Market Buzz

Randolph’s Greenhouses closes, owner starts mail-order business

Randolph’s Greenhouses in Jackson, Tenn. is closing its retail buisiness, but owner Rita Randolph has plans to start a mail-order plant service.

The family business has been in operation since World War II, but the 10 greenhouses on 20 acres were in disrepair and the business was no longer turning a profit. “The last few years have shown no profit, and there wasn’t enough money to fix everything and be financially viable,” Randolph said.

Rita Randolph, owner of Randolph’s Greenhouses and Rita’s Rare Plants

Some Randolph’s property will be sold or auctioned and the old greenhouses will eventually be taken down. The business plans to sell about 15 acres and keep the area a clean, grassy space surrounded by trees.

Randolph has been in the green industry since childhood. She started off filling peat bags, then sowing seed and later, giving garden club talks for her mother. “I’ve always had the ability to pass on my enthusiasm to others,” she said. “That kind of energy is contagious.”

Randolph’s customers were disappointed by the news, as many of them had been lifelong fans of the business and personal friends of Randolph’s. The greenhouses were famous for small gardens and container plants, often helping customers find the right plants and designing planters.

“The biggest part of building customer relations is providing good service,” she said.

Randolph plans to continue sharing her knowledge of plants through speaking at trade shows and workshops, sharing new plants and writing.

Randolph’s new mail order business, Rita’s Rare Plants, will feature her collection of non-patented plants, hard-to-find hydrangeas, blooming shrubs, vines and perennials. She will also be offering Rita’s Gold Boston Fern, a handful of tropical plants and semi-hardy plants. “I can tell you that there is always a new plant coming along or rediscovered, and we look for beautiful foliage as much as flowers.”

For more, visit www.randolphsgreenhouses.com
 

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HGTV HOME adds grower partners for new Smart & Stylish shrub line

THE HGTV HOME PLANT COLLECTION announces three new grower partners for its Smart & Stylish shrub line: Imperial Nurseries, Northern Christmas Trees & Nursery and Van Essen Nursery. These growers located in Connecticut, Wisconsin and Oregon were chosen for their nationwide distribution network and their ability to grow under diverse zonal conditions.

The Smart & Stylish shrub line features 14 exclusive ornamental shrubs from Ball Ornamentals. The debut collection was developed by Agricola Management Group in conjunction with HGTV. Plants will be available spring 2013 in select independent garden centers nationwide as part of a soft launch rollout. This complements the full Expressions annuals rollout for 2013.

For more, visit www.hgtvhomeplants.com
 

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Difference Makers

Leo Goria, vice president of California operations, SummerWinds Nursery

When SummerWinds Nursery in San Jose, Calif. burned to the ground in September, management didn’t waste any time getting back to work to move product and thank the responding firefighters.

The garden center held a fire sale and toy donation drive just two weeks after the catastrophe in the parking lot of the burned down building. In just six days, SummerWinds sold 95 percent of their remaining stock and collected over $14,000 for the San Jose Firefighters Burn Foundation and the Los Bombers of Northern California Toy Program.

The firefighters allowed the building to burn to the ground, along with the chemicals inside, constantly checking to make sure there was no air or water pollution from the garden center stock.

“The thought process of letting the building disintegrate so the chemicals and fertilizers would evaporate saved us a ton of money in cleanup costs,” Goria said.

But the main idea was to move the products that hadn’t been destroyed, rather than caring for plants until the store could open again.

With 40 percent off plants, 30 percent off garden accessories and 20 percent off soil, Goria says the price reductions weren’t anything out of the ordinary, but the response was. The store sold $120,000 of products in just one day.

“It was pretty amazing,” he said. “It was a unique experience in my life. Before we could even open, there were lines of cars everywhere.”

But it was the genuine concern displayed by customers that touched Goria the most. “Every single customer that we talked to was so sorry for what happened, so sorry for the company, so sorry that their store had burned down.”

Goria was happy to assure customers that no one would be losing their job, and that the store would reopen soon.
 

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America in Bloom names 2012 national winners

Honors for the 2012 America in Bloom national awards program were announced at the annual symposium in Fayetteville, Ark. on Sept. 22.

“America in Bloom participation is helping communities achieve their potential. The accomplishments and progress shown by this year’s towns and cities is remarkable,” said AIB Executive Director Laura Kunkle.

Each of the 27 participating towns was judged across municipal, residential and commercial sectors on seven criteria: overall impression, community involvement, environmental efforts, heritage preservation, urban forestry, landscaped areas and floral displays.

Specially trained judges visited towns of similar populations and spent two days touring each community and meeting municipal officials, residents and volunteers.

Population Category winners are:
Greendale, Ind.; McCall, Idaho; Fayetteville, Ark.; Lakeside, Ohio; Holland, Mich.; Arroyo Grande, Calif.; and Smithfield, Va.

