Lasting impact

Photo courtesy of Bailey Nurseries

While hydrangeas and rhododendrons are a classic mainstays in the yards of one of your IGC’s largest demographics — women ages 50-70 — there’s likely room for more people in your “shrub club.” As millennial and Gen Z customers have found success in houseplants and other indoor plant projects, IGCs would be remiss not to re-introduce this category to their younger customers, especially as many become new homeowners. Here’s how you can introduce and re-invigorate the category to both new and existing customers who are looking for creative additions to their backyards or patios.

Education foundation

First and foremost, shrubs require baseline knowledge on the employee’s part, says Ryan McEnaney, marketing and communications manager for Bailey Nurseries. And while he realizes that high turnover and ongoing staffing struggles are plaguing the industry, it’s good practice to brush up on some of those educational aspects.

“There are lots of resources that are available to help with education, but knowing that shrubs are a higher price point, there's that inherent barrier. I think for a lot of garden center customers, especially those that go buy a couple things a year, they see that high sticker price and it’s a scary place to start,” he says.

It’s natural that even the most knowledgeable associates won’t know everything about every shrub, but that’s where growers come in.

“Rely on your partners that produce the plants. So many of us, ourselves included, produce quick-hitting videos and retail guides,” McEnaney says. Plus, building up that education will translate over to the customer, and in turn build loyalty and repeat business, he points out.

“For us, on the grower side of it, that’s what we want to help garden centers do, is build loyalty to their garden center. I think that’s a really important place to start,” he says.

Conscious consumers

Shrubs have multifaceted uses in the landscape, and they’re more than just a sight for sore eyes. Jessica DeGraaf, director of retail accounts for Proven Winners, says that these days, customers are searching for solution-based plants in their gardens. Frequently, they’re searching for water-wise, native and pollinator plants.

“I think it only behooves us to be more responsible with moisture and water use, especially in different areas of the country. So, a lot of drought-tolerant plants or low-maintenance plants that a consumer can grow with very little water requirements is becoming a big thing,” she says.

Katie Tamony, chief marketing officer for Monrovia, says the company conducts research to uncover customers’ pain points as well as trends in the garden and landscape. One of the biggest trends she’s noticed is the customer’s desire to create “a garden of abundance” while being conscious of the environment around them. Shrubs fit perfectly into this theme because of their bushy, sturdy habitats.

“They want their own personal Garden of Eden where they’re attracting butterflies, pollinators and growing edibles in the landscape,” Tamony says. “And if you drilled down further, you could also think about marketing shrubs for bird-lovers. Bird-friendly shrubs could be a whole display because we are seeing a lot of consumers really interested in bird watching and creating a haven for birds.”

Kristen Pullen, woody portfolio manager at Star Roses and Plants, says pollinator- and bird-friendly shrubs are great for building a foundation that’s going to promote wildlife visiting the garden. For example, Star Roses’ Bushel and Berry line offers edibles shrubs like blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, which often attract birds and other backyard creatures.

“As long as they’re willing to share the bounty of their garden with the birds, they could get a lot of it,” she says with a laugh. “Yes, you are competing with the birds for them, but they’re attracting birds to your landscape.”

Photo courtesy of Star Roses and Plants

Small spaces

Another angle to consider is marketing the benefits of container shrubs, which are especially appealing options for Gen Z and millennials — demographics that might not have as much yard space as their predecessors or as much experience caring for shrubs.

“We have a program that we call ‘Decked Out’ and the whole concept behind that is utilizing shrubs in mixed containers,” DeGraaf says. “They can either be a standalone on their own or they can be sort of that backbone or ‘thriller’ as a part of a mixed container. The idea is that you can blur those lines substantially between a hardy shrub and an annual, and it gives them a different look and feel.”

Mix and matching provides the customers with an “awesome opportunity to just change the look and the dynamic of the container,” she says, and they can be great additions to small porches and balconies.

Privacy after COVID-19

However, as the public emerges from COVID-19, there could be a trend in the opposite direction of compact shrubs, particularly as the need for privacy grows.

“For years and years, we’ve been breeding for compact — ‘How many plants can we fit on a car?’ ‘How many plants can we fit on a table?’ But with more and more people moving out of the cities and buying large property, I think people are going to shift toward privacy,” Pullen says.

