Even a late tech adopter like me uses Google to find nearby businesses. Many consumers use Google to find pizza places, gas stations and yes, even garden centers.

But according to a BLOG POST from David Johnstone, your business being within the top few of a Google My Business map listing doesn’t necessarily depend on proximity to the person searching. It depends on three things that Google is watching for:

• How many website clicks did you get in the past seven days?
• How many calls (call button clicks) did you get in the past seven days?
• How many reviews did you get in the past seven days?

That’s right, all three of those are for just the past seven days. This should make it clear to you that your ranking in a Google My Business map listing is something that Google is constantly adjusting, and hence something you as a business should be constantly aware of. Google is looking for fresh activity—new clicks, new inquiries, new customers—as a sign that your business is activity acquiring customers. If you have no activity as defined by those three actions above, that means—to them—no new customers for you. Some other, more active business, deserves to be listed above you.

What can you do about this? You can go onto the Google My Business dashboard, click the Insights tab and take a look at your click, call and review numbers for as much as a whole quarter or as little as a week. You may need to do something to get more consumer engagement. Like:

• Add more photos or a video to your Google My Business page. Something that’ll get people to click.
• Ask customers to leave a review of your business. That’s easily done in person at the register, a friendly reminder on the store’s door, on an emailed receipt or via text message if you have the customer’s digits.

What’s your secret for pushing your Google My Business listing up to the top? Drop you suggestions HERE.

Several weeks ago when I gave you a recap of the houseplant trends webinar from the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) and FloraCulture International (FCI), the topic of sustainability for the entire horticulture industry came up several times. It’s a vital consideration, all panelists agreed. Our future quite literally depends on working toward sustainable practices.

So it’s no surprise to hear that AIPH along with FCI, the Floriculture Sustainability Initiative and GreenTech worldwide events have created a virtual online international conference with the topic  “The Path to Sustainability in Ornamental Horticulture.” The conference will take place on September 30 of this year.

The event will include speakers from around the world who can speak to what the industry is doing to become more sustainable, how progress can be measured and what the future holds. The keynote presentation will be from Dr. David Bek of Coventry University, UK. The other conference speakers will address such topics as the role of certification, plastics, growing media, people and marketing.  Other speakers and panelists confirmed so far include:

• Jeroen Oudheusden—Floriculture Sustainability Initiative (FSI)
• Susannah Ball—Ball Horticulture, USA
• Steve Harper—Growing Media Responsible Sourcing Scheme, UK
• Melanie Dürr—Fairtrade International
• Maarten Banki—Royal FloraHolland
• Daan de Vries—MPS
• Kiki Fernandes—Marginpar, Kenya
• Dr. Audrey Timm—AIPH
• Elise Wieringa—Royal Lemkes, the Netherlands
• Ximena Franco—Florverde Sustainable Flowers, Colombia
• Sven Hoping—Pöppelmann, Germany
• Cecilia Luetgebrune—Growing Media Europe
• Nada van Schouwenburg—Women Win, the Netherlands
• Prof. Charlie Hall—Texas A&M University, USA
• Leo Swart—Cresultant, the Netherlands

Commenting on the launch of the conference, AIPH Secretary General, Tim Briercliffe, said “The global ornamental horticulture industry makes such a positive contribution to the planet in so many ways, but to create a truly sustainable supply chain we need to share initiatives and work together. This conference provides the perfect platform for taking this forward.” Well said, Tim!

The conference takes place 10:00 a.m.-4:45 p.m. BST (5:00-11:45 a.m. EDT). For more details and to register click HERE.  

Registration is now open for AmericanHort’s 2021 Impact Washington Summit, being held September 20-22 in Washington, D.C. The summit will feature a program of subject matter experts, Congressional champions for the industry, and meetings with lawmakers to discuss important issues impacting the green industry and participants’ own businesses.

A previous Summit with hort talking with Represenntative Mike Bost.

Delivering this year’s keynote is Bob Worsley, former Republican State Senator (AZ), entrepreneur, innovator and author who’ll deliver remarks on the challenges of the current political divide and how it affects efforts for comprehensive immigration reform.

For more information and to register, go to americanhort.org/impact-washington-summit or contact hello@americanhort.org or (614) 487-1117.

Our resident political junkie, Jen Zurko, will be there lobbying on the industry's behalf. And a fun fact about Mr. Worsley: He is the founder of SkyMall. Fascinating!

At the end of last week’s virtual Perennial Plant Symposium, the Perennial Plant Association announced its Perennial Plant of the Year for 2022—and I think you’re going to love it (don’t we always, though?). It’s Schizachyrium scoparium (aka Little Bluestem) and its associated cultivars.

S. scoparium Blue Heaven, photo courtesy of Hoffman Nursery.

Like many of the plants that are chosen for a “Of the Year” program that spans the nation, the perennials chosen for PPA’s Perennial Plant of the Year are suitable for a wide range of growing climates, have low maintenance requirements, have multiple-season interest and are relatively pest- and disease-free. And in the case of PPA’s honored plants, they let the perennial experts in any given region select which varieties to promote in their own locales. I love that idea, because, as you know, not all varieties do well everywhere.

