Where do your ferns grow?

The classic book Where the Red Fern Grows is one of those books that most people remember for years after they’ve read it. Although the minor details of character names, the name of the little town that it took place in, or exactly what happened might be a bit foggy, there is one aspect of the book that resounds throughout the years — the importance of the red fern. After reading the book, ferns seem a little more pertinent, because in the book they grew and flourished in an area that nothing else would. These ferns came back no matter what.

Maybe not everybody likes ferns. Some see them as boring or difficult to grow unless you have nothing but deep, dark shade and some sort of wooded environment where wild animals live. In order to market ferns to customers who otherwise don’t want or need ferns, you have to make them not only want ferns, but need ferns. With more than 12,000 different species of ferns in the world, picking a few to market shouldn’t be that hard, and finding aspects to market shouldn’t be that hard either, right? 

Wrong. The world of ferns is confusing and unless you have a trail map to guide you through the dense tangle of ferns, you’ll end up with a bunch of non-marketable plants and a whole lot of heartache. You have several marketing points that don’t necessarily pop out at you when trying to sell ferns, but if you start with the simple bits, you’ll be able to ease your customers into the fern buying trap and then hook them with the small details. Use easy-to-understand facts like:

• Ferns are one of the first plants known to be in existence, so they can stand the test of time
• Ferns are diverse; they can give you just about anything you’d like
• Slug free is the way to be, plant ferns and avoid those slimy pests
• Start off with signage that is easy to read and interesting to lure those otherwise tentative shoppers to your fern section without having to have a salesperson take their hand and guide them to the department. Once you actually get them where your ferns are located, you can let the quality of your plant material do the talking. Ferns should be an integral part of any shade perennial department, although if you don’t deal with perennials, you can still market annual ferns using the same methods (although you’ll have lesser variety).
  
   

Who’s going to buy these?

As far as selling ferns go, you need to understand that the adage “what’s in bloom sells” is going to be one of your greatest enemies. Ferns neither bloom, nor can they lure people in with an intoxicating fragrance, they’re just kind of there. This “just kind of there” attitude is perfect, however, for lazy gardeners that aren’t necessarily into a bunch of deadheading, scouting for bugs, or anything that requires specialized care such as fertilizers. Keep in mind that ferns have been around for a very long time, most of which they weren’t getting tended to by people with green thumbs. Use this as a verbal selling point, but avoid using it on signage. Putting language such as this in writing will turn some people away and make some seasoned gardeners feel like you’re dumbing down the selection of plants in order to ensure plant success.
 

Turn perennial customers into annual buyers

You can also market your ferns to those who are looking for a low maintenance plant that they can throw into a pot and look good with minimal to no effort whatsoever. Looking at some of the hardier annual ferns, people flock to those that look full, lush and easy to grow. Some of these include Kimberly Queen, Boston, Asparagus, and the newer Tiger Fern. Although these aren’t going to bulk up your perennial fern sales, you’ll gain annual customers and count on those ferns not only being sold once, but year after year ­— if the customer is happy with them that is. This is where it is crucial to not let people get carried away with the idea of having annual ferns and just buy them because they’re pretty. If you’re able to assist your customer in a way that assures them to keep it alive at least one season, and they’re happy after that one season, they’ll come back for another, and another. 

The benefit of selling annual ferns, especially baskets, is they stay a lot tidier than some other hanging baskets in the summer time. If you’re able to, try to talk as many of your customers out of the showy, blooming baskets and talk them into something like a Boston fern that will look nice for the next couple of months. How many times as an IGC have you had your customers from spring come back halfway through summer complaining that they have baskets that have bloomed out? This causes an unhappy customer, who will either not return or possibly make it harder on your staff to appease.
 

Be trendy 

You can also market the tropical plants and “trendy” indoor items. With websites such as Pinterest, the idea of having greenery in a fashionable manner in your home has gone through the roof. In this circumstance, take a good ten minutes to sit down (maybe grab a cup of coffee) and do an internet search on “Ferns as Houseplants.” You’ll be captivated by some of the unique ideas that you can use, most of which you probably have laying around your store anyways. If you’re able to capture the younger generation and make a cross reference to another website using your own social media you’ll appear to be more “in-the-know” about what’s trendy and what’s in style. Anthropologie has made it big using being trendy to sell more botanically themed merchandise and even some plants, you can do the same, if you’re able to pull off being trendy that is.

