Healthy roots are absolutely essential to orchids, according to the American Orchid Society. Without a substrate conducive to root establishment, growth and function, an orchid cannot absorb the nutrients and water it requires.

What are the properties of a suitable growing medium? It should be firm and yet well aerated. Having these two characteristics, such a medium can offer a foundation to which the roots can attach themselves, while at the same time allowing the aeration necessary for their proper function.

Orchids sell because they are beautiful, long-lasting and they’re priced within a range that customers are willing to pay. In addition, consumers are learning that orchids are simple and easy to care for. Commercial orchid growers are doing an effective job of conveying this message through catchy marketing campaigns such as Green Circle Grower’s Just Add Ice.

The Kroger Co. and Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc. completed their merger transaction Jan. 28. The two companies also announced the retirement of Thomas W. Dickson as chairman and chief executive officer of Harris Teeter.

"We are pleased that our merger is complete and look forward to bringing together the best of Kroger and Harris Teeter to benefit our customers, associates and shareholders," W. Rodney McMullen, CEO of Kroger, said in a press release.

Changes in the types of cut flowers that a floral department carries have been shifting from simply offering traditional cut flowers and bouquets to including specialty cuts. As traditional floral shops continue to close, floral consumers are looking for alternative places to purchase their flowers. Floral buyers and floral managers who are willing to incorporate high-margin specialty cut flowers, such as orchids, will position themselves for repeat business.

Floral trends are cyclic, ebbing and flowing like the surf. We are currently in a mass-market trend with the wildly popular Phalaenopsis orchid plant. Since 1999 the orchid industry has been riding the crest of a wave of popularity with the moth orchid. Sales and demand are still growing, mainly through creative marketing concepts and the introduction of new colors and sizes.

However, like top surfers, orchid growers around the world are looking out on the horizon to capture the next big wave, so they’ll be ready to ride it when it arrives.

Do you have too much to do and not enough time to do it?

Do you have sales goals that stretch your very limits of sanity?

Have retail prices on blooming items been falling each year, making it harder and harder to hit gross revenue targets?

Are your floral departments under pressure to reduce labor hours?

Could your floral departments sell more upgrades if they had the time to make them?