Many garden retailers are telling garden retail consultant Ian Baldwin that sales and the consumer’s attitude toward spending have been very strong the last two months.

Understanding the challenges of training new and seasonal staff at independent garden centers, Proven Winners says it is working to equip managers with tools to prepare their employees to better handle customers’ questions and boost their confidence in selling plants this season.

LeFlem, who will manage Pleasant View’s finished and garden-ready programs, says that despite some market challenges, he still sees plenty of room for growth.

Plant e-commerce may finally take off soon. The question is, are you ready?

From color-changing conifers to smaller-sized luxury looks, plant experts at Monrovia predict nine trends that will drive consumers to do more gardening this year.

Stephanie Whitehouse, who has spent the last seven years as the Sales and Marketing Director for Peace Tree Farm in Kintnersville, PA, recently joined Dickman Farms Greenhouse and Garden Center in Auburn, NY, as the company’s new Retail General Manager.

The industry’s first pricing survey exposes serious problems in how plants are priced. It’s past time for us to change that.

Al’s Garden Center is a big store with dozens of endcaps in its plant department. The retailer’s merchandising team took three simple items — pallet wood, crates, and wood frames — and combined them in numerous ways. Each endcap had its own look, but was visually tied to its neighbors.

Portland has a number of impressive garden retailers who use creative approaches to solving display challenges. Here are a number of plant and product display fixtures we spied on last week’s tour.

Now is the time of year to sell your customers what they like, rather than what they need. According to industry consultant Ian Baldwin, one way to do this is to use silent selling techniques and devices that help validate a purchase.

Much of the South enjoyed highs of 60s and 70s throughout February. Trees and shrubs are blooming several weeks early. And it’s forcing garden retailers to make tough decisions about when to stock plants.

During the recent Tropical Plants Industry Exhibition (TPIE) in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, the Garden Center Group embarked on a search for the coolest new products for garden retailers. Here’s what they discovered.

Growers can ignore some shifts in retail. But when a transformation is underway, it’s time to pay attention.