Reinvent and repurpose

“Reinvent & Repurpose” is developing as a big trend right now. For a home gardener “repurpose” might mean turning an antique chair into a quirky and unique wall-planter for their staghorn fern. For a garden center it may mean taking an old category, like indoor tropicals, and remaking it anew for both potential and regular customers. Winter is always a good time to turn focus indoors and inspire your customers to refresh their homescape. If your indoor tropical sales have slumped, it’s not too late to reinvent your category.

The gateway drug
I’ve always thought of indoor plants as the “gateway drug” to a full-on gardening addiction. At least that’s the way it worked for me. When you’re 20, renting a home with multiple roommates and have little outdoor gardening space to call your own (or afford), you turn to potted plants.

Tropicals become an accessible way to garden that can quickly turn into collecting and decorating, which can then turn into more spending. Speaking of decorating, you know the last section you hit when you shop at IKEA is the indoor plant and pots area, right? They’ve turned indoor plants into a “decorating duh” for the 20 to 30 somethings. I suppose we should thank IKEA for training our up-and-coming gardeners they need indoor plants, even if the staff can’t tell a Pothos from a pineapple. In which case, wouldn’t you rather they come to you for their living décor instead?

Stay on trend with tropicals
Just as in fashion, trends come and go, and if you ignore them, you’ll see it reflected in your bottom line. There are a few key trends for 2013 that I think go hand-in-hand with indoor plants and are necessary to both attract the newbies and re-inspire the regulars.

Health, wellness and an overall desire to connect with “inner forces” will play a big part in consumer purchasing choices this year. A fresh coat of low VOC non-toxic milk paint can be step one in refreshing a room and reducing one’s enviro-guilt; but if we’re talking about cleaning up the air, what better tool than houseplants?

We need to make sure our customer knows that to fully freshen up their home, they should consider indoor plants part of the plan. Live indoor tropicals can clean indoor air, reduce stress, lower your blood pressure and raise your spirits. Make sure you’re taking hold of these important benefits and communicating them clearly to your customer.

Tiny is also hot. Be it fairy gardens, meditation gardens or terrariums, customers are looking for ways to micro-size it. Air plants, which just happen to be tiny, are also all the rage when it comes to hip indoor decorating and even living jewelry. As more people go urban, trading the suburban sprawl for convenience, they need help reinventing gardening for their new environment. Young renters or empty-nesters may not have room to garden outdoors and need small solutions that fit their lifestyle. Tiny is also a great way to introduce kids to gardening; I can’t tell you how many grandparents I saw working on fairy gardens with their grandkids this past year. Fascinating miniature plants like Nertera, Lithops, orchids and other small terrarium plants will feed the addiction.

Be the master
Be sure to schedule workshops to show customers how to repot indoor houseplants and orchids, a process that is pretty intimidating to inexperienced enthusiasts. Teach them now to measure pots to make sure they are choosing the right size for their new tropical. Show them which kind of potting mix to use for indoor tropicals, succulents and orchids. For customers who don’t want to do any repotting, show them how to pair potted plants with stylish cachepots so they can change out décor with the season.

Terrarium workshops are guaranteed to bring in a younger crowd, so commit to having someone on staff who is skilled in gardening under glass. Fairy garden workshops are still selling out. Make sure you have the accompanying products on hand during the workshop so they can shop your table when you’re finished. Give customers the confidence to make the right choices, and they’ll be back to see you with their friends. For customers with a manicure they are unwilling to vandalize, offer a repotting service with a quick turn-around time.

Ditch the discount rack
I know mitigating losses in the houseplant category is tough; orchids aren’t saleable once they drop their flowers, peace lilies lose their appeal when out of flowers. So do yourself a favor and add in enough mark-in margin to cover your predictable losses so you don’t have to roll out the discount rack of death. Less than beautiful houseplants neither represent the “wellness” vibe, nor you as a plant expert.

Be gone with the boring
If you’re only selling the same old monster and pothos ivy, don’t expect your customers to get excited about your indoor plant selection. There are a lot of exciting tropicals available that make great houseplants and provide a little extra zing. Some might not be “new” per se, but they have been reinvented as easy-care houseplants. In addition to the fun tiny plants I’ve already talked about, such as the Nertera and Lithops (see pages 28 and 29), here are a few of my favorite new, or newish, indoor plant options:

Medinilla magnifica. All I can say is WOW. If you really want to stop your customers in their tracks, this plant is the way to do it. The pink blooms are huge and long-lasting. Medinilla prefer to be on the dry side, which is perfect for customers who forget to water. Offer up bright light, but no direct sun rays. They’re generally pest free. Who wants a lily or an orchid for Mother’s Day when you can have this?!

Calathea ‘Tasmania’. I do love a bright orange, and this Calathea definitely delivers. This ornamental ginger offers up lovely dark foliage between blooms and makes a striking specimen in a bright colored container.

Winter Cherry, Solanum capicastrum. This Jerusalem Cherry relative offers up cheery, cherry-sized fruit in shades of green, orange and finally red once mature. They might look like tiny tomatoes, but should not be eaten as they are poisonous: not for a house with small kiddos. This beautiful little shrub can be set outdoors on your patio during summer months, but must be indoors once temperatures cool.

Coralberry, Ardisia crenata. Yes, I know you normally plant this shrub outdoors, where it is winter hardy in Southern climates (USDA Zones 8-10), but did you know it makes a great houseplant? This evergreen is perfect for mid- to low-light situations. It sports emerald green foliage and bright red berries that show up in fall and hang on all winter. I see this as a perfect poinsettia substitute.

Just remember, what may be old to you may be new to your potential customers. See what you can do using these tips to reinvent and repurpose your houseplant category to attract new customers and re-inspire the faithful.

Leslie Finical Halleck owns Halleck Horticultural, through which she provides horticultural marketing, business consulting, social media management and content generation for green industry businesses.  Leslie is a Certified Professional Horticulturist (CPH) via ASHS, with more than 20 years of industry experience. For the past eight years she served as General Manager for North Haven Gardens, a well-respected independent garden center in Dallas, Texas. www.lesliehalleck.com