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5/19/11
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Dependable Annuals
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| Each year, more and more homeowners are buying their annuals in pots and flats from the ‘box stores’ and ‘super box stores’. The competition for these sales dollars is ferocious. More and more of the bedding plant growers are growing exclusively for the various large retailers. For a grower to supply these store chains, they have to produce the potted and flatted annuals for up to half the cost that they used to produce them for. How do the growers afford that? Let me explain. To grow a prime plant growers would start the annuals in their greenhouses twelve weeks before the selling season begins. That’s a lot of heat, fertilizer, and other maintenance costs. To cut cost, some growers have reduced their growing time to four to six weeks. | ||||||||||||||
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These plants are no where as mature as they used to be. The size of the flats has been reduced. Instead of flats with individual cubes one inch by two inches, they are now one inch square, saving on soil and again an inferior product. But hey, look how much money you’re saving, or are you? Each growing season is six months long. How well your annuals do depends on good finished annual plants being planted to begin with. If you want the best looking landscape on the block, buy high quality plants that many of the family owned garden centers carry. Remember, you always get what you pay for and annuals are no exception.
These are exciting times for annual lovers. The last ten years have seen tremendous improvements to various varieties of annuals. There is the family of Proven Winners®, Hort Courture and Blue Ribbon Blooms™ to name a few. These new varieties have been bred to dramatically reduce the amount of time and effort required by you to have endless color all season long since annuals do their entire ‘thing’ in one season, that is grow, flower, and produce seed. You don’t have to wait long after planting to start to enjoy. Blue Ribbon Blooms™ are available at many of the year-round garden centers and nursery stores in the Cincy and KY area. |
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