Did Your New Plant Really Cost That Much ?

Hi Again

I had an interesting conversation recently with an old friend that I hadn't seen for several years. For many years he had been the manager of a large retail nursery, but after making the decision to live in New Zealand, now travels looking for plant varieties to hybridize, and dream up a catchy name and design labels for. The money he claims, is in the labels.

I have to admit that as a wholesale nursery owner it's interesting to see how quickly the plants with large colorful labels sell. The bigger the label the more popular the plant. Of course most of the time it doesn't matter to the buyer that the new, big, bright, colorful labels can add substantially to the cost of the plant. The retail nurseries like the labels because the bigger and brighter the label, the more noticeable their displays are.

For growers like me there are disadvantages of course. Many of the 'new' named plants can only be grown commercially by purchasing a special license, usually very expensive, and again, adding to the cost of the end product. Then of course there is the pretty colored pots they MUST be sold in, the fancy colored sticks to hold the big bright labels, as well as the wages for staff to transfer the plants to their pretty pots and add those already costly labels before transporting to the nurseries.
In the middle of all this packaging is the now expensive little plant.

I think my friend is right, the money IS in the labels.


Until Next Time Happy Gardening

Margarete
www.antspantsgardening.com