In fact, here’s a sampling of some varieties chosen by those regional experts:

Central region: Richard Hawke of the Chicago Botanic Garden selects Schizachyrium scoparium Jazz for the striking silvery blue leaves “most comparable to The Blues, but at 36-in. tall and 30-in. wide, Jazz is a foot shorter than The Blues and has sturdier stems.”

Southern region: Shannon Currey of Hoffman Nursery selects Schizachyrium scoparium The Blues because, “In the South, our humidity, high nighttime temps and wet springs can slow down some Little Bluestem. The Blues is a strong, vigorous grower and has fantastic color. Blues, pinks, purples in the summer followed by reds and oranges in the fall. In the right conditions, it stands out for us.”

Great Lakes region: Patty Steinhauser of Stonehouse Nursery chooses Schizachyrium scoparium Carousel because its “uniquely mounded selection forms a wide clump of blue-green foliage that emerges nearly horizontal and matures into strong, upright stems that remain standing through inclement weather and winter. It takes on pink, copper and orange-red tones in fall topped with tiny seed tufts.”

Love the regional details! Find out more about which selections are recommended for which regions, plus learn everything else about Little Bluestem at perennialplant.org/page/2022PPOY.

When I saw the email come in with the subject line that read “Caterpillar Candy,” I thought, well, that’s one way to get kids to eat their daily dose of insect protein. But it turns out that Caterpillar Candy is not for human kids, it’s for butterfly kids, aka caterpillars. And the term is being used to designate the newest brand of plants from Centerton Nursery in New Jersey—a line of plants specifically meant to be eaten by caterpillars.

The story about the Caterpillar Concept shared in Centerton’s press release on the topic is an interesting one. Apparently a few years ago, one of Centerton’s owners—Bob Blew—took a question from a customer about a plant they didn’t grow. But they should grow it, the customer suggested, because it’s “like candy for caterpillars.”

The program consists of 14 different host plants servicing 10 different caterpillars. Each tag has a picture of the caterpillar as well as the butterfly that it will become. What, no flower photo? “It doesn’t matter!” said Bob. “It’s supposed to be eaten.” That’s a very good point!

I just connected with Amy over at Centerton who told me the program is available now. “We just started shipping this week,”she wrote, “and some of the products are sold out but we have more products coming through late summer,” which is when caterpillars are most active in most of their shipping area, covering the East Coast over to the Midwest. And do not worry about those hungry caterpillars. Centerton will not use any chemicals on these plants that would be unsafe for the little critters.

The best way to view the “candy” selection and learn more about the program is to check out their catalog HERE and click over to Page 4.

Today’s new-for-’22 variety from the plant samples I received this spring is Safari Dawn Jamesbrittenia from Proven Winners. I’ve never grown Jamesbrittenia—had never heard of it prior to two years ago, in fact—and I am in love with it. Safari Dawn is doing extremely well after a hot June and warm, wet July and has really popped in these first few perfect days of August.

Jamesbrittenia Safari Dawn. Yes, you see tomato and beet leaves in this mixed container.

The soft pink petals have a white-to-yellow center and cover the plant. I have it planted in a container and it’s a pleasant surprise to me that it’s cascading downward. This genus is supposedly related to bacopa, so maybe it’s supposed to be a spiller. Proven Winners also released a second Jamesbrittenia called Safari Sky, and I’m sure it’s in one of my other containers somewhere, looking equally lovely. Height is up to 12 inches and spread is up to 24 inches. It’s loving being in my full afternoon sun location.

With the Garden Center Show canceled this August, I bet you manufacturers, suppliers and distributors (and PR companies repping folks, too) would love to get your products in front as many eyes as possible. Let us help you out.

The October issue of Green Profit will feature all the new products we can get our hands on. You name it—pottery, flags, pest controls, hand tools and the like—we want it so we can highlight it. And if it’s NEW for this fall of Spring 2022 or beyond, even better. Brownie points for anything that is ready to ship!

Just drop your product info into an email to Jen Polanz at jpolanz@ballpublishing.com.

If your customers’ vegetable gardens are anything like mine, they’re coming in to a load of produce right about now. What to do with it all? Cook and storyteller—and now TV host!—Jonathan Bardzik (you may recall Jonathan from his years at ANLA) has a new cookbook for you to feature front and center in your store. It’s called “Simple Summer: A recipe for joy and connection,” which includes 40 easy-to-recreate recipes along with inspiring stories for each, refreshing beverage pairings and curated playlists.

If “Simple Summer” sounds familiar, it’s because this is the second edition of his cookbook. BUT, as Jonathan was correcting a few typos from his first edition, he decided to add nearly double the recipes, update some playlists and improve the whole book overall. Health-conscious food enthusiasts, home gardeners and farm market fans will love the pages and recipes filled with inspiration and exciting new ways to make the most of summer's bounty. So happy for him! Interested in ordering for your garden center? Contact marketing@jonathanbardzik.com to learn about wholesale orders.