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Promoting Pollinator Plants at Retail

Tue, May 14th, 2019, created by Beth Scheckelhoff

Now that the rain has finally subsided somewhat across the Midwest – garden centers are experiencing a flood of customers excitedly itching to get out and garden!  Whether you are a wholesale grower, a retail provider, or both – now is a great time to get out and see what is going on in the garden centers around you. Although it may be difficult to break away from all the tasks at hand, a few hours of well-planned retail hopping is definitely worth your time. A few things to consider: What trends are on point? Which plants seem to fly off the shelves and which aren’t moving? What are customers asking for? Is there an idea or two that you can take home to make your business better?

A quick trip through a local garden center late last week provided some eye-catching, creative ideas on helping consumers easily pick pollinator plants for their gardens. Pollinator plants are still abuzz with consumers -gardeners looking for plants and flowers that will attract bees, butterflies and birds to their gardens. Other pollinators like beetles and flies tend to get overlooked as important pollinators, but they too will come and visit.

We all recognize the importance and value in retail signage.Here is one creative way to alert customers to the value of plants to specific pollinators,in addition to the site-specific information provided in print. Retailers can affix life-like bees, butterflies and birds to existing signs and displays to add information and visual interest.





About the Author:

Beth Scheckelhoff

Extension Educator, The Ohio State University

Beth Scheckelhoff is an Extension Educator for Greenhouse Systems at The Ohio State University. Beth provides Ohio greenhouse vegetable and ornamental growers with research-based information and recommendations for crop production, pest management, business management, and produce safety topics via educational programs, individual consultations, and publications.

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