The Top Trends Driving Perennials and Shrub Sales
October 13, 2020 The shrubs and perennials markets continue to grow as new homeowners entering the housing market usher in a wave of new consumers. As more consumers build out and continue to develop their outdoor spaces, perennials and shrubs play an important role as anchoring plants for these projects.
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COVID-19 has also stirred up homeowners’ desire to improve their outdoor spaces, in part thanks to more time spent at home and the removal of time barriers such as commutes and after-work activities. With all the uncertainty of late, people tend to gravitate to products that are familiar and reliable.
“The most unique trend is that people are gardening,” says Alec Charais, Marketing and Communications Manager at Bailey. “They didn’t always have time for it, and it’s no surprise that consumer brand success has followed suit with this trend. People are latching on to well-recognized brands that they know well for their gardening projects.”
Baby boomers and older Gen-X’ers are a core audience for shrubs and perennials and shrubs. They favor cautiousness when gardening, unlike younger customers who don’t shy away from trying new things. However, both groups have something in common — the need to feel empowered — so they turn to trusted brands that have provided gardening and plant knowledge for decades to gain the confidence they need, says Corinna Murray, Director of Plant Development Services, the company responsible for the Southern Living and Sunset Western Plant brands and the Encore Azaleas brand.
Everything Is Turning up Roses
Brand loyalty plays an important role in the rose market. Thanks to the success of the Knockout rose, retailers and consumers expect to see shrub roses in branded pots, according to Delilah Onofrey, Marketing Director for Suntory Flowers, North America. Suntory recently partnered with Griffin on an exclusive branded 3-gallon pot for its Brindabella roses. With these roses, the company went after fragrance — something that has been missing in modern shrub roses.
Along with consumer interest in bolder colors over pastel colors and easy-care petite roses, Layci Gragnani, Program Manager at Star Roses & Plants has noticed an uptick in the demand for fragrance in roses; perhaps, she says, because consumers want roses they can enjoy outdoors as well as bring indoors. With online shipping trends this year, Palmer adds that consumers are also buying anything that is easy to grow that will ship directly to them. Star Roses & Plant’s Petite Knock Out roses fit this need with their smaller size and versatility in the garden.
It’s not uncommon for people to cherish fond memories of roses gracing their parent’s or grandparent’s yards. This familiarity with an easily recognizable garden shrub often leads to them wanting to try growing it in their own yards, and this holds true for other shrubs and perennials as well.
“Novice gardeners have all heard of hydrangeas and roses,” says Kip McConnell, Director of Plant Development Services. “Plants people are familiar with are always popular.”
Early Bloom Hydrangeas for Spring Sell-Through
Hydrangeas are a good illustration of the familiarity theory. They are one of the best-selling shrubs for retailers. Consumers know them well for their colorfully bold, lush blooms. Going back to consumers latching on to brands they’re familiar with, Charais says Bailey’s Endless Summer hydrangea brand has gained traction because people associate the distinctive blue pots and brand name with a reliable product backed up with good growing information to support consumer success.
Part of Spring Meadow Nursery’s breeding criteria has been to make it easier for growers to ship and sell earlier in the season, because shrubs such as hydrangeas can be a challenge to sell in the spring. Spring Meadow just introduced three H. paniculata cultivars that bloom earlier than their predecessors to help address this challenge. Each cultivar has a namesake that is already known, so it will be easily recognizable in the marketplace, says Natalie Carmolli, Public Rrelations Specialist for Proven Winners ColorChoice. For example, ‘Fire Light Tidbit’ is one of the earlier-blooming cultivars that has a saturated flower color like the already established Fire Light hydrangea.
“Recognizable cultivars that look great in containers and bloom earlier than other varieties give garden centers a chance to sell through faster and re-stock shelves and floor space for another midseason turn,” Carmolli says.
There’s No End to Possibilities for Premium Containers
Container gardening has been around for so long now, it can’t be considered a trend anymore. It is here to stay. Shrubs and perennials work well for all types of containers, offering plenty of options for use in high-priced, premium containers. Similar to how consumers are starting to use perennials more like annuals in containers, they want shrubs that can be used more like perennials, and breeders are responding to that need.
“We are breeding woody ornamentals that can be used in containers, that will fit nicely in small garden plots, or in established gardens in front of border,” Carmolli says.
The container movement and small space gardening have driven change in shrubs and perennials breeding. Smaller, compact varieties with upright growth habits are more in demand, and in the shrub category, customers like columnar forms because of their versatility. As an example, McConnell points to Southern Living/Sunset Western Plant Collection’s upright, columnar ‘Diamond Spire’ Gardenia. It’s fragrant, a good rebloomer, and can be used as a hedge or as a thriller in containers.
What Does it Do?
While most shrubs and perennials pass inspection from a beauty and versatility standpoint, consumers, particularly younger ones, want something more. They want the plant to be useful.
The Perennial Farm caught on to this concept early, touting Deer-Leerious Plants that deer won’t eat, and Treadwell Perennials that are tough enough to withstand foot traffic, on its website and in garden centers. This type of clever marketing makes it easy for consumers to recognize a plant’s possibilities in the garden.
“Today, more than ever, landscapers, wholesalers, and designers don’t just need plants, they need plants that help solve the problems that constantly occur,” The Perennial Farm states on its website.
There’s a strong interest in problem-solving plants to combat gardening challenges such as invasiveness or disease tolerance. Plants such as the NewGen Boxwoods from Saunders Brothers and Buxus ‘Little Missy’ from Star Roses & Plants are highly resistant to the devastating Boxwood Blight disease. SynRG, the founding organization behind the Handpicked for You program, recently introduced two WorryFree barberries — ‘Lemon Glow’ and ‘Crimson Cutie’ —which The University of Connecticut bred to be non-invasive.
Another emerging trend is shrubs and perennials that are edible, not only for humans but also for animals. We’re already seeing some of these plants on the market. Ball Ingenuity introduced Camellia sinensis ‘Brew-Tea-Ful’ tea plant this year, which can be grown in containers and gives consumers the ability to produce five different types of tea from one plant.
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