abide by. These are really ethical standards for our industry.

The plant should be properly labeled.

It should be healthy, free of pests and diseases.

It should be monitored to keep it free of pests and diseases.

It should be watered as often as necessary to keep it vigorous.

It should be displayed in the light that is appropriate to the species.

What you are selling should be appropriate to the season and to the region.

So when I see poinsettias displayed outside in freezing weather in Northern California;

when I see orchids outside on a west-facing wall in full sun in the summer;

when I see house plants displayed among landscape shrubs;

when I see dead plants that could have lived but for a little water;

when I see blighted tomato seedlings;

when I see summer vegetables being sold in February in the Sacramento Valley;

when I see pelargoniums labeled as azaleas:

I want to turn you in to have your License to Sell Nursery Stock revoked.

So your grower guarantees your plants, and doesn't even charge you for them until they sell? The customer doesn’t know that. The novice gardener believes that you are selling a healthy plant that will grow here, at the right season. Your guarantee isn't an excuse either. Our industry prospers when you sell success. A beginning gardener who fails often just gives up.

So here are a few pointers.

Very few landscape plants will live long inside your store. Just a few days in low light (I know it seems bright, but it isn’t from a plant’s perspective) will lead to etiolation: weak growth with thin leaves and stems that are vulnerable to infection.

Plants that require sun in the garden require at least some sun in your outdoor display. Plants that prefer shade will burn in full sun. My, this seems obvious, but it is probably the most common blunder I see.

Tropical plants that aren't hardy in your region should be clearly identified as such and kept separate from those that are hardy. Perhaps you should sell them as houseplants.  It doesn't matter what the label says. Your display is what matters, and the training you give your staff. The customer is counting on you. If they see it outside, they think it grows outside.

Know your seasonal annuals, both flower and vegetable. I know you don’t actually have in-house buyers any more. The mega-growers are deciding what is stocked, and they make their decisions for an entire region. So those snapdragons you are getting in May in the Sacramento Valley? They aren't going to bloom all summer. In fact, they won’t last more than a couple of weeks in 90 degree heat. Nothing wrong with selling them to someone who wants a quick display SO LONG AS THEY KNOW that.

Diseased plants should be removed immediately. Again, I know they aren’t really your plants. The grower is supposed to decide when they get pitched. But he doesn't really have much incentive to do so, does he? So when there are spots on the leaves, remove those from your display. Remove them from where water will splash the fungus spores onto healthy nearby plants. Maybe put them by the dumpster, or some place in back. I’m kind of sick of explaining the disease cycle to your customers after the fact.

Those rolling vertical display units of bedding annuals and ground covers? I call those disease factories. If you wanted to design a perfect way to inoculate young plants with fungus, you couldn’t do a better job.

Let’s see:

o      low light? check.

o      high humidity? check.

o      poor air movement? check.

o      movement of spores in running water? check.

Perfect. A few bits of Pythium or Rhizoctonia on top, overhead watering, drainage from one flat down onto another, and you have successfully spread seedling diseases across the entire display.

It’s ok. The problems from these diseases don’t usually show up until a few days after the plant is infected.

Please treat your plants and your customers with respect. These should not be disposable commodities. But when I hear that 15 to 25% of them get thrown out by the grower, there are being treated as disposable. That isn't good for gardeners or our industry."

Thank you Don.

Don Shor and his family have owned Redwood Barn Nursery, a small retail garden center near downtown Davis California, since 1981.

The box stores are breeding plants for easier shipping

My last post was a link to Annie of Annie’s Annuals and her most excellent rant, "Dwarf Madness". It concerns some breeders, and their mad science. It seems they are breeding plants to flower sooner for quicker sales at the box store garden center. It’s not only for a quick sale, but they are also breeding plants to grow shorter so they fit into the racks used to deliver plants. It use to be that plants we’re loaded onto trucks individually, and unloaded that way. Not very efficient since plants are all different sizes and shapes when shipped. To speed loading and unloading many suppliers now load plants onto racks that are wheeled off their trucks, and into the nursery. You can fit more plants on the truck this way, cutting costs, and making for easier unloading. They collect the empty racks, and take them back to be filled again. It’s all very neat and organized.

