Primulinas have only just begun

    I choose not to participate in the recession.

The last recession of 2008 put me out of business.  I had to sell all assets and destroy my lifetime business.  My employees and customers were gone.  It was a stressful and sad time.

This devastating time will bring the same fate to many businesses who will not be able to maneuver around high debt, low sales and high operating costs.  It will be such a waste that this plague crushes businesses that were successful eight weeks ago.

            Those lofty advisors that tell you that what hurts you only makes you stronger, do not understand hardship.  You may or may not come out of this stronger.

            This time, ten years later, I have a better business model.  I moved away from annuals to houseplants.  I have no employees, few assets and no debt.  Is that smart or lucky?

            Indoor gardeners want to buy houseplants.  When stores are open, they will buy again.

            I choose not to participate in the recession.

Let it Shine!

Peperomia polyboytra 'Raindrop"

Peperomia 'Raindrop' - Natural shine

            Peperomia polybotrya ‘Raindrop’ is a solid foliage houseplant from the past.  Its current claim to fame is that it looks like the Chinese Money Plant (Pilea peperomioides).

            To get indoor gardeners to pay attention, we need the dominant characteristic to be obvious.

            It can survive in very low light, a great feature to give long life as a decorative plant.  But if you don’t notice it, you’ll never find out.

            Plants with shiny leaves are somewhat suspect --- Did you shine those leaves?  Did you spray it with leaf shine?

            With Peperomia ‘Raindrop’, shine is what you get.  It will be its dominant feature.  All its other desirable qualities will be apparent later.

            Many customers just want some no-nonsense greenery.  Why are Pothos and Philodendron so popular?  They just live, no matter what.  ‘Raindrop’ will do this, too.

            Costa Farms, the largest foliage producer in the United States, is promoting this plant in their foliage collections.  They have their production, I have mine.

            When there was a frantic demand for this plant two years ago, I found there was no supply.  I was fortunate to find a tissue culture lab that would take on this project. The media protocol was not known. Now, two years later, we have plantlets coming out as bushy liners that can be grown on for the houseplant market.

            And guess what --- they have shiny leaves.

            Peperomia ‘Raindrop’ is a much better plant than Chinese Money Plant.  It is upright and sturdy, doesn’t go flat with drought and lives.

            Will it catch fire like Pilea peperomioides?  We won’t know until you have one and you tell your friends.

            Let it shine!

Ready for Launch - Primulina 'Xuan's Party Dress'

Primulina 'Xuan's Party Dress' - Ready for launch

Maybe I’ve found it. 

I have known all along that Asian Violets have not taken off like they should.

It’s been proven that Primulina are good plants.  They survive houseplant conditions --- hot or cold, in high or low humidity.  They come back from dry but not drowning (nor does any other plant).  Many varieties have distinctive patterned foliage.  Many can be interesting even without flowers.

I’ve long judged P. ’Loki’ it be the best Asian Violet, sold as a small variegated, not in flower, houseplant.

One thing I’ve been waiting for is flowering when it is young---less that a year---better if 6 months.   Flowering needs to be precise, also.  I need high bud count on a sturdy short flower stem, capable of multiple flower spikes at a time.

Primulina ‘Xuan’s Party Dress’ is meeting all the criteria for the first commercial variety that can be grown quickly and sold “In Flower”.  This is a breakthrough worth talking about.

‘Xuan’s Party Dress’ has it all ---silver leaves and multi-flora light blue flowers.

It can be grown in our new 10 cm ‘wittle’ hanging basket which will show off the pretty flowers.

Early flowering is the breakthrough!

I'll take a million of those.

String of Dolphins in demand

I’ll take a million of those.

            I was reading a story about Hydrangeas and how hybridizers are adding new colors and shapes to this niche.

            I was stunned by the comment that a box-store buyer ordered one million of a new Hydrangea for next year.

            Is this even possible?  There is the commitment and the risk.  If you could find 10 big growers who would plant 100,000, you could have a million.  Where will the stock plants come from?

            In my world of minor houseplants, a million is not a number worth talking about.

            Our top selling plant for 2019 was String of Dolphins.  In all sizes, we grew and sold about 10,000.  That is 990,000 less than a million.

            If someone wanted a million Primulina ‘Loki’ ---  the best Asian Violet, there would be a lot of laughing.

23 to nothing

23 to Nothing

            In baseball, if you get beat 23 to nothing, you will call it a bad day.  If you get shutout, white-washed, shellacked or skunked, you feel like it’s worse than a close game.

            Last week we had a record 23 plant orders to fill the unending demand for houseplants at upscale garden centers.  This week --- none.

            The dangerous Coronavirus has stopped sales/trade/commerce/business.  Retail stores have been ordered closed.  No buyers, no sellers and no supply line --- all halted to a dead stop.  Now you know why every player in the economy depends on every other player.

            This must be done to try to slow the exposure to the sometimes-deadly Coronavirus.

            We will get through this, hopefully with minimal health damage.

            But you don’t easily get over a sport’s beating nor a suffocating worldwide health crisis. 

The only way is up, Part II

wittle Hanging Houseplants' getting ready

“The only way is up” is repeated to include a great comment from a reader.  You could easily miss this comment, so I’ve moved it up to a front-page story.  I could have never said this better.

The only way is up!

            All your windowsills are full of plants.  What to do?

            Hanging baskets have been here, but they have been smaller versions of outdoor summer baskets.

            In order to go up --- hanging, we need something designed for that.  A small, lightweight hanging basket created in Europe for houseplants for small spaces.

            We are bringing this to the United States market with the right plants and with a new marketing Brand --- “wittle” Hanging Houseplants.  They are fun and the answer to the dilemma of how to I hang this?

            By design, the first will be a 10 cm hanging basket --- Small and light weight.  When you see our ‘wittle’ Hanging Houseplants, you will not wonder about the tag line --- “Did you say cute yet?”

     This is the best, most adorable idea ever. Very necessary for me since I recently moved into a home with *gasp* NO WINDOWSILLS! Can't wait to see them for purchase!

We’ve been selling our new ‘wittle Hanging Houseplants’ through our garden center customers.  You can find your nearest garden center on my plant finder map:  http://garysspecialtyplants.com/locations.html

The only way is up!

Wittle Hanging Houseplants

The only way is up!

            All your windowsills are full of plants.  What to do?

            Hanging baskets have been here, but they have been smaller versions of outdoor summer baskets.

            In order to go up --- hanging, we need something designed for that.  A small, lightweight hanging basket created in Europe for houseplants for small spaces.

            We are bringing this to the United States market with the right plants and with a new marketing Brand --- “Wittle” Hanging Houseplants.  They are fun and the answer to the dilemma of how to I hang this?

            By design, the first will be a 10 cm hanging basket --- Small and light weight.  When you see our ‘Wittle’ Hanging Houseplants, you will not wonder about the tag line --- “Did you say cute yet?”