Perennials: A One Billion Dollar Industry and Benary's New Perennials

Having trouble viewing this e-mail? Click HERE to see it on the web
News and commentary for the perennial market GrowerTalks MagazineGreen Profit Magazine

Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Paul Pilon Subscribe
 
Perennial Pulse
COMING UP THIS WEEK:

Your Part of 1 Billion Dollars
Key Perennial Categories
New From Benary
One More
Frostkiss Hellebore

Your Part of One Billion Dollars

If I only had a billion dollars to pass along. What I’m really referring to is the perennial category within the floriculture industry recently topped one billion dollars. The results of the 2022 National Agricultural Statistics Service Floriculture survey were released late last week and it showed the sales of perennials as reported by operations with more than $100,000 in annual sales were an impressive $1,092,951,000.00.

 
 
That’s not only a major milestone, but it’s also a lot of perennials. Whether you’re a small or a large grower, it’s likely that each of us somewhat contributes to this number but put us together and now we’re a billion dollar industry. Mind-blowing, right?  Congrats, my fellow perennial producers and enthusiasts.

Key Perennial Categories

The survey is not conclusive and does not itemize every perennial genus being sold. It does capture several of the major perennial classes. I’ve summarized them and compared the 2022 results with those obtained in 2021 in the table below. 

 
As you can see, perennial sales also topped $1 billion dollars in 2021. This is a good indication of how stable and healthy the perennial segment of the industry is. In the 2019 Census of Horticultural Specialties, perennial sales were a respectable $922,616,000.00. With the latest data, perennial sales have increased by $170,335,000.00 or 15.58%, which is 5.19% per year over the past three years. 
 
Looking at the categories of individual classes, two of them were down (hostas and daylilies) while all the other categories were up significantly. I’m thinking this data seems about right. What are your thoughts? I’m curious to see if these numbers align with your recent sales experiences. Please feel free to pass along your thoughts and comments to me at paul@opelgrowers.com. Be sure to tell me what state you’re located in as I’m sure there are regional differences in sales tendencies.

New from Benary

Arabis Catwalk

 

Catwalk Pink

Catwalk White
 
Catwalk Pink is a new addition to the Benary perennial line up. It’s joining Catwalk White to form a series of Arabis caucasica. Each cultivar is first year flowering from seed and does NOT require vernalization. They are compact (just 6-in. tall), globe shaped and very uniform. Hardy to Zone 3.
 
 
 
Dianthus Sugar N’ Spice
 
 
Sugar and spice and everything nice perfectly represents this great new cutting dianthus from Benary. With its multicolored appearance, it produces an eye-catching display of long-lasting blooms.  It has huge, highly serrated blooms on well branched plants that make an awesome presentation in the landscape or when used in containers. 

One More

There’s one more new perennial from Benary that I’d like to mention.

 
Echinacea PollyNation Mix
 
 
Here is a really promising series of echinacea. PollyNation Mix contains three colors: yellow, orange and deep rose. They have a well branched habit, grow approximately 26-in. tall and are cold hardy down to USDA Hardiness Zone 4.

Frostkiss Hellebore

The Frostkiss series of hybrid hellebore are known for their large, showy flowers that don’t nod and for their slightly later bloom times. Join hellebore breeder Bart Noordhuis and PP&L’s Marketing Director April Herring-Murray as they offer their tips and guidance in an upcoming webinar.
 
Title: Growing Frostkiss Hellebore: Tips & Techniques for a Stunning Crop
 
When: Monday July 10, 2023
 
Time: 1:00 PM Eastern/12:00 PM Central
 
 
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
  • The right time to plant liners
  • Proper soil nutrition and pH
  • Best practices for continued measurement of nutrition and pH
  • The secret sauce for maximizing bloom count
  • How to delay bloom and hold a hellebore
Sign up for this FREE webinar on the GrowerTalks website.

Thanks for reading this edition of Perennial Pulse. My email is paul@opelgrowers.com if you have any comments, article suggestions or if you'd just like to say hello.

Best regards,

 

Paul Pilon
Editor-at-Large—Perennial Pulse
Director of Growing—Opel Growers

 


This email was received by you and 34,984 other fine subscribers!

If you're interested in advertising in Perennial Pulse, contact Kim Brown ASAP and she'll hook you up.