We are thankful for Governor Baker and his Administration's support for our industry. The MFGA has noted some guidelines and instructions to help guide businesses and Garden Centers operate within federal and state guidelines. We have attached a PDF of the instructions provided.
MFGA COVID19 Update March 31st
We will continue to provide additional information from the various state governments and Growers Associations as it becomes available.
As always, be smart, stay healthy.
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What better way to practice Social Distancing that to get out in your garden? When done in a manner consistent with local and federal guidelines, gardening is a perfect way to both get out of the house and practice social distancing (We also thing it does wonders for mind). With this in mind, the NJNLA is compiling a list of Garden Retailers that are open and serving the public in a “socially distant” manner. They will be listing these businesses on their website www.plantsomethingnj.com.
If you are interested in having your business listed, please fill out the NJNLA’s survey in its entirety, through the link provided below.
We are continuously looking for ways to serve our customers and partners in a healthy manner, and will continue to update these posts with relevant information as it becomes available.
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As with any situation as vast and far reaching as the one we as a country find ourselves in at present, communication is of paramount importance. We are encouraged by the new Administrative Order as it allows our industry to remain operational in what is easily the most critical time of year in this industry. We are open and operational, and ready to provide our services to our customers where ever they may reside.
That being said, we have received a few pieces of information that we feel are relevant to our industry, partners, and customers. The New Jersey Farm Bureau has released information regarding the current status of "essential" businesses and how it pertains to greenhouses and garden centers. According to a recent piece of information, Agriculture and its supportive businesses are deemed "essential" and are exempt from the shut-down.
Alongside this communication, Administrative Order No. 2020-5, from the Emergency Management office of the NJ Department of Law and Public Safety's State Police Division, adds Nurseries and Garden Centers to the list of essential retail businesses.
As this is a constantly changing situation, we will endeavor to give timely updates and will continue to provide links to the relevant Organizations and their posts.
Below you will find links to:
New Jersey Nursery and Landscape Association
And for those of you located in Pennsylvania you may refer to the
Pennsylvania Landscape & Nursery Association
*A note for Garden Centers located in PA. THE PLNA has updated their website here with new information about requesting an exemption in order to resume business operations!
UPDATE: The deadline for appling for an exemption has passesd though the PLNA has a link for a survey so they can collect more information in order to get Garden Centes in PA ,that have not recieved an exemption, up and running again
Here are PDF versions of the communication from the NJFB as well as the Administrative Order for your information as well.
Administrative Order No. 2020-5
COVID-19 Emergency - Member Blast #1
GardenCenterMag.com has compiled a helpful list of Regulations per state regarding COVID-19 as it relates to Green Industry Businesses, and will update as new information becomes available.
*All information is up-to-date as of 5:00pm 4/2/2020.
*Updated with Link to GardenCenterMag.com's State-by-State article.
*Updated with new information from PLNA's website regarding Garden Centers, and Deadline for application.
*Updated with PLNA link on 4/8/2020
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ELK TWP., N.J. — New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher on Tuesday visited Lucas Greenhouses in Gloucester County to highlight that poinsettias, the popular holiday plant, is being shipped by New Jersey greenhouses and nursery growers as Dec. 12 is National Poinsettia Day.
To read the full article, Click Here.
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Growers are citing the benefits of using social media platforms as cost-effective digital marketing tools.
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"The results of the National Gardening Survey are in, and it suggests a bold, exciting future for garden retail."
Click here to read Ian Baldwin’s analyzing and commenting on this informative market research report.
The above article was originally published in the Green Profit magazine.
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Lucas Greenhouses is proud to be one of the featured stops on the AmericanHort Field & Covered Production Tour, September 14-15, 2016. See for yourself how we are innovating for the future. AmericanHort.org/Tour
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As temperatures climb and that manic spring customer flow slows to a trickle some days, it’s always tempting to take a deep breath, look at sales YTD compared with last year and relax… ”it’s over”. There used to be a day when that was somewhat true, retail garden companies (and many of their suppliers) could put a “Gone Fishing” sign on the door and literally, go fishing.
Of course that’s still the case if you are living entirely on seasonal pop-ups – good for you, tell me how you make it work!
But for the thousands of owners, managers and team-members who have been in overdrive for the past 12-16 weeks, the reality is that you can’t afford to take your foot off the pedal. The costs of being in business don’t take a summer break.
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We are excited to announce that we have once again made it onto the Greenhouse Grower's Top 100 List for 2016. With 1,207,508 Environmentally controlled square feet we proudly stand in the 62nd spot. On April 1st of 1979, George and Louise opened thier doors with 9,216sq ft. It has been an amazing 37 years and we have you our customers to thank! Follow our progress below to see how Lucas Greenhouses grew from 9,216sq ft. to 1,207,508 sq ft.
