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Impulse Plants
Colorful
foliage provides season long color
By
Tim Wood
All
rights reserved ©
Spring Meadow Nursery, Inc.
Color
sells! That's been the "green industry's" mantra for the last
ten years and for good reason. People are buying colorful plants. If you
look at homes that were landscaped twenty years ago, you'll most likely see
evergreens neatly trimmed into meatball, soap boxes and tuna cans. Junipers and
Taxus in the North, and Japanese Holly in the South was the typical
American landscape. Today's landscapes are noticeable different. Diversity
and color are the norm and a whole new generation of homeowners are
fueling the movement. First time homeowners, faced with tearing out old
overgrown evergreen landscapes, are looking to create a new look for a new
generation. There're looking for color.
Imagine being in a wallpaper store with a friend. You happen
upon an end-cap displaying an expensive, brightly colored floral print
wallpaper. "Wow - is that beautiful", you say to your friend.
"I've got to have it". Even though you weren't looking for
wallpaper, don't need wallpaper or don't even know where your going to
hang the paper - you buy six rolls just because you fell in love with it.
Sound stupid? That's how many people buy plants.
Few
products have the impulse appeal that plants have. Who can resist the
beautiful colors. It's hard to pass up a Bleeding Heart in bloom. We have
all felt the tug of a colorful plant and have reacted impulsively. When in
bloom plants sell themselves. But what happens when the
Bleeding Heart is done blooming? The sales fall off as fast as the
flowers. If you sell Forsythia, Azaleas, or even perennials for that
matter you have experienced first hand this dramatic sales drop. The
problem is that most plants typically bloom for only two to three weeks.
That's not much time to move a plant and make your profits. What can be
done to solve the problem? Offer more plants that look great even when
they're not in bloom. Plants with brightly colored foliage provide
colorful impulse appeal even after the flowers have long faded. Colorful
leaves can extend your selling time and generate added impulse sales. Your
customers appreciate the easy, dependable, season long color these plants
provide. That's a colorful combination that makes everyone happy.
Looking
for something new as well as colorful? Consider some of the exciting new
flowering shrubs with colorful foliage. Here are just a few plants that
are certain to create a colorful splash at retail.
Hydrangea is very popular because of its big beautiful flowers, but are you offering varieties with fantastic foliage? Hydrangea macrophylla 'Variegata' is one of the best hardy foliage plants available. It's every bit as attractive as Hosta, if not more so. In severe climates it may not be the most reliable bloomer, but who cares, it has great color and texture. It also has the added benefit of thriving in shady locations and there is demand for colorful plants that grow in the shade.
Euonymus
fortunei BLONDYâ 'Interbolwji' (see photo) is a brand new impulse plant from Europe.
It's worth looking for this bright eyed beauty. Each round leaf is dotted
with a big rich yellow thumbprint which is surrounded by a dark green
margin. Even the
Purple
plants have more customer appeal then any plants. Just look at Palace
Purple Coral Bells, Crimson Pygmy Barberry, Purpleleaf Plumb, and Purple
Smokebush and you should see a trend.
Weigela WINE & ROSESâ
'Alexandria' is an exciting new purple leafed plant with vivid
rose pink flowers in spring. Its big, shinny leaves are an exquisite deep
wine purple. Its foliage is so attractive it's being sold in Europe as a
cut branch for use in flower arrangements. In the garden or in a garden
center display it makes a great combination with Russian Sage (Perovskia)
with its silver foliage and soft blue flowers. As a bouquet, its fantastic
mixed with Taplow Blue Globe Thistle (Echinops).
Don't confuse Wine & Roses with other "so called"
purple leafed Weigela like 'Java Red'. Like its name indicates, 'Java Red'
has lighter coffee-red or copper colored leaves. There is no comparison
between these two plants.
If
your tired of discounting plants that look like weeds after their blooms
have faded, consider shrubs
with interesting, colorful foliage. They provide color and sales beyond
the bloom. You will appreciate the extended sales season and your
customers will enjoy the season long color too. Now that's a winning
combination that's hard to resist!
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stems are a cheerful yellow. This low mounded shrub
originated as a chance bud sport on Euonymus
'Sunspot'. Growers in Europe who grew both Blondy and Sunspot found
themselves stuck with a lot of Sunspot that wouldn't sell. The difference
is that dramatic.
