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March 25, 2010
It is no secret that big box retailers have been consolidating their supplier base in the lawn and garden category. Efficiency (cost reduction) and higher profitability are the goals, with much of the work and costs shifted to suppliers (growers)....
March 25, 2010
Gone are the days of growing your favorite crops and expecting them to sell themselves. This applies to both wholesale and retail markets. After all, large wholesale companies such as Coca-Cola do not sell directly to consumers, but they’re very...
March 25, 2010
Relative to the magnitude of historic economic downturns, the so-called Great Recession was not much more severe than the recessions of 1973-1975 and 1981-1982. However, economic recovery from this latest recession has started out much more slowly....
March 25, 2010
Wenke Greenhouses, a family-owned business, transitions with each generation of ownership. Lorence and Dennis Wenke purchased their father’s bedding plant business about 40 years ago, and today, Lorence’s daughter Lisa and her husband, Andy Ambrosio...
March 25, 2010
Did you know that, in 2009, more than 75 million households participated in some form of edible gardening? In fact, nearly 8 million homeowners planted their very first vegetable, herb or fruit garden last year. These are the findings in the 2009...
February 16, 2010
Compared with ornamentals, controlling plant height of vegetables can be difficult. That challenge has been reduced with the labeling of Sumagic (Valent Professional Products) on tomato, pepper, eggplant, groundcherry, pepino and tomatillo during...
February 16, 2010
Suntory has earned a reputation of providing some of the most innovative genetics to our marketplace. The Senetti series of pericallis hybrids comes from their Japan breeding stations. These dynamite plants come from crossing members of the...
February 16, 2010
With their flamboyant and sweetly scented blooms, Oriental lilies definitely draw consumers’ attention in garden centers. In the past, Orientals were primarily grown and marketed as potted plants that were sold around major holidays such as Easter...
February 16, 2010
Vegetable and herb category sales are increasing across North America, and it would be easy to sit back and simply tabulate the immediate sales. Do not stop there! The greatest opportunity in 2010 for growers and retailers is to be proactive in...
February 16, 2010
The floriculture program at Michigan State University has a rich history of applied research, partnerships with industry leaders, dissemination of unbiased information, and industry, undergraduate and graduate education. With industry guidance and...
February 16, 2010
The National Poinsettia Trials are a collaboration of the research and trialing efforts at three universities (University of Florida, North Carolina State University and Purdue University), one commercial site (Homewood Nursery in Raleigh, N.C.) and...
February 16, 2010
Even though it is only February and there is still plenty of winter left to “experience,” spring is right around the corner. You have probably spent the last few months totally immersed in planning for this spring, so I have a question for you: What...
January 19, 2010
Consumers look at food’s packaging to find its calorie, protein, fiber and cholesterol content. Then they weigh that information with the price and decide which products to purchase. Walmart envisions consumers looking at a product’s sustainability...
January 19, 2010
It’s January, and though many people have made resolutions, few will keep them. It takes little effort to make them, but people fail when they lack the focus and drive to carry them through.
While they’re bigger and more elaborate than simple...
January 19, 2010
In my November 2009 column, I wrote that housing is a critical component of the economic recovery now in progress. So far, the housing side of the recovery can be described as three steps forward, two steps back. The latest housing-starts figures...
January 19, 2010
The time to start long-term planning for your family business is as soon as you believe that your family business will be around for the long term. Maybe you haven’t even let yourself think about it: “I’m too young to think about succession!” or “I’...
January 19, 2010
If you asked a grower whether they’d added more than 1,000 customers to their books in the past three years in this struggling economy, it’s doubtful you’d find many that could say they had.
Jim and Jonathan Berry can.
J. Berry Nursery in Grand...
January 19, 2010
In the November 2009 issue of Big Grower, regular contributor Dr. Charlie Hall at Texas A&M University wrote about how critical the housing market is to the overall recovery of the economy. Boy, is it ever.
As 2009 came to a close, USA Today was...
January 19, 2010
It has long been known that, during periods of dark weather, high-intensity supplemental lighting can increase photosynthesis and plant quality of floriculture crops. However, until recently, the definition of “dark” weather was ambiguous and...
January 19, 2010
Until recently, any reference to impatiens often included a phrase like “the perfect choice for shady gardens.” With the advent of New Guinea Impatiens more than 20 years ago, these varieties would at least tolerate some sunshine, although they...
