Plant Profile: Gerbera Glamorous Mix

UPDATE: Raker is now sold out of these, so hopefully I can trial them next season!

Today I'm going to start a new section in this blog where I profile various varieties of plants that I enjoy, as well as new introductions and my thoughts on them. Being that it is early spring, it will only be an overview of what the plants are supposed to be like instead of my actual experience with them. Once I've had a chance to trial some of them, I will be able to relay my first hand experience.

The above is a new introduction: Gerbera Glamorous Mix exclusively from Raker. My wife loves gerbera, so I will definitely be trying these out to see how they perform. A few great points:

• ü  Glamorous has dark green, deeply crinkled foliage – a totally new & unique look for gerbera

• ü  Plants are compact, but have large, showy blooms in a mixture of light and dark eyed colors

• ü  The dark green leaves are tougher and more drought tolerant than other gerbera

• ü  Glamorous plants are more sun and heat tolerant as well as more mildew resistant, opening up new possibilities for outdoor applications

• ü  Ideal for premium pot production as well as color bowls, patio containers and garden combination planters.

• ü  45mm liner size is perfect for finishing 5”pots in 4-6 weeks

    There are plenty on availability for week 14 (next week) in TR18s so I will be getting some in. I will also share my experience and photos! If you need any additional information, let me know, and I can send you growing instructions.

    Thanks for reading!

   

-   -JK

 

Is This What You Are?

Well, are you?

Earlier this morning, I tweeted the following: "Value is the word. Customer relationships are important, but you have to provide the type of value that no one else can."

There are many definitions of the word "value", but the one that fits best in this case is: "Worth in usefulness or importance to the possessor."  I like to think that I am value-centric in what I do, focusing on creating useful information and methods to grow your business. To me, that's the first thing I try to provide for my customers, because I want to be an asset, and not just the guy you call when you want to place an order.

I may not always know the answer, but I will definitely try to find it for you. If I can't, I will point you in the right direction. The greatest thing about thinking this way, is it makes me aware that there is always more to learn, and new ideas to explore.

How many businesses do this? Not many. I know of a few places that would rather pretend the product they don't have in stock is not in existence than recommend the customer go elsewhere to get it. I have no problem doing this, as I am confident that my customer will come back to me because of what I can offer: value.

Value in this blog, value in my tweets, value in my emails, and most of all, value in my service to you. I draw a lot of parallels between what I do, and what you do, because we are really striving for the same thing: customer satisfaction. To do that, you have to be a valuable resource, and more importantly THE resource. If you are THE resource, why would they go anywhere else?

What else can you do to provide value to your customers?

Thank you for being a valuable asset to me. Please let me know how I can create more value for you!

-JK

St Patricks Day

If you don't wear green today, you are going to get pinched. For those who actually look good in green, its not a problem. Some would rather go all day getting pinched than wear green, and some are aggravated by the idea that just because they don't wear a certain color, someone is going to pinch them.

No. You are literally asking for it.

I thought today would be a good day to go over pinching plants. Corny, yes. Practical...also yes.

Obviously, this is something that a seasoned veteran in the industry has a handle on. But even those vets can learn from going back over the fundamentals. For those that benefitted from my last blog post: Your First Spring? This may be something you have no idea how to do.

What is pinching a plant?

Its just pruning that encourages branching. When you pinch, you are removing part of a main stem, and forcing the plant to grow two new stems below the pinch.

There are many great reasons for pinching a plant, mainly to create a fuller, more compact plant. Pinching it forces the plant to focus on growing new stems outward instead of adding more height, and becoming lanky.

To do it, just pinch off the upper most small leaves and stem. Do it at the end of all of your stems, and you will have a fuller, more bushy plant. If its still not as bushy or compact as you'd like, do it all over again.

Your thumb and forefinger are not magical (as some people seem to believe when pinching plants), so you can use scissors or pruning shears instead. If you are pinching with your fingers, try not to twist and tear the new growth off, as it takes longer for the plant to heal from this.

Plants will probably be the only green things getting pinched today, unless you've got that uncle who pinches you because your shirt is actually emerald or jade. Of course, you could just carry this around all day:

Just pin it to your jade-colored shirt.

Happy St. Patricks Day!

-JK

Your First Spring?

Park Seed has long been an advocate for small growing operations. We believe this is at the heart of what this industry is all about, and its how our company began. There is a certain passion that comes from a small grower. Even businesses who have grown to epic proportions remember the days when overhead was low, and trial and error was how they learned.

 

There are many benefits to starting out small, the biggest being an opportunity to create your own identity, and way of doing things. Thankfully, we are in an industry that has decent room for profit, unlike some others where they are lucky to make 1 or 2 percent on every sale.

 

Some ideas if you are just starting out:

 

• Buy in small perennials (or start from seed), and bump them up to sell next year for better profit.

•  Try putting your eggs in different baskets - don't just declare yourself a garden center, landscaping company, or nursery. Try it all, see what fits, then create a strategy around that.

• Don't be afraid to fail. Obviously, first impressions are lasting impressions, but at this point, you have enough flexibility to bounce back and learn from your mistakes.

• Be different. Don't do what everyone else is doing. Certainly there are staples in the industry, but you can deviate from that, and put your special twist on it. Everyone selling hanging baskets? Sell those, and sell flower pouches.

 

There are so many neat things you can try when you are just beginning. I am always amazed at how innovative and resourceful people are when they have only imagination to work with.

 

Happy Spring! Its almost here!

 

-JK