Criteria Award winners are: (A criteria award is considered “best of the best” and is selected from among all participating communities.)

• Heritage Preservation - Fayetteville, Ark.
• Urban Forestry - Springfield, Ohio
• Overall Impression - Racine, Wis.
• Landscaped Areas - Winter Garden, Fla.
• Environmental Efforts - Holland, Mich.
• Floral Displays - Arroyo Grande, Calif.
• Community Involvement - Madisonville, Ky.

Special Awards winners are:

• Best Hanging Baskets - Castle Rock, Wash.
• Best Program for Young People - Rising Sun, Ind.
• Most Creative Idea for Fundraising - Hummelstown, Pa.
• Best Trail System - Winter Garden, Fla.
• Best Community Garden Program - Holland, Mich.
• Best Tree Protection Program - Holliston, Mass.
• Most Effective Use of Bold Foliage - Artesia, Calif.
• Best Community AIB Website - Coshocton, Ohio
• Most Attended Community Festival - Plymouth, Ind.
• Best Historic Walking Tour - Smithfield, Va.

YouTube video contest winner: Madisonville, Ky.

Community Champion: Marilyn Heifner, executive director of the Fayetteville Arkansas Advertising and Promotion Commission

For more, visit www.americainbloom.org
 

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Tierra-Derco names new manager

Tierra-Derco has named Mike Bartley as the company’s new general manager. Bartley comes to TDI from MasterBrand Cabinets, where he spent 22 years and held various leadership positions within cost management and supply chain/operations finance. Most recently, Bartley was responsible for financial leadership over a new product line with Martha Stewart Living. He also led the Stock Division Operations Finance team, which included four manufacturing facilities throughout the US. He spent most of his career at MasterBrand leading the Corporate Cost Accounting team and was involved as the finance lead for Product Management and Supply Chain.

For more, visit www.tierraderco.com
 

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BFG Supply offers pay by scan program

BFG Supply Co., a distributor of greenhouse, nursery and lawn and garden supplies, formally announced its pay by scan program to independent garden centers at its Lawn & Garden show in Chantilly, Va. in October. Known as Stock-Up, this program is aimed at streamlining the supply chain for customers.

The company says it sees the program as a way to help customers manage their inventory and create positive cash flow.

“In this type of economy, mitigating risk on inventory is critical,” said BFG Supply President Rob Glockner. “How much longer could a garden center extend their selling season when the risk of over-buying and carrying excess inventory is removed? How many new or unique products have IGC owners wanted to put on their shelves, but chose not to buy them for fear of being left with unsold inventory? Our Stock-Up program is designed to remove these risks, improve cash flow, and provide real-time inventory management through our innovative software.”

For more, visit www.bfgsupply.com
 

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Espoma, National Gardening Association announce award

Espoma and the National Gardening Association announced the winner of the first annual Espoma Environmental Stewardship Retail Award at the recent True Value Fall Market in Salt Lake City, Utah. This year’s winning retailer is the Flamingo Road Nursery from Davie, Fla. Applications were received from garden centers across the United States, each demonstrating a dedication to ecologically friendly practices. Espoma also recognized five gardeners with similar awards in October at the Garden Writers Symposium in Tucson, Ariz. For their efforts, each gardener received a $500 gift certificate to his or her favorite garden center. 

For more, visit www.espoma.com and www.garden.org
 

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New research shows a different approach to motivation in the workplace

Traditional methods of motivation in the workplace most often don’t work well enough for today’s workforce, according to new research from The Ken Blanchard Companies. In response, Blanchard has created Optimal Motivation, an innovative solution that takes the revolutionary science on motivation and makes it feasible in the work environment.

Coauthors Susan Fowler, David Facer and Drea Zigarmi created the Optimal Motivation experience for leaders at all levels of an organization. The process empowers individuals to approach everyday tasks, goals and situations with vigor, optimism and creativity, and to sustain high levels of performance.

The program teaches individuals about the appraisal process we experience at work, meeting the three basic psychological needs —autonomy, relatedness, and competence — and the skills to reach a high quality of self-regulation. In turn, this process creates the ability to identify and choose a desired motivational experience.

The program reveals a spectrum of motivation that alleviates the overly simplistic notion of intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation. It relieves the pressure of believing there is only one way to experience optimal motivation.

“Organizations do not have to wait for the traditional methods to be uprooted before taking advantage of the latest research,” Zigarmi said. “The advantage is not just for the sake of the organization but to create personal energy, vitality and a positive sense of well-being.”

For more, visit www.kenblanchard.com
 

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Batson’s Foliage launches Easy 10 Tropicals program

Batson’s Foliage has a new program that makes ordering plants simple. The new Easy 10 Tropicals Program allows garden centers to try a variety of tropical plants without ordering a whole truckload. “We have put together a program that takes all the guesswork out of ordering plants from Florida,” said Owner Kelley Howard.