Ferns for the trendy market are ones that aren’t necessarily the easiest to grow but can be replaced. Think of them as something like candles, they’re pretty when they burn, they smell nice when they’re around, but once they’ve burned out, the candle owner typically goes and gets a new one. Indoor ferns for trendy purposes should be inexpensive and sold to be more of a luxury item as apposed to a long term investment plant. You can even market them as such and have a “fern exchange,” encouraging people to keep their fern watered and alive as long as possible, but when it does finally give up, they can get a deposit back (even if it’s a small one). This will take a little houseplant stress off of those who just want to have a trendy indoor look, not devote a bunch of time taking care of ferns.
 

Variety central

Now that you’ve got a taste of who to market to and how, it’s important to know what exactly to offer people. As with any other aspect of your store, you can go absolutely crazy picking out the latest and most exotic cultivars of plants, but you are limited on space! You must sure that what you do select is going to give you the most return on your investment. Shopping around will do you a world of good, but also seeing what is around your neighborhood will help give you an idea as to what to stock your tables with. If you’ve got a small town and there is a park with a fantastic stand of Autumn Fern in the middle of it, never let your section be without a good selection of those. If there is a local restaurant that has a magnificent specimen of Staghorn Fern in the lobby, make sure you have those as well. These will sell themselves with minimal effort on your sales staff. The familiarity will sell it for you.

You must have a good selection, but once you get into ferns, they all start kind of looking the same. Fronds, stems, fronds, stems, you get the idea. With this monotony in mind, you have to make every variety that you carry seem unique and more desirable than the one next to it on the table. This is somewhat like children playing with toys, they have one of a set (let’s say a doll) and they see one next to it while visiting the store, they’ll want that one too because they liked the first one and this one is just a little bit different. Of course, as adults we use more rational thoughts and need to be persuaded sometimes to realize that we do need that extra doll, we do need that extra fern.

Bait the hook

Without trying to push your ferns on people, let the signage be your silent sales person. Having a special “Ferns Only” section will not only make the ferns themselves seem a little more exotic than the plants surrounding them, it will make it easier to give them a little extra attention. Signage is available from many different suppliers, but you can also take the do-it-yourself approach if you’re not in a position to spend lots of money on premade signs. Making artistic signs can lure people to a section, but also show that you’ve taken the extra step to put a personalized touch on the information being provided. Either way, as long as you’re able to provide information that makes the plant seem like much more than fronds and stems, you’re on your way to a sale.

Picture signs are great, and will help you sell your ferns in the off season, but at the same time they can become confusing, especially if they aren’t replaced every couple of years. The downside of having vinyl signs that feature colored images is that the sun often fades the image and will present a color that isn’t true to the plant itself. Do a signage check seasonally to make sure that the signage still matches the plant that is in front of it.

A perfect example would be the Japanese Painted Fern. If the sign placed near it has faded and made the picture appear like the variegation is more pronounced, you’ll instill confusion in the customer. Confusion leads to doubt, which leads to lack of confidence in the store. The information provided on the sign should be colorful and descriptive; the information should provide the flower that the plant is lacking. 
 

Reel in the catch

Once you’ve got the customers reaching for their pocketbooks and ready to leave your store with ferns, don’t stop there! Ferns can be excellent gateway plants to additional sales. Look at ferns, they don’t bloom, they don’t need much along the lines of special care, and they’re kind of boring. Use all of these aspects to tack on extras such as:

• Complimentary plants to give “color to the beautiful texture ferns provide”
• Fertilizer “rich in nitrogen to keep the plant lush and green”
• Composts to “enrich the soil to create a woodland-like environment to keep your fern happy”
   

Containers for color “enhance the aesthetic appearance of your ferns with a little hardscape to offset the woodland like ambiance ferns provide”

You’re going to be successful selling ferns, if you take the right approach. They don’t have flowers, so they can’t speak for themselves or lure people in with their aroma. Ferns are easily sustainable once they get on your tables, but it’s up to you to convince your customers they need them.

Nikki Weed is a horticulturist and professional adventurer who uses her experiences and knowledge to manage a successful garden center in Greenville, S.C. She can be reached at pepitaweed@gmail.com.