Re: 1998 catalogs
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Re: 1998 catalogs
- From: z*@chcs.com
- Date: Sun, 16 Nov 1997 16:07:20 -0700 (MST)
From: Scott Aitken <zebra@chcs.com>
"Donald Eaves" <donald@eastland.net> wrote:
>When is the best time to send off for the 1998 catalogs? Can I do this now
>or should I wait until January? Does anyone have any ideas? Rick
>w/Superstition Iris Gardens - when is it best for you to receive requests?
I can't speak for other growers, but my parent's garden, Aitken's Salmon
Creek Garden, prints their catalog sometime around March each spring. This
late in the year, they have stopped selling any irises. Any requests for
catalogs after October 1st are presumed to be for next spring's catalog,
and they would simply put you on the list for when they all get shipped out
then. The ideal time for catalog requests for them is anytime between now
and when they do their big mailing in the spring (the main mailing is sent
out bulk mail; after that they get sent out first class, which costs them
$1 each for mailing -- ouch!).
Why, you might ask, do they wait that late to print the catalog? Weather is
the short answer. They actually wait until early spring to go out and see
what has survived the winter, and in what condition. After some mild
winters they get a lot more growth than expected and can offer varieties
they didn't think they had enough of the previous spring. Or after a bad
winter, they may be short of some varieties. They make additions and
deletions to the catalog right up till a few days before it is sent to the
printer.
Scott Aitken
Aitken's Salmon Creek Garden
http://www.e-z.net/~aitken
608 NW 119th St
Vancouver, WA 98685
Phn: (360) 573-4472, Fax: (360) 576-7012, email: aitken@e-z.net
