Quote:
Originally Posted by Work Horse
Lordy you have been a busy boy DFB FGXR6!
I've been purchasing heaps of stuff from the big trade nursery I use. As the weather cools I always encouraging customers to plant now, not wait for spring/summer.
Plant prices seem to have gone up a lot, (like everything).
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I always get asked if it's the "right time to plant". As a salesman,
ANY time is time to plant!
Seriously though, each season has it's plus's and minus's in regards to planting. Autumn is my favorite time to plant, the summer heat has faded and the soil is still warm to encourage root development meaning that the plant will take off better in spring. Winter is the best time to plant roses and trees as they are dormant and wont notice the transplanting. Spring is when stock begins to become more available, allowing for more choice in the nursery. My rule of thumb is as long as you are not planting into 35+ degree heat, then go for your life.
As for pricing, you are correct, plants are getting more and more expensive, even really basic lines.
I wrote this a few weeks ago on another forum, I think it belongs in this thread as well -
As a nurseryman and plant retailer, I have watched prices creep up and up over the last 20 years. When I started, a basic shrub in a 6 inch pot cost $8 or $9.00. That same shrub in the same size pot costs at least $14 to $18 these days.
What many don't realize is how much work goes into that one plant to make it a sellable product.
In the most part, you are paying for the nurseryman's time to strike, pot, water and grow a plant to that sellable condition. He also needs to have space to grow thousands more of the same and many other plant varieties. And unlike say a packet of bolts or a bottle of car polish, a plant takes time to grow, they don't just pop out of a machine or factory. Plants can take between 4 months and up to 18 months to become a product able to be purchased at your local nursery or garden center.
In terms of costing, a
wholesale grower needs to pay for -
-Labor/Staff
-Plant material to strike from
-Potting machinery
-Pot
-Potting mix/soil
-Fertilizer
-Pre-emergent weed killer
-Pest management
-Space to rent/lease/own to house the product while it grows
-Preparation and then shipping.
For a basic plant variety in a 6 inch pot, the wholesaler will sell these to a retailer at about $5 each. When you consider how much time, effort and other inputs go into to making that plant sellable, $5 is not making the nurseryman rich!
And then on the retailer side, again unlike a packet of bolts, a plant is not something thrown on the shelf and forgotten about until it passes through the till, it needs to be maintained, watered and fed...........and it costs money to pay someone like me to do that. So a plant on a bench at $14 is not making a retailer a rich man.
Just something to think about.