Re: plectranthus argentus

**"* C* <d*@chilitech.net>**

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "jo ellen meyers sharp" <hoosiergardener@sbcglobal.net>

> We have some at the garden center where I work...but no Persian
> shield Strobilanthes...cannas also are very hard to find again this
> year.

Dahlias, too.  I think it is primarily a change in marketing strategy. Too 
many pseudo-gardeners just won't but a brown lump in a plastic bag, so they 
stopped trying to sell them. Instead growers start them early in two gallon 
pots and charge eight to ten times the price of the tubers. But when 
customers can actually see the plant, especially striking foliage plants 
like Tropicanna, they'll buy it. Small container dahlias, like the Gallery 
series, can be sold in bloom. Larger dahlias now require mail order for the 
most part. I don't blame the retailers. I blame the customers.

On the one hand, this considerably narrows the choices the average gardener 
has. On the other, it opens opportunities for small nurseries to win back 
some of the customers that were getting their plants in the big box parking 
lots for the last few years.

I bring Persian Shield in every winter. It can grow into a a gorgeous and 
sizable shrub. I also take tip cuttings in fall and grow them on under 
lights. If I don't need them in spring, they go out in my annual one-day 
plant sale. Which is actually a plant dump.

Incidentally, I think every garden writer should have a plant sale once a 
year. It's not just that you get rid of your excess and make a few bucks, 
but more important it gives you some insight into the minds of the average 
plant buyer. Frankly, it's not pretty in there.

D 

_______________________________________________
gardenwriters mailing list
gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/gardenwriters

GWL has searchable archives at:
http://www.hort.net/lists/gardenwriters

Send photos for GWL to gwlphotos@hort.net to be posted
at: http://www.hort.net/lists/gwlphotos

Post gardening questions/threads to
&quot;Gardenwriters on Gardening&quot; &lt;gwl-g@lists.ibiblio.org&gt;

For GWL website and Wiki, go to
http://www.ibiblio.org/gardenwriters