Apr 1, 2016

Study: Planting Plans on the Rise in ’16 By Tim Hodson

According to a new study done by the folks at www.houzz.com, more people are planning on planting this year.

In February, the website surveyed nearly 1,000 of its registered users to find out what they planned to do with their gardens and landscapes this year — and the news is good, they’ll be planting more of everything this year.

The Houzz Landscaping & Garden Trends Study shows that 76 percent of the respondents are planning to plant perennials this year, a 12 percent increase over 2015, while 71 percent said they would be planting new shrubs this year compared to 54 percent last year.

Fifty-eight percent say they will be buying and planting annuals in 2016 versus 51 percent in 2015. The tree category is expected to be up 7 percent, from 44 percent last year to 51 percent. Groundcover plant purchases are also expected to grow 13 percent this year.

The top five characteristics they are looking for in their plants this season are:

1. Low maintenance
2. Flowering
3. Attractants (bees, butterflies, hummingbirds)
4. Native
5. Drought-resistant

The Houzz study also contains additional information on many other landscaping categories including trends in lawn maintenance, water usage, landscape challenges, hardscaping, outdoor lighting, installation services and landscape project budgets.

If the Houzz survey is correct and Mother Nature cooperates, it looks like 2016 could be a good year for the industry.

If you’d like to dive deeper into the Houzz survey, click here to check it out.

— Tim