Branded plants: higher margin

Photos Courtesy of
Mccorkle Nurseries

McCorkle Nurseries is a family-owned business that was founded in 1942, and the nursery is located in Dearing, Georgia. The company has grown significantly over the years serving retail garden centers and landscapers across the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states. McCorkle Nurseries is a licensed grower for most major plant brands and launched its own line of top-performing plants, the Gardener’s Confidence® Collection, which features more than 70 patented and trademarked selections.

“In the mid 90s, we pretty much dedicated our operation to wholesale only,” says Chris McCorkle, vice president of operations at McCorkle Nurseries. “We sell to box stores such as The Home Depot and Lowes and IGCs and re-wholesalers.”

McCorkle Nurseries grows Suntory’s Brindabella Roses™ – a collection of tough shrub roses selected for superior garden performance and show-stopping flowers. The roses are fragrant and disease resistant. Brindabella Roses™ has been part of both McCorkle Nurseries’ Gardener’s Confidence® Collection and ECHO blooms varieties, for repeat blooming.

“We made Brindabella Roses™ part of our Gardener’s Confidence® brand because we felt that they delivered on our brand promise, and we’ve narrowed our rose selection to three – Crimson Knight, Pink Princess and Purple Prince,” McCorkle says. “Those three have performed really well for us in our climate.”

McCorkle Nurseries’ Gardener’s Confidence® Collection was started in 2006. The plants that make the cut to join this collection must have unique attributes, are trustworthy selections, have been bred to have easy care attributes and if they are a blooming selection, they have floriferous blooms or rebloom.

“Brindabella Roses™ fits all that, and we are able to incorporate them into our brand and tagging system, while still keeping the notoriety and Brindabella name still prevalent in our marketing efforts,” says Katherine Larrabee, marketing specialist at McCorkle Nurseries. “Brindabella Roses™ has a breeding background, and it’s in the test gardens at the University of Georgia. We have real life examples of it doing well in the southeast, so the research and the breeding behind it is what makes it a great partner for our brand.”

“We have a very harsh environment when it comes to growing roses in the southeast,” McCorkle says. “Disease is a problem that we have to contend with, and Brindabella Roses™ has proven to be somewhat bullet proof. Someone can buy these roses and have confidence that they’re going to perform well in their landscape. It’s a tough shrub rose, and the fragrance this plant offers is pretty exceptional.”

McCorkle Nurseries did a Mother’s Day promotion that received attention from Suntory and the breeder. The purpose of the tags and other marketing flyers was to support reblooming varieties that could be ready for that time frame.

“This was Tony’s brain child,” Larrabee says with a laugh.

Tony Rogers, in sales at McCorkle Nurseries says, “The tag that we use is a pretty serious tag. It’s big and has the bloom color on it. That’s real important when the roses are not in bloom. If we ship them dormant or before bloom, it’s good to have a nice tag on there, so the customer knows what they’re getting. More and more, IGCs like to have these nice tags. The tag tells the story.”

Suntory Flowers focuses on the intersection of modern genetics and innovation Their dedicated network of unrooted cuttings producers and young plant operations, ensure that every grower and retailer have easy and reliable access to clean starter material for dependable production.

“Brands tend to return a higher margin than non-branded plants,” McCorkle says. “We select the brands we carry based on the characteristics of the plant, quality of the plant and brand recognition to some degree. … Being able to round out our product mix with three Brindabella Roses™ was a nice addition to our Gardener’s Confidence® Collection.”

For more: www.mccorklenurseries.com