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This blog was shared with us by Ian Baldwin. For more of Ian's Blogs, Click Here.
In most of the USA and Europe, garden retail makes money for three months, breaks even for three and loses it for six! So it’s understandable that retailers want to expose their customers to as many products as possible. They even have a phrase for it; “Peak the Peaks!”
Add to that pressure, the constant supply of new or re-packaged products (don’t even get me started on the yearly deluge of new plant varieties) and the businesses are bursting at the seams. Aisles become narrow canyons deterring shoppers while inventory obscures signs meant to help. Everything is so jammed in, nothing stands out.
Time Crunched
Now see it like today’s customer. There are now fewer hobbyists who love discovery shopping and more time-crunched project shoppers. You can see them every spring, like deer in the headlights with 25 minutes (“tops”) to get what they need and get out of there. Faced with shelves of similar packets or benches of seemingly identical plants they are forced to read labels or bags (then go on-line to see if it’s true!) Sure they could wait for an equally stressed employee, who already has five others hovering around her and hasn’t had a break for 5 hours…
Customers don’t know what they don’t know so de-mystifying 5,000 to 20,000+ SKUs in 25 minutes is not the fun experience they expected. Choice can kill impulse and current garden retailing is SKU-ing customers to death (or at least into under-spending!)
The retailer must become the first “filter” of what shoppers need to complete their project. That is the real goal of a retail buyer; providing the sales team with a range of products already narrowed down for quick, easy-to-follow sales or merchandising. Are your buyers focused on that?
I know it is too late to thin out the shelves or cancel orders for this spring (maybe that’s a summer project before the 2017 buying season!) but use these questions to walk around each department. Consider your inventory through the eyes of today’s intrigued but hesitant consumer:
1. Is pricing readily understood by all (or do customers have to ask someone)?
2. Are customers led from impulse to wow to inspiration (or do they just wander around)?
3. Is layout conducive to grab-and-go shopping?
4. Are signs simple, fresh and understandable? (“4 in perennials” anyone…?)
5. Is there a “Fun ideas for a weekend project” area to give ideas?
6. Does the POP simplify shopping by narrowing down the choice to a few solutions?
7. Is sales language simple and confident reflecting expertise and local knowledge?
8. Do displays attract, inform and inspire in just a few seconds?
9. Does merchandising say “look no further, this is what you need”?
10. Are projects, such as planting an herb garden, sold as a one-stop kit of plants and hard goods?
11. Is there a full-size mannequin, mature display bed or photo-banner to show the project’s end result?
12. Overall, do the products and displays simplify customers’ options or just create more questions?
To get involved in the conversation, Click Here.
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Ah spring; the daffodils, the greening lawns, the plum blossom. And of course there is also the Bobcat that now won’t start, new truck drivers who don’t know your “before 10am” policy, the phones that didn’t re-charge overnight and the customers: oh yes, “them”!
Every year (like an ice-storm in Atlanta), spring seems to arrive as if it was a surprise to many. Garden retailers take in more on the first busy Friday than in the previous 4 weeks. By 11am on Saturday, you have already beaten the sales for the entire month of January. Yet employees are unprepared for the stress, hired and thrown in the deep-end (or allowed to continue set-up “task” jobs even as the parking lot is bulging). The next ten weeks should pay a year’s bills; this is intense stuff and not for the fainthearted! Nor for the shy or the task-obsessed; the next few weeks are about people, specifically, customers.
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"This is a really complex issue with no quick and easy solutions," May Berenbaum told me. These papers simplistically fingering neonics are "just not good science."
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An excerpt from www.ngma.com:
"Energy efficiency building codes that greenhouses are required to meet could soon be much more stringent, unless the National Greenhouse Manufacturers Association is successful in its bid to gain exceptions on greenhouse owners’ behalf.
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We are excited to announce that the 2015-2016 Lucas Greenhouses Catalog is now available. Feel free to view it online below, download a copy or request your copy by emailing us at sales@lucasgreenhouses.com.
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"Zipping from greenhouse to greenhouse on a near-silent golf cart I gasped with amazement as vibrant pansy beds flew by. The blur of color ended as Jeff pulled over to point out cutting-edge greenhouse features. "
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Find out what 4 lessons George Lucas, Owner of Lucas Greenhouses, shared with Greenhouse Grower!
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Read what what Nexus Corp has to say about Lucas Greenhouses!
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George Lucas, the 2009 Grower of the Year from Lucas Greenhouses, strives to obtain disease-free material, achieve a high rooting percentage and maintain cleanliness as three means to produce the best quality plants he can.
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