Online community for ornamental horticulture
Production numbers
Has everyone cut back a little (or a lot or not at all) on their production numbers for the coming year? We have, and I hope we're not the only company cutting back. Maybe things aren't as bad up north or out west, but we have some major dumping going on in Florida, especially with 15 and 30 gallon trees.
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Sara Tambascio on -
Sorry to hear about all the trees getting dumped. We've been getting the sense that many operations are cutting back for 2009. We're wondering if lowered production will actually raise prices at retail. Or if consumers go with the staycation idea in 2009 and make their homes more beautiful instead of taking expensive vacations. What do you think?
-
Permalink Reply by Jason Twaddell on -
We are cutting back production some, especially during the shoulder weeks of the spring season. We still want strong availability in May but we are cutting early and late programs back.
-
Permalink Reply by KGROW on -
The general consensus here is to work real hard to stay flat. Sales efforts will have to increase to do so. Penetration will have to increase into key customers. Production is geared for staying flat.
-
Permalink Reply by Andy Bittner on -
I'm cutting back as well, and focusing on new varieties I tested last year, as well as testing new varieties for next year.
-
Permalink Reply by Tom Broome on -
I have always been able to have just the right amount of each species to cover my demand. My plants can sit for an extra year or two in the same sized container and not be a problem, so having a few plants sitting around is not a problem. It's funny, I have had more of a demand for my plants this year already than the last 2 years, and am now starting even more plants this spring than I have had to in the last 5 years. I haven't had the need to reduce prices or dump anything, especially becasue most of my customers that have a regular job have almost the same amount of money they always have. They still have "cycad fever" and when things get tough out there and they think they deserve a gift for themselves, they go out and buy a cycad.
-
Permalink Reply by Gene Griffith on -
We're a very small grower/retailer/mailorder business. The drought of 2007-2008 convinced us to not buy in many finished plants from other growers but instead to get liners for future production (late 2008+) in hopes that the local drought and watering bans would be over. Yes, they are and we are having good rain this year and the watering bans have been lifted. But the economy drove off a cliff. So we have much more inventory than we want based on the guess nearly 2 years ago that we'd emerge from the drought by now. Sales were off 43% during the drought and have climbed back some, maybe 15%, but we're not ordering either liners or finished plants presently just holding tight. Good grower also in GA just announced going out of business.
-
Permalink Reply by Reid on -
There's some major dumping going on in Arizona also.. most places here are off around 60% in sales and many haven't been able to hang on and have or are closing. I've had 3 retail centers that I supply close, but even with that our sales are up about 40% this year but we don't grow ornamental like everyone else, we just grow fruit trees and veggie packs
seems like people are buying food to grow for themselves these days
I've increased rootstock propagation 30% for next season (2010) but I'll only bud/graft on orders, no speculation.
-
Permalink Reply by Hap Hollibaugh on -
Over all we are up and boosting production, however we are reducing and dropping some species. Native ornamental grasses were hot in '08 and barely moved this year. We plan on trying "Meadow Packs" for spring 2010, basically 36 cell plugs with an assortment of lawn replacement grasses and wild flowers, while really reducing the gallon production of those species. But all the press this year has been about planting plugs for lawn replacement and that is what the customers have been asking for.
© 2010 Created by Sara Tambascio.
