Plant Development Services Releases Encore Azalea And Southern Living Plant Collection Liner Program To The Industry

By Greenhouse Grower staff|March 15, 2012

Plant Development Services Inc. has announced they are now taking spring delivery orders for both Encore Azalea and the Southern Living Plant Collection. The new liner program, announced in January, allows new growers to participate in both programs. Previously, only licensed grower group members for the brands were able to purchase liners and finish these varieties for sale.

Plant Development Service’s director Kip McConnell says the new liner program is the result of strategic decisions made last year to increase production capacity with new distribution networks, increasing varieties at retail and further strengthening the brand presence of Encore Azalea and the Southern Living Plant Collection in the marketplace.

The move by Plant Development Services will allow brand management to fill pent-up consumer demand in channels the existing grower network was unable to satisfy. At the same time, it will create strong financial opportunities for smaller growers and retailers throughout the industry.

“The response has been very good,” McConnell says. “New growers in the Plant Development Services Liner Program include large nursery operators, regional nursery operators and retail greenhouse growers who understand the power of these brands and the financial opportunities each represent.”

PDSI will continue taking spring orders through April 2012. Only members of the licensed grower groups will be allowed to propagate. The new out-of-network growers will pay the program fee, and purchase tags and containers, at the time of liner purchase.