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Plant purchases gain momentum

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E-commerce sales of plant material as a percentage of total plant sales exploded over the pandemic and have continued to grow. According to research funded by the Horticultural Research Institute, the growth of plant e-commerce sales is here to stay and will continue to substantially increase. I had the opportunity to view a presentation on […]

The (not so) big chill

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Plant sales have cooled off since the highs of the COVID era, but 2023 is shaping up strongly so far for the green industry It got cold in Atlanta this past winter. One day in December, the mercury topped out at a frigid 7 degrees. “I can’t ever remember a single-digit day since I moved […]

Branching out with banking relationships

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Financing for the nursery industry can be tricky without a few financial friends Any business faces challenges, but nurseries have a unique set all to themselves. There’s nature to contend with, a perpetual shortage of labor, and the fact that crops planted today won’t be ready to sell, in many cases, for years. And when […]

Getting ahead by cutting back

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Advances in automated shrub trimming save time and labor With its wheels stretched 60 feet apart, a mowing machine makes its way over multiple rows of rhododendrons, leaving them uniformly trimmed on top. Powered by only one person riding on top of it, this machine gets the work done quickly, saving large wholesale grower Woodburn […]

Where are the shrubs?

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Growers face recession and inflation concerns after pandemic depletes stock and strains availability The pandemic brought unexpected havoc to the nursery trade, just as it did to the rest of the economy. Strong sales volumes caused shortages and supply chain issues in all nursery sectors including shrubs. That in turn drove wide-ranging ripple effects that […]