The mix is 10 cases of assorted foliage delivered right to the customer’s door via FedEx with the following:

• 1 case of 2-inch Ittie Bittie foliage (pack of 88)
• 1 case of 2-inch Ittie Bittie ferns and succulents (44 pots of each)
• 3 cases of 4-inch assorted foliage (pack of 30) including Crotons, Dieffenbachia, Neanthebella palms, Dracaena, Nephthytis, Ficus, Pilea, Peperomia, Aralia, ferns, Alocasia, Ponytail palms, ivy, Rex begonias, African violets and Fittonia
• 4 cases of 6-inch assorted foliage (pack of 12) including Spath, Aglaonema, Ficus, Nepthytis, Dracaena, Crotons, Calathea, Anthurium, Triostar, ZZ’s, Alocasia, Pothos, Brasil, Scindapsus and ivy
• 1 case of 8-inch assorted hanging baskets (pack of 6) including green ivy, variegated ivy, Hoya, Marble Queen, Lipstick and Ficus repens

The package comes complete with SmartPlants care tags and POS signs with QR codes that link to videos with care information and fun facts.

“All the customer has to do is call our office and say they want to order an Easy 10 Tropicals package and we take it from there,” Howard said. “They don’t need to worry about trucking or what plants and how many to order. We’ve included some of our best-selling items that move off the shelves quickly so the customer doesn’t have to know lots of varieties to get a good mix.” Independent garden centers can try the program to break into tropicals with small quantities of various plants.

Varieties that sell well can be refilled through a specific order. Batson’s also offers shipping for one box at a time of any plant material, excluding the larger 8- and 10-inch plant materials.

For more, visit www.batsonsonline.com
 

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Three-day California Spring Trials tour announced

California Spring Trials is a week-long tour of new plants and more.

Floriculturists Mark Bridgen and Neil Mattson of Cornell University, and Roberto Lopez of Purdue University are organizing a tour of several of the main stops of the 2013 California Spring Trials, an annual week-long event held at various locations throughout the state.

The guided excursion, now in its third year, allows attendees to attend the trials without having to plan their own stops, accomodations and transportation.

The itinerary begins April 5, with attendees staying at a designated hotel near the San Jose Airport. The tour begins April 6 and continues until the end of April 9 near Los Angeles. The hotel for Monday night is included in the package, and participants will arrange their own flights to return home on Tuesday.

The tour is not finalized, but the tentative itinerary is as follows:

• Saturday, April 6: Syngenta Flowers, Garlic World, Speedling Inc., Golden State Bulb Growers and Sakata
• Sunday, April 7: Dümmen USA, Ball Horticultural Co., commercial production greenhouse
• Sunday, April 8: Skagit Gardens, GroLink Plant Co., Fides-Oro (including Ecke Ranch)

The cost has not been finalized yet, but will be approximately $550 per person, and will include hotels, bus travel, lunches and some breakfasts. Attendees will need to arrange their own transportation to and from California, but a travel agency is available to assist with the reservations.

All greenhouse growers, floriculture professionals and academics are invited to attend. If you are interested in joining the tour group, or have questions, contact Mark Bridgen at mpb27@cornell.edu, or at (631) 727-3595.

For more, visit www.ofa.org/springtrials
 

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Neuhouser closes garden center, nursery, landscape businesses

Neuhouser nursery, garden center and landscaping businesses have closed after 35 years in operation.

A message on the businesses’ website reads, “After 35 wonderful and fulfilling years in business, we simply could no longer sustain the results of the poor economy and the challenging spring weather over the past few years – followed by this year’s extreme heat and drought that brought business to a near halt.”

Neuhouser Nursery, Neuhouser Garden & Gifts and Neuhouser Landscaping all ended business operations in September.

Neuhouser Landscaping was founded in 1977 by Joseph Neuhouser and grew to include a small retail nursery on Stellhorn Road, which was managed by Joseph’s brother, Kenton Neuhouser. Kenton purchased the company and expanded the garden center 25 years ago, according to a news release. The company opened its Garden & Gift store in 1994.

Kenton Neuhouser took the opportunity to thank his staff for sticking with the company despite the past few challenging years.

“I am so very grateful for the best staff ever who have truly given their heart and soul these last couple years by working overtime to battle against the elements, and power through with one idea after another with optimism, hard work and dedication right up to the end,” he wrote.
 

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Canadian company partners with Philips

Commercial Lighting Products, Ltd. and Philips are now official partners for horticulture LED lighting. CLP will market and develop Philips Horticultural LED lighting products in Canada.

CLP signed the partnership contract and agreement Oct. 3 at the Canadian Greenhouse Conference in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Commercial Lighting Products Ltd. is a Canadian-owned and operated organization with 30 years of experience in the lighting industry.

For more, visit www.philips.com/horti