Re: plectranthus argentus

**j* e* m* s* <h*@sbcglobal.net>**

When I checked on the canna problem, I was told that much of the 
stock was destroyed two years in a row because of hurricanes in 
Florida...and that it would take a couple of years to get large 
enough crops to start distribution again.

jems

>----- 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
>
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-- 
Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
Garden writer, author, photographer
Region III Director Garden Writers Association
Phone: (317) 251.3261
Fax: (317) 251.8545
E-mail: hoosiergardener@sbcglobal.net

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