Now the box stores are demanding plants be bred for easier shipping. A friend in the breeding/growers world, Lloyd Traven of Peace Tree Farms had an interesting conversation with a box store representative. Lloyd relates this conversation. “Conversation at Lilytopia yesterday, among 10,000 STEMS of incredible Oriental lilies, many with 12 flowers each a FOOT across and 4+ feet tall: ‘What growth regulator can I use to get these less than 18" tall, including pot?’ Response from bulb breeder---"WHY would you want to do that? The flowers will shrink to 5", they won't last, and the customer will think they are short varieties.’ Blank stare from box store grower—‘I need to fit these on a shipping rack, 3 layers minimum, all the same height and size and bloom stage.’ ‘Maybe you should look for another product to force into a mold. We worked hard to make these magnificent, and you will make them ordinary.’"

It’s worse than I thought. Not being a breeder this kind of stuff was off my radar before. Since I have been hanging with other nursery folks at our Indie garden center group I am getting an earful on a subject that is now on my radar. It seems this is an area where the independent garden center can make some headway against the standardization, and homogenization of our trade. What if the decline in interest in gardening was being helped along by these practices? They are breeding plants for better shipping? That’s what has happened to our vegetables, and look what that did. Now people are growing their own, and finding they taste a whole lot better.

This is just ridiculous. Remember when you buy plants from the box stores you are helping promote this type of thing. Individually smaller plant nurseries and garden centers don’t have the pull necessary to get stuff like this done. It’s the chains and box stores that are breeding the “Shazam” out of gardening. The only people fighting this are places like Annie’s, smaller locally owned operations, and their fans. Next time you think all the plants are the same no matter where you buy them, think again. It does matter where you buy your horticultural supplies.

You are a summation of ALL your social media accounts

It seem’s that with my last post the pot got stirred.  I apologize to Gina for attributing a quote to her, that was not her's. I have made the correction in my comment's here.  I have no personal agenda against any particular blogger. My blog has over the years had it’s fair share of controversy. I don’t make money from it. A very small percentage of my garden center customers read it. It’s a business blog and as such I cover subjects that involve the trade, and forget that many just want to dig in the dirt. I also now realize that many of the garden writers are not as use to the controversy that sometimes swirls around myself, and my writing. If you got caught up in the whirl wind, and don’t like the attention, I apologize. It’s a new world and I am trying to get use to it, too.

The one thing I have learned from all this is, you are a summation of all you social media accounts.  Your blog may not seem overly partisan, but if your Facebook account or Twitter feed is, where do you draw the line? Your blog may not gush with praise for one brand or another, but what if your Facebook feed say’s otherwise? What happens when what is said at one persons social media outlet doesn’t jive with what’s happening at their other social media outlet's.

I have always said what is on my mind, and the only people who I have to answer to are you. And yes, this time I did have to answer, perhaps a bit long winded as Jack points out in the comments. Soon as I accept sponsor’s or advertisements everything I say has to be seen through that prism. For myself, who makes a living in the brick and mortar world it’s not worth it. Those of you who make money, or hope to make money with their online efforts have different motivations, and I really understand that now.

And now it's off to the garden center where we are preparing for a storm moving in. Suppose to get down to 35deg.F Sunday night. Hail predicted and snow down  to 2500 foot elevation. Not good for all those vegetables people have planted. We'll spend the afternoon gathering them up and protecting them inside. What a drag!

Bill's comment say's it all

The Garden Gloves Come Off is an article appearing in The Wall Street Journal today. It concerns Home Depot and Lowe's ongoing battle to have the newest plant introductions. As the article states, "the weapons are scientifically altered versions of common flowering plants, engineered to bloom a little brighter or withstand benign neglect a little longer. Lowe's and Home Depot are locked in an annual arms race to discover and develop new plants—ideally as exclusives sold in only their stores."

There is an interesting thing I have started to notice with The Wall Street Journal, and other online publications.  This article is not one of them, but many of their articles are hidden behind "pay walls." They will start the article and then finish what you can see about a paragraph or two into it. If you want to see more you have to subscribe. So for those of us who refuse to subscribe we only get a taste of the article, unless you jump to the comments!

This is a phenomenon that is starting to show up at various publications that institute a pay wall.  By reading the comments of some who are regular contributors to the comment section you can get an overview of the article. If you have read the commenter's comments before, and trust what they say, you can get some real insight. Some of the comments are better than the article they are commenting on. You have to be selective and ignore the comments that are useless, and if you read the same publication regularly you get to know who to listen to.

