Fraser fir ranks high on consumers’ Christmas tree shopping lists
Once a little-known tree, the Fraser fir is becoming America’s favorite Christmas tree. Each year, North Carolina Christmas tree growers harvest $85 million worth of Christmas trees, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and 90 percent of them are Fraser firs. They are shipped to all 50 states, Canada, Japan, Mexico and other points all over the world. North Carolina now ranks second in the nation in Christmas tree production.
Holiday greens growers gird for Christmas crunch
The outlook for holiday greens growers and shippers is optimistic, I believe. It appears that our economy will slowly continue to improve and consumers will stay with the traditional customs of Christmas and decorate with fresh and fragrant greens.
Colors and designs will change, but the aroma of fresh cut holiday greens will always be a reminder of a once-a-year gathering of family and friends for a joyous holiday season. In good times and bad, this is one tradition that has always prevailed.
Plan early to get real estate for holiday supermarket floral offerings
There are three important things to know about holiday floral selling (and real estate): location, location, location! You will be selling a lot of plants and arrangements for Thanksgiving and Christmas and you need the real estate in the store to do it. Start planning early with your store management teams to create the space needed to display all your holiday products to your guests.
A&P customer wins contest to name new rose variety
A Philadelphia Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. customer has won a rose-naming contest that drew 16,000 entries, receiving a bouquet of orange roses, a new variety she named Tangelic — combining tangerine, the color of the rose, with what she described as an angelic appearance. She also won $5,000 in grocery gift cards.
Women’s Day could be big floral holiday in United States, Lane DeVries contends
Lane DeVries, head of Sun Valley Group in Arcata, CA, is a man on a mission. And when Mr. DeVries speaks, as he did at the recent International Floriculture Expo in Miami Beach, the breakfast table conversations stop and people listen.
Technology blooms in IFE exhibit hall
Technology bloomed in the massive exhibit hall at the International Floriculture Expo in Miami Beach, FL, last month. Booths were drawing curious groups of visitors to view time-lapse videos of tulips growing from bulbs to full flower in 90 seconds, 60-second videos in living color on the care and handling of spray roses, and a virtual decorating program that allowed guests to place virtual plants around a living room to see how they would look.
Sunburst reinvents itself after ‘tough year’
“It’s been a tough year. We’ve tried to keep our heads down and develop some new strategies. We’ve right-sized and re-thought our operations, and we’re going to reemerge at WF&FSA (the Wholesale Florist & Florist Distribution Association conference in Miami Oct. 24-26) with a new look-new products and a new marketing campaign.”
Delaware Valley to purchase greenhouse firm in Pennsylvania
Delaware Valley Floral Group, one of the larger floral wholesalers in the United States, is getting a little bit larger. The 52-year-old company announced July 9 it has reached an agreement to purchase Way’s Greenhouses Inc. in Kennett Square, PA. Way’s started out as a grower more than a century ago and became a wholesale florist in the mid-1980s.
New three-plant dish offers streamlined production and shipping methods
Growers are always looking for ways to cut costs, and a new product at Clearwater Nursery Inc., has streamlined both production and shipping costs for the Nipomo, CA, firm. Called the Garden Trio, the new product is easier to produce, lighter to ship and requires less store preparation to display.
Steven Medeiros, sales and marketing executive at Clearwater, said the Garden Trio is “a win-win for us, the grower, and for supermarkets because it weighs less, costs less to ship and requires no special preparation for store display.”
NORCAL member meetings will feature trends analysis, issue round table talks
Town hall-style membership meetings will be held in August in three major flower growing areas of California as part of a new outreach effort to the 600 members of NORCAL, the California Association of Flower Growers & Shippers. Carol Caggiano, a floral designer, design instructor and commentator, will speak at each session on emerging industry issues.