How to: No flower, no problem

Garden centers and growers often face the same daunting question: How do you sell a plant that’s not in bloom?

Consumers are less likely to buy a plant that lacks visible flowers. Walters Gardens, a perennial grower based in Zeeland, Mich., isn’t leaving it up to the retailer. Susan Martin, director of marketing communications for Walters Gardens, says the company has developed a new line of point-of-purchase materials that help its customers sell plants.

There are large and small posters, specialty benchcards and banners. The large posters measure 34 inches tall by 24 inches wide. They are printed with UV-resistant ink on durable vinyl mounted to corplast. Seventeen different types of large posters are available, including several for deer-resistant, drought-resistant and pollinator-friendly plants.

“We developed the designs ourselves, based on some research we did on signage and what appeals to young and old audiences,” Martin says. “We wanted something that would appeal to both age groups.”

The posters are produced in-house by Walters Gardens’ graphic designer, then printed by Bailey Signage Solutions, a division of Bailey Nurseries in Minnesota. The marketing materials can be purchased as an add-on item along with plants. The plants ship from Walters Gardens; the signage ships from Bailey Signage Solutions.

The idea for the signage came from monitoring consumer trends. Martin and her crew wanted to know why consumers are going to the garden center and what they looking are for once they arrive. Consumers are looking for plants that have solutions to their problems and fill their needs, Martin says.

“If the deer are eating all the plants in their garden, they come to the garden center to look for deer-resistant plants,” she says. “If you have a poster that says ‘deer-resistant plants’ on it, they know there is an immediate solution to their problem when they walk into the garden center.”

Drought is another huge challenge for growing certain plants, so Walters Gardens developed materials for its droughtresistant products. However, one of Walters Gardens’ most popular posters is its “Dinner Plate” hibiscus poster. This poster, which features a young girl holding a blooming hibiscus directly in front of her, represents all of WG’s hybridized dinner plate-sized perennial hibiscus.

Hibiscus blooms later in the season than many perennials. Garden center customers often shop in the spring, but hibiscus begin to bloom later, in July or August. So it is really important to have signage available to represent those plants and what their flowers are going to represent.

“Daylilies are another difficult plant to sell when not in full bloom. And again, here’s an example of a plant that blooms in midsummer, and not in April when people are shopping.” Martin explains.

For more: www.waltersgardens.com