However, privacy for compact and or ever-spanning blooms and bushes will likely be a popular selling point for customers of all habitats, no matter the space.

DeGraaf suggests that retailers spin it as “pretty privacy,” and says there’s many non-traditional plants customers can use as a privacy hedge, such as Hydrangea arborescens, more commonly known as smooth hydrangea.

“One of the most popular posts Spring Meadow has ever done on its Facebook page is this post featuring Dale Deppe, owner, and he has this hedge, and it’s a semi-circle of Incrediball Hydrangeas. The Annabelle-type [hydrangea] flowers are stunning, and I think most people don’t realize you can do that. It doesn’t have to be as utilitarian as a boxwood or an arborvitae hedge,” she says.

Nurturing natives

While interest in native shrubs has seen a steady incline over the years, there may be a missed opportunity from the marketing perspective. Kristen Pullen, woody portfolio manager at Star Roses and Plants, says many retailers should convey a message of sustainability surrounding shrubs’ presence in a garden.

“People are looking for plants that are more suited to naturally evolve in their area and those plants tend to be stronger suited to the changes that might happen around them. In that vein, plants aren’t always touted for their sustainability — and I don’t mean recycling and that sort of thing. I mean in terms of shrubs and trees, there are plants that are going to be there for a long time,” Pullen explains.

Many native shrubs provide “the maximum feedback” and can be enjoyed for years, she says. Often, shrubs and other woody plants are the backbone of the garden.

Photo courtesy of Proven Winners

Color pop

When it comes to uses in the garden, Pullen believes people aren’t looking at shrubs in as many ways as they could because they don’t realize all of the benefits these woody plants offer.

“We always get asked about cut flowers and there are a lot of shrubs that have colorful foliage that are used in arrangements. A lot of our roses get used for bouquets and that type of stuff. But you’re always going to need some filler stuff too, right?” Pullen says. “So, when you’re planting a flower garden, you’re going to want some foliage color in there too, for the green.”

Gardeners can make their own cut flower arrangements from the shrubs in their backyard, and they can even make their own wreathes from the greenery, Pullen suggests.

“Sometimes, in the world of flowers shrubs get overlooked and I think they really shouldn’t,” she says. “They should really be treated as companion plants to some of the more flowering plants that get talked about like annuals and perennials.”

Photo courtesy of Monrovia

The evergreen “LBD”

One of the biggest trends customers are currently gravitating toward is “architectural simplicity” Tamony says. Shoppers can achieve this look by using more evergreen shrubs and mixing in a few flowering shrubs, which “keep the pallet really kind of clean and elegant,” she says.

“A lot of white flowering or blue flowering shrubs — hydrangeas for instance — mix well with boxwoods; or you could mix junipers and topiary forms. Those [combinations] create a really elegant garden because you have structure, but you don’t have to worry about what goes with what,” Tamony says. Retailers can play up the marketing angle with an endcap appealing to an IGC’s core demographic: women.

“A lot of women are coming into the garden center, and they want something that’s going to go with a lot of different garden styles. You could market a particular evergreen as the ‘little black dress’ of shrubs,” she says. “People coming into the stores are looking not just to buy something, but they’re looking for an experience. And if you’re messaging, and your displays can kind of create this fun experience for them, I think that that helps.”

Photo courtesy of Bailey Nurseries

Make shrubs shoppable

Above all, when it comes to changing customers’ perceptions of what shrubs can do, retailers should examine their layout, which is an important piece of the sale.

“Traditionally or historically, a lot of times you put the really pretty color up front and then you put the shrubs in the back, and you put them in alphabetical order or by their common name,” McEnaney says, pointing out that this layout could be a disservice to shrub sales.

Instead, he suggests leaning into a more creative layout, which involves knowing the customer base, and suggests grouping them in collections.

“For example, if you are looking for a more stylistic approach or a more refined look where you’ve got a lot of evergreens and columnar plants and things like that, that goes in one area,” he says. “If you’re looking for a looser, more native look, put all those plants in that same area so that you’re making it more shoppable and making it so that you’re able to help deliver on what the shrub is actually going to do.”

McEnaney also advises retailers to get their shrubs off the ground and elevate them closer to eye level. That way, customers can quickly grab them and place them in their carts, he says.