MONEY! MONEY! MONEY! 2016 gardening season begins.
Our last frost date is around May 10th, just after
Mother’s day. My local nurseries are burgeoning with plants some are still
receiving shipments but most perennials are available; STICKER SHOCK, STICKER
SHOCK! Many perennial quart pots were selling around $12.95, I saw shrubs from
Bailey’s, Monrovia and Proven Winners selling above $35.00 many on the average
of $45.00 to $50.00 apiece. Now some of these nurseries may be over priced with
high overhead and survived with landscaping projects and volume.
.
Personal disposable income is expected to increase 1.9 % over
the next five years. The recession
killed many nurseries in my area as discretionary income fell, large businesses
and the waterfall flow of wealth into the hands of the super-rich few continues
to drain everyone’s pocket.
Maybe it’s time to offer volume discounts? Offering younger
plants in 4” pots etc. This trend cannot continue. The largest sale of plants
in my area is the Friends Plant Sale where thousands are sold in smaller
containers. This is a very viable option for gardeners on a budget.
Since I wrote this blog a few days ago I have visited some more local nurseries. Again quart pots were from $8.00 to $12.95. But they also had a large selection of young native perennials in 2 1/2 inch pots at reasonable prices. I picked up Sweet Woodruff, Veronica and Wild Geranium.