So it was with great pleasure that I read through this article and saw the first comment by Bill Jung. I am not sure who Bill is, but independent locally owned garden centers owe him a big "thank you".

Bill say's, "Starting about 3 years ago, after I determined my success rate with plants purchased from either Lowe's or HomeDepot was 50-50, I bought more and more from the local independent nurseries and greenhouses where my success rate with the plant living and blooming increased to 90%. Sure those plants sold at the big boxes initailly looked great but within two weeks they faded and showed less vigor. Those purchased at the independents took off beautifully after two weeks and lasted all season long. I planted my first garden in 1959 and try to keep up with as much of the literature in horticulture and forestry as possible. I am not a novice gardener in my opinion. Many of my plants I start from seeds or cutting on my own.

I have since reduced all my purchases at either lowe's or HomeDepot and have since bought lumber and building materials at REAL LUMBERYARDS, major appliances at a real KITCHENAID DEALER, paint at a PITTSBURGH PAINT STORE, and my chainsaws and garden equipment at a STIHL DEALER. Soon I will be in the market for a JOHN DEERE lawn and garden tractor, I will buy it at a JOHN DEERE dealer. AS of last year, I won't even go into a bigbox to 'look around'. I don't have the time to waste.

Funny too, were the prices competitive if not better at the 'little guys'. I was getting perennials for a buck each at a grower's greenhouse whereas the comparable plants were priced at 3.98. 4.98 and 5.98 at the big boxes. Plus the people were trained horticulturists with degrees and were plant breeders too.

Maybe STIHL was onto something when they said you can only buy a new STIHL at a Stihl dealer and not a BIGBOX. Besides, I got tried of having the clerks tell me, 'You have to go to a LUMBERYARD for that'".

Thank you Bill!

Right on Dana!

I wanted to highlight a comment made at my post "Jamie Durie say's..." Dana Stenger, of  Pike Nursery in Atlanta gives her view as to the mash-up of businesses and personalities we discussed.

Here is the comment:

"Right again, Sir! I just gave my two cents on this issue on the blog at Today’s Garden Center recently; Home Depot To Open Detached Garden Center.  (here is the link) This is all about the subliminal message that is screaming to the IGC consumer as a result of this powerhouse marketing relationship. Whether Lowe’s sells Monrovia or not doesn’t matter, Jamie Durie is the face of Monrovia and they will assume that Monrovia’s product is on the shelf–that gets them in the door and pulls them away from the IGC. From there, if dissatisfied, they will toddle across the street to Home Depot since both feed off of one another. IGC’s that are sleeping will be left in their wake. The writing is on the wall and has been for some time. Because of the humanistic tendency to default to the 'Normalcy Bias', the IGC owner will become confused and immobile, unable to move forward; only capable of pulling on experiences from the past rendering them unarmed and helpless. I am seeing this right now on many levels and I’m sure you are too. These are the new deep, deep waters of commerce where you can’t touch the bottom and you can’t see the surface but you have to keep functioning at optimum levels—and they most certainly will prove lethal to the leaders who lack the vision to see what’s coming or the ability to process information and quickly pivot in order to avoid losing their companies. Keep ringing the bell Trey, in the end when it’s all said and done, none will be able to say you didn’t warn them. Carry on!"

Right on Dana!

In addition I have been receiving great comments concerning my post, "Guess who is not coming to your flower show". Scroll to the bottom for the comments, and the great back and forth between Gen X and the older generation.  Some real good stuff that can benefit those who can look beyond their generational prejudices, and work together to keep the local owned garden center alive and thriving.

Monrovia not selling to Lowe's

Received a call from Bob Smiland of Monrovia Nursery. He tell's me Monrovia does sell to Home Depot, a little to Costco, but does not sell to Lowe's.  He did mention a couple of other chains, but I can not remember which ones.  I am awaiting an e-mail, and then might be able to clarify who they are.  What got his attention was my post concerning Jamie Durie, "Jamie Say's..." In that post we talked about how Jamie works for Monrovia, while at the same time working for Lowe's, where I said he would have access to Monrovia's plants. Well if Monrovia doesn't sell to Lowe's then he won't be able to get his plants there! My mistake, hence this post. I appreciate Bob taking the time